Kraving Dravka by Zoey Draven

Chapter Twenty-Five

Damn it, think!

“We need to get him inside,” Dravka murmured, his tone low and guttural. Roughened. “Someone might have heard…”

Right.

Valerie nodded and then watched as Tavak and Ravu hoisted a limp Gabriel up. She ran a hand down her arm, over the tender place there where Gabriel had gripped her roughly. She felt a headache blooming across her temple where he’d hit her.

And Dravka…

She’d never seen him like that before. He would’ve killed Gabriel if she hadn’t managed to stop him, if Tavak and Ravu hadn’t been there to pull him off.

Dravka was watching her, studying her. As if he was worried that he’d frightened her.

And while she was frightened, it wasn’t of him. It was for him.

She would never be scared of him because she knew that he would never hurt her. But she knew what he thought…

To help assuage his fears, she went high on her toes and pressed a kiss to his downturned lips. He blinked, his shoulders seeming to relax. There was a little splattering of blood across his cheek. It was a dark red, so she knew it wasn’t his.

“I need to think,” she whispered, almost to herself.

Dravka nodded and they both went inside the brothel. She cast a look over her shoulder, hoping there had been no witnesses. But London Street seemed quiet enough and the brothel was set back far enough into the alley that no one strayed too close.

Dravka shouldered the broken door closed, as much as he could. Once they were inside the walls of the brothel, once she breathed in the familiar scent of leather and brandy, of Celine Larchmont’s lingering perfume, she thought she could focus.

Celine.

A small breath left her and she reached for the card she’d managed to tuck back inside her pocket when she’d spotted Gabriel weaving down the alley.

She stared down at the address, at the patch number. Celine had just left moments before…

But if she discovered that Gabriel was half-beaten to death, unconscious in the brothel, would she be so willing to help them anymore?

Somehow, Valerie didn’t think so. Celine Larchmont loved her son fiercely, despite the type of man that he was. She was his mother, after all. A mother’s love was sometimes blind.

Her breaths were coming quick and she fastened her eyes on the Keriv’i males in the lobby. Tavak and Ravu had deposited Gabriel in one of the leather armchairs next to the glittering cart of booze Dravka had once helped himself to.

“You have to leave Everton,” she told them, her voice oddly…calm. She felt her heart beginning to splinter when she met Dravka’s eyes. “Tonight.”

Dravka’s frown deepened.

Tavak and Ravu exchanged looks.

“Celine will help you get off the colony. She gave me an address to her private docking bay. If I call her now, she can have a pilot there soon,” Valerie continued.

Her gaze strayed to Gabriel, his head lolled on the back of the chair. Blood was leaking from his nose and was beginning to dry. Already, dark bruises were blooming under his skin. The place around his eyes looked reddened.

“It has to be tonight,” she whispered. “If she finds out about Gabriel…”

She cleared her throat.

“If she finds out about Gabriel, she won’t help us,” Valerie finished, the plan coming together in her mind, snapping and locking into place. “Tavak, can you go get a sedative injection from a med kit? We have to make sure he won’t wake up. Not until you are safely on Nimida.”

This would work but they had to act quickly.

“Nimida?” Ravu asked, watching as his brother immediately left, heading towards one of the mating rooms on the second floor, which always had fresh medical kits on hand.

“Yes, I’ll explain on the way,” Valerie said, already rounding the reception desk, her hand fumbling for her Nu device. She blew out a breath, calming her features, smoothing her hair into place. “Take him into the back office.”

Ravu nodded, lifting Gabriel’s still form himself as Dravka rounded the reception desk towards her.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, studying her.

“I’m thinking that if you are still on Everton by the time Gabriel Larchmont wakes up,” Valerie said, placing Celine’s card down on the desk in front of her, staring down at the patch number, “then you will be taken away by Patrol and charged. Imprisoned. Or worse.”

She grabbed his hand, her thumb brushing over his knuckles, which were raw and bloodied. He didn’t even flinch.

“I need to get you off Everton tonight, Dravka,” Valerie whispered, her heart aching at the thought. “All of you.”

Whatever Dravka saw in her gaze, he knew better than to argue with her. He could read her well. He knew she would not be swayed from this.

“Go change,” she whispered, trying to keep a level head. “You can’t show up to the docking bay covered in blood, okay?”

Dravka’s jaw clenched but eventually he pulled away from her. Valerie watched him race up the staircase, rounding the corner just as Tavak returned from the second floor, a fresh med kit in his hands.

He nodded at her and then went into the back office when he heard Ravu call out for him. They would get Gabriel injected with the sedative. Everything would be fine.

Blowing out a sharp breath, she dialed Celine’s patch number into the Nu.

It rang once, twice—Valerie could feel her heartbeat in her throat—and then the blonde’s confused face popped up in the blue light of the hologram.

“Valerie?” she asked. “Is something wrong?”

