"Strip, wolf man."

Britt's hands curled into fists and his gaze locked with the Scot's. The sick bastard smiled, anticipating Britt's fight-or-flight instincts. The poacher's expression said he didn't care which action Britt chose.

A splatter of bright yellow paint smacked Ferguson in the face, splashing into his eyes.

"What the hell?!" Ferguson rubbed at his eyes, blinking and cursing and trying to keep Britt in view, but unable to hold his eyelids open for more than a second.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Britt rolled away, grabbing the knife Watters had ignored in his search. A shot rang out. Britt took aim and his knife ripped into Taylor's right shoulder. The poacher's rifle crashed to the forest floor.

Taylor fumbled with his holster, and Britt slammed his shoulder into the Texan's gut, taking them both to the ground. Britt's weight emptied the air from Taylor's lungs, leaving the bastard gasping for breath and giving Britt time to toss his handgun out of reach.

"I'll take it from here, Britt."

Britt reared back to find Sheriff Maggie Kingston hovering over him, her Glock pointed at the heaving poacher's head. Getting to his feet, Britt whipped around, preparing to deal with the cursing Ferguson. What he found had him shaking his head. Literally.

Evie and Brynne, legs braced apart, stood opposite Ferguson, guns aimed at his chest.

"Beautiful timing, ladies, though I'm wondering what the hell you're doing here."

"Doing something besides watching Jonah fight a cyber war." Not taking her eyes off Ferguson, Evie asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thanks to the three of you."

"Looked like you had it under control."

"Either that, or I was about to get my ass beat."

Maggie forced Taylor to roll over, a rather hard feat with a knife protruding from the poacher's shoulder. Taylor wailed like a newborn while Maggie clamped his wrists together.

Britt divested Ferguson of his weapons before forcing him onto his stomach. Maggie tossed him a second pair of handcuffs and began relaying instructions into her shoulder mic.

"Are those Reid's new paintball guns?"

"Not his most recent purchase," Brynne said. "Those monsters are under lock and key."

Evie's smile lit up the forest. "Not bad for forty yards, huh?"

"You made the shot?"

Maggie rose to glare at both ladies. "Against my explicit orders."

Never one to be cowed, Evie waggled her eyebrows.

"Let's see how cocky you are after I speak to your mother." Maggie let out a loud, aggrieved sigh, one that indicated she'd had more than one run-in with her little cousin. "I'm just glad Jonah tipped me off to what you girls were up to."

"Jonah told you?"

"He thought you might be in over your head." Maggie inspected the scene. "He was right. I don't even want to think about what would've happened had I not caught up with you before you entered the woods." She sent her cousin a warning look. "Next time, I'll lock you in my cruiser to make sure you follow my direction to stay back."

The joy of adventure drained from Evie's face. Britt felt the familiar urge to comfort her, but he agreed with Maggie on this. Her sleuthing could have had fatal consequences.

"What is all of this about?" Maggie asked. "Jonah said something about a kidnapped wolf."

"A faction of the Carolina Club are extreme trophy hunters," Britt said, rising. "These three, plus at least two others, decided they wanted to add a critically endangered red wolf to their kill list."

"Looks like they've upped their game to people now." Maggie's eyes narrowed on Britt. "Three to one? Where are your brothers? And why didn't you call me?"

"None of us expected this." Britt waved his hand toward Watters. "I came over here to check on the pups, see how they were faring without their mother."

"And your brothers?"

"Jonah's back at the house. Grif and Reid should be headed to the two-track where we're to meet up with Richard Norwood, the leader of this murderous group." His hand slid inside his pocket for his phone before remembering Watters had destroyed it. Bending, he picked up the pieces and threw them into his backpack. "What time is it?"

Maggie told him.

"Norwood will be arriving soon with the female wolf."

"You got him to give her up?"

Britt winked. "With a little incentive."

Maggie shook her head.

"We should go," Brynne said, looking uncomfortable. "Randi and Carlie Beth followed Norwood and Ito. If these guys are capable of killing a member of their group, no telling what Norwood will do if he finds them out."

Britt's insides churned at the thought of Randi under Norwood's power. "Dammit, Evie. Why were y'all trailing these crazy-ass hunters?"

Evie flinched, her gaze dropping to the ground.

