One Grave at a Time (9 page)

Lexie, Fred, and Nancy hurried to comply. But then I found the source of that pulsating, seething energy, and my jaw dropped.

Bones stood in the hallway, fists slowly clenching and emerald blazing from his gaze as he stared at Graham.

“Don’t
ever
disrespect my wife that way again.”

Each word was a low, furious growl that caused all activity in the room to screech to a halt. Every head swung in Bones’s direction, then mine wasn’t the only sagging jaw as the crew took in his fangs and glowing green eyes. Only Tyler kept his cool, but then again, he hadn’t just discovered a shocking new truth like the rest of us had.

For Chris, Lexie, Fred, Graham, and Nancy, it was the discovery that vampires existed. For me, it was the realization that
Bones
had been the one to strike Graham, and he’d done it without moving from his spot across the room.

Twelve

C
hris found his voice before I did.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Sounds upset, but not hysterical. Good for him,
I thought, still in a daze from the knowledge that Bones had slapped Graham using only the power from his mind
.
Up until now, only one other vampire in the world could do the same thing, and that vampire was over four thousand years old. Bones hadn’t even hit his bicentennial birthday yet.

But that former pharaoh, Mencheres, was Bones’s co-ruler, and he’d shared some of his staggering power with Bones when they merged lines a while back. Immediately upon receiving that supernatural transfusion, Bones’s strength had tripled, and he’d gained the ability to read human minds. I’d often wondered if any other abilities might crop up as time went on. Guess I should wonder no more.

But why didn’t he tell me before this? Like,
Oh, by the by, Kitten, I’m telekinetic now. Fancy that, hmm?

“So that was you?” Tyler relaxed as he figured out that Bones’s words combined with his furious glare meant that Kramer wasn’t the one who’d hit Graham.

Bones looked at me, some of the tightness leaving his features.

“It would seem so.”

My initial spurt of irritation melted away. Good God, this ability was news to him, too?

“You didn’t know?” I asked softly.

His mouth twisted. “Wasn’t sure until now.”

“I will walk out of here right now if someone doesn’t start making a lot of sense,” Chris swore. He wasn’t the only one who’d started to edge toward the front door, I noticed.

“Ghosts aren’t the only freaky things that exist,” Tyler summed up before I could phrase a more gentle reply. The medium waved at me and Bones. “Meet the vampires.”

Lexie let out a nervous laugh. Graham looked like he wanted to throw up. From their thoughts, Fred and Nancy were each contemplating dialing 911. Chris’s mind tilted between denial and an odd sense of triumph, like he’d suspected there was more to the supernatural world but hadn’t known what it was.

“There’s no need to worry,” I said while wondering if I’d have to stop some of them from calling the police. “We don’t kill people—well, not people who don’t
deserve
it, that is, and—”

Graham screamed, trying to run for the door. Bones had him dangling by the front of his shirt in the next blink, throwing me a sardonic look.

“Best not to mention any killing in a reveal speech, luv.”

“Right.” I sighed, catching Lexie and Fred as they also made a break for it. “Don’t worry,” I ordered, turning the brights on in my gaze. “We’re not going to hurt you!”

They relaxed like I’d shot them each with a dart full of Valium. Bones whispered something I didn’t catch to Graham, but he, too, soon had a glazed and compliant expression. Chris watched everything in silence and complete stillness, his mental somersaulting the only indication that he was far less calm than he looked.

“The way you move . . . both of you are only a blur,” he said at last.

I shrugged. “The myths got some things right. Superspeed is one of them.”

“What did the myths get wrong?” he asked at once.

“Uncontrollable need to kill, wooden stakes, exploding in sunlight, cringing at crosses, lack of reflection, and, oh, the stiff-collared capes. I mean, honestly,
who
would go out in public wearing one of those?”

“Fashion tragedy,” Tyler agreed.

Chris continued to stare. “You forgot mind control.”

“Saw that for yourself, didn’t you?” Bones replied. His tone was light, but his gaze didn’t waver from Chris’s. “You and your crew won’t remember any of this once the trap is completed, but until then, I want you to know what you’re dealing with. Then perhaps one of you won’t again tempt me to violence with his thoughts.”

Despite the maelstrom in his mind, Chris’s bearded chin thrust out.

“Don’t threaten my crew.”

Bones’s brow ticked up. “Or you’ll do what?” he asked mildly.

Chris swallowed hard. “I won’t finish the trap you’re so interested in,” he replied. If I hadn’t heard his mental prayer that these wouldn’t turn out to be his last words, I’d have sworn he had balls of steel.

Bones clapped Chris on the shoulder in a friendly way that still caused the other man to flinch. “I could trance you into doing the same, but you’ve got bravery and loyalty, both of which I value. Keep your crew in line, and you’ll have no worries.”

