One Foot in the Grave

TWENTY-SEVEN

CAT.” DON LOOKED UP FROM HIS PAPERWORK. “Come in. I’m just going over the pathology reports from the other day.” He looked almost gleeful as he flicked his gaze to Bones. “You have quite a massive component in your blood. We could practically get rid of our other in-house vampires if we siphon a pint a week from you.”

“Going to tap me like a tree?” Bones asked in amusement. “Bit of a greedy bloodsucker yourself, aren’t you?”

“We came for a reason, Don. You may as well call in Juan, Tate, and Cooper. Then we’ll only have to go over this once.”

Don, curious, made the call. The three other men filed into the room after several minutes, and when the door shut, I began without preamble.

“You all know I’m a half-breed. What you don’t know, and what I didn’t until recently, was that the vampire who raped my mother is Don’s brother.”

Don looked markedly displeased at being exposed, but I ignored that.

“You remember Liam Flannery from New York? His real name is Ian, and he’s the vampire who made Bones. Ian’s also the vampire who made my father, Max. Don’s known that one, too, for years-it’s the real reason why we were sent to bring him in. So after we tangled, Ian got all excited over my being a half-breed and decided he wanted me as his new flavor of the week. According to Bones, Ian’s the type who won’t hesitate to use people I care about to ensure my compliance. There’s a way to get him off my back without an all-out bloodbath, but it’s dangerous.”

This was the difficult part. My plan had been just to challenge Ian to a fight myself, winner takes all, but Bones pointed out that Ian would likely refuse. No, Ian had to feel that he was in control, and there was only one way to ensure that.

Bones made an exasperated noise and plowed ahead. “Look, in order for her to turn the tables on Ian, he needs to be confident that he’s got something over her. A valuable hostage, more specifically. Now, Ian’s a smart bloke who likely wouldn’t kill someone who’s a useful bargaining tool, but there are no guarantees. She intends to rescue whoever’s bait, then use Ian’s guards as bargaining chips to force him to swear to leave her alone. If Ian makes a blood oath promising that, he’ll be bound by it in the vampire world, and he would be looked on very shoddily if he refused to bargain for his people out of mere lust. But until she gets there…there will be no one to ensure the safety of whoever volunteers.”

There was a hush when Bones finished. Tate was the first to break it.

“This’ll keep a vampire from hunting you, Cat? Then count me in.”

Don coughed a trifle unsteadily. “There must be a different approach we could take…”

“Me, too, querida,” Juan added. “That pendaho can have two worms on the hook instead of one; it will look better.”

“I’m in,” Cooper said. “Who wants to live forever?”

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I was going to squirt tears. How unprofessional.

Bones overrode Don’s instant objections with a curt interruption.

“Save it, old chap. They’re grown men, and it’s not like they’ve been gardening these past years, is it? Besides, I knew they’d all offer, and here I’ve only just met them. How could you expect any differently?”

“Cat, you can’t take the three top members of my team into a hostile nest the likes of which they’ve never seen! If they all died, it would destroy this operation, utterly finish it!”

Don pounded his fist on the desk for emphasis. Bones leveled him with a look devoid of green.

“Here and now, decide which is more important to you. Your niece…or the risk to these men and your operation. We all make choices we have to live with. This is yours.”

“And it’s not like they’re docile lambs,” I added. “They’re not just bait-they’re Trojan horses. Whoever Ian picks to guard them will never expect how tough they are. They’ve been fighting vampires for a long time, Don. If I didn’t think they could handle it, I’d never let them volunteer.”

Don glared at me. I held his gaze, not blinking. Bones had made a prediction on this outcome also.

Don was the first to look away. When he spoke, his voice was rough.

“I pray to God you’re not wrong to trust this creature, Cat. If he’s played you, we’ll all go down in flames for it. He’d better be as good as he is arrogant.”

Four out of four. Bones smiled triumphantly. “Don’t fret, mate. I’m not playing her, and I am as good as I am arrogant. After all, I had you pegged. She was sure you’d refuse. I told her you wouldn’t.”

Don looked as worried as I felt, but he didn’t object further.

“It will take a few weeks to assemble everything,” Bones said, “and the three of you will be busy until then. If things go south, you’ll need to react quickly. You all know the price behind drinking vampire blood, right?”

Cooper didn’t. In a few minutes, he was informed about the ramifications of his actions in the cave. He took it far better than I had. He simply snorted once in disbelief.

“Welcome to the freak club,” I sympathized. “All of you will need to be immune to vampire mind control, and blood’s the only way to do that. Anyone who refuses will stay back. I won’t risk your lives, or the lives of those around you, by letting some vamp green-eye you into submission.”

