Halfway to the Grave

by Jeaniene Frost

  “That’s not what she means, luv,” he said in a carefully neutral tone. “Francesca means that with the head of her line deceased, she wants to be under another vampire’s protection. I could claim her as one of mine, thereby ‘taking’ her. Although I’m still under Ian’s yoke, he hasn’t exercised any of his authority over me in a very long time, which is why I haven’t bothered to challenge him to be on my own. I’ve had more freedom this way, and because of our understanding, I wouldn’t need his consent to take Francesca on. Though under normal circumstances, getting his consent would be the proper way.”

  Thankfully, this was complicated enough to distract me from groping him further. “Why wouldn’t you want to be on your own?” I wondered out loud to her.

  “Masterless vampires are open game, niña. There’s no accountability for any cruelty done to them. Like with your nations. If you are a man or a woman with no country, who do you appeal to when you’re in need? Who defends you?”

  “That’s a damn brutal system you people operate under,” I said, glad to have a heartbeat.

  “Don’t be so naïve,” she said sharply. “It’s a far kinder structure than the one you’re in. How many humans starve to death each day because your nations refuse to care for their own? Even still, how many Americans die from illnesses when treatment is readily available but withheld if they can’t afford it? Vampires would never allow any of their people to go about hungry or in poverty. Even Hennessey, who is a beast, would consider it a personal insult to have anyone belonging to him in such a condition. Consider that. The worst of our kind treats his people better than your countries treat their citizens.”

  “Francesca…” Spade had stopped laughing.

  She waved at him. “I’m finished.”

  I wasn’t.

  “If you bloodsuckers are such paragons of virtue, then why haven’t any of you stood up to stop Hennessey from plowing through my kind? I mean, Bones tells me about how five percent of everyone walking isn’t alive, so there’s a lot of you! Or is it that the kidnapping, rape, murder, and consumption of humans doesn’t rank as important?”

  Bones smoothed his hand on my arm. “Kitten, perhaps—”

  Francesca bolted out of her chair. “Wake up! What Hennessey’s doing is nothing compared to what humans do! Each year, over fifty thousand teenage Colombians are sold into slavery across Europe and Asia, and that isn’t by vampires! In the Congo, over a hundred thousand women have been brutalized—by the rebels, and the soldiers in their own military! Pakistan still has areas where ‘honor’ rapes and killings of women are ordered by the courts, and yet your country and the rest of the world do nothing about it! Vampires may tend to their own business first, but if we were to truly start policing this planet, we’d get rid of the humans, who are the greatest evildoers—”

  “That’s enough!”

  Bones was in front of her in a blink. He didn’t touch her, but his voice was like a whip.

  “I seem to remember a very young girl who had similar views ’round ninety years ago. Now, to answer your condition, yes, I’ll take you as one of mine after I kill Hennessey. Furthermore, should any information you pass to me prove instrumental, I’ll pay you accordingly when it’s over. You have my word on both counts. Is that sufficient for you?”

  Francesca’s eyes were streetlight green, but slowly they darkened back into the brown they had been when I first saw her. She sat down, chewed on her lip for a moment, and then nodded.

  “We have an agreement.”

  Things wrapped up pretty quickly after that. Francesca didn’t know Switch’s identity or who Hennessey’s new connections were, so Bones gave her ways to contact him while leaving out his actual location. Spade mentioned that he was going out of town to try finding different leads on Hennessey and he would call Bones later. That was that. Francesca and I didn’t exchange goodbyes. She stayed in the hotel room. Bones and I left, but we didn’t take the elevator this time, even though we were twenty floors up. He indicated the stairs and I started climbing down. At least that gave me something to do aside from simmer.

  “You never told me about vampire society before,” I remarked calmly. One floor finished, nineteen more to go.

  Bones gave me an inscrutable look. He didn’t have my hand any longer. My hands were stuffed in my jacket.

  “You never asked.”

  My first instinct was to get angry and call that a copout. I opened my mouth to say something scathing, thought things through for once, and shut it.

  “I guess I didn’t.”

