At Grave's End

The translation was clear-I had to act like he and I had done this before. Some of my reticence could be rationalized as fear. Not all of it.

I took a deep breath. If someone would have told me this morning that I'd spend tonight getting to second base with Tate, I would have laughed and called them a liar. But that was exactly what I was about to do, though second base was as far as I was willing to commit to this charade.

Tate gave me a deep, openmouthed kiss. I put my arms around him, letting my fingers play in his short hair as I tried to simultaneously keep an eye on the vampires through slitted lids and act like I was getting turned on by Tate's attention.

But I wasn't. Inside me, guilt was competing with the ruthlessness that said we had to get closer to our target. Right now, guilt was winning. Desire was pretty far from anything I felt.

Tate knew it, too. He broke the kiss, staring at me with mixed green and blue eyes. I knew he could tell that this wasn't doing anything for me, and so could the other vampires.

Kratas cocked the gun. Dammit all to hell. I'd have to fake this better.

I twined my arms around Tate and pulled myself onto his lap, drawing his head to my throat. The feel of his tongue and fangs grazing the sensitive skin of my neck reminded me of Bones, and there were shivers to show for that. I arched my back and sucked on his throat in return. Tate shuddered, his hands wandering up my back to my breasts.

Warning shot through me. Did Tate remember about the two knives strapped to my upper back? Or had he forgotten that in his distraction over the extremely compromising position we'd been forced into?

I reached for his hands, sliding them to the front of my jeans.

"I don't have to get all the way na**d in front of them, do I?" I asked, making my voice high and vulnerable.

Tate's gaze met mine. His eyes were all green now. "No, baby. This'll do."

He helped me slide my jeans off even as, absurdly, the night I met Bones flashed in my mind. How Bones had called my seduction bluff after I'd lured him to a deserted patch of woods.You weren't going to shag me with all your clothes on, were you, Kitten? Guess all you'll need off is your knickers, then. Come on. Don't take all bloody night.

I'd been embarrassed taking my pants off then and I was now, too, though for different reasons. Not because I was shy over Patra's five gawking vampires eyeing my ass in its skimpy thong-hell, I wanted them to look, it made for great distraction-but because it was Tate dragging my jeans down my legs. Tate's eyes wandering over me with a lust so raw, I almost abandoned my act right there, getting closer to Hykso be damned.

But then something changed in Tate's gaze. He glanced at the vampires leering at me, and anger tightened his jaw. I almost heaved a relieved sigh, even though Tate's being possessive was something that meant trouble later. Right now, though, it had the needed effect of getting him back on track. He kissed me again, but I could feel there was more calculation to it, even though it looked like he was being just as enthusiastic as before.

From the brief sideways glances I stole, with my mostly bare ass on display, the men were getting more into the show. Only Kratas seemed unaffected. His trigger finger didn't ease a fraction. Even through my irritation, I appreciated Patra's decision to place him with this group. Dedication in the midst of distraction was a valuable trait. I just wished it wasn't being used against me at the moment.

Of course, if he were human, I wouldn't have concerned myself with the gun pointing at me. I could dodge the bullets faster than a human could fire them, but not faster than a vampire. I knew that from painful experience.

I let Tate shift until he was on kneeling in front of me, since it completely cut off their view of my back. Much easier to go for my knives this way.

"Enough stalling."

Kratas tapped his gun for emphasis. At a guess, we were almost to the halfway point. Shit. This was going to be close.

Mentally I shouted a message to Bones, although I had no idea if he was close enough to hear me.I'm going to count it down, Bones. School's out at zero.

Five...

Tate stopped kissing me to unbutton his pants. His eyes were blazing green.

Four...

I clutched his shoulder while my other, hidden hand coiled around my knives.

Three...

Tate unzipped his jeans, and he wasn't wearing any underwear. It was all I could do not to jerk back and give the charade away. Yeah, this was way further than I'd ever anticipated things would go.

Two...