“I’m up for juicing,” Tate said, again being the first to offer. “But you won’t mind if I refuse to suck blood off his tongue like you did?”

Bones let out a bark of amusement. “Don’t fret; you’re not my type. Anyone else have a concern?”

There were no other voices of dissent. Bones rose.

“Right then. Let’s go to the lab, so Don can put my vein on tap again. Really, old chap, you’re as excited over my blood as any vamp is over a juicy artery. Sure you’re not hiding some family traits?”

“That’s not funny,” Don brusquely responded, but he also stood, and we proceeded to the lab. The path leading to it had been cleared of other employees, minimizing Bones’s exposure on the premises. The same was done to the pathology unit. Once we got there, Bones gave Tate a calculating look.

“Ready for an upgrade? After your first dose, I’m going to beat the seven shades of shit out of you to see how much you can take.”

“Bring it on” was Tate’s reply. “Cat’s been pounding on me for years. Years. How long have you spent with her, combined? Only six months?”

Bones grabbed him, intending to do something painful, no doubt, but I hauled on his arm.

“Quit it! Tate, enough of the taunts, and Bones, how old are you? Why don’t I just give you a pair of my panties to hang around your neck? Then whenever you feel jealous, you can wave them at whoever’s pissing you off.”

“Like you wear panties,” Tate muttered.

I punched him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I only go without when I’m on a job!”

Instead of being incensed by Tate’s knowledge of my underwear, Bones gave me an odd look as he sat in the chair Don indicated. Don set up a line and a bag and inserted the needle, since Dr. Lang, the head pathologist, still didn’t want to stick Bones himself.

“Kitten, are you still hunting vampires without your knickers on?” he asked with that same strange countenance.

“If I’m playing the bait, yes, but if it’s a search-and-destroy, no. Why?”

His lips twitched. “We’ll talk about it later,” he demurred.

I pounced. For him to look so peculiar, there had to be something to it.

“Tell me now.”

Five sets of eyes regarded him expectantly. Only Don didn’t look intrigued at this exchange. His eyes were glued to the IV bag filling with red liquid.

Bones’s lips twitched more. “It’s just that you can expand your wardrobe, luv. Not that I’m advocating it, of course, but then I’m biased. That thing I told you about no knickers making a difference when it came to luring vampires…well. I might have stretched the truth a bit.”

“You what?” My mouth dropped open in incredulity.

Juan gave Bones the most admiring look he’d bestowed on him yet.

“You talked her into going without panties all these years? Madre de Dios, now that’s impressive. I could learn a great deal from you, amigo.”

“You lied to me.”

I ignored Juan’s praise and advanced until I pointed a finger in Bones’s chest, which shook with suppressed laughter.

“Now, Kitten, it wasn’t exactly a lie. Merely an embellishment of the truth. I told you vampires found that right irresistible, and some do. Myself, for one, whenever I’m around you. And do you remember how you were back then? So uptight and prissy, I couldn’t resist needling you. Really, in all fairness, I never intended to let it go on this long-”

My voice trembled with wrath. “You perverted, depraved bastard, how could you!”

“What a mean trick,” Tate agreed instantly.

Bones reached out to me, chuckling, but I slapped his hand.

“Don’t touch me. You’re a dead man.”

“Since before you met me,” he agreed, still grinning. “I love you, Kitten.”

“Don’t try to get out of this. We’ll see if you love me when I pay you back.”

“Even then I will love you,” Bones called out as I stomped away. “Even then.”

I watched with empathy as the tremors ripped through Tate. The white cup that had held half a pint of Bones’s blood fell from his trembling hand. Bones gripped him by the shoulders until the glaze faded from Tate’s eyes, he stopped shaking, and he breathed without sounding like he was choking.

“Let go of me,” Tate snarled as soon as he could talk.

Bones released him. Tate inhaled several deep breaths, and his widened gaze met mine.

“Jesus, Cat. This isn’t like before at the cave. What the hell is in that asshole’s blood?”

I didn’t respond to the insult but only to the question. “Power. The blood you had before was from a weaker, shriveling vampire, so it doesn’t compare. Are you okay now?”

“Everything is so loud, and so clear.” He shook himself like a dog flinging off water. “And the smell! Goddamn, Juan, you stink! Didn’t you shower today?”

“Fuck off,” Juan growled, looking sheepish. “I showered, but I ran out of soap. Didn’t know we were getting sniff tested.”

