Undead Or Alive (Bad Things #3)(34)

Luke had wrapped one claw-tipped hand around his throat. Using that grip, Luke lifted Gregory into the air. “You’re lying to me.”

Could Luke tell when a paranormal lied? The stories said maybe but…Gregory had taken precautions. He wasn’t the first vampire to go up against Luke. “I didn’t see them f*cking with my own eyes, but I saw him. I saw how he looked at her. He wants her, bad, and he’s not going to give her up to you. The guy has fallen under her spell—”

Luke tossed him away. “The fool wouldn’t be the first.”

“He’s not going to bring her to you. He’s going to run.”

Luke’s wings spread behind him. “That would be a mistake.”

“I know you made a deal with him, but he’s going to betray you. That’s why you need me.” He was totally playing in the big leagues now. Gregory took a quick breath and rose to his full height. Luke had literally yanked him off that plane. Gregory didn’t even know where the damn thing was now. Crashed? Burning in a million pieces?

He was in the woods, facing off against Luke, and he knew he had to sell his story. Sell it hard. “Have you tried summoning him?” It was an obvious choice for Luke. He should have just summoned Cass and gotten his prey. Simple. But the very fact that Luke was standing in front of him—and there was no Reaper anywhere to be seen—meant that trouble was brewing. “Because my money says you have…but he’s not jumping to follow your command, is he? He’s too distracted by her.”

“Why were you circling around the crash site?”

“Because I wanted the bounty.” Gregory had found that a mix of truth and lies worked best in life. “And I knew he was going to pull some shit like this. I mean, he killed Ivan to cover his tracks.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Ivan?”

“Yeah, yeah, you head back to Mississippi, and you’ll find that poor bear shifter is nothing but a pile of ash.” He’d made sure of that. “Cass killed Ivan, then he stole the plane from the guy’s hangar. Cass—because he and I go way back, he thought I’d be on his side.” Gregory gave a sad shake of his head. “But I know better than to go up against the Lord of the Dark.” Was Luke buying his story? “Cass told me he was going to wreck the plane. He wanted you to think that the girl was dead. But really…he was just planning to take her away from you.”

Luke stared straight into his eyes. And Gregory hoped like hell that the old magic he’d used would hold up.

Magic he’d gotten courtesy of other vampires. Some vampires who were still hoping to break the bond that Luke held over them.

You won’t ever see this revolt coming.

“I bet he scared her,” Gregory murmured, hoping to focus Luke’s attention on the woman. “I mean, she wouldn’t have known what he planned. Not until the plane started to go down. She would have been afraid, probably been screaming…”

Luke’s wings flapped. “Where will he go?”

“Not to you, that’s for damn sure. You can sit at your place in Key West forever, and Cass won’t show.”

“He will,” Luke fired back. “I have what he wants.”

“You sure about that?” Gregory lifted his brows. “Like I told you, I saw the way he looked at her.”

The ground trembled beneath him.

Just like Leo…the woman matters to Luke, too.

She truly would be the perfect weapon. If Gregory could just f*cking find her. “He’s in Florida, we know that.” Because Cass’s plane had crashed in Florida. Gregory continued, speaking quickly, “I can get her back—”

“How do you plan to kill the unkillable?”

“We don’t need to kill him.” He had a better plan. “You…the stories say no one can get out of your prison. We just have to catch Cass, and then you can lock him up. Problem solved for both of us. He’s gone, you get your prey back and I…”

“What do you get?”

You’ll see. “I’ll be the hunter you call for business. The deals you make in the future will all be with me.”

Luke never so much as blinked. “How the f*ck do you think you will find him now? The Reaper will move fast.”

“I know him.” Simple. True. “For years, he was family to me.”

“Family can screw you over,” Luke murmured.

“I’m the one who taught him to hunt. I’m the one who helped him make his first kill.” Even after all of that, Cass had still betrayed him. He hunted vampires. He picked the wrong side. “I can think like him. I can predict his moves. Right now, he’s hiding. He went to ground, probably in some shady motel where people don’t ask questions.”

Luke growled. Right. You’re angry, aren’t you? Because Cass is in that shady motel with the mysterious Amber.

“He’ll wait for night, and then he’ll go out.”

“And I’ll have nearly every paranormal in the state looking for him,” Luke said flatly. “I have eyes everywhere, so I don’t see why I could possibly need you.”

“Because Cass can and will kill any of those paranormals who get close to him. But he won’t kill me.” Gregory puffed out his chest. “Family, you know? I’m the only family he has left. That’s why he hasn’t killed me before and it’s why he won’t kill me now. So you put out word to all those under your power. You get them to look for the Reaper and his pretty new prize. But then…when you get a tip about him, if you’re smart, you’ll call me. You’ll let me be the one to take him down because if he gets his hands on you…maybe you’ll be the one who dies.” It was a risk, saying those words. But everyone had always wondered…