Kraven Read online

  “Decker doesn’t give a shit about your laws. Do you know what happens if you send someone after him? He’ll wipe their memory and make them forget it all. Or kill them outright. He’s insane, and human law doesn’t apply to him.”

  “Fine. Give me keys to your car and a GPS with his address. I’ll go there myself and take care of this mess. I’m getting my sister back.”

  Kraven scowled. “You’re forgetting he’s not human. What are you going to do to him, Bat? Beat him up? He’s got claws.” He suddenly grabbed her around her waist, hauling her off her feet, lifting her so they were face level. “You couldn’t even get away from me, and I’d never hurt you. He would. He doesn’t give a shit about you. You’re fodder for this war he wants to start. He’d chain you up and send you to Aveoth.”

  “Better me than my baby sister. I’ll deal with this Aveoth. I’m sure he can be reasoned with.”

  Kraven shook his head. “No.”

  “Fuck you.” She braced her hands on his shoulders. “Put me down!”

  He lowered her to the floor and let her go. “Calm down. Drantos will bring your sister back. In the meantime, there’s something we need to do. Do you want Dusti to be safe?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then let’s lead Decker on a merry chase away from here. Drantos will bring your sister to our village. Decker doesn’t care about Dusti, right? You admitted they don’t get along. He’d think nothing of killing her and the people who live here. We want him to come after you instead.”

  She tried to calm down. “What are you saying?”

  “You want the enforcers to stay away from your sister? That means not being anywhere near her. I have a plan, if you’ll listen.”

  It was tough to do when she was worried sick about Dusti. “You have my attention.”

  “I’m going to pack a bag and borrow a car that’s well known to other clans. I want to drive close enough to Decker’s territory that his scouts will see us. They’ll report it to him and he’ll order his enforcers to go after us. Let’s lead them away from Dusti and my clan. We’ll go to the airport and fly out of Alaska. He’ll be able to find out where we went but we’ll drop from sight once we hit the lower fifty. They’ll start looking for us there instead of here.”

  “I’m bait to lure them away.”

  He nodded. “I won’t let them capture you. We need to move fast though.”

  “How do we know Drantos will get my sister back? I need to do something to save her, Kraven. She’s my entire world. She’s all I have.”

  “I’ll keep my cell phone on until we hear word that Dusti is safe, Bat. You don’t know my brother, but he’ll do whatever it takes to get her back. She’s his mate.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “That’s a discussion for another time.”

  “No, what do you mean, she’s his mate?”

  He paused, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know how else to say it. But he’ll kill to get her back, tear apart heaven and hell to find her, whatever it takes. Drantos will protect her at all costs. I have absolute faith in that. He loves her and she belongs to him.”

  “She can’t be his mate. We’re not animals.”

  “Do you want to debate that or do something useful, like make Decker come after you instead of your sister, who his enforcers think is you right now? We need to get them off Drantos and Dusti’s trail.”

  “If he even found her.”

  “You don’t know my brother.”

  “You’re right, I don’t.”

  “You didn’t see him when he found out she’d been taken. He was enraged, and there’s nothing more dangerous than a VampLycan whose mate is in danger. He will find her and he’ll bring her home. The best thing we can do is give Decker a big target to go after instead. You’re the one he wants.”

  “Fine.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Help me pack.”

  “No.”

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight. You’re upset. Besides, it will go faster if we do this together.”

  “You should have told me the truth right off.”

  “I’m sorry. I wanted you to shower and eat first. There was nothing you could do but worry, Bat. You’re going to need your strength since we’ll be the ones running. I did what I thought was necessary.”

  “Don’t lie to me about my sister ever again. Got it?”

  “Yes.” He tugged on her. “Come on. The longer we waste time, the longer Decker’s enforcers are focused on the wrong sister.”

  “This better work.”

  “Decker is going to come after you. He needs you to make a deal with Aveoth. He knows his plan is out in the open now. He’s got to be desperate.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means he pissed off three clans. He’d lose if we all attacked his. He needs the GarLycans on his side or he’s screwed. Understand?” He led her into the bedroom. “Grab a duffle bag out from under my bed.” He crossed to the closet, throwing open the door. He began tossing things on the bed.

  Bat dropped to her knees and dragged out the large black bag. She started rolling his clothes and shoving them inside. It made her feel better knowing she was at least doing something, anything.

  “I don’t have clothes.”

  “We’ll buy you some once we hit Washington State. Right now it’s about making a show of leaving the area and giving them something to follow.”

  “I need my damn purse. It costs money to travel and I have no ID. They ask for that at the airport. Did you think about that?”

  “Of course. We’re avoiding large airports with heavy security and cameras. We’ll only use the smaller airports.”

  “They’ll still ask for money and identification.”

  “Stop worrying. I know what I’m doing, Bat. I have a plan.”

  “Right.”

  He growled and stopped grabbing clothes. “I do. I’m not an idiot. I’m also not poor. I’m old enough to have made some good financial decisions.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m older than you think.”

  “Really? How old are you? Thirty-something? A young thirty-something?”

  “I’m eighty-one.”

  She stopped rolling his duster, glowering at him. “Right. And I’m the Pope.”

  “Don’t you dare call me nuts again. I’m eighty-one years old.”

  She stared at his face, looking for any indication that he could be that age. “You’re old enough to be someone’s grandfather? That’s disturbing.”

  “Goddamn, woman,” he snarled. “Stop picking fights. I’m sorry I told you. The point is, I have money and I know how to get us to Washington.” He stormed over to the wall and grabbed a painting of a forest scene, taking it down. It exposed a wall safe. He’d opened it less than a minute later and began pulling out stacks of cash. He had to move a few weapons to do it.

  “Are you a drug dealer?”

  He spun, glaring. “What?”

  “No one keeps that much cash on hand unless they got it illegally. Hidden safe, weapons, and tons of cash?”

  “I don’t trust your banks. And no, I don’t sell frickin’ drugs.”

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “Lots of shit but nothing illegal. Now let’s go.” He slammed the safe shut and dumped the money into the bag.

  “Do you want to get dressed first?”

  He looked down and cursed. “You drive me nuts.” He stomped across the room and entered his walk-in closet.

  Bat turned around to give him privacy. She glanced at the still open bag, guessing he had at least thirty grand in there. Maybe more. It made her wonder once more how he’d gotten it. In the end, she supposed it didn’t matter. Dusti was her priority, and doing whatever it took to keep her safe. Kraven could bribe airport officials with enough cash. The best thing she could do was get away from her sister.

  Kraven came out a few minutes later sporting black jeans, another black tank top, and he had one of his leat