Drakon's Prey (Blood of the Drakon)

by N. J. Walters

  She’d have done that much for any drakon.

  But Tarrant was special. He’d kidnapped her heart. That might not have been his intention when he’d taken her from the cabin, but it’s what had happened.

  He began to move, and she forgot everything but what was happening between them.

  …

  Tarrant plunged in and out of Valeriya’s hot depths. He had to have her again. She’d been protecting him. She would have died for him.

  He believed her. How could he not? She’d been roughed up and shot in an attempt to get Riggs and his men away from the cabin. She hadn’t given Riggs any information about him, not even when Riggs had shot her.

  He could still see her lying face down in the dirt, blood seeping from her wounds.

  Tarrant was thankful Riggs had been such a good shot. He’d aimed to incapacitate, not to truly injure. He’d wanted Valeriya to be able to talk. A shudder rolled up his big body as he imagined just how Riggs would have gone about that. He was glad the bastard was dead. It was too bad he’d died so quickly. He’d deserved to suffer for what he’d done.

  “Tarrant, what’s wrong?”

  He’d stopped moving, lost in his thoughts. “Nothing,” he assured her. He halted any further questions by kissing her. He began to thrust again, losing himself in the pure pleasure of her body.

  Both their lives had been irrevocably changed when he’d made the decision to kidnap her. There was no going back. Whether she truly understood it or not, Valeriya could not return to her normal life. She would never live in her New York apartment again.

  He’d find a way for her to keep her writing career. He was a tech wizard. He could get her manuscripts to her agent and funnel all communication in a way that the Knights would never uncover.

  He could give her that much.

  He moved faster and harder, wanting to imprint himself on her very soul. He wanted to give her everything she desired, but knew that was impossible. By taking her, he’d destroyed her world. Now all he could do was try to replace it with something that would make her happy, make her want to stay with him.

  Tarrant plunged his tongue into her mouth, drinking in her sighs of pleasure while trying to push her over the edge. She arched her hip against his pelvis, grinding her clit against him.

  He slipped an arm beneath her thigh and lifted it high, allowing him deeper penetration. She cried out, and he followed her into pleasure.

  He had enough presence of mind not to collapse on top of her. He eased out of her silken depths and rolled her so she was facing away from him. Before she could object, he spooned her from behind.

  He couldn’t look at her. Not now. He’d stolen her life and her home. She’d be forced to spend the rest of her life in hiding. If the Knights ever found her…

  He growled low in his throat. If they ever took her from him, he’d lay waste to the world, starting with the Knights headquarters in New York.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tarrant was too wired to sleep, but he stayed with Valeriya for almost an hour, enjoying having her in his arms. He hated to leave her, but there was work to be done. He needed to check out the computer feeds from when Riggs and his men had arrived. He needed to run facial recognition on the men he’d killed. There were always threads, money trails to help him find out more about the Knights.

  The enemy was getting bolder.

  He eased out of bed and grabbed his jeans on the way out. He yanked them on once he’d closed the bedroom door behind him. He didn’t bother with food, even though he was hungry, or a shower, even though he could use one. There was too much to do.

  When he reached the end of the hallway, he spread his arms wide so his hands landed on the security palm-plates on either side. When the green light came on, he then input the twenty-four-digit code into the keypad. Only then did the door to the elevator slide open.

  “Down,” he ordered.

  The elevator moved swiftly and quietly downward until it reached his computer lab. He put his eye against the retinal scan in the heavy titanium door at the bottom. When it verified his identity, the door slid open.

  Long counters spanned two walls. There were multiple computers and screens, all engaged in different tasks. He sat in his chair and rolled over to the computer that handled his home security. It didn’t take more than a couple of seconds to pull up the surveillance feed for the time in question.

  Before he started viewing it, he hit several buttons until he had the live feed of Valeriya sleeping in bed. He couldn’t help but smile. She looked so peaceful snuggled beneath the thick comforters.

  His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten in a long time and had expended quite a bit of energy. He rolled his chair over to a dark cabinet in the corner. He opened the door to reveal a refrigerator below and storage above. He pulled two protein drinks from the fridge and three boxes of granola bars from the cabinet. It was only a light snack, but it would have to do.

  What he really wanted was a couple of large steaks and about a dozen potatoes. He’d cook later, when Valeriya woke. She needed more than cheese and crackers to regain her strength.

  With his stash in his lap, he rolled back over to the computer with the security footage. He ripped open the first box of bars and started the security feed playing. He decided to view the outside one first. Once he’d watched that, he’d cue the inside feed so he could see if things unfolded the way Valeriya had told him.

  He didn’t have any doubts, not really, but his thirst for information needed to be quenched, even more than his real thirst and hunger did. But this way, he could feed both at once. He ripped open a granola bar and ate it in two bites while the feed started to play.

  The first box of bars disappeared, then the second, as he carefully reviewed the replay, watching Riggs and his men arrive and spread out around the cabin. It was important to learn how they worked in such situations, how they set up a perimeter. He wanted to know how they thought, how they worked. There was no telling when such a piece of information might prove valuable.