  If he were shallow like me, he’d say all I’d ever asked or shown an interest in about vampires was how to kill them. That anything to do with culture, beliefs, values, or traditions hadn’t concerned me, unless I could use it to hunt more efficiently. It was a very scary moment to realize that I thought with the mind of a killer. I was only twenty-two. When had I gotten to be so cold?

  “How did it happen?” I asked very softly. “How did vampires begin?”

  Such an elementary question. I’d never bothered to ponder it before.

  Bones almost smiled. “You want the evolutionary or the creationist version?”

  I thought for a second. “Creationist. I’m a believer.”

  Our feet made little staccato noises as we kept heading downstairs, and he kept his voice low. The stairwell made for echoes, and though it was late at night, there was no need to alarm someone accidentally overhearing.

  “We began with two brothers who had different lives and functions, and one was jealous of the other. So jealous, in fact, that it led to the world’s first murder. Cain killed Abel, and God drove him out, but not before putting a mark upon him to make him distinguishable from everyone else.”

  “Genesis, Chapter Four,” I breathed. “Mom was big on me learning the Bible.”

  “This next part wasn’t in any Bible you read,” he went on, casting me those sideways glances. “The ‘mark’ was his transformation into becoming undead. For his punishment in spilling blood, he was forced to drink it for the rest of his days. Cain later regretted killing his brother and he created his own people, his own society that existed on the fringe of the one he’d been expelled from. The children he ‘reproduced’ were vampires, and they made others of their kind, and so on. Of course, if you ask a ghoul, they have a different version. They say Cain was turned into a ghoul, not a vampire. Been a cause of bickering ever since about who was first, but Cain isn’t around to settle that.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He’s the undead version of the Man Upstairs. Watching over his children in the shadows. Who knows if he really is? Or if God finally considered his debt paid and took him back?”

  I mulled this over. Bones picked up his pace.

  “Makes you think your mum is right, doesn’t it?” he asked jadedly. “That we’re all murderers? We’re the offspring of the world’s first, unless you side with the notion that vampires and ghouls are a random evolutionary mutation.”

  I kept up with him. Twelfth floor…eleventh…tenth…

  “The first of my kind has gotten a lot of shit for what she did also,” I finally said with a shrug. “That whole apple business makes it harder for me to criticize.”

  He laughed—and then whirled me up in his arms so fast, my feet were still flexing for another step. His mouth crushed down on mine, taking my breath away, and the same mindless compulsion that had led me to act so bizarrely upstairs manifested in another form. My arms went around his neck, my legs wrapped around his waist, and I kissed him as if by willpower alone I could erase the memory of every woman before me.

  I heard a rip. Felt the wall at my back, and then the next moment, he was inside me.

  I clung to him, nails digging into his back with mounting need, mouth locked onto his throat to stifle my cries. He moaned into my skin, free hand tangled in my hair as he moved faster, deeper. There was no gentleness to him, but I wanted none, exulting in the unbridled passion between us.

/>   Everything inside me suddenly clenched, and then relinquished in a rush of ecstasy that streamed down to my toes. Bones cried out as well, and a few shattering minutes later relaxed against me.

  There was a creak, a gasp, and him snapping, “Walk away, you’ve seen nothing!” before a door slammed. That’s when the haze lifted and a tidal wave of embarrassment swept over me.

  “My God, what is the matter with me?”

  I pushed at him, and he set me on my feet with a lingering kiss.

  “Not a bloody thing, if you ask me.”

  My jeans were torn from zipper to thigh. Whoever had tried to enter the stairwell was long gone, but I was still cringing with shame at the glimpse that person had caught. Who’s the slut now, huh? Hypocrite!

  “First I publicly grope you, almost stab our potential Judas, then, for the grand finale, I molest you in a stairwell! And I thought you behaved rudely with Timmie! You should demand an apology!”

  Bones chuckled, taking his jacket off and placing it around me. It covered the tear in my pants, at least. His own clothing hadn’t been damaged. After all, the man never wore underwear himself, so he’d only needed to pull down a zipper.

