Extraits

“Love is the one thing that transcends time.”

Five minutes later, he pulled up to the house and flew out of the car as soon as it stopped. One yank on the front door later, and he was inside. Cat and Annette stood on either side of the living room. Cat’s arms were covered in scratches, the end tables and lamps were gone, glass crunched beneath his feet, and the scent of blood clung to both of them even though Cat stretched as though she were getting up from a long nap.

“And that, Annette, is called Pilates,” she said in a terrible imitation of a jovial tone.

“Very entertaining!” Annette said with equal fake cheer.

Rodney stared at him. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

Bones turned off at the private exit that led to the compound. “No, why?”

Rodney’s stare felt like it grew heavier. “You really left Cat and Annette alone together back at the house?”

“Yes. Why?”

Rodney let out a sharp laugh. “For a smart guy, you just did a very stupid thing.”

“Kitten, are you still hunting vampires without your knickers?” Bones asked in as careful a tone as he could manage.

She gave him an exasperated look. “If I’m playing the bait, yes, but if it’s a search-and-destroy, no. Why?”

Lucifer’s. Bouncing. Balls. “We’ll take about it later.”

Her brows drew together like building storm clouds. “From your expression, we’ll talk about it now.”

“Give me that, Kitten.” Holding a loaded weapon while battling unconsciousness was hardly safe.

“Here,” Bones said, handing the gun to Juan, who stared at Bones with openmouthed shock.

“You called her Kitten? And she let you? She put me in a coma for three days the one time I called her that! My balls never recovered from her smashing them into my spine.”

From Cat’s guilty expression, every word was true.

“Hello?” a sleepy feminine voice answered.

“Hallo, Justina,” Bones drawled. “It’s your daughter’s degenerate vampire lover, in case you don’t know my voice.”

The spate of profanity that instantly followed had Bones chuckling.

“My, that is an inventive directive,” he said.

Bones took his mobile out, scrolled, and then dialed. “Hallo, yes, I’d like a large pizza with extra cheese, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Mmm hmm, a two-liter bottle of Coke as well. I’ll be paying cash. Here’s the address.”

A frown stitched between Cat’s brows by the time he hung up. “Is that code for something?”

Bones snorted. “Yes, it’s code for a large pizza and soda. You never did get to eat, and I can’t have you starving on me, can I? Don’t fret, it’s all for you. As you know, I’m full.”

“Took it poorly?” Cat repeated in a near screech. “She tried to have you killed!”

Certainly did. Seemed to be habit with Crawfield women when they first met him.

Cat still snored, and she still stole all the covers. Doing that back in his chilly cave made sense, but this was summer in a house that wasn’t even cold. Not that it mattered. She wrapped herself up in the comforter as if trying to become the world’s first half-vampire, half-human burrito.

“I hope this won’t be engraved on my headstone,” said the man sitting next to Bones. “But you haven’t breathed this whole time. Care to tell me how you do that?”