Beastly Desires (19 page)

“Why did I have to hear from someone else entirely that you may have found Kamali in Colorado?”

Nico listened to silence reign on the other side of his office phone as he sat back drumming his fingers against the desk before him. He was more annoyed than angry. In the last few weeks he’d kept himself occupied with reintroducing his pride into the world that had given them a step up above the rest—quiet, very organized crime.

Human alliances and connections with local gangs and small, crooked businesses were the things that required the majority of his attention. That didn’t mean the princess and her cub hadn’t been on the outer edges of his thoughts. If anything, reestablishing himself in the underworld only helped. The more eyes and ears he had, the closer he got to his goal.

This was how he found out his second was currently out of state and following a lead that had been dropped in his lap, a lead he’d kept from Nico. Excitement covered the initial reaction of rage. Unfortunately, his now-calm demeanor couldn’t repair damages made in a restaurant and take away the brief embarrassment of publicly losing his control when one of the whelps happily informed him over dinner tonight that Rave wasn’t away on business but on Kamali’s trail. It was the lie that burned him the most. As long as he’d known Rave, he’d been able to trust him.

“I don’t pretend to know what the fuck you’re doing at the moment,” Nico announced. “But it had better end in results.”

“It will end in the best solution for this particular situation, Nico,” Rave retorted.

Nico’s brows winged. “Meaning?”

Rave was quiet a beat before answering, “Meaning I’ll do what I see fit. I’ll do what’s best for all of us.”

There was something in his voice, a hollowness in the tone that just didn’t sit right with him. Nico absorbed every word and each hit the pit of his stomach like lead. “You’re answering me but you’re not telling me anything.”

“I’m telling you everything you need to know,” the other male replied. “I’m telling you what I intend to do.”

Every statement made was devoid of emotion. He hadn’t heard Rave this way since Nico killed his own parents and threw them into the crowd that had gathered in the trailer park, lured by the sound of a fight. That fight left two people dead and Nico walking away the new leader of the Traore rogues. The same instincts he used then to put the ones who’d bred him into the ground were screaming at him now.

“I get the feeling that
your
intentions and
mine
don’t line up.”

Rave barked out a laugh. “As of now they’re askew but before the end of the week, they’ll fit the same way they always have. I just have to get rid of something that’s in the way first.”

Nico sat up in his chair. “Which would be?”

“A crack in the ceiling.”

The line went dead.

***

“Everything all right?”

Rave looked up from his broken phone and gave a reassuring smile to Fal. “Just fine.” He held up the crushed plastic. “Everyone got rid of theirs already, right?”

Fal nodded. “Dumped them when you told us to.”

“Good. Don’t want any chances of being tracked.” He tossed the electronic into nearby bushes and stood fully from his slouched position against one of the sedans. They were just outside of Verochka pride lands after having tracked the tigers and one particular lioness for days on end. If nothing else had indicated Kamali was far more intelligent than they assumed, her joining the pride and mating a dominant male who was trained to kill and leave no trace was it. In all the time he and Nico kept an eye on her, he’d never thought her to be as unassumingly innocent as she appeared, and the moment they discovered she’d killed Alfre, he knew he was right to look at her differently. Kamali was a lot of things but vapid wasn’t one of her attributes. She wasn’t as arrogant as her father had been and far better at watching her surroundings. Rave could almost admire her tenacity if he weren’t so determined to snap her neck. She needed to go before Nico’s infatuation became less…
manageable.
If she could change a hardened, military-trained killer into a family man, there was really no telling what her powers of persuasion could do to his pride leader. Rave wasn’t willing to take that chance.

Over the last week or so he’d watched the pair amongst Verochka’s pride and friends. He’d watched the way Verochka interacted with the cub. Most importantly, he’d watched the way he looked at Kamali. That glacier-like stare rarely warmed but when it did, it was focused on either her or the boy. This meant that he was attached and it also meant he’d be a problem unless Rave could separate the pair long enough to get Kamali and Callum sequestered and dealt with.

Lying to Nico hadn’t been difficult simply because he was unable to do it. No, it had been difficult because the act itself was degrading. Lying to someone indicated the fear of consequences, the fear of judgment. And now that Nico knew he’d lied, Rave believed his capabilities—his strength—would be questioned. In their world you didn’t show wariness of anything unless you wanted to die or be publicly humiliated once you had everything taken from you. As a powerful second and his leader’s right hand he’d always considered himself above having to cover his tracks. Their relationship had been built on mutual respect and the ability to move as a unit with the same likeminded goals. But this situation was different. He’d never been worried about Nico attempting to stop him before.

It no longer mattered. Rave had one interest while in Colorado and one interest only.

Looking for weaker spots on Verochka territory seemed to be the best option and when a pride, pack, or sleuth’s land was as expansive as this tiger’s, it wasn’t particularly hard. Verochka had a little over fifty acres with mountain space and densely wooded grounds. Rave hadn’t been able to get close enough to search and determine what areas were heavily populated by game and what areas the pride regularly roamed. At least not until now.