  “You didn’t molest me, and I will never ask you to apologize for tonight. Any of it. I’m relieved, to be frank.”

  “Relieved?” I glanced at the front of him. “I guess that’s one way to put it….”

  “Not that.” Another amused snort. “Though it applies there as well. Do you know what you acted like tonight? Like a vampire. We’re territorial, every last one of us, which is why I had such a harsh reaction when I saw Timmie gaze at you with those smitten-calf eyes. Your similar, decidedly hostile response with Francesca showed me…that you consider me to be yours. I have wondered what you felt for me, Kitten. Hoped you cared beyond mere rapport or physical attraction, and so while I assure you that you have nothing to fear from her, I was selfishly pleased to see how deep your emotions ran.”

  I stared at him in silence. There were so many things I wanted to say. Like, How could you think what I feel for you is only physical? or, Don’t you know you’re my best friend? and finally, Bones, I love—

  “I think we should get out of here,” was what I settled on, cowardly. “Before you have to green-eye anyone else out of reporting us to the police.”

  He smiled, and it could have been my guilt, but I thought it was a trifle sad. “It’s all right, Kitten. I’m not demanding anything. You don’t have to fret.”

  I took his hand, not caring about the difference in temperature and scared as hell that I didn’t care about it anymore.

  “Are you really mine?” I couldn’t stop from asking.

  Those cool fingers squeezed gently. “Of course I am.”

  I squeezed back, but with more strength.

  “I’m glad.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  THE CLOCK STRUCK ELEVEN AND CAT THE vampire huntress was on the loose, except my battle armor was a push-up bra, curled hair, and a short dress. Yeah, it was a dirty job, but I was going to do it. Come one, come all, bloodsuckers! Bar’s open!

  Hennessey was still on the lookout to restock his supplies. After ten days of spying, Francesca had confirmed that. It was the same thing we’d heard from Lola and Charlie, so no real shocker there, but what she did relay in her most recent surreptitious phone call was noteworthy. She’d overheard one of Hennessey’s men refer to a mysterious human partner as “Your Honor.” It could be a sarcastic title, but considering the tampered police records and Hennessey’s new method of preventing disappearances from being reported, Bones thought differently. He figured it was a judge, maybe from Columbus, where most of the evidence-tampering had taken place. We were working that angle, but there was the other one as well. When you were looking to catch someone who didn’t want to be caught, you needed bait. Bait placed out temptingly for the still-unknown Switch or Hennessey to try and snatch. That’s where I came in. During the day I went to college, but at night I made my rounds at all of the easy-sleazy bars and clubs we could hit. Did I mention it was a dirty job?

  “Catherine? My God, Catherine, is that you?”

  Huh? No one called me that name except for my family, and certainly none of them were here. Yet there was something familiar about that voice.

  I pivoted around in my chair, and the glass I’d been protecting from any added chemicals crashed to the floor. Six years later and still I knew him at a glance.

  Danny Milton stood in front of me, openmouthed at my appearance in my tight silver dress and knee-high boots. The black leather gloves that were my standard matched my heart when I saw his gaze drop from my face to my cleavage and back again.

  “Wow, Catherine, you look…wow!”

  Either he was truly speechless at my appearance or college literary classes had not been kind. My eyes narrowed as I considered my options. One: Put a stake through his heart. Appealing, but morally incorrect. Two: Ignore him and hope he went away. Possible, but too kind. Three: Order another drink and throw it in his face while thanking him for the memories. Deserved, but too flashy. I wasn’t looking to draw unwanted attention or get thrown out of the place. That only left Option Two. Damn, that was the least satisfying of them all.

  I raked him with a withering stare and then turned my back. I hoped he’d get the message.

  He didn’t. “Hey, you’ve got to remember me. We met on the road and you helped me change my tire. And you can’t forget I was the first person you ever—”

  “Shut up, you idiot!”

  After so long, he had the unimaginable nerve to start blurting out loud enough for the deaf to hear that he’d been the first guy I slept with? Maybe Option One was the better plan after all.

