Destined for an Early Grave

I should have killed Gregor as soon as I sank that knife into his back. Getting my memories back had proved he'd lied to me, manipulated me, and tricked me into binding myself to him. Plus, he was a threat to me and to Bones, since Gregor didn't take rejection very well. But one, I wasn't in any condition to fight off Gregor's people if I killed him - and I was betting Gregor had more than Lucius here. Two, we'd made a deal that didn't involve me murdering him at the end of it.

And three, the remnant of the infatuated teenager I'd been couldn't bear the thought of killing Gregor, even though the adult in me knew he had it coming. Still, that didn't mean I was taking out the knife. If Gregor attempted a double cross, I'd use it.

Gregor glared at me. I didn't blink. This wasn't the Catherine he knew. I was Cat, and he hadn't met me before.

"Lucius," he belted out finally. "Come to me at once!"

After a few seconds, the door opened. Lucius stopped short when he saw Gregor na**d on top of me and a knife sticking out of his back.

"Master?" he began. "What - ?"

"Listen up, Lucius." I didn't glance away from Gregor, only seeing the other vampire from my peripheral vision. "You're going to get a speakerphone and bring it in here. Right now. You get any other ideas, and you're the next to die, old pal. Got it?"

"Monsieur?"

"Do it," Gregor said silkily. He'd regained his composure. "After all, I made my wife a promise."

My lips curled at his emphasis, but that was a pissing contest for a later date.

"Glad to know you're going to keep your word. With luck, you'll have this blade out in a few hours."

"Hours?" His forehead creased in incredulity.

"You said we're in Austria," I replied, thinking. "If he agrees to come, it'll take him a few hours to get here. After he arrives, I'll pull out this knife."

"You're calling Bones?"

Gregor asked it with a gleam in his eyes that reminded me how dangerous he was. I bet you were figuring that's just what I'd do, and you've got the trap of a lifetime waiting for him.

"You wish," I said. "But no. Someone else."

Vlad Tepesh didn't contain his laughter when he walked in the room. It came from him in full-bodied peals that had him briefly leaning on the doorframe for support.

"Now that's worth the trip right there." He chuckled, pink starting to sparkle in his eyes. "How goes it, Gregor? Forgot your manners, did you? If I'd known you were balanced in such a precarious state, I might have taken even...longer."

I'd yanked a sheet between us and made Gregor pick up his hips, but the rest of him stayed where it was so I could keep that knife close to his heart. It left Gregor with his ass sticking up in the air while his face stayed level with mine. I wasn't trying to be funny. Only practical.

"Thanks for coming, Vlad. My arm was getting tired."

I'd only met Vlad last year during that awful war, but he was someone I trusted. He'd saved my life, in fact, and even though I hadn't seen him lately, I'd been right in guessing that he'd come if I asked him to. Plus, when doing a mental rundown of vampires in Eastern Europe who were both strong and feared enough that Gregor wouldn't attempt a double cross, Vlad's was the only name on the list. Dracula's bloody reputation wasn't only made during his days as the infamous prince of Wallachia.

"Okay, Gregor, I'm going to pull this knife out nice and slow. Once I do, you climb off. No tricks."

Gregor glanced at Vlad, who smiled at him in a predatory way. Then Gregor nodded.

I sighed in relief and began to pull out the knife. Once the silver was out of his back, Gregor got up from the bed. He stood over me for a moment, his expression saying he still didn't believe what had just happened.

"I'll let you leave because I promised, but you are still bound to me, Catherine. You may have a few days to settle things, but then, you must return to me."

"Clothes," I prodded Vlad without answering. Frankly, I didn't know what the hell to do about being bound to Gregor. It was obvious he wasn't giving up just because I'd still picked Bones, even with my memory back. Did Gregor really think a few more days would mean I'd come to my senses and come back to him? God, he really didn't know me.

"Another thing that makes this trip worthwhile," Vlad commented, handing me a long dress.

