Brad’s heart rate slowed down while he stared into Bones’s eyes. “One. He looks just like her.”

  Cat was now so close that Bones felt her recoil in shock. He stifled his urge to comfort her, calling forth his ice.

  “Indeed? Now, tell me everything else about him.”

  Max had used an alias, but the swiftness in which he’d found Don’s operation told Bones that Max must have been keeping tabs on Don. Once Max had located Don’s base of operations, he’d done what Bones had-compiled a list of its employees. Bones had been doing it to protect Cat, but Max had been looking for someone corruptible. Brad Parker had fit that bill.

  “He offered me fifty large to poison her, but I told him poison wouldn’t work,” Brad said in a monotone. “So, I sold him her information plus the manner needed to kill her, and the surveillance hotspots to avoid. This compound is one of them. So is her house, which means the hit couldn’t happen until she’s away from both for personal reasons instead of work, but that doesn’t happen much. She hardly has a life-”

  “That’s insulting,” Cat muttered, but her voice held the tiniest quaver that said Brad hadn’t been wrong.

  “-until this week, when Don ordered a stat analysis of her blood to check for increased abnormalities. I didn’t know why, but the day before yesterday, I heard she was fucking a vampire. Selling that information netted me another fifty large, and it also provided the perfect cover. No one would question her death now. They’d assume her fanged fuck-boy did it.”

  “Account information,” Bones said through gritted teeth.

  Brad Parker gave it. Tate and Juan had been taking notes, not that they needed to. Bones was memorizing everything because Max had just become his next target.

  “You have any questions for him?” Bones asked Don when he was finished.

  Don shook his head. “I think you covered it. Tate? Juan? You have anything to add?”

  They didn’t.

  Only respect for Cat allowed Bones to force his next question out. “Fancy locking him up, then?”

  Don looked startled. He should be. Bones didn’t give a rot what Don wanted, but for Cat’s sake, he’d allow Don to make the call since Cat was determined to find a path forward with him.

  Don recovered and gave Bones a sardonic look. “You know we’re not letting him live. Not with what he knows. Go ahead. Just don’t make a mess.”

  “No!” The word burst from Tate. “We can take him below and shoot him!”

  Don turned cold gray eyes to Tate. “Don’t be childish. Bullet or bite, the end’s the same. Besides, he found him. We didn’t, so he earned it.” Then, Don’s gaze shifted to Cat. “You’d be dead if not for your vampire, and despite what you think of me, I don’t want that to happen.”

  Cat said nothing, but the brief spikes of longing marring her scent solidified why Bones had made the concession. After everything, she still cared for Don. Bones could almost understand why, too. She had a murderous father and a hateful, emotionally manipulative mother, so Don’s betrayals probably paled by comparison.

  Finally, Cat looked at him, and a grim smile played about her lips. “Make it fast, Bones. I know you want to take your time, but don’t. He’s not worth it.”

  Tate walked away with a muttered curse. Juan shifted uncomfortably when Bones snatched Brad close and bit his neck, but he didn’t leave. Neither did Don, and Bones could feel the other man’s eyes on him as he drained Brad Parker of his treacherous, worthless life. He’d rather the man died while slowly choking on his own blood, but Cat had requested fast, and this was indeed that. When Brad’s heart was silent, Bones released his body and resisted the urge to kick it.

  “There you are, old chap. Not a drop on the floor.”

  Cat stepped into his arms. Feeling her against him softened the rage that still fired his senses. His lips grazed her forehead in a brief kiss before he met Don’s eyes above her head. Her uncle shuttered his gaze at once, but Bones caught Don’s contemplative look. The wily spider was no doubt assessing the maximum usefulness of Bones’s feelings.

  Yes, I love her, Bones thought while staring at Don. But don’t gloat. I know your weakness, too.

  Finally, Cat turned to face her uncle. “You know I’m going after him, Don.”

  She didn’t say Max’s name, but Don knew who she meant. He toyed with his eyebrow. “Yes, I know. I want to speak in private with you, Cat. There are some things to discuss.”