  He retrieved his phone from his back pocket and used his thumb to scroll through the pictures he’d taken. Keeping one eye on the security feed, he uploaded the pictures and began running them through every database on earth. If the men had ever been entered into any of them, he’d find them.

  He didn’t need to watch himself dispatch the men that had been with Riggs, so he went to the camera facing the front of the cabin. Tarrant grabbed the last box of bars and ripped into it. He was tossing the final wrapper into the garbage just as the video replay reached the part where Riggs shot Valeriya. Fear was etched on her face as she ran, but also determination.

  He clenched his fists to keep from roaring. Even all the way down here, he might wake Valeriya, and she needed to sleep. He growled as she stumbled down the stairs and then pulled herself back up and ran. His hands clenched into fists when the second bullet knocked her off her feet.

  He forced himself to focus on Riggs as he strode toward her. There was no mistaking the anger on Riggs’s face. No doubt about it, he’d been ready to kill Valeriya.

  Tarrant viewed the footage until the bitter end. He saw himself race to her side and try to help her, but tried not to look too closely at his own expression. He watched dispassionately as Riggs died. And he finally sighed in relief as he picked Valeriya up, carried her inside the cabin, and closed the door behind him.

  He raked his fingers though his short hair and took a deep breath. He swiveled in his chair so he could watch the live feed of Valeriya sleeping and know she was safe. He half wished she’d wake so he’d have an excuse to put off viewing more of the footage.

  But it had to be done.

  He started with the camera inside his home. He fast forwarded the images until he got to the part where he left. He zoomed in low. Sure enough, he had kicked her bra and it had caught in the door, keeping it from closing behind him.

  He would have laughed if it hadn’t almost been a fatal mistake. Vale
riya could have died because of him. She shouldn’t have left the safety of his home, but it was human nature to do so.

  His phone rang. He answered, not because he particularly wanted to, but because he knew it was one of his brothers. “Yeah?”

  “Have you reviewed the security footage yet?” While Darius’s voice boomed over the line, Tarrant could hear Sarah in the background reminding him to ask about Valeriya.

  “You can tell Sarah that Valeriya is sleeping.” He leaned back in his chair and kept watching the security footage. He could run it faster than normal and still see everything. Valeriya woke alone on the sofa and looked around for him. He saw her call for him. There was no mistaking her curiosity when she saw the door was open. She’d hesitated, though. Hadn’t made a mad dash for the exit. That was something.

  Darius huffed out a breath. “Okay, now that we know she’s fine, have you found out anything yet?”

  Tarrant wanted to be mad at his brother, but he knew it was fear making him sound so callous. “I’m reviewing it now. So far, nothing I didn’t already know.”

  “So Valeriya’s story is checking out?”

  Worried or not, if Darius had been standing next to him, Tarrant would have given him a shot in the jaw. “Yes.”

  “Damn it, Tarrant. You can be pissed all you want,” Darius told him, “but my first priority is your safety.”

  He knew that. It was a stark reminder that he’d been a bit of an ass about Sarah when his brother had first brought her here. “Let’s just say we’re even now.”

  Darius swore and then collected himself. “What do you know?”

  “Oil stocks are down. It’s a good time to buy.” He couldn’t help himself. He had to needle his older brother.

  “Fuck you,” Darius shot back, but there was no real heat in his voice. “Tell me what you know.”

  Tarrant sighed. “I’m running facial recognition on the men who came with Riggs. So far, no hits, but I’ll find them. When I do, I might be able to backtrack and find some other members of the Knights. Even if it’s their foot soldiers, I can work my way forward from there.

  Everyone left a trail in life. They shopped certain places, spent time with certain people. It all told a story. Where did they go? What did they spend their paychecks on? All Tarrant needed was a starting point. He could access information all over the world. Who knew where it would lead?

  “You’ll need to talk with Valeriya,” Darius reminded him. “She may know things she doesn’t realize she knows.”

  Tarrant swallowed a growl. At least his brother was no longer accusing her of being a spy. “When she wakes up.”

  He flinched when he got to the part in the feed where she and Riggs fought. He’d wondered how she’d managed to get away from him. She’d been smart to try to incapacitate Riggs long enough to run.

  Even though the sound volume was low, he could hear the echo of the first gunshot. Valeriya stumbled and fell. She dragged herself up and kept going until Riggs shot her again.

  “Tarrant? You still there?”

  He’d been so consumed by the video replay he’d stopped paying attention to Darius. “I’m here.”

  “Is there anything I can do? Do you need me to come to you?”

  As much as he loved his brother, the last thing he needed was company. Three would definitely be a crowd. “You’re safer where you are. No one knows we’re here.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.” If there was one thing Tarrant was sure of, it was that. “If the Knights suspected anything, the area would already be overrun. It’s all quiet out there.” The perimeter alarms were all running, and everything was normal. To be on the safe side, he did a quick review of the live feed from each camera.

  “What are you going to do?” Darius asked.

  Two of his searches pinged at once. “I’ve got something.”

  “What is it?”

  He brought up two files. “Two of the men are former military. They left a few years back and went to work for a private security company. You’ll never guess who.”

  Darius growled. “If I already knew, you wouldn’t need to tell me, would you?”

