“How did you finish with the boys? What happened to Ralphie and Martin?”

“Fretting about them, are you? So typically American, more concerned about the criminals than the victims. Didn’t ask if they found a new friend to play with, did you? Didn’t ask about what happened to her. No, you’re too anxious over their welfare.”

“They drugged someone else? Is she all right?” If he meant to shame me, he’d succeeded.

His eyes drilled into mine.

“No, pet. She is not all right. Since you didn’t go down after two doses of their juice, they tripled the quantity. While you were off getting your neck munched on, they were merrily picking out another lass. It was their stupidity to drive her only a mile away from the club. When I went back, I came upon them in a van in the trees and smelled the filthy sods inside. One was shagging the poor girl while the other waited his turn. Course, they didn’t realize she was already dead from too much drugs. I tore the doors off and snapped the spine of the lad doing the rooting. This scared the other one right good, as you can guess. I spoke to him a bit first to make sure he’d nothing to do with Hennessey. He sang, said he and his pal made sport of slipping girls drugs and then shagging them before dumping them wherever. Liked to pick vampire clubs and such, because girls who frequented those places tended not to report any crimes. He got real upset when I told him the girl was dead. Cried and said they weren’t supposed to die, only lie there. Then I ripped his throat out and drank what was left. After that, I went to the club and reported them to the owner. They don’t take to activities like that around their place, it draws unwanted attention. Did those snits a favor by killing them quickly. The owner would have drawn it out for weeks as a warning to any other human stupid enough to try that trick.”

Feeling ill, I sat on the edge of the bed and lowered my head. That poor girl, what a tragedy. Hearing how Bones had killed Ralphie and Martin still put a chill through me. Did they deserve it? Yes. Should Bones have done it? I didn’t have the answer.

“What did you do with her?”

“Drove the van away after dumping the lads’ bodies at the club and parked it off the highway. Someone will find it, see who it’s registered to, and make the assumption that after they’d raped her and she overdosed, they split. Well, one of them, as it were. There was blood inside the interior. Coppers will reckon the same bloke who killed them both ran off. It won’t be the first time something like this has happened.”

“At least her parents will find out about her and not have to wonder for the rest of their lives.”

I grieved for that unknown family who would get that terrible phone call. My head dropped to my hands, pounding with a headache. After all that happened, it was a small price to pay.

“Hennessey. What do you think he’ll do? Do you think he’ll try something, or keep running?”

Bones gave a humorless laugh.

“Hennessey knows I’m after him now. He’s suspected it, but he’s finally got his proof. He’ll try something, all right. But when and where, I have no idea. He might lie low for a bit, or he might come after me straightaway. I don’t know, but it’s not over.”

“It’s my fault Hennessey got away. God, I was so stupid not to notice that something was wrong until it was too late…”

“It’s not your fault, Kitten.”

Hands settled on my shoulders as he slid nearer, and belatedly, it occurred to me that one of the ways I’d acted oddly was to make out with him. Now here we were in bed, with him naked and me nearly so. Not smart.

I got out of bed and turned my back to him, wanting to put more distance between us. It was the drugs that had made me kiss him, the drugs. Repeating it over and over made me feel better.

“Bones, I-I have to thank you. You saved my life. I passed out right after pushing that button, and he would have bled me dry. But you know the only reason I…was so forward with you was because of the chemicals they slipped me. You know that, right? Of course, I don’t blame you for taking me up on it. I’m sure it meant nothing to you. I just wanted you to know it meant nothing to me as well.”

My back was still to him, and I desperately wished for more clothes. It was too dangerous to be trapped with him without thirty layers of armor on.

“Turn ’round.” His voice was filled with something I was afraid to decipher. Whatever it was, it wasn’t happy.

“Um, can you move that stone so I can get out of here and just-”

“Turn around.” Now I knew what was in his voice. Threat.

Slowly I faced him.

Without warning he was in front of me, only inches away, still totally nude. My face flamed, but I kept my eyes determinedly upward. That was almost as bad. The expression in his made me tremble.

“I’m really not comfortable with you being naked,” I said, struggling for a normal tone and failing.

His brow arched. “Why should it unsettle you, pet? After all, you just said I meant nothing to you beyond mere gratitude. And you’ve seen a man’s body before, so don’t pull that blushing act with me. What could be bothering you, then? I know what’s bothering me.” The smoothly bantering tone changed to a low, furious growl. “What’s bothering me is that you dare to stand there and tell me what I do and do not feel about last night. That kissing you and holding you meant nothing to me. Then, to top it all off, that you were only reacting to me because you were impaired! That’s rich. You know what those drugs did to you in the first dose, before the second one made you comatose? They killed the bug up your arse!”

With that, he yanked the stone off its setting and opened the passageway. My mouth hung open in outrage, and he pointed an emphatic finger at the exit.

“Out you go, before I lose my temper and we’ll see how much you don’t like to kiss me.”

Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, I left. Quickly.

ELEVEN

D ID YOU GET THE NOTES FROM THE LECTURE today? I slept in and didn’t wake up until half an hour ago! Was it really boring like last time?”

Stephanie was in my physics class. At least, she was when she showed up. She had missed two days out of the past five, but whenever I got out of class, she’d be there waiting for me. She liked to hang around campus, it was my guess. Found socializing much more interesting than the actual courses.

Stephanie was a petite brunette with an outgoing personality, and she’d spent the last five days pulling me out of my antisocial shell. College began on Monday. Today was Friday, and so far, she was the only person I’d spoken to on this huge, overwhelming campus.

With my friendless track record, I’d been hesitant to engage in normal, amicable small talk. If it didn’t have to do with dead bodies, school, or the cherry orchard, I generally didn’t know what to say. Stephanie didn’t let that faze her. She was cheerful and ebullient enough for both of us, and for some reason, she seemed to take a liking to me right off.

“Yeah, I have them. Do you need to make copies?”

She grinned. “Nah. I probably won’t read them anyway. Studying is so boring. Besides, I’m never going to use this crap again, so who needs it?”

Stephanie was a freshman, but in many ways, she was far more sophisticated than me. During our second conversation after class, she’d informed me that she had been dating since she was twelve, lost her virginity at fourteen, and considered men as entertaining and convenient as fast food.

“Tell me why you registered for college?” I asked in amusement.

She nodded pointedly at an attractive male who passed by us.

“The boys. This place is crawling with them. It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet!”

She and Bones had something in common. He would find the campus an all-you-can-eat buffet, too, just not in nearly the same way.