  She huffed. “We can speak, but Bones is coming, too. Even if he couldn’t hear us, which he can, I’d just tell him later.”

  Bones flashed a smile as Don’s color rose. Then, her uncle covered his anger with a fake cough.

  “If you insist. Juan, would you remove…that?”

  Cat and Don walked away. Only Bones saw Juan kick Brad Parker’s body before dragging him off.

  Oh, yes, he liked that bloke. Now, to deal with this one.

  30

  Don didn’t wait until they were all seated to begin. He only waited until his office door was closed.

  “Are you leaving us, Cat?”

  She looked around his office as if the gray-on-gray tones held the answer that Bones already knew. Then, she raked her gaze over Don. He didn’t flinch beneath her icy appraisal, but Bones heard Don draw in a breath and hold it.

  “No, I’m not leaving,” she said.

  Don’s breath exploded out of him while Bones raked his hand through his hair in resignation. “You just won’t take the easy road, will you?”

  Her eyes begged him to understand. “I need to do this.”

  Yes, he knew that. He didn’t agree with it, and he certainly didn’t understand, but he did know it.

  Bones’s glare cut off the smile that started to spread over Don’s lips. “I won’t stop her from doing what she considers her job, but I will not see her die for it. So, the only way you’re keeping her is if I’m with her. Consider it a two-for-one deal.”

  Cat gasped. “What?”

  Don’s brows shot up. “You can’t expect me to allow a vampire inside an operation designed to kill vampires. That’s not even lunacy. It’s suicide.”

  Playing hard to get, was he? Very well. He’d play.

  “I could give a rot about your operation, but I do care about her life. That’s why I’m going to make you an offer, and you are going to accept it.”

  Am I? Don’s expression taunted.

  Bones only smiled. “Why does the success of your operation hinge on her? Because without her, you have a group of men who’d do jolly well in a regular war, but against the undead, they’re roadkill. You know it, too. That’s why your knickers were in such a twist when you discovered how lethal she was at only twenty-two, and don’t think I’ve forgotten that it was your manipulation that kept us apart the past several years. Just for that, I’d fancy peeling off your skin like an orange while you’re alive and screaming, but that’s off topic.”

  “Quite off topic,” Cat said with a warning glance.

  Bones waved as if dismissing his deadly urge, although that was only the start of things he’d enjoy doing to Don.

  “Nevertheless, she insists on working here, so we have to come to an arrangement. As skilled as Cat is, no one is infallible. If she went down now, your operation would be doomed since you have no one strong enough to replace her. The first part of my offer is that you will never again fret about that. Unless I am shriveled on the ground, she will come back alive.”

  Don’s mouth dropped a fraction before he closed it. “You’re saying you’d take my orders?”

  Bones let his derision fill his laugh. “Not yours. Hers. She’s the only one I’d listen to, anyway.”

  Cat stared at Bones as if she couldn’t believe her ears. “You’re serious?”

  Yes, and little wonder she was shocked. The people closest to her only used her. Not sacrificed themselves for her. This wasn’t even much of a sacrifice. He’d spent the past two hundred years killing the rogue undead for money. The only difference was that now, the checks would be tiny.

  Bones took her hand. “I’m not fretting about control with you, Kitten. Command me as you see fit while I’m on your team. I’ll save my demands for the bedroom,” he added with a wink.

  Her cheeks turned the loveliest shade of pink. Bones let his laugh graze her hand as he lifted it, and then his lips followed suit as he kissed it.

  Don cleared his throat. Loudly. “What’s the second part of your offer?”

  Bones lowered her hand, but he didn’t let it go. “Ah, the second part, and this is why you won’t refuse me. I can give you what you’ve secretly been itching for ever since you started your little science project here.”

  Don sat up straighter. “And what do you think that is?”

  Bones didn’t look away as he said, “Vampires. You want to make a batch of your own personal vampires.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” Cat sputtered, and waved at Don as if to say, tell him that’s not true!

  But Don didn’t. He merely stared at Bones, the barest hint of respect flickering in his gaze.