  “Fucking Knights Security.” Tarrant’s fingers flew over the keys as he started to search for every crumb of information about the company. “Surely they can’t be that bloody arrogant?”

  “This is the Knights of the Dragon we’re talking about,” his brother reminded him. Darius’s dry tone drew a laugh from Tarrant.

  “Have I told you lately how much I fucking hate knights of any kind?”

  “Beat up any armor lately?”

  It was a running joke how Tarrant bid on and purchased some of the finest pieces of medieval armor ever made and then beat the crap out of it before melting it into a heap of metal. Nicodemus often outbid him to save the artifacts. His brother loved to collect art of all kinds and considered armor to be just that.

  As Nic had told him many times, “All armor was worn by medieval knights, but not every knight was a member of the Knights of the Dragon.” It was a distinction that really didn’t matter to Tarrant.

  He scanned the information scrolling down the screen. “They actually have it set up as a legit business,” he told his brother. “They work for politicians and celebrities. Those who have the bucks to afford them.”

  “It helps to finance their other interests. Just as their pharmaceutical companies do.” Darius might act like a Neanderthal at times, but he knew business.

  “That makes sense. It’s going to take me a while to get through all this information. I need to start compiling it into some sort of useful intel.”

  “I know you reached out to other drakons, those you know about, and told them the Knights of the Dragon are back and stronger than ever. Any of them reach back to you?”

  Tarrant kept scanning and absorbing information as fast as he could. “No. And I didn’t expect them to. Drakons are a mistrustful bunch.”

  Darius laughed. “They certainly are.”

  Something flickered in his peripheral vision. Tarrant halted the feed he was reading and glanced to his right. Valeriya was stirring.

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “Sleeping Beauty about to wake?”

  Before he could growl at his brother, Darius grunted. “Ignore him.” Sarah’s sweet voice came over the line. “Go and take care of her, Tarrant. If there’s anything we can do to help, just let us know.”

  “Will do. You keep the big guy in line.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  Tarrant was grinning when he hung up. His big brother was about to get an earful from his woman. Valeriya rolled onto her side, and her eyes fluttered open. She pushed her hair out of her face and slowly sat up in bed.

  He was out of his chair and halfway across the room before he’d made the conscious decision to leave. Valeriya needed him. She hadn’t slept as long as he’d hoped, but that was okay. She’d had some rest. Now he’d feed her.

  He accessed the elevator and stepped inside. “Up.” The rest could wait until they’d eaten. Then it would be time to show her his world.

  …

  “What is wrong with you?” Sarah tossed the phone down on the kitchen table and then smacked Darius in the shoulder.

  He didn’t dare grin, but Ezra didn’t show that much restraint. It was rare to see his brother crack even that much of a smile. “Yeah, Darius, what’s wrong with you?” Ezra echoed. The bastard was enjoying himself a little too much.

  “Tarrant isn’t thinking straight.” When Sarah frowned, he knew he probably wasn’t taking the right tack, but it was the truth. “He’s thinking with his hormones.”

  Sarah leaned back in her chair, slowly lifted her coffee, and took a sip. “So what you’re saying is he’s thinking with his small brain and not his bigger one?”

  Ezra had just taken a mouthful of coffee. He choked and half of it sprayed over the table.

  Darius ignored his brother. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying.” He real
ly didn’t want to be having this conversation. There was no way for him to win. “The Knights can’t be underestimated. Do you have any idea what they’d do to Tarrant if they found him?” It was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.

  Sarah pushed out of her chair and came to him. She cupped his face in her small, capable hands. “I know you’re worried, but you have to trust him.” She shook her head before he could object. “He was forced to trust you about me,” she pointed out.

  He hated when she was logical. He was completely rational about everything, except when it came to the safety of his family. Then logic flew out the window.

  “That was different,” he pointed out.

  “Oh.” She eased away and propped herself up against the edge of the table. “How is that?”

  Screw logic. “Because it was you and me.”

  Ezra snorted, grabbed a cloth from the kitchen, and mopped up the coffee he’d spewed.

  Darius ignored him and focused on Sarah. “You came to me with information about the book.”

  “I could have been sent by the Knights to ensnare you. Isn’t that what you thought at first?”

  Darius dragged his fingers through his hair. He didn’t like being away from Tarrant at a time like this. He was the oldest, the head of the family. It was his job to take care of his brothers. “You don’t understand.”

  Sarah sighed and brushed her hand down the side of his face. He immediately felt calmer. “Unfortunately, I do. I know you want to protect him, but you have to trust him, too. If he gets in trouble, we’ll rescue him.”

  God, he loved this woman. He palmed her hips and yanked her onto his lap. Ezra tossed the damp cloth into the sink and quietly let himself out the back door. Darius would have to remember to thank him later. They were guests in his home, but his brother was astute enough to realize he and Sarah needed some alone time.

  “I worry.” He nuzzled her temple, drinking in her sweet scent.

  “I know you do.” Sarah ran her palms over his chest and shoulders. “I didn’t spend a whole lot of time with Tarrant, but he strikes me as a man who isn’t impulsive.”