Three

I’D been in life-and-death situations since I was sixteen, but those could be handled with some bravery—or recklessness, depending on who you asked—and my knives. A cranky, demanding heiress required a different set of skills. Ones I didn’t seem to have.

Day two during a conversation with Tammy: “So you’re married to Bones, huh? How’d you manage to snag him? You know, with your red hair and white skin, you look like a big candy cane.”

Day three: “Boy, is Bones hot. If I were you, I’d be on him five times a day. If you two break up, send him my way, huh?”

Day four: “Let me out of this room! I’ll call the police, the FBI. Let me out!”

By day five, when Don still hadn’t located Gables, Bones and I were ready to take matters into our own hands. If my uncle, with all the resources of the military and the government behind him, couldn’t find Gables, then he wasn’t going to be found anytime soon. Putting our lives on hold for a few days was one thing, but Bones was Master of a large vampire line. We couldn’t hide with Tammy for much longer. Soon we’d have to get back to our usual routine, dealing with the intricacies and dangers of life in undead society.

Not to mention, staying in a tiny house with my mother had ground my sex life to a halt. These walls were paper thin anyway, and with my mother being a vampire, anything we did would be as clear to her as if she were in the same room. The idea of her overhearing every last detail of me getting it on with Bones wasn’t romantic, to say the least. Yeah, it was past time to be proactive about finding Gables.

We drove down a barely used road that dead-ended at a large industrial warehouse. Judging from its exterior, you’d never guess this was a nightclub filled with creatures the average person didn’t believe existed. It was called Bite. Bones had taken me here on our first date, but we weren’t taking a trip down memory lane. We were here for information.

Parking was around the back, surrounded by a thick line of trees that concealed the number of cars from anyone who happened to stumble across the lonely single road. For a secluded spot where immortals could let their hair down, Bite was perfect.

Of course, the heartbeats coming from many of the people waiting to get in proved that Bite didn’t cater only to undead partiers. They’re the menu, with legs, Bones had said of the humans the first time he brought me here. It was a willing arrangement. A skillfully executed vampire bite could feel better than foreplay. Plus, some humans hung around vampires hoping to be promoted to the next level in the food chain. Even the undead had groupies.

My mother declined to come with us, stating that she didn’t want to be around more vampires than necessary. Fabian stayed to keep her company, which seemed to make her happy. How far she’d come. I remembered when my mother would have run screaming away from a ghost, not looked forward to spending an evening with one.

So it was just Bones, Tammy, and I who walked past the people in line. Humans and new vampires might have to wait their turn, but a Master vampire—and anyone with him—could go straight to the door. As we approached, I felt Bones draw in his aura of power, suppressing it to a level far below the mega-Master that he was. It was a trick Bones had gotten better at during the past several months. Immediately, the connection I had with him was barely discernible. The last time he’d closed himself off like this, it was right before he’d almost died. Feeling that blank wall when I was used to tapping into his mood brought back bad memories.

“I hate it when you do that,” I whispered.

He squeezed my hand. “Sorry, luv. I don’t want to announce myself to anyone who doesn’t already know me.”

I understood. Muting his power level was a better disguise for Bones than dyeing his hair or making other changes to his appearance.

The entrance was guarded by a brawny, blond vampire who had to be six feet tall. She barely looked at Tammy, smiled when she saw Bones, and then laughed when her gaze flicked to me.

“I knew it. Wait until I see Logan. I told him Bones brought the Red Reaper with him years ago, but Logan didn’t believe me.”

I’d recognized the bouncer from that night, but I was surprised she remembered me.

“Trixie, luv, been a long time,” Bones said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She returned it before shaking my hand.

“Reaper. A pleasure.”

“Call me Cat.” Red Reaper might be my nickname among the undead, but I preferred to be called by the abbreviation of my real name.

Tammy gave Trixie a frank stare. “Is she dead, too?”

Trixie grinned, showing off the gold plating on her fangs. “Does that answer your question?”

“Ew,” Tammy said.

I rolled my eyes and mouthed Sorry to Trixie, but she didn’t seem to care about Tammy’s comment.

“No fireworks inside,” Trixie said, giving my hand a last, friendly squeeze.

I glanced at my hands and suppressed a shudder. One of my new tricks as a vampire was that when I got really pissed, flames shot from my hands. Guess word of that had spread. It shouldn’t surprise me. Nobody loved gossip as much as people who’d had centuries of experience spreading it.

“We’re not here for trouble,” Bones said.

Trixie laughed. “That’ll be the day when you don’t leave trouble in your wake, Bones. Just keep it away from here.”

“She knows you pretty well, huh?” I asked once we’d come inside.

Bones’s mouth quirked. “Not as well as you’re implying, Kitten.”

It was a valid guess. Bones looked like temptation incarnate, and he’d been around the block for hundreds of years before he met me. If I assumed he’d slept with every female vampire he introduced me to, I’d be right more than I was wrong.

I pushed that thought away with all the other things I didn’t like to dwell on. “Come on. I can smell the gin and tonic up ahead.”

It was true. I smelled the different alcohols as the bartenders poured them, the myriad of other people’s scents mixed with different perfumes, aftershaves, and the tang of blood. Add that to the pulsating music, the muted strobe lights, the crush of people, and the energy wafting from everyone without a heartbeat, and I felt almost drunk from sensory overload.

“You couldn’t feel it the last time, but you can now, can’t you?” Bones whispered. “How thin the line is here between the normal and the paranormal. I told you Ohio was a supernatural hotspot. This club was built on an even bigger one. Feels like a charge in your blood, doesn’t it?”

It did. No wonder the undead flocked to hotspots. Alcohol and drugs couldn’t affect me anymore, but being surrounded by all the inhuman occupants, where magic seemed to throb just below the surface, was sensual and exhilarating.

“Forget the drink. Let’s dance.”

My voice came out lower than I intended. Green appeared in the dark depths of Bones’s eyes.

“Are you guys going to let me dance and have a little fun for once?” Tammy grumbled.

Bones swept out his hand. “By all means. Only don’t leave the dance floor for any reason, or I’ll lock you in your closet for a week.”

Even if Tammy didn’t know from experience that Bones never bluffed, his expression must have convinced her, because she gulped.

“Stay on the dance floor. Got it.”

“Right, then. Off you go.”