A big body suddenly stood in the aisle, blocking Dusti’s view of the dead person a good fifty yards away. Drantos’s expression looked grim when he lifted a hand to run his fingers through his shaggy mane of hair. His lips twisted into a grimace as he approached Dusti. Their gazes remained on each other until he stopped a few feet in front of her. He shifted his attention to look at his brother behind her.
“There are ten survivors besides us in the cabin. Most of them will make it but I’m doubtful about a few. One of us should go hunt up the back of the plane to see if any of those people made it. We also need to check on the pilots.”
“Fuck,” Kraven sighed. “What a damn mess. I’ll go search for the tail section of the plane.” He paused. “You watch the bitches. The one in the dress suit is a terror, so don’t turn your back on her.”
Bat squeezed Dusti’s hand painfully as she turned her head to glare at Kraven. “I’m going to rip off your nuts if you call me a bitch one more time.”
Dusti jerked on her sister’s hand. “Batina Marie Dawson, enough!” Hot tears filled her eyes when her sister met her gaze. “I know bitchiness is your defense mechanism when you’re scared or mad but please stop! I can’t deal with it right now.”
A wave of dizziness hit, making her knees go weak. She swayed on her feet.
Bat grabbed her before Dusti collapsed. Her sister struggled to hold her upright until two strong hands gripped her. She opened her eyes to see the big guy, Drantos, lifting her until she was cradled against his chest.
“Where’s my purse?” Bat asked, clearly panicked. “It’s black. I need it!”
“I’m okay,” Dusti whispered. “It’s just a dizzy spell.”
“My purse, you big gorilla! Move out of my way. My sister needs her medication,” Bat yelled.
Drantos frowned while he stared into her eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
He was strong, easily holding her in his arms while he stood in the aisle. She appreciated that he’d prevented her from falling on the floor and taking her sister down with her when he’d swept her off her feet.
“I’ve got a rare form of anemia. It’s bad sometimes and makes me dizzy. I have iron shots in my purse but Bat keeps a few of them with her, too, in case of emergency.”
He paled a little, lifting his face to stare at someone behind her. “She’s defective. I think we saved the wrong two women.”
“Shit,” Kraven cursed softly. “They were the only two single females aboard. I was positive they were the ones Filmore sent for. That blows every theory we had.”
Shock tore through Dusti while she stared up at the man holding her. “You know my grandfather?”
He swiftly looked back at her. “You’re Decker Filmore’s granddaughter?”
She nodded, feeling a little stronger and less lightheaded. Maybe it wasn’t her anemia kicking her in the ass but just the shock that had gotten to her. She’d also been battered around and nearly crushed by the big man who currently held her. “He’s my mother’s father. We were on our way to see him. He’s terminally ill.”
Rage tightened the man’s features, making Dusti feel more fear than when the plane was going down. He looked really scary.
“That’s a lie. That bastard will never die until someone takes him out.” He jerked his head up to glare at his brother. “We’ve got the right women. I never saw this coming, did you? Granddaughters? But we can stop him now that we’re the ones who have them.”
A soft growl came from behind Dusti, making her startle at the chilling animalistic sound Kraven had made. “I wouldn’t have risked my neck to save one of them if I’d known they were related to him by blood. Now we’re going to have to kill them ourselves.”
Terror struck Dusti as she stared into Drantos’s furious blue eyes, which were fixed on her. He blinked once, then twice. His plush lips pressed tightly together to show his displeasure. He finally looked away and shook his head.
“I don’t kill helpless women, and you aren’t going to either. I know it’s tough to get a good read in here, what with all the blood and everything else filling the air, but they smell just like the other passengers.” He paused. “You know what I’m saying. You’re just angry and it’s been a bad day. We’ll find out what they know and crush that bastard’s plan. We’ll use them against him. They’re his blood, even if it is faint enough that we can’t pick it up. That means they’ll be valuable to him.”
Kraven glared at her and his nostrils flared. “How can they be his blood?”
“We’ll figure it out later, after we deal with this mess, but do you know anyone who would purposely claim to be a relative to that bastard unless it was the truth?”
“I found it!” Bat rushed to them, gripping her purse. “Hang on, Dusti. I have some of your shots.”
Dusti flashed a terrified look at Bat, trying to convey that things were much worse than just being in a plane crash. She tried to catch her sister’s eye but Bat remained too intent on finding the iron shots, digging inside her purse with one hand. She jerked out a small black case with a grin.
“Here it is. They aren’t broken.”
Dusti glanced at Drantos, only to discover him glaring down at her. She and Bat were in a lot of trouble.
Her grandfather was rich—and she had a sinking feeling they were about to be held for ransom.
Can this day get any worse?
Drantos watched the sister inject the woman in his arms with a small syringe. Then he looked at his brother, attempting to conceal his rage and dismay.
These women were the granddaughters of their worst enemy. He knew his brother hated Decker even more than he did, which was the only reason why Kraven would even contemplate killing the obviously helpless sisters.
Decker Filmore had sent a woman to seduce Kraven months before, and then she’d attempted to murder him. She’d failed, but it had left his brother with a hair-trigger abhorrence toward any females associated with Decker’s clan.
