Page 10 of Dragon Stepbrother's Secret Baby

I slid to the ground and immediately pulled my weapons up to aim at the window. The gunmen kept the light off, but I could hear them moving around in there. Two of them looked out the window and then they ran back into the apartment. I had to get out of here before they came after me.

I charged across the parking lot and yanked open the driver’s door of my car. I shoved the guns and Connor into the passenger seat and snatched the spare key I always kept duct taped to the underside of the dashboard. Connor and I had been through this more times than I could count. I learned a long time ago never to let these assholes catch me unprepared.

I fired up the engine just as the first gunmen ran out of the apartment. They pointed at my car and took off running for the parking lot.

I hit the gas and floored it out of the parking lot. The men ran after me, but I was already screaming onto the highway and racing away into the night.

5

KINGSTON

I pointedat a spot on the map spread across the table in front of me. “The Danes struck Analie’s house last week and killed five people. Now they just attacked Norhall yesterday. We have to retaliate.”

“How can we?” my cousin Barrett asked from the other side of the table. “Our numbers are dwindling and the Danes keep getting stronger.”

“Don’t think of it as a numbers game,” I told him. “We’re inflicting losses on them, too. We’ve been getting stronger ever since I took over our Clan. We can keep getting stronger, but we need to answer these attacks. We can’t let our enemies get the better of us.”

“How do you plan to do that?” my aunt Willow asked. “How can we not think about the difference in our numbers when the Danes really do have greater numbers? You’ve done great work protecting and restoring our Clan since your father Layton’s murder. None of us could ask for a better leader than you, but even you have to admit that the Danes have numbers on their side.”

I clenched my teeth at the mention of my father’s murder. “That’s exactly why the numbers don’t matter. The Danes keep hitting these subsidiary locations. They can’t go after our stronghold. They can’t penetrate these mountains, so they strike our weak points. They wouldn’t get away with anything bigger.”

“So what are you saying?” Barrett’s brother Karim asked. “How do you plan to answer them? Launching an assault on them would only weaken us further.”

“I don’t plan to launch an assault on them. I’m going to cut the head off the snake.”

“What does that mean?” my mother Samira asked.

“It means I’m going to go after Cason Dane—their Clan leader’s son. He’s the one who murdered my father and I won’t rest until I get my revenge on him. The Danes will expect us to launch a full assault. They won’t be expecting something more subtle.”

“You won’t be able to get within a hundred miles of Cason Dane,” Barrett countered. “He never leaves their stronghold.”

“Don’t be so sure,” I growled. “He left it to kill my father.”

“How can you be certain Cason was the one who did it?” Karim asked. “You weren’t there.”

“I wasn’t there for the killing. I would have killed Cason then if I had been there, but I was the one who found my father afterward. I saw the evidence with my own eyes. Now it’s time for me to get my revenge and we can strike a blow at the heart of Clan Dane at the same time. If any of you have a problem with this plan, tell me now. I’ll assign you to something else, but I’m doing this even if I have to do it alone.”

I scanned the table and checked the faces of my closest allies and lieutenants. These people were also my closest relatives and the decision-making heart of Clan Heller. If they didn’t back me up, then I was no good as their leader.

My mother nodded first. “I think it’s a sound plan. We just need a way to bring Cason out of hiding. If we could find something he really wants—something he’ll leave his stronghold to get…..”

“We already have that,” I told her. “He’ll leave it to kill me. He wants to weaken Clan Heller as much as we want to weaken Clan Dane. He’ll come out for me.”

The others exchanged glances. “You….,” Karim murmured, “you want to use yourself…..as bait…..to kill Cason Dane?”

“Of course,” I replied. “I can’t let him get away with killing my father—our Clan leader. No fucking way.”

Barrett blew out a long breath. “All right. We’re all with you. Just tell us what you want us to do.”

I pointed at the map again. “Barrett, you and Karim take your men to the west side of their stronghold and find the entrance they’re using to send out their attack forces. Willow, you and Dash take your strike force south to the riverbend. The Danes have been hanging around Eastkirk a little too much these last few days. I’d be willing to bet that’s their next target. Bolster our defenses and prepare all our guards for another strike.”

“What are you going to do, Kingston?” my mother asked.

“I have something personal I need to do. I’ll be back later to hear your reports and we’ll continue with the next phase of our plan.”

The meeting broke up and they all left—all except my mother. I saw her lurking around. She wouldn’t let this moment go past without trying to talk me out of going after Cason Dane.

She waited until everyone left, but I didn’t want to hear all the reasons why this was a terrible idea. I had my own responsibilities, but I also had my own reasons for wanting Cason dead.

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