  Good on you, Bones thought coldly. Took your niece two weeks to see me as an intelligent person instead of merely a monster. You managed it within two hours.

  “The why is simple,” Bones went on, more for Cat’s sake than Don’s now. “You want what every commander of troops wants-loyal soldiers who are stronger than your enemy. You probably can’t count the times you’ve wished that some of her team had her powers. Now, with my second offer, you can have that. You choose your best soldiers, and I’ll make them better.”

  Don said nothing. Not that it mattered. His scent spiked with excitement, and his heart rate increased despite him taking slow, even breaths in an attempt to slow it.

  “What if after they cross over, the soldiers turn on us?” Don said. “That happens, as I know. Then, I’d have unleashed mayhem on myself and my remaining team.”

  Bones shrugged. “If they threaten you, then they threaten her, so I’d kill them. I won’t hesitate to eliminate a danger to her, and you already have two bodies to prove that. However, a period of apprenticeship should set your mind at ease. Pick your potentials and give them straight vampire blood. If they can’t control a little raw power, then they can’t control the rest of it. But, if they can…”

  Don’s gaze gleamed with the unspoken possibilities as Bones let the sentence dangle. Then, he busied himself with the stack of papers on his desk, so he had an excuse to look away.

  “To reiterate, you’ll accompany Cat on missions in order to minimize her risk, and you’ll change selected soldiers into vampires who would be later terminated by you if necessary.”

  “Yes,” Bones said.

  Don’s hands trembled ever so slightly on the pages he held, but his voice was bland when he said, “Anything else?”

  “I have conditions,” Cat said.

  Don looked surprised. Bones wasn’t. Shock would only sideline her for so long.

  “First, my schedule changes. Your operation just got seriously upgraded, Don, so I don’t want to hear any complaints. Second, no more surveillance. I better not see or hear anyone spying on me again. Third, my location’s going to be secret so no one can torture, green-eye, or bribe the information out of our people again. Finally, all other jobs wait until my father is taken care of. Max gets priority, don’t you agree, Uncle?”

  Her emphasis on the last word made Don’s eyebrow twitch. Agitation or guilt, Bones couldn’t tell. Don had smoothed his expression to show nothing except the faintest smile.

  “Well, Cat, Bones…I guess we have an agreement.”

  Cat’s hand stretched out as if to shake on that before she snatched it back and stuck it in her pocket.

  “Is my mother still here?”

  Ah, yes, the future in-law that was only slightly less terrible than Max.

  “She’s in the bunkers,” Don said. “Do you want to see her?”

  “No,” Cat said with such vehemence, Bones smiled. “But keep her here. If Max knew where to find me, he might know where she lives, too, so she’s not safe at her house.”

  “We also can’t have your team wandering about for Max to interrogate into revealing that I’m now involved, Kitten,” Bones said. “As for the rest of the employees here, round them up. They won’t remember seeing me when I’m done with them.”

  “What about Noah?” Don asked with a glance at Bones.

  “He doesn’t know anything,” Cat said stiffly.

  She wanted to change the subject so badly that she wasn’t thinking. “Not what he means, luv. Noah would make right good bait for you, whether he knows why or not, because Max might reckon you still have feelings for him.”

  “Oh.” Cat straightened. “Then put a watch on Noah, Don, 24/7. Any sign of the supernatural, and we move in. Maybe we can catch Max at his own trap.”

  Don rose. “I’ll make the call.”

  Bones rose, too, holding his hand out. Cat took it and gave it a quick squeeze.

  “While you and Don play Bright Eyes with the staff, I’m going to talk to my team about your new status.”

  Bones smiled at the prospect. “Yes, and do give your bloke my regards. Can’t wait to start working on him.”

  Her gaze turned pointed. “I know who you mean, and it’s working with Tate, Bones. Not on him.”

  This time, his smile showed the tips of his fangs. “Right.”

  It took forty-five minutes to mesmerize the staff into forgetting they’d ever seen him, and another fifteen for Bones to supply Cat with the pint of blood he’d promised her. Afterward, Don directed Bones to Cat’s office, which was a picture of controlled chaos, much like Cat herself.

