At Grave's End

"Here's the guest room," I said, directing her to the downstairs bedroom. "I've got some clothes in it, too, so help yourself to whatever's there. I'm taking a shower."

Bones followed me upstairs. I stripped off the jacket Cooper had given me, plus my bloodied bra and pants. If I never saw those clothes again, it would be too soon. Bones also peeled off his crimson-spattered shirt and pants, kicking them into a corner before joining me in the shower.

At first, the water was icy. It took a couple minutes to heat up this time of year. I shivered as the frigid spray landed on me. Bones folded me in his arms and moved to where the majority of it splashed on him. Even when it turned warm, however, and Bones turned to let the heated water rinse my blood away, I was still shivering.

"I didn't think I'd make it today."

My voice was low. Bones's arms tightened around me.

"You're safe now, Kitten. And nothing like this shall ever happen again, I promise you."

I didn't reply, but I was thinking this was one promise Bones might not be able to keep. Who knew what could happen in the future? This wasn't just about the revenge my father had wanted on me-and my mother-for my existence. Max had done this with promises of rewards and help. Now the question was, from whom?

But I didn't say any of that. Bones was correct-I was safe now. And he was here. Right now was all I'd concentrate on.

For the moment, anyway.

We weren't home for more than an hour before people started showing up. First it was Juan and Cooper, who Don sent as added protection for me. Both of them were carrying enough silver knives and guns with silver bullet clips to take on a dozen vampires.

Then Bones's brand of added security arrived in the form of three vampires I hadn't met before. The one named Rattler reminded me of a young Samuel Elliott, Zero looked albino with his long blond hair and glacier eyes, and Tick Tock was pitch dark with black skin, black hair, and black eyes. Mentally I referred to them as Cowboy, Salt, and Pepper.

Then came Spade, or Charles, as Bones called him. Spade preferred everyone else to call him by the tool he was assigned when he was a lowly penal colonies convict. Something about never forgetting how helpless he'd once been. Bones had picked his name after rising as a vampire in Aborigine burial grounds. Vampires sure made it complicated to remember what name to call them by.

Rodney the ghoul was next. He endeared himself to Juan on the spot by starting to cook up a storm. I didn't eat, I went to bed, but to no one's surprise, I didn't get a very restful sleep. My dreams were filled with seeing my mother dangle by the neck from a banister and my father's sneering face as he shot me.

Don showed up a little after noon. I was seated at the kitchen table with Juan, Cooper, my mother, and Bones. We'd been talking about anything but the obvious when my uncle came in. I was surprised to see him, actually. I thought he'd be busy directing the transfer from one base to another.

"Does your boss know you're playing hooky?" I asked.

Don gave me a dry smile. "I can't stay long, but I wanted to go over a few things and...just see how you were doing."

He could have gone over any pertinent work-related items on the phone, so I was guessing his presence had more to do with the latter part of his statement.

"I'm glad you're here," I said, meaning it. We might have had a rough start-okay, avery rough start-but aside from my mother, Don was the only family I had.

"Have some breakfast," I offered, gesturing to the multiple covered dishes near the stove. "Rodney's cooked more food than I even knew I had."

Don gave the items a wary flick of his eyes that made Rodney laugh.

"It's a ghoul's version of vegetarian," he assured Don. "Nothing in there you wouldn't find in a grocery store."

Don, still looking hesitant, filled a plate and sat down. I watched him take a tiny bite, swallow...and then spear a bigger portion. Yeah, Rodney was a superb cook.

Bones's cell rang. He excused himself to answer it, speaking in a low tone. I could only make out a few words, since Juan and Cooper began talking to Don about the new compound we were moving to. Getting everything up and running on no notice was going to be challenging.

Bones came back in the room and snapped his cell shut. There was something tense in his shoulders that hadn't been there before.

"What?" I asked.

"I have to leave for a while tonight, Kitten, but it's nothing to fret about."

"Who was on the phone? And what's going on later?"

Bones seemed to choose his words. "That was my grandsire, Mencheres. He was confirming he'll be at the showing."

I sighed. "You're being deliberately vague, Bones. What showing? What's this about?"

The other vampires all pretended to be fascinated by the decor around them. Bones's expression closed off into unreadable planes.

"I'm calling together members of my line, Ian's, and other pertinent vampire Masters to witness Max's torture."

I blinked. "You're holding a rally just to beat on my father in public?"

"Whoever aided Max and Calibos didn't fret over my reaction to you being tortured, murdered, and mutilated. It's obvious some people believe I don't care, or that I've gone soft. But soon everyone will see what happens to those involved in a scheme to harm you."

"There's a certain sense to it," Don said. "Making an example of one keeps the rest in line. But killing Max tonight, Bones, even if you hurt the literal hell out of him first, will only postpone another attack. You'll still have to find out who else is involved to prevent this from happening again."

"Quite right, old chap," Bones agreed. "But I'm not going to kill Max. I'm going to keep him alive to demonstrate a new meaning of the termcruel and unusual punishment. Only when Max is completely broken in spirit will I kill him. I expect it will take years of daily suffering before that happens. Personally, I'm hoping it takes decades."

Don looked ashen at this pitiless pronouncement. Rodney, Spade, and the three other vampires showed no surprise.

My mother stared at Bones. Then she smiled. "Nowthat I have to see."

"You have got to be-" I began when Bones held up a hand.

"Wait, Kitten, this is between me and your mum. If you go, Justina, you understand you'll be the only human there. You'd have to keep your insults directed only at the vampire on display. Can you handle that?"

My mother tossed her hair. "I've waited along time for this. I'll be fine. We'll shake on it."

Bones took her hand in the first time she'd ever willingly touched a vampire. To her credit, she didn't wipe it on her clothes when he let go.