I sat up and put it on without any false modesty. Vlad wasn't leering, but he was a red-blooded male. I didn't take it personally. "You've seen the top before, so I'm sure you're not fighting a blush."

"When has he seen your br**sts?" Gregor hissed.

"When a horde of zombies ate most of my arm and all of my bra off," I snapped.

Gregor let out a grunt. "That's what you're returning to? How you want to live? Think, Catherine!"

"Hasn't she told you?" Vlad purred. "She doesn't like to be called that name."

I paused at the door next to Vlad. "Goodbye, Gregor. Don't come after me, in person or in my dreams."

Something hardened in Gregor's face. It said loud and clear that this wasn't over, and Gregor would still be chasing me. Why? I wondered. Was it just his pride refusing to accept that I'd chosen someone else?

Vlad smiled, rubbing his hands together. Sparks cascaded from them in blatant warning.

"Not thinking of trying to stop us, are you?" he asked silkily.

Vlad could burn someone to ashes with just his touch, even a powerful vampire like Gregor. So most people didn't want Dracula to start playing with his matches.

"I won't have to," Gregor said, looking at me. "I'll show you what Bones is. Then you'll be begging for my forgiveness."

"Goodbye," I repeated. It summed things up right there.

We walked out of the large house with Vlad's four escorts flanking us. No one attempted to stop us. Are they this afraid of you? I asked him. Or is Gregor up to something?

Just like Bones and Mencheres, Vlad could read minds. "Both and neither," he answered, his dark brown hair swaying with his strides. "Gregor's in a bad way. He needs his ghouls back."

"Huh?"

Out loud this time. Vlad gave me a sardonic smile.

"You've driven Bones into rare form. It was smart of you not to have him come here. He'd have lost his mind completely if he'd seen Gregor poised na**d over you. As it is, Bones will already suffer repercussions for what he's done."

"You told me on the phone that Bones was okay, that you spoke to Spade, and they were all right!" I burst out.

Vlad ushered me onto the waiting small plane, and his men climbed in after us. We taxied down a grass field before lifting off. Gregor had chosen a remote location as well.

"From what I gathered after speaking with Spade, Bones had you secured in a room during the attack?" he queried, continuing after my nod. "And at some point, Gregor called you and offered to stop the assault if you came to him?"

Another nod. "Cat, it was a ruse. Bones wasn't outnumbered, and why you didn't know that, I have no idea. Bones had over a hundred of the foulest undead mercenaries hiding beneath that house, just waiting for Gregor's forces to get arrogant and rush them. By the time you reached Gregor, Bones already had the fight won."

My mind went numb. Is this the whole crew? Or are there more lurking in the woods? I'd asked. And my mother's response, instantly shushed, Oh, there's more...

"Shit," I whispered.

Neither of us said anything for a minute, then Vlad pulled out his cell phone.

"I have her," he announced. "She's fine, and we're in the air."

"Is that Bones?" My stomach churned with nervousness. He's going to be so pissed at me.

"It's Spade," Vlad answered with the mouthpiece covered. Then, "Yes...I know...no, we have the fuel...She wants to speak to Bones...um hmm, quite. We'll be there in three hours."

He hung up, and I blinked. "He's not there?"

Vlad folded his phone and set it back in his coat. The look he gave me was filled with irony.

"Spade didn't feel it would be a good idea to have you speak with him. He's probably going to spend the next three hours trying to calm Bones down."

"He's really angry, I know, but it looked like they were all going to get killed. What was I supposed to do?"

"You both made your choices," Vlad observed. "Whatever the consequences, it's done. Really, Bones surprised me with this whole endeavor. I didn't think he was so clever, but he's shown his best potential in the last couple years."

"How?" I was feeling ill as I thought of the inevitable confrontation.

"First of all, using mercenaries." Vlad smiled wickedly. "Very enterprising, but I suppose he knew most of them from his hit-man days. If he'd rounded up over a hundred of the strongest members in his line, Gregor would have heard about that and smelled a trap. But paid killers, accountable to no one? Who notices when scores of them go off the radar?"