Judging by the hushed sound in the background, Valerie knew she was still in the driverless car, probably still on her way home to the Garden District.

“That, um, pilot you have on call,” Valerie said, keeping her voice light, “do you think you can have him meet us tonight?”

Her brows rose in surprise. “Tonight?”

“Yes, soon actually,” Valerie said, trying to think up a quick excuse. “Madame Allegria just called to say she’ll be out to dinner with a friend all night. I think it would give us enough time. She won’t expect it. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

Celine was still confused. And Valerie hated that she was lying to her, that her son was lying in the next room bleeding all over the place and unconscious…then again, Valerie could still feel the pounding headache from his punch reverberating down her spine. So, she didn’t feel too guilty.

And as for Dravka?

Valerie would do anything.

“If you’re certain,” Celine finally said and Valerie almost sighed in relief, even as her ears remained perked for any signs of Gabriel. “I’ll give him a call now. He can meet you within thirty minutes, if need be.”

“Thank you,” Valerie said quietly, inclining her head. “That would be great.”

Celine’s lips pressed together. She inclined her head too and then disconnected.

Valerie released a shaky breath, reaching up a trembling hand to run through her hair just as Dravka raced back down the stairs, a small bag in hand.

Tavak and Ravu emerged from the back office, closing it tightly, the med kit still dangling from Tavak’s grip.

“He’s sedated,” Tavak said. “I gave him two doses. It should keep him under until the morning.”

“Good,” Valerie said, although she knew it would just need to keep him under until she returned from the Port and could figure out the next step in her plan. “Pack anything that you need and quickly. Celine is calling the pilot of the vessel and he can meet us shortly.”

Ravu blew out a breath.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked quietly. “Tonight?”

There was a strained expression on his features, one that Valerie hadn’t expected. But maybe one that she could understand. All of them had been here well before she’d arrived on Everton. For over 10 years, these walls had housed them. They had a routine. They knew what to expect, day in and day out.

And now?

They were hurtling towards the unknown quicker than they’d anticipated…but ultimately, they were going towards the possibility of a better, more fulfilling life. Filled with decisions they could make on their own, not decisions forced on them by others.

Maybe it was a scary thought. Maybe that was why Ravu suddenly looked so unsure.

“Pax,” Tavak murmured, clasping his brother on his shoulder. “We’re doing this tonight. Let’s go.”

Then they went up the stairs, taking three at a time. They wouldn’t be long. They hardly had any possessions to pack and that thought alone made Valerie sad.

“What do you need to bring?” Dravka asked. “Want me to—”

“Dravka,” Valerie whispered.

“Don’t,” he growled, suddenly rounding on her with furious eyes. Though with Dravka, she didn’t feel the fear she’d felt with Gabriel. “Don’t argue with me. I’ve already told you.”

“Told me what?”

“If you don’t get on that vessel with me tonight,” he said, stepping up to her until there was hardly any space between them, “then I’m not going either.”

“You have to,” she whispered, trying to give him a small smile.

“And I will,” he said, cupping the back of her neck. He was wearing a thin, soft shirt that molded to his chest and he’d cleaned up his hands and the blood spatter across his cheek. When she touched his chest, it was warm and hard, his heat blooming across her palm. “I will because you’ll be right beside me.”

Then he kissed her and she gasped into him, suddenly desperate to get closer. Valerie’s hands clutched at his shoulders, gripping him tight, afraid he would pull away. His tongue swept between her lips and she couldn’t get enough of his taste, of his smell.

Valerie made a little whimpering sound in the back of her throat and she felt his hearts beating, strong and quick, against her breasts.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers and murmured, “Tonight, we’ll leave Everton behind. Together. And then I can finally give you the life you deserve. I’ll make you happy, mellkia. I promise you.”

Valerie let out a shuddering sigh against him.

“Now, tell me what you want packed and I’ll go downstairs and get it for you,” Dravka murmured.

And because she knew he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, not again, she said, “My mother’s perfume. Just that. It’s in a little vial on my dresser.”

At least he would have something of hers—one of her most cherished things. Valerie wanted him to have it.

He nodded once, relief in his gaze, and turned, heading towards the basement door before disappearing down the staircase.

When Valerie was alone, she closed her eyes, knowing that she would have to say goodbye to the male she loved tonight, knowing that she might not ever see him again. She might not ever hear his voice, feel his touch, his kiss.

She didn’t think she had the strength to say goodbye…but she needed to be brave. For his sake. For his future.

She nodded, opened her eyes, blowing out a small breath.

Then she returned to her Nu device, calling them a driverless car, though she made sure it was the largest vehicle size. It would need to be to accommodate three Keriv’i males.

And once Dravka returned from her room, shouldering his satchel? Once Tavak and Ravu returned to the lobby once again? Once she got an alert on her Nu that the car was waiting outside?

It was time.

“Let’s go,” Valerie said softly.

She sounded more brave than she felt.