"Then we have an accord. Juan or Cooper, I want one of you to come, too. You can carry back what you see to her team as a warning of what awaits them should one of them be tempted to ever betray her. Don, you are not going. You don't need to see what will happen to your brother."

My mother stood up even as I thought,Uh oh. "Max is yourbrother?" she asked Don in a scathing voice.

He didn't flinch from her anger. "Yes. He's the reason why I founded my department. I wanted to kill my brother and all of his kind. I even used my niece to help me do it, and I never told her who I was. Bones did, when he found out. So if you're angry at anyone, let it be me, not Cat."

Brave words in a room full of pulseless creatures. Spade gave Don a disgusted glance while Rodney just licked his lips. No doubt he was mentally salting and peppering Don.

"You knew she was your niece when you found Catherine?" my mother asked in disbelief.

Don let out a sigh. "I read the assault report you filed that night you met Max. I knew it was him from your description, and then you gave birth to a child with an unusual genetic anomaly. Yes, I knew all along that Cat was part vampire-and my niece."

My mother let out a bitter laugh. "So both of us used her for our own selfish reasons. That vampire over there has treated her better than her own family."

Bones's brows went up. "Justina, I believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

I was taken aback, too, but we'd gotten off the subject.

"I'm coming with you tonight," I said, noticing Bones hadn't included me in his list.

His face hardened. "No, Kitten. You're not."

Disbelief flared through me. "I'm the one who was beaten, shot, knifed, sliced, and burned, remember? Hell yeah, I am."

"No you're not," Bones repeated, his voice sharpening. "If you want to give Max some comeuppance yourself, grand, but you'll do it another time. Not tonight."

The reason hit me. Bones thought I couldn't handle what he'd dish out to Max. I'd been up to my ears in blood and guts since I was sixteen, but all of a sudden, I had to be sheltered from the ugly side of the undead?

"Bones, I'm not some delicate flower. I won't be seeing anything I can't handle."

"Yes you will," Bones replied. "If you go, youwill be horrified, because I'm going to make damn sure it's horrifying, else it doesn't serve its purpose. No, Kitten. Your compassion is one of the things I love most about you, but in this case, it will drive us apart. You're not going, and that's the end of it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Hurt and anger competed inside me. How could Bones just take it upon himself to decide what I could and couldn't handle? This was supposed to be a relationship, not a dictatorship.

"Want to know one of the things I've loved most aboutyou?" I asked, a feeling of betrayal welling up in me. "That you never lorded your age over me. Yeah, there's nothing I've seen or done that isn't old news to you, but you'd always treated me like an equal. Well, now you're treating me like the pathetic little girl Max accused me of being. You want to have your nasty event without me? Fine. But whatever I would have seen later wouldn't have come between us as much as what you just pulled did."

"Kitten..." Bones said, reaching out to me.

I brushed past him and went upstairs. Below, Juan cleared his throat. Rattler whispered something about giving me time to cool off. Don coughed and muttered that he had to make more calls. Bones didn't say anything else, and he didn't come after me.

Chapter Seven

MY HURT LASTED THE REST OF THE DAY. I stayed in my room, not wanting to talk to anyone, especially Bones. He'd left me alone, too, not even attempting to come upstairs.

But as the sky darkened, I decided I couldn't just keep sulking. I showered again and went downstairs. Rodney had made dinner. God only knew where he'd gotten the steaks from; he must have sent someone to the store.

Don, seated at the table with my mother, gave me a wintry smile. "We were just discussing hiring Rodney to cook for the team. I think it would improve productivity by thirty percent."

I snorted, noticing Bones was outside on the porch. "Probably more. Speaking of the team, where's the new base?"

"Tennessee, that former bomb shelter the CIA used to occupy. With some basic renovations, we should be up and running again within a week or two. The un derground reinforcements make this facility the safest choice."

"I agree. When are you going there?"

"Later tonight." Don nodded at my mother. "You'll have a place to stay there as well. We've also relocated your friends Denise and Randy on the off chance that Max discovered their home as well as yours."

"God, I hadn't even thought of that!" I exclaimed, lashing myself for being an idiot. How could I have forgotten to consider the safety of my best friend and her husband?

Don sighed. "You had other things on your mind. Being tortured and almost killed will do that to a person."

Rodney set a plate in front of me, and one in front of my mother. I almost fainted when she began to eat instead of hurling it at him. Had one of the vampires gotten tired of her bitching and bitten her into a better mood?

She caught my flabbergasted look. "I watched what he put in it," she said defensively.

Rodney, instead of being insulted, just laughed. "You're welcome, Justina."

I dragged my attention away from the unbelievable sight of my mother eating food a ghoul had prepared. "If you're going to the new compound later, Don, I'm going with you."

Bones had been pacing on the porch while talking on his cell. At that, his booted stride stopped.

Don cast a pointed glance out the window before meeting my gaze. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"Unless you fire me, I am going there today to check on my team," I interrupted him. "That's where I'm needed." Since I clearly wasn't wanted with Bones later.

I ignored the muttered curse outside. Don spread out his hands. "Of course I'm not going to fire you. I'm sure the men will be glad to see you."

"Zero, Tick Tock, Rattler, you will be accompanying her," Bones said. He didn't bother to come inside or raise his voice. With their hearing, it wasn't necessary.

"How did you move Tate to the new location, anyway?" I asked without comment on my assigned guard. Transporting a blood-crazed new vampire must have been tricky.

Don coughed. "The only way we could. In the capsule."

My jaw dropped. "He could have been killed."

Don's expression clouded. "It was Tate's idea. He knew how dangerous he was to the team any other way. He arrived safe and is now confined with Annette and Dave again. She's said Tate's already making strides in controlling his hunger."

It was less than a day since Tate had been turned.