Drantos didn’t blame him for being leery. It would be unnerving to have a woman attempt to stab him in the heart during sex.
Still, one thing was clear. The ultimate fate of the sisters wasn’t to be decided until he found out what they knew.
“There are ten survivors besides us in the cabin. Most of them will make it but I’m doubtful about a few. One of us should go hunt up the back of the plane to see if any of those people made it. We also need to check on the pilots.”
“Fuck,” Kraven sighed. “What a damn mess. I’ll go search for the tail section of the plane.” He paused. “You watch the bitches. The one in the dress suit is a terror, so don’t turn your back on her.”
Bat squeezed Dusti’s hand painfully as she turned her head to glare at Kraven. “I’m going to rip off your nuts if you call me a bitch one more time.”
Dusti jerked on her sister’s hand. “Batina Marie Dawson, enough!” Hot tears filled her eyes when her sister met her gaze. “I know bitchiness is your defense mechanism when you’re scared or mad but please stop! I can’t deal with it right now.”
A wave of dizziness hit, making her knees go weak. She swayed on her feet.
Bat grabbed her before Dusti collapsed. Her sister struggled to hold her upright until two strong hands gripped her. She opened her eyes to see the big guy, Drantos, lifting her until she was cradled against his chest.
“Where’s my purse?” Bat asked, clearly panicked. “It’s black. I need it!”
“I’m okay,” Dusti whispered. “It’s just a dizzy spell.”
“My purse, you big gorilla! Move out of my way. My sister needs her medication,” Bat yelled.
Drantos frowned while he stared into her eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
He was strong, easily holding her in his arms while he stood in the aisle. She appreciated that he’d prevented her from falling on the floor and taking her sister down with her when he’d swept her off her feet.
“I’ve got a rare form of anemia. It’s bad sometimes and makes me dizzy. I have iron shots in my purse but Bat keeps a few of them with her, too, in case of emergency.”
He paled a little, lifting his face to stare at someone behind her. “She’s defective. I think we saved the wrong two women.”
“Shit,” Kraven cursed softly. “They were the only two single females aboard. I was positive they were the ones Filmore sent for. That blows every theory we had.”
Shock tore through Dusti while she stared up at the man holding her. “You know my grandfather?”
He swiftly looked back at her. “You’re Decker Filmore’s granddaughter?”
She nodded, feeling a little stronger and less lightheaded. Maybe it wasn’t her anemia kicking her in the ass but just the shock that had gotten to her. She’d also been battered around and nearly crushed by the big man who currently held her. “He’s my mother’s father. We were on our way to see him. He’s terminally ill.”
Rage tightened the man’s features, making Dusti feel more fear than when the plane was going down. He looked really scary.
“That’s a lie. That bastard will never die until someone takes him out.” He jerked his head up to glare at his brother. “We’ve got the right women. I never saw this coming, did you? Granddaughters? But we can stop him now that we’re the ones who have them.”
A soft growl came from behind Dusti, making her startle at the chilling animalistic sound Kraven had made. “I wouldn’t have risked my neck to save one of them if I’d known they were related to him by blood. Now we’re going to have to kill them ourselves.”
Terror struck Dusti as she stared into Drantos’s furious blue eyes, which were fixed on her. He blinked once, then twice. His plush lips pressed tightly together to show his displeasure. He finally looked away and shook his head.
“I don’t kill helpless women, and you aren’t going to either. I know it’s tough to get a good read in here, what with all the blood and everything else filling the air, but they smell just like the other passengers.” He paused. “You know what I’m saying. You’re just angry and it’s been a bad day. We’ll find out what they know and crush that bastard’s plan. We’ll use them against him. They’re his blood, even if it is faint enough that we can’t pick it up. That means they’ll be valuable to him.”
Kraven glared at her and his nostrils flared. “How can they be his blood?”
“We’ll figure it out later, after we deal with this mess, but do you know anyone who would purposely claim to be a relative to that bastard unless it was the truth?”
“I found it!” Bat rushed to them, gripping her purse. “Hang on, Dusti. I have some of your shots.”
Dusti flashed a terrified look at Bat, trying to convey that things were much worse than just being in a plane crash. She tried to catch her sister’s eye but Bat remained too intent on finding the iron shots, digging inside her purse with one hand. She jerked out a small black case with a grin.
“Here it is. They aren’t broken.”
Dusti glanced at Drantos, only to discover him glaring down at her. She and Bat were in a lot of trouble.
Her grandfather was rich—and she had a sinking feeling they were about to be held for ransom.
Can this day get any worse?
Drantos watched the sister inject the woman in his arms with a small syringe. Then he looked at his brother, attempting to conceal his rage and dismay.
These women were the granddaughters of their worst enemy. He knew his brother hated Decker even more than he did, which was the only reason why Kraven would even contemplate killing the obviously helpless sisters.
Decker Filmore had sent a woman to seduce Kraven months before, and then she’d attempted to murder him. She’d failed, but it had left his brother with a hair-trigger abhorrence toward any females associated with Decker’s clan.
Drantos didn’t blame him for being leery. It would be unnerving to have a woman attempt to stab him in the heart during sex.
Still, one thing was clear. The ultimate fate of the sisters wasn’t to be decided until he found out what they knew.
