“You do realize you’re being a hypocrite?” he asked in a scalding tone. “Just the day before yesterday, I told Don truthfully that I’d take your orders on missions, but here you refuse to let strangers even think you’d heed mine?”

I opened my mouth-and had nothing to refute that with. Damn people who argued using logic. Talk about unfair.

“There has to be another way” was what I settled on in a more rational tone. “Instead of skirting around Ian with sexist loopholes, there’s got to be something we can do to make him agree to leave me alone.”

“It’s not sexist,” Mencheres said with a shrug. “If Bones was a woman and you were a man, he’d still have the same claim over you. Vampires don’t discriminate by gender. That’s a human failing.”

“Whatever,” I snapped, not interested in comparing the fairness of human versus nosferatu culture.

Then something began to form in my mind. Maybe there was a way to use undead societal structure to my advantage…

I gave Bones a wide smile. “You’re going to tell Ian you found me. And you’re going to offer to bring me to him.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

CAT.” DON LOOKED UP FROM HIS PAPERWORK. “Come in. I’m just going over the pathology reports from the other day.” He looked almost gleeful as he flicked his gaze to Bones. “You have quite a massive component in your blood. We could practically get rid of our other in-house vampires if we siphon a pint a week from you.”

“Going to tap me like a tree?” Bones asked in amusement. “Bit of a greedy bloodsucker yourself, aren’t you?”

“We came for a reason, Don. You may as well call in Juan, Tate, and Cooper. Then we’ll only have to go over this once.”

Don, curious, made the call. The three other men filed into the room after several minutes, and when the door shut, I began without preamble.

“You all know I’m a half-breed. What you don’t know, and what I didn’t until recently, was that the vampire who raped my mother is Don’s brother.”

Don looked markedly displeased at being exposed, but I ignored that.

“You remember Liam Flannery from New York? His real name is Ian, and he’s the vampire who made Bones. Ian’s also the vampire who made my father, Max. Don’s known that one, too, for years-it’s the real reason why we were sent to bring him in. So after we tangled, Ian got all excited over my being a half-breed and decided he wanted me as his new flavor of the week. According to Bones, Ian’s the type who won’t hesitate to use people I care about to ensure my compliance. There’s a way to get him off my back without an all-out bloodbath, but it’s dangerous.”

This was the difficult part. My plan had been just to challenge Ian to a fight myself, winner takes all, but Bones pointed out that Ian would likely refuse. No, Ian had to feel that he was in control, and there was only one way to ensure that.

Bones made an exasperated noise and plowed ahead. “Look, in order for her to turn the tables on Ian, he needs to be confident that he’s got something over her. A valuable hostage, more specifically. Now, Ian’s a smart bloke who likely wouldn’t kill someone who’s a useful bargaining tool, but there are no guarantees. She intends to rescue whoever’s bait, then use Ian’s guards as bargaining chips to force him to swear to leave her alone. If Ian makes a blood oath promising that, he’ll be bound by it in the vampire world, and he would be looked on very shoddily if he refused to bargain for his people out of mere lust. But until she gets there…there will be no one to ensure the safety of whoever volunteers.”

There was a hush when Bones finished. Tate was the first to break it.

“This’ll keep a vampire from hunting you, Cat? Then count me in.”

Don coughed a trifle unsteadily. “There must be a different approach we could take…”

“Me, too, querida,” Juan added. “That pendaho can have two worms on the hook instead of one; it will look better.”

“I’m in,” Cooper said. “Who wants to live forever?”

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I was going to squirt tears. How unprofessional.

Bones overrode Don’s instant objections with a curt interruption.

“Save it, old chap. They’re grown men, and it’s not like they’ve been gardening these past years, is it? Besides, I knew they’d all offer, and here I’ve only just met them. How could you expect any differently?”

“Cat, you can’t take the three top members of my team into a hostile nest the likes of which they’ve never seen! If they all died, it would destroy this operation, utterly finish it!”

Don pounded his fist on the desk for emphasis. Bones leveled him with a look devoid of green.

“Here and now, decide which is more important to you. Your niece…or the risk to these men and your operation. We all make choices we have to live with. This is yours.”

“And it’s not like they’re docile lambs,” I added. “They’re not just bait-they’re Trojan horses. Whoever Ian picks to guard them will never expect how tough they are. They’ve been fighting vampires for a long time, Don. If I didn’t think they could handle it, I’d never let them volunteer.”

Don glared at me. I held his gaze, not blinking. Bones had made a prediction on this outcome also.

Don was the first to look away. When he spoke, his voice was rough.

“I pray to God you’re not wrong to trust this creature, Cat. If he’s played you, we’ll all go down in flames for it. He’d better be as good as he is arrogant.”

Four out of four. Bones smiled triumphantly. “Don’t fret, mate. I’m not playing her, and I am as good as I am arrogant. After all, I had you pegged. She was sure you’d refuse. I told her you wouldn’t.”

Don looked as worried as I felt, but he didn’t object further.

“It will take a few weeks to assemble everything,” Bones said, “and the three of you will be busy until then. If things go south, you’ll need to react quickly. You all know the price behind drinking vampire blood, right?”

Cooper didn’t. In a few minutes, he was informed about the ramifications of his actions in the cave. He took it far better than I had. He simply snorted once in disbelief.

“Welcome to the freak club,” I sympathized. “All of you will need to be immune to vampire mind control, and blood’s the only way to do that. Anyone who refuses will stay back. I won’t risk your lives, or the lives of those around you, by letting some vamp green-eye you into submission.”

“I’m up for juicing,” Tate said, again being the first to offer. “But you won’t mind if I refuse to suck blood off his tongue like you did?”

Bones let out a bark of amusement. “Don’t fret; you’re not my type. Anyone else have a concern?”

There were no other voices of dissent. Bones rose.

“Right then. Let’s go to the lab, so Don can put my vein on tap again. Really, old chap, you’re as excited over my blood as any vamp is over a juicy artery. Sure you’re not hiding some family traits?”

“That’s not funny,” Don brusquely responded, but he also stood, and we proceeded to the lab. The path leading to it had been cleared of other employees, minimizing Bones’s exposure on the premises. The same was done to the pathology unit. Once we got there, Bones gave Tate a calculating look.

“Ready for an upgrade? After your first dose, I’m going to beat the seven shades of shit out of you to see how much you can take.”

“Bring it on” was Tate’s reply. “Cat’s been pounding on me for years. Years. How long have you spent with her, combined? Only six months?”

Bones grabbed him, intending to do something painful, no doubt, but I hauled on his arm.

“Quit it! Tate, enough of the taunts, and Bones, how old are you? Why don’t I just give you a pair of my panties to hang around your neck? Then whenever you feel jealous, you can wave them at whoever’s pissing you off.”