Page 162 of I Will Revel in Glory (Death by Daybreak MC 3)
Grey nods and offers up a reassuring smile that doesn’t quite reach his pretty gray eyes.
“She arrived at her destination unharmed and settled in nicely. Don’t worry about her. Worry about this.” He gestures between himself and the screen. “Me and you.”
“Where are you?” I ask as my phone buzzes and a message pops up on the top of my screen.
Ironically enough, when I see the message, my blood goes cold. It’s an odd response considering that the world … it’s on fire.
Lane County Emergency System - this is an automated message. Your area has been upgraded to a Level 3 - Go - Alert. Do not collect belongings. Leave immediately. Fire danger to your area is imminent. If you choose to stay, understand that emergency services will not be able to assist you any further. Re-entry into evacuated areas may be prohibited until fire danger passes.
Shit.
I shove up from the edge of the bathtub and Grey waits patiently as I sprint into the hallway and across to the spare bedroom with a south-facing window. This was Reba’s room; I can still smell the scent of Posey’s old shampoo that she was using while she stayed here.
I fling open the window and crawl partially onto the roof, rising to my knees for a better view. It’s still dark outside, so there’s no mistaking the vibrant orange glow in the distance. It lights up the ebony sky like a warning.
“Oh my God,” I choke as Grey lets out a soft sigh of acknowledgement.
“Ashbury is a ghost town, Gidge. There’s nobody there. Police were going door-to-door this morning and telling anyone that was left to leave.”
The thought of that gives me chills.
The regular citizens have evacuated. The club’s families have left. It’s just us now.
Death by Daybreak Motorcycle Club and Grey Wolfe Mafia.
“You’re in town now?” I ask, and Grey gives a slight shake of his head.
“Not yet, but I will be soon enough. My father and I were originally going to fly, but our estate—with his helicopter pad—is quite literally in flames. The winds changed so quickly last night, and the fire moved so fast, we had no choice but to drive instead. This is our chance to corner Alvise.” Grey pauses here, tapping the fingers of one hand against his leg as he holds his phone with the other. “The bulk of my father’s men are headed your way, toward the compound. If you hurry up, you can bypass them all and meet me, my father, and his bodyguards at the Artefact; there’s an intersection right in front of the house that splits off and leads to the highway. That’s the way we’re going.”
“He’s still sending his men to war during a wildfire?” I ask, and Grey gives another nod. I don’t even know why I asked; Cat would do the same if he were in Alvise’s position. If the mafia lays siege to the compound, and the fire comes in from the south, it’ll force us out from behind our own walls and into their waiting arms.
“Do you know where the Artefact is?” Grey asks, but of course I do. Not only did I pass out the mafia’s bad drugs there—at Cat and Crown’s request—but that’s where I found Queenie and Kian’s declaration of love scratched into the upstairs baseboard.
“I do.” The words are short and clipped as I stare into the distance at the otherworldly glow of the fire. It’s burned over a hundred thousand acres, and I imagine it’s nowhere near done yet.
“I’ll be there in about three hours; there are so many roads closed due to the fire, we have to take the old highway that skirts the national park. It’s going to take a while. Can you meet me there?”
“I’ll bring the cavalry,” I promise, wondering what the fuck we’re even doing here.
We both must be insane.
We hang up, and I exhale, turning and scooting back inside the room. I return to Crown’s bedroom, dress myself up in head-to-toe leather, motorcycle boots, and a shoulder holster with my Magnum tucked inside of it as well as a spare pistol in a second holster. For luck, I add Queenie’s knife to my boot, and then I head downstairs.
All four men are in the kitchen, waiting for me.
“I just spoke to Grey,” I tell them, my nerves sparking and glittering with anticipation. I don’t know how today is going to go or how we’re going to work this out, but I know that there is no more time. Either Grey and I figure out what we’re doing here, or the club and the mafia are going to mow each other down until there’s only a few lone souls left standing on one side or the other. “He says his father’s men are on their way to the compound, but that he and the Don are fleeing the fires. They’ll pass by the Artefact in three hours.”