"Bones has always been smart," I muttered. "His intelligence was just camouflaged under a mountain of pu**y."

Vlad laughed before he sobered. "Perhaps, but now he's displaying his ruthlessness as well. He's chopped off a head an hour from Gregor's ghouls since you've been gone, promising to decapitate the lot of them unless he gets you back."

"What?"

That bolted me up in my chair. Granted, the undead didn't play by normal rules of engagement, but they were pretty consistent when it came to battle prisoners. Those were taken hostage and traded or bargained for later. Oh, things might get creative when it came to extracting information, but since no permanent damage could be done to the undead, barring mental trauma, that was just the norm. Bones callously slaughtering his captives? I was shocked.

Vlad wasn't. He looked mildly intrigued. "As I said, rare form, which is why Gregor let you go without a fuss. If he hadn't, he'd have trouble the next time he enlisted other people to fight for him. But enough of that. You don't look well."

I let out a bitter laugh. "You think? My husband can't come to the phone because he's too busy slicing off heads, and here's the punch line! He's not really my - "

"Don't say it."

Vlad cut me off. His expression turned deadly serious.

"Knowing and admitting are two separate things. Gregor still wants your public acknowledgment as proof. Don't give it to him."

"Where do you stand in this?" I asked quietly.

It was more than putting him on the spot, but I couldn't help it. I knew Vlad wouldn't demur in giving me his true position, no matter what it was.

He considered me. Vlad Tepesh wasn't a classically handsome man like some of the hunks who'd played Dracula in the movies. His face was oval; lips thin, with deep-set eyes, a wider forehead, and a tight beard. He was lean, too, and he stood an even six feet tall. But none of those actors had Vlad's presence. What he might have lacked in perfection of features he made up for in sheer magnetism.

At last he took my hand. His were scarred in multiple places, as well as being more dangerous than his fangs, since they were the outlet of Vlad's pyrokinesis, but Vlad didn't frighten me. He should have, but he didn't.

"I feel a connection to you, as I once told you. It's not love, it's not attraction, and I won't sacrifice myself for you, but if you needed me, and it was possible for me to help you, like today, I'd come. Whichever side you called me from."

I squeezed his hand once before letting go. "Thank you."

He settled back more comfortably in his chair. "You're welcome."

Chapter Seventeen

WE DIDN'T RETURN TO THE HOUSE IN Bavaria. Granted, from the air I couldn't be sure that we weren't in Bavaria, but it wasn't the same place I'd left. Not having my pills, I just shut my eyes as we landed, then took a car the rest of the way. Even if I'd had them, I'd decided not to take the pills anymore. Gregor couldn't pull me out of a dream unless I helped him, and I sure wasn't going to do that again. Besides, I wondered if those pills were making me ill, because as Vlad noticed, I felt like hell. I'd have to call Don and ask if there were side effects from taking them.

Spade was the first person I saw when I opened my eyes after Vlad led me into the house. He stood in the foyer with his arms crossed, wearing a truly resigned expression.

"You shouldn't have left."

"Where's Bones?"

I wasn't about to get into it with Spade. Yeah, I had it coming, but there was only one person entitled to give it to me. The fact that Bones hadn't come out when he heard me arrive spoke volumes. He must be really pissed.

Spade glanced to his left. "Follow the music."

Piano music played in the general direction Spade indicated. Maybe Bones was listening to a relaxing CD. One could only hope it had improved his temperament.

"Thanks." I headed past the next few rooms toward the sound.

When I entered what appeared to be a large library, I saw the music was coming from a piano, not a CD. Bones was bent over it, his back to me, pale fingers gliding expertly over the keys.

"Hi," I said, after standing there several heartbeats without him even turning around. Going to ignore me, was he? Not if I could help it. I'd rather get this over with than prolong it.

"I didn't know you could play," I tried again, coming closer.

When I got near enough to feel his vibe, I stopped. Bones felt wound enough to explode, though the music coming from his hands was serene. Chopin, maybe. Or Mozart.