Three things happened at once. I whipped my arm around to send the blades sailing; Kratas fired, the bullet striking me in the side instead of the heart because of Tate's body in front of mine; and the roof ripped right off the limo.

There was a stunned second when I saw Bones before he snatched me out of the car. In the next instant, Spade and Ian descended like bats from hell onto the now-convertible limo while Tick Tock and Dave slammed into it from the highway.

The few cars on the road screeched madly around the careening vehicle. All of this I observed from my new viewpoint of fifty feet in the air, gripped in the crook of Bones's arm. I didn't have time to wonder about what we'd do with all the traffic when he abruptly swooped back down.

"Let's get this piece of rot off the road," he barked.

Bones, Spade, and Ian each grasped an edge of the limo and then propelled upward. The car lifted off the asphalt like it had grown wings. There was still scuffling going on in the interior of the limo, but it had a different sound to it now. More like muffled screams cut off before completion.

A few miles away in the distance, I saw a twin engine aircraft, propellers starting up. That had to be Hykso, and if we could see him, he could see us.

Bones growled and aimed straight for it, his emerald gaze lighting the night.

"Think they'll make it off the ground, Crispin?" Ian sang out, streamlining his body while handling his part of the limo.

"Not a bloody chance," Bones snarled back.

"We can take them on ourselves. Tend to Cat, she's been shot," Spade called out without turning his head.

"Don't even think about it," I snapped. "Flesh wound, keep going."

"We are."

I didn't need mind-reading skills to know Bones was pissed, but flying Superman style while toting an automobile and chasing a plane was not conducive for a chat.

The aircraft started to taxi, picking up speed. So did we, with a burst of nosferatu energy that crackled the air with invisible currents. I shut my eyes, not out of fear, but because the wind nearly blinded me. Through slits I saw the plane start to take off. We were still about fifty yards away.

"Now," Bones commanded, and dropped me.

A blur snatched me in midair before I hit the ground. My stupefied gaze took in the sight of bodies ejecting from the car as Bones flung it at the small plane. There was an explosion, its bright flash interrupted by the vampire setting me safely on the ground.

"Stay here," Ian muttered even as he darted away toward the wreckage. I ignored him, lurching in the same direction, but oddly shivering. Why did I feel this cold when the fire was so close?

Flaming forms crawled out of the remains of the plane and were promptly tackled. Through the wavering fire, people who were familiar to me almost appeared demonic as they hacked their way through the scrambling vampires. In minutes it was over, and somehow I was on the grass without noticing I'd fallen. That gunshot must have been more serious than I realized.

Bones came out of the orange haze. He had blood and soot on him, and his shirt was patchy in places. He knelt by me.

"This will hurt, Kitten, but it's quicker."

The warning made my eyes widen as he held me down. He took out a knife and gouged it into my side. I couldn't help but scream as his fingers followed, feeling around for the bullet. After a moment that seemed to last infinitely longer, Bones drew it out, then cut his palm and placed it over the site, healing the larger wound he'd just made. Then Bones sliced his wrist and pressed it to my mouth. I took a deep swallow of his blood, closing my eyes as the pain lost its grip.

My side tingled as it knit back together. It occurred to me that I must have been unconscious when Bones did this after Max shot me. Getting my throat torn open really had numbed me to everything else that day.

Bones drew his shirt over his head. "Bit torn in places, but it'll cover your arse," he said, handing it to me. "'Fraid your trousers are incinerated back in the car."

There were many things in his gaze, and reproach was one of them. Fumbling, I pulled his shirt on like it was a skirt. "Bones, I-"

"Later," he cut me off. "Got a few matters to settle first."

"Crispin."

Ian strode forward, dragging someone by the back of his neck. He shook the person like a rag doll and flung him near our feet.

"Here, reckoned you'd want this one alive. Charles and Tick Tock are holding Hykso, but we shouldn't linger here. Bloody coppers are on their way, I suspect."

"We don't have to worry about them. Perks of her sodding job. She flashes her badge and makes a call, and they curse and kick the stones for not being allowed to venture nearer. Almost funny, really."