I knew to suddenly have a vampire’s sense of smell was an incredible thing. It was like being born blind and then later recovering your sight. You couldn’t believe how much you’d missed.

“All right, Juan, you’re next.”

After all three men had been given blood, we proceeded to the training room. It went well, though I’m sure my guys had other views over their treatment at Bones’s hands. Don was nervous, but he visibly relaxed when Bones revived Tate after their bout and sent him on his way with constructive criticism and even praise. Tate took his place by my side and made one statement about the experience.

“Bastard hits harder than a fucking freight train.”

I just smiled. “I know.”

“You’ve schooled them brilliantly, Kitten.”

Cooper had just been perked up with a blood chaser, and Bones glided over to me.

“They are without a doubt the toughest humans I’ve come across,” he said to Don next. “With the additional strength of blood, they’ll be equal to a young vampire.”

Bones kissed me on the forehead as he spoke. That single touch, combined with the past couple of hours of watching his shirtless predatory ballet, made me react in a purely instinctual manner. My loins clenched, greedily demanding attention.

Uh oh. I had to get out of here. Fast. Before the boys picked up on the fragrance of my lust.

“I’m off to clean up; I’m sweaty. I’ll, ah, see you all later,” I said, and practically ran out of the room in my attempt to salvage my dignity.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I heard Tate ask, with an edge to his voice. “Wrong way, Bones. The men’s showers are in the opposite direction.”

“I’ll file that away with all the other information that doesn’t pertain to me” was Bones’s mocking reply.

I ignored them and kept going, reaching my locker room, shutting the door, and stripping off my clothes in a blur. A cold shower, that’s what I needed.

Tate’s voice still reached me through the door. “Got something you’re embarrassed to show us, vampire?” he taunted.

Bones merely laughed. From the sound of it, he was almost at the door.

“Just not stupid. Where would you rather be?”

“Don’t answer that,” I heard Juan caution Tate, and then Bones came inside my locker room.

I was already under the cold spray of water. When Bones turned his eyes to me, I shivered, but it had nothing to do with the chilly liquid.

“Not here. It’s…inappropriate.”

Bones removed his pants and kicked off his shoes in a single motion that made my breath catch. He came toward me, reaching behind me to turn the water from cold to hot.

“Sod ’em,” he responded, kneeling in front of me. His mouth caressed my stomach. “I want you, Kitten, and you want me.” His tongue snaked out and moved lower with relentless accuracy. “That’s all I care about.”

I clutched his shoulders as my knees went weak and my worries over propriety went out the metaphorical window. The hot water poured over us in much the same manner as the blood now racing through me.

“I’m going to fall,” I warned him with a gasp.

“I’ll hold you,” he promised throatily.

I believed him.

When we emerged an hour later, my face was flushed from sex, the heat of the shower, and the look Tate gave me when I walked into my office. He was waiting for me there. Bones had stopped by the lab again for more blood extraction, per Don’s request.

“Christ, Cat, you couldn’t even wait until later to crawl into the coffin with him?” Tate asked, giving his head a disgusted shake.

That succeeded in dampening my good spirits. “First of all, none of your business, and second, how do you know we weren’t just talking?” We weren’t, but that wasn’t the point.

Tate snorted rudely. “My senses just got put on steroids, remember? Not only could I hear you-now I can smell it on you. You reek of it, even after your shower.”

God, how could I be so stupid? Frankly, I was used to being the only one with extra perceptions.

“Then I switch to my first point, which is that it’s none of your business.” No way was I going to cringe under his gaze.

Another snort, but with bitterness this time. “Yeah, you’ve made that crystal-clear.”

The pain on his face stopped my next spiteful remark. “Tate. I’m not trying to hurt you or prove anything. What happens between him and me doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

As if mentally summoned, Bones appeared in the doorway. Tate brushed by him without acknowledging his presence, throwing a last parting comment to me as he went.

“You might not be out to prove anything, but he sure as hell is. Forget him wearing your panties around his neck-he just smothered himself in your scent.”

“Ready, luv?” Bones asked, ignoring Tate.

“Is he right?” I didn’t let it drop, even though I could already guess the answer.

Bones regarded me with all seriousness. “Partially. I always want you, and you know how fighting gets my blood up, but did it cross my mind that I’d be literally rubbing his nose in it? Yes. Better he lose his illusions, fast, when it comes to you. But would I have acted any differently if we were alone? Of course not. I can’t get enough of you.”

“This isn’t going to be easy,” I grumbled as we headed toward the exit.

Bones shrugged. “Nothing worthwhile ever is.”