One Foot in the Grave

the first of which would start now.

Belinda smiled with her fangs fully extended. “I won, so I want my victory spoils. Unless you’re a liar, Bones.”

Bones crossed his arms, giving her a hard stare. “I said you’d get your prize. I didn’t specify when, however.”

Belinda began to curse him when, amazingly, Tate interrupted her.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said shortly, and walked-or rather limped-up to her.

My gaze widened. “Tate-” I began.

“Save it,” he cut me off. “We failed you, Cat. You think her biting me is gonna hurt more than that?”

The rawness in his tone made me blink and turn away. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault, that even with the added strength from Bones’s blood, he was still human and Belinda was still not. It was a lot easier to kill than to capture a vampire, even for me, or Don would’ve had more sets of fangs in his undead stable. But I knew my sympathy would only make Tate feel worse, so I didn’t say anything. I pretended to be fascinated by the wall in the opposite direction from where he was.

“Who says you’re the one I want?” Belinda asked dismissively.

“Doesn’t matter; I’m the one you’re gonna get,” Tate replied, his tone hardening. “You understand chain of command, suck head? Out of the three of us, I’m the top of the chain, so you’re getting my vein and no one else’s.”

That made me blink more rapidly. God, how like Tate to insist on taking the bullet, or in this case, the bite. It was what made him such a great leader. He never shirked from his duty to his men.

I felt rather than saw Belinda smile. “I guess you’ll do, then. Come here.”

“Not so fast,” Bones said, even as I composed myself and turned around. “Wrist only, Belinda. Not his neck.”

She gave a pout that was both menacing and sultry at the same time. “But I like the throat better.”

“Too bloody bad,” Bones said coldly. “Argue again and you’ll get nothing.”

I’d been about to insist on the same thing. A ripped-up arm was a damn sight less lethal than a ripped-up jugular, just in case Belinda thought about reneging on her promise to behave. Still, she seemed afraid enough of Bones to believe that he’d make her more than sorry if she did, which I guess stemmed from her knowing his reputation. That’s why Bones picked Belinda versus our other two caged vamps to test the guys, he’d explained. They hadn’t known him, so they didn’t know that he would follow through with exactly what he said. Belinda did know him. Too much of him for my liking, but there was nothing I could do about that.

She smiled as she reached out to Tate. Her shirt was still hanging open, leaving her breasts bare, and she cradled his arm next to her. Tate’s heart rate was way above normal and increasing, but I thought that had to do more with the anxiousness over being bitten versus excitement over Belinda’s tits.

“Don’t worry, gorgeous, you’ll like it,” she purred, giving her fangs a last lick.

Tate grunted. “Not on your afterlife, bitch.”

Belinda just laughed. Low, throaty, and knowing. “Yes you will.” Then she sank her sharp incisors into Tate’s forearm.

I saw the tremor go through him even as his heart began to beat faster. He thinned his lips, but not before a soft sound, almost like surprise, slipped from them. When Belinda swallowed and drew deeper, sucking on his arm, Tate’s eyes fluttered closed for a second before he snapped them open. And stared at me.

It was only a few moments, but it seemed to stretch much longer. Tate’s indigo gaze took on that same heated intensity it had the night he’d gotten drunk and confessed how he felt about me. I knew he’d be feeling that intoxicating warmth slipping through his veins. That heady, seductive rush that belied all logic. It didn’t happen every time a vampire bit someone, of course. I knew from experience after some nasty fights with them that a bite could hurt like hell. But when a vamp didn’t want it to hurt-it didn’t. Not even in the slightest way.

“That’s enough,” Bones said in a clipped tone.

Belinda slowly drew back, licking the drops of blood from her fangs. Tate didn’t move. He just kept staring at me like I’d somehow grown undead powers and mesmerized him.

“Close the holes,” Bones directed Belinda. Tate hadn’t even bothered to wipe the blood leaking out in a slow drip from his arm.

Belinda scored her thumb on a fang and held it over the punctures. They vanished in seconds.

“Is this why you can’t stay away from him, Cat?” Tate finally asked, ignoring everyone else around him.

I was stunned at the question, but Bones only smiled, showing a hint of his own fangs.

“You’d like to believe that, wouldn’t you, mate?”

“Tate, why would you even think such a thing?” I managed.

“Don’t bother, luv,” Bones said lightly, still showing that same toothsome smile. “I don’t care what lies he uses to comfort himself with when he’s alone at night and you’re with me. Belinda, your time-out’s over. Back to your cell.”

We left without another word, Belinda still licking her lips as we corralled her back to the lower level and her confinement.

TWENTY-NINE

WE BROUGHT BELINDA OUT EVERY DAY TO train with Tate, Juan, and Cooper. This was at their insistence, not mine. They refused to accept that they couldn’t rise to the challenge of pinning her, and were determined to still play an active role in capturing Ian’s men. I didn’t like it, but Tate had been as adamant as I’d ever seen him. Belinda didn’t seem to mind. Although she didn’t get her prize of fresh blood anymore, she did get to leave her small cell and also had an extra bag of plasma daily for cooperating. Plus I think she liked how frustrated they were by their inability to pin her-at least at first.

After four days of humiliation, the guys started getting better at it. They managed a few times to plug Belinda’s chest at just the right angle so one twist would have ended her, if the knife had been silver.

And that, I knew, was enough to make any vampire suddenly become really, really cooperative. With another week or so of practice, they might be ready for Bones to make that call to Ian saying he’d found me and had hostages. Then I could put into action my other plan. The one regarding my father that I hadn’t told Bones about. Oh yeah. I was looking forward to that.

On Thursday we went to pick up one of Bones’s people from the airport. This person was flying in from London, and was apparently the first vampire Bones had ever made. Some days, vampire hierarchy felt like The Godfather to me. On acid.

“You haven’t asked and there’s been little time, but you need to know who it is we’re getting, Kitten.”

We’d just reached the section of the airport where the rest of the nonflying public waited for arriving passengers. With today’s airline security, it was as far as we were allowed to go, unless Bones turned on his optical headlights.

“Another old flame?” I joked.

Bones didn’t laugh. “You could call her that, yes.”

I needed a gin for this crap. “Great, can’t wait to meet her.”

“You remember I told you when I was human, one of my clients saved my life by convincing the judge to ship me to Australia instead of hanging me for pick-pocketing? Well, that was Annette. After I returned to London as a vampire, I looked for the people who’d shown me kindness. Madame Lucille, the bordello owner who helped raise me, was dead by then, as were many of the prostitutes I’d lived with, but Annette was still there. I offered her this life, and she accepted. She’s who we’re picking up now.”

Shit. I hated her already, and we hadn’t even met. That was a new low for me.

“And she’ll be staying with us tonight. How cozy.”

Bones took my hand. “Don’t let it trouble you. You’re the only woman for me, Kitten. Believe that.”

There was a whoosh of charged air moments later. “She’s here,” he said unnecessarily.

A woman walked toward us with the unmatched grace only a vampire could harness. Her cool, patrician