Currently they were situated just off the east wing of Verochka’s land, approximately a few square miles outside of where his home rested. The tiger had left some time ago and took the ones that Rave knew to be Verochka’s younger brother and his cousin with him with one of Rave’s best trackers tailing them. He’d already informed Rave that Verochka and the others were occupied with work at their headquarters. That meant Kamali and the cub were inside and alone save for a scattering of pride members. They didn’t concern him since Rave had estimated he and the rest could be in and out within half an hour without the slightest trace. As always, they would be slipping in under the radar—a specialty of theirs. He was already aware of the security measures the tiger had taken to guard his territory and, sadly for Verochka, they wouldn’t work today.

Of course the tiger would attempt to retaliate, that much he knew but by that time, the majority of his pride would’ve been slaughtered right before Rave and his group moved onto Monahan land. The alliance with the wolf was a danger, and he couldn’t risk leaving that kind of support behind. He’d eliminate every threat here today and when the time came, Verochka would go too. But first…

“Fal?” Rave called.

The whelp returned to his side. “Yes?”

“Disarm the security system. It’s time for our surprise party.”

Fal smirked and took out a small electronic device. He tapped it a few times. “Done.” Tossing it inside the sedan, he snapped his fingers and waved forward, getting the attention of the rest of their accomplices. The grouping went up ahead and began to disappear into the tree line.

Obviously pleased with himself, Fal announced, “This will be almost as much fun as killing the others.” He started forward. “Pretentious fucks.”

Rave reached out and placed a hand on Fal’s shoulder, halting him. “Before you go, I want to thank you.”

The younger lion looked over and smiled. “Security systems are fairly easy, and that Verochka asshole was just a little too arrogant when he designed one for his own property. Trigger sensors and cameras are basic but my assumption is that he figured no one would be brave enough to tread here.”

Smiling in return, Rave responded, “You’re right, but that’s not what I’m thanking you for.”

Fal frowned. “No?”

He grinned and patted both of Fal’s shoulders before cupping his face. “No, my intelligent friend. I’m thanking you for taking the blame for what I’m about to do.” Rave shrugged. “I’ll miss your skill but that’s simply semantics.”

“Miss me? The fuck are you—”

His words were truncated when Rave snapped his neck.

With a small sigh he allowed the body to drop and sadly shook his head. “Sorry, kid, but if anyone is going to be called into question for Kamali’s death, better the dead man who knew just a bit too much.”

He stepped over Fal’s lifeless form and followed after his pride members. One looked back as Rave caught up with them, his gaze curious. “Where’s Fal?”

“Keeping an eye on the security system,” Rave lied. “He’s going to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

The male nodded and continued.

Lying was degrading indeed. But perhaps he could overlook it just this once.

***

“They just shut down the security system.”

Kaisal looked up from the hunting knife he’d been steadily twirling between his fingers toward Naresh. “Good.”

Nico’s favorite pet was predictable at best and either incredibly good at overestimating himself or incredibly stupid for underestimating Kaisal. He didn’t know which one it was and he didn’t give a fuck. While Rave had been watching Kaisal, Dublhainn had been watching Rave. Kaisal had made it a point to look as unaware and casual as possible during the entire process. He remained comfortable and relaxed without going too far. He, Kamali, and Callum had regular outings; they left the house frequently and they stayed out after dark—all the things someone paranoid and waiting for an attack would never do.

Kaisal had instructed his pride to continue business as usual and more importantly he’d told Kamali nothing
.
She was tense and wary enough. Not only did he not want to add to that, but he didn’t want her body language or unusual activities tipping Rave off.

The fucker was smart, he’d give him that. He could even understand why Nico kept him around but there was one issue: he’d crossed a line and there was no going back. He’d stepped over into Verochka territory and the second that took place, he’d sealed his fate.

Dublhainn had bugged the run-down motel the rogue lions had been occupying over the last few days along with their vehicles, and that had cost Rave the element of surprise. Kaisal knew what they’d be doing, he had an estimation of how many would be coming along, and he knew exactly when their little party was supposed to start. About an hour ago he’d given the impression he was leaving home for work and even allowed one of Rave’s men to tail himself and the others all the way to the office. Once the rogue was done reporting their whereabouts, Basanti had done the honors of disposing of him before they made their way back to pride land.

From their understanding, Rave had someone in the group who was adept at disarming security systems along with hacking and several other technologically advanced skills but then again, so did they. Kaisal designed all of his systems to silently alert him when someone was intentionally attempting to disarm or shut them down and they’d done just that. The pulse of the controller signaled that the hacker was on the west side of the wing which meant that was where Rave and the rogues would try to enter before heading straight for Kamali.

Kaisal hated using her for bait without her knowledge but it was necessary and would eventually pay off for them all. The threat needed to be eliminated and she needed to be kept calm and unaware.

“So what do we do now?” Dublhainn questioned a few feet away. “Just lie in wait?”

“That’s essentially the plan,” Kaisal answered.

“The
best
part of the plan.”

All three men glanced over at Basanti, who appeared to be entirely too eager.