  She wasn’t alone. Tate and Juan were with her, as was a tall, muscled black man who’d been the hardest to put down when Bones fought her team. Even now, he stood ramrod straight despite having several cracked ribs, a busted shin, and so many bruises his dark brown skin was tinged purple.

  Cooper Masika, born in Philadelphia to a Ugandan immigrant and a Sicilian one. Don had expedited Cooper’s parents’ citizenship in exchange for Cooper’s tenure, and from what Bones had seen, Don had gotten quite the bargain.

  Bones drew Cat next to him, ignoring the glare Tate leveled at him. Sod had better get used to seeing him touch her.

  “Bones, this is Cooper,” Cat said, not knowing that Bones had compiled a dossier on him. “You already know Tate and Juan.”

  “Good to meet you, Cooper, and you’ll soon feel better,” Bones said, adding, “Don drained a pint from me just now,” to Cat. “Seems the head pathologist didn’t want to stick me himself. Fellow was quite jittery around me, in fact.”

  “Probably because you made dinner out of his assistant, amigo,” Juan said dryly.

  Cooper stared at Cat. “We’re letting him eat people?”

  “Apparently,” Tate snapped.

  Cat gave him a quelling glare before turning to Cooper. “Brad Parker plotted with another vampire to kill me. Did you hear about the shooter last night? You can thank the late Mr. Parker for giving away my location and my weaknesses.”

  Cooper’s gaze raked over Bones with cool assessment. “Then Parker deserved it. Eating him was too quick, though. He should have suffered first.”

  Bones let out a chuckle as he kissed the bullet graze on Cat’s temple. “You and I will get along famously, soldier.”

  “This is fucking ridiculous,” Tate muttered.

  “Are you in or out, Tate?” Cat said sharply. “I want you with me, but I can’t force you, and the time to decide is now.”

  Tate gave Bones a hostile glance before crossing his arms. “I’m in. I’d never leave you, Cat, especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.”

  Oh, yes, he’d be nothing but trouble.

  “Very funny, but he doesn’t breathe,” Cat said in the same sharp tone. “Now that the details about our newest team member are settled, I’m leaving. I’ve got a family reunion to plan.”

  “Que?” Juan said.

  “Tell you that part later,” Cat said with a sigh. “Suffice it to say that the vampire we’re going after will look very familiar.”

  “Be careful, Cat,” Tate called out as they left the office.

  “Always am,” she said in a cheery tone.

  “Not even close to true,” Tate said under his breath.

  He was right, but Bones meant what he said. Unless he was shriveled on the ground, Cat would be safe from now on.

  “Are we taking your bike?” Cat murmured once they were on the surface level of the compound.

  Bones snorted. “As if they haven’t planted numerous trackers on it, Don’s promises be damned. No, Kitten. We’re using the last ten minutes of darkness to fly out of here.”

  She grumbled but then put her arms around his neck. “I can take anything as long as I’m with you.”

  Bones tightened his arms around her. His sentiments exactly.

  31

  Bones flew until the sky lightened too much to remain unnoticed against it. After landing, he mesmerized a passing driver into taking them the rest of the way. Their impromptu chauffer didn’t remember the trip after Bones was done with him. Even if he had, he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the house. Bones had him drop them at the back of the tree line bordering the subdivision versus driving them up to the rental house.

  Yes, he was being paranoid. No, he didn’t care.

  Cat had been silent the entire way. Bones chalked it up to her aversion to flying until they entered the house and she dropped onto the sofa as if her legs had stopped working.

  “My father tried to murder me, Don is my uncle, and now, you’re working for Don, too.”

  She said it as if she needed confirmation that all the above was still true. Bones took the seat next to her.

  “Quite a lot to absorb,” he said, searching her face.

  She let out a short laugh. “Absorb. That’s one way to put it. I remember when it felt like to a lot to find out I was half vampire. Little did I know that would be the easiest revelation of my life, huh?”