  “See, you do remember me,” he went on, apparently not catching the ‘idiot’ part. “Gee, it’s been…what, six years? More? I almost didn’t recognize you. I know you didn’t look like this before. Not that you weren’t cute and all, but you kind of looked like a baby then. You’re all grown up now.”

  He certainly didn’t appear much different. His hair was about the same length, the same sandy brown, and his eyes were the blue of my memory. Danny was a touch softer around the midsection, or perhaps bitterness colored my vision. To me, he looked like all the rest now. Just another guy trying to take advantage. Too bad I couldn’t kill him for that reason alone.

  “Danny, for your own good, turn around and walk away.” Bones was here somewhere, though I didn’t see him, but if he was watching me and found out who this was, I knew he’d have no conflict of conscience about pulling Danny’s plug.

  “But why? We should catch up. After all, it’s been a long time.” Without invitation, he plunked down at the recently vacated seat next to me.

  “There’s nothing to catch up on. You came, you saw, you scored, you left. End of story.”

  I turned my back again, surprised at the stab of hurt that still remained. Some wounds never quite healed, even with time and knowledge.

  “Oh, come on, Catherine, it wasn’t all like that—”

  “Well, hallo there, mate. What have we here?”

  Bones materialized from behind Danny, a truly vicious smile on his face. Oh shit.

  “This person was just leaving,” I stiffly said, praying Danny would have half a brain cell and bolt before Bones realized who he was. If he hadn’t already. The look on Bones’s face was pure predator.

  “Not yet, Kitten, we haven’t been introduced.” Uh-oh, not a good idea, not a good idea. “My name is Bones, and you are…?”

  “Danny Milton. I’m an old friend of Catherine’s.”

  Unsuspecting, Danny reached out to shake the hand that was offered to him. Bones grasped it and didn’t let go, even when Danny attempted to tug it free.

  “Hey, man, I don’t want any trouble, I was just saying hello to Catherine and…uunnngghhhh.”

  “Don’t say a word.” Bones spoke in a voice so low he was barely audible. Underneath his lashes, his eyes blazed with gre
en fire and power leaked off him. His grip tightened, and I literally heard the bones shatter in Danny’s hand.

  “Stop it,” I breathed, standing up to touch him.

  He was immobile under my fingers, only his hand kept contracting. Tears streamed down Danny’s face although he stayed silent, helpless under that green gaze.

  “It isn’t worth it. You’re not changing anything that happened.”

  “He hurt you, Kitten,” Bones replied, pitilessly watching the tears roll from Danny’s eyes. “I’ll kill him for it.”

  “Don’t.” I knew he wasn’t using a figure of speech. “It’s over. If it wasn’t for him using me, I’d have never gone for that first vampire. That means I wouldn’t have met you. Things happen for a reason, don’t you believe that?”

  Although he didn’t relax his hand, he looked over at me.

  I brushed his face. “Please. Let him go.”

  Bones released him. Danny fell to his knees and promptly threw up. Blood oozed out from his hand where his bones had broken through his skin. Looking down at him, I felt only the barest hint of sympathy. A lot had happened in the years since I’d seen him.

  “Bartender, he looks like he might need a cab,” Bones said tersely to the man behind the counter, who hadn’t noticed a thing. “Poor bugger can’t hold his drink.”

  He bent down as if to help Danny to his feet, and I heard him speak in quiet terrifying tones.

  “You say one more blasted word and the next thing I’ll be crushing is your stones. Tonight’s your lucky night, mate. You’d better thank your bleedin’ stars she stopped me, or you and I would be having a party you wouldn’t live long enough to forget.”

  While Danny gulped, sobbing and clutching his hand to his chest, Bones propelled me out toward the door after throwing a fifty at the bartender, way over the tab for my drinks.

  “Best be leaving, pet. We’ll have to try it another night. This has attracted a bit too much attention.”

  “I told you to leave it alone.” I followed him to the truck, speeding off as soon as we got in. “Dammit, Bones, that could have been avoided.”