"We thought they might lead us to Calypso," Brynne said quietly, putting an arm around Evie.

That admission earned the ladies another severe sheriff scowl. "All of this could have gone wrong ten ways to Tuesday, Evie. I hope you see that now."

Evie nodded. "We just wanted to help. The wolves mean so much to Britt-and to me. I couldn't stand the thought of Calypso caged and alone."

Maggie curled a hand around the side of her cousin's face and kissed her on the head. "You brought a paint gun to a fight with a hunter, really?" Not waiting for an answer, she heaved Taylor to his feet. "Time to go to jail."

"What about my wound? I need a hospital!"

"Paramedics are waiting by the road. They'll decide where you go first." Maggie gave him a little shove. "Now stop your whining and move."

Evie wouldn't meet Britt's gaze. He didn't like seeing her upset. Never had.

Putting on his best shit-eatin' grin, he nudged Ferguson with his boot. "How do you tough guys feel about being taken down by a college girl with a paint gun?"

Evie's eyes widened and her sweet laugh danced all around them.

Noticing several sets of flashlights making their slow progress through the woods, Britt asked, "The cavalry?"

Maggie glanced over her shoulder. "Looks like." She confirmed via her radio, then snapped on her small flashlight, waving it in the air.

"I gotta get to the two-track."

"Go," Maggie said.

"You'll be okay?" he asked Evie and Brynne.

They both nodded.

"Be careful," Evie said.

To Maggie, he said, "Let Grif know I'm on my way? And have Reid head back to the Hill to check on things there."

"Sure thing."

"Evie, contact Randi and Carlie Beth." He checked both prisoners' bindings before collecting his Sig and rifle. "Tell them to disengage and go home. If they dig their heels in, let them know what's happened here."

She nodded, tapping in her password.

"You ladies did well tonight. Very well. Thank y'all."

They each gave him a grateful, beaming smile.

Britt secured his weapons and pack and took off at a speed his legs hadn't attempted since high school track. He had to get to Grif before Norwood arrived. And he hoped to God Evie got ahold of Randi in time.

"Britt!" Evie yelled.

He jarred to a halt. "What?"

"I have several texts from Carlie Beth. They found Calypso at a cabin off Choctaw Road."

Some of the aching tension eased from Britt's chest. "That's great. Tell them to get out of there. I'll take care of Calypso. You and Brynne head back to the Hill."

"Oh, no. No, no, no!" Sweet blue eyes bleak with guilt and fear slammed into him. "Norwood has Randi."

34.

By the time Britt reached the two-track, he was breathing fire and his feet throbbed from the brutal pace he'd set. Grif paced beside his Maserati, Louise.

Catching sight of Britt, he asked, "What the hell's going on? Maggie gave me some cryptic message about staying sharp until you arrived."

"Some major damn shit, that's what." Britt raked the sweat off his forehead.

"Hit me with the short version."

"I met up with Ferguson, Watters, and Taylor near the den. They got the upper hand. Ferguson killed Watters because he didn't want to kill me. Evie and Brynne took down Ferguson with a paint gun. Maggie arrested the others."

"All of that happened in the last hour?" At Britt's nod, he asked, "Why didn't you fucking call me?"

"Watters destroyed my phone."

"Anyone besides Watters hurt?"

"The ladies are fine and the other two club members sustained minor damage."

"What about you?"

Britt waved him off. "There's more bad news."

"Let it rip."

"Evie, Brynne, Randi, and Carlie Beth decided to follow Norwood and his cronies to see if they would lead them to Calypso."

"You're shittin' me, right?"

"I wish."

"Where're Carlie Beth and Randi?"

Britt struggled to form a single syllable, his worry for Randi paralyzing the words in the back of his throat.

Grif clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Just spit it out. You don't need to clean it up for me."

"Randi and Carlie Beth found Calypso."

"And?"

"Norwood found Randi."

"What about Carlie Beth?"

"Her phone's going directly to voice mail."

"Fuck!" Grif strode away, phone to his ear. The moment stretched. He ended the call. "What's the plan?" His words were thick.

Britt had had a long time to think about strategy on the run over. "We wait for Norwood."

"What if he doesn't show?"

"Then we head to Norwood's cabin on Choctaw Road, where Randi and Carlie Beth found the wolf. See if there's anything that'll lead us to Norwood."