Bones's tone changed to cruel in the next heartbeat. "Ah, hallo there, mate. You'll remember my wife. She's the one you shot."

Kratas wore an expression of grim resignation. "I had a feeling about you," he said to me. "Should have listened to my instinct."

"Know what I'm going to do with this bullet?"

Bones's casual tone didn't lull Kratas. His face showed he had no illusions.

"I'm going to melt it down and have a blade crafted with part of the silver. Then I'm going to run it through every part of your body except your heart."

God, sometimes Bones did scare me.

"Are you going to store him with Max?" Ian asked, not looking upset by the prospect of Kratas's pain.

"Elsewhere. We'll sort it out later. Get them set up in the truck so we can get out of here."

The two eighteen-wheelers that pulled up looked like any you'd see on the highway. Dirty on the outside, dents on the fenders, even the drivers were the quintessential trucker type. Furthermore, when the trailer back of one of them slid open, a line of crates met your eyes. Of course, those crates were a false wall that led to an interior the average shipping company had never conceived of.

"Charles, you're in this one with Hykso. Perhaps we'll get lucky and the bloke will know where Patra is. Kitten, we're in the other until we get to the airport. Ian, traveling with us or on your own?"

Ian cast a snooty glance at the trucks and shook his head. "I'll arrange for my own transportation."

"Take Tate with you."

Bones didn't make it a request. Ian shrugged.

"As you wish."

Spade led forward a heavily chained vampire. No introduction was necessary, it had to be Hykso. He certainly had an Egyptian flair to him, with straight black hair, dusky skin, and a distinctive nose. His eyes were trained on me as he approached. Then he smiled.

"Reaper. I look forward to you meeting my mistress."

I smiled back, just as coldly. "So do I, Hykso."

Chapter Eighteen

SPADE LEDHYKSO ANDKRATAS INTO THE trailer, where there were clamps and other such restraints attached to a reinforced wall.

Bones took my arm. "Let's go."

Bones jumped into the back of the second truck and lifted me up. As soon as I passed through the mock crate, I gaped. This interior was so vastly different from the other rig that I just stared.

Two couches were clamped in place to the floor, as were two chairs and a refrigerator. There was even a rug tacked down.

"My God," I breathed. "It's a frigging RV!"

"This is what my men will be staying in, when they're not with Hykso and Kratas," Bones replied briskly. "No need for them all to be cramped inside the one truck. We're just borrowing it to get back to the airport."

The axles made a wheeze underneath us as the truck was put into gear. There was a lurch and then intermittent jerking as we drove away.

Bones folded his arms and stared at me. I fidgeted, hating how loaded the silence was.

"You know I had no intention for things to go that far with Tate," I began. "I just wanted to get us closer to Hykso, and get them distracted before I chucked those knives..."

"And a brilliant toss it was, pet. Blades landed right in Kratas's eyes. He fired at you blind."

I winced at his tone. "I'm sorry," I said, and he knew I wasn't talking about blinding the other vampire.

Bones stalked around the small room. I didn't need vampire senses to feel the anger pouring off him, but I wasn't sure if it was directed at me, at Tate, or at the war that had put us in the limo in the first place.

"We should talk about this," I said, steeling myself for whatever incriminations he heaped on me. After all, I was only supposed to have kissed Tate during this charade. Not made out with him for over ten minutes while clad in only a sweater and my underwear. Yeah, if the situation were reversed, I'd be pissed, too.

Bones spun around. "I rather doubt talking will help. You did what you felt was necessary. I'm very brassed off by your methods, though I can't argue with your results."

He walked over in a measured, deliberate way that was no less predatory for its slowness. When he was only a few inches away, his hand traced down the sleeve of my shirt, and I couldn't help but flinch. There was something almost menacing in the way he touched me.

"Where did he kiss you? Touch you?"

I looked him in the eye.

"It didn't mean anything, Bones. It was nothing like how I feel with you."