“They can’t help their thoughts, Bones,” I pointed out. Sure, I’d been annoyed at Graham’s crude musings, but clearly not as pissed as Bones if they’d triggered a telekinetic response he didn’t know he was capable of.

Then again, anger had usually been the trigger with my borrowed abilities, and that was before I’d known I had them, too. Maybe anger was just the normal way new abilities manifested themselves. How was I supposed to know?

“Now they’re warned that their thoughts aren’t private, so they have only themselves to blame if they don’t keep a leash on them,” was his unrelenting reply. “They should be focused on the task at hand, not on insolently pondering whether you fabricated tales of a ghost because you neglected your medication, were desperate for attention, or crazed from your monthlies.”

“Jesus, Graham,” Chris muttered.

“Figures. Every time something happens with a woman, you guys always bring up her period,” Lexie said, to an accompanying snort of agreement from Nancy.

Graham flushed. “I didn’t say it out loud.”

“And now you know that doesn’t matter,” Bones stated curtly, green flashing in his eyes again.

I cleared my throat to defuse the tension. “Okay, everyone relax and remember we just have to get through completing the trap. Then you’ll go on with your lives with a nice fat bonus, and there’ll be one less murdering creep floating around. I think we can all agree that’s a goal worth working toward.”

Cautious murmurs of assent sounded, but I hadn’t been looking for a fervent chorus of “whoo hoo’s!” so that was good enough for me.

“Bones.” I gave a weary glance out the window where the sun was starting to creep up over the horizon. “Let’s get some sleep. We have a lot to do later.”

I
’d just finished putting away the groceries when my cell phone rang, its musical cadence shattering the quiet. It was just Bones and I in the house at the moment. We’d dropped the others off at the cave while we gathered enough odds and ends to keep half a dozen humans comfortable during their stay here.

I expected to see Tyler or Chris’s cell number when I grabbed my phone, but instead the word BLOCKED appeared.
Telemarketer,
I thought in annoyance, and was about to hit
IGNORE
when I paused. What if it was someone calling on Fabian’s behalf? The ghost had to rely on others to make a call for him since he lacked the ability to physically dial, and his voice came through only as static over the phone. Fabian might have shown up at the hotel last night only to find all of us checked out and no information on where we’d gone to. Even if he’d thought to try the cave and heard from Tyler where we were staying now, with all the garlic and weed I was sporting in my clothes, not to mention what was set up around the house, Fabian might not be able to reach me.

Just in case it was a solicitor, though, I answered the phone with an unfriendly-sounding hello.

“Crawfield?” an equally abrupt voice asked.

No telemarketer would have my correct name since this number was listed under one of my many aliases. But though that voice was vaguely familiar, I couldn’t place a name to it.

“Who’s this?”

“Jason Madigan.”

Ah, the team’s infamous new operations consultant. From his tone, Madigan’s sourpuss mood hadn’t improved since our first meeting.

“To what do I owe this honor?” I asked dryly.

“You owe it to a complete lack of discretion about supernaturally sensitive information,” was his cold, measured reply.

I needed his attitude like I needed an extra pair of tits on my ass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Care to start making sense?”
Or is that too much to ask, Mr. Brass Tacks?
I mentally added.

“From where your cell is transmitting, I’m guessing you’re at your former childhood residence,” he stated, pissing me off more that he must’ve started tracking my signal as soon as I picked up. “A chopper will be there to pick you up in thirty minutes.”

“Sorry, but you’ll just have to tell me what’s up over the phone. I have other plans for tonight,” I said, waving Bones over and mouthing
Madigan
while pointing at my cell.

“If you refuse to come, your visitation privileges at the compound will be permanently revoked.”

A distinct click punctuated that sentence. Good thing, too, since I’d taken a deep breath so I could tell the consultant in explicit terms where he could shove his ultimatum, and that wouldn’t have been smart. He probably could revoke my visitation privileges if he tattled on me to the higher-ups for cursing him out the way I was about to.

“What does he want, Kitten?”

“Death by fang if he keeps this up,” I spat, my temper leaking out despite my efforts to rein it in. “I don’t know,” I amended with a tight sigh. “But now I know how frustrated Chris felt when you pointed out that he couldn’t stop you if you decided to do something he didn’t like. Karma’s a bitch, right?”

Both dark brows arched. “Going to elaborate on what you mean?”

“If I don’t drop everything and let myself be whisked away to the compound, so Madigan can chew me out for God-knows-what, then I only get to see my mother and the guys when they’re off base. Which, as you know, isn’t that often.”

Bones didn’t react with instant anger as I’d done. Instead, he tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Good way to find out if your uncle’s discovered anything of import on the bloke, so let him feel like he’s won this round. It’ll only be to our benefit.”

Of course. If I didn’t let Madigan push my buttons so effectively, I’d have come to the same conclusion. Don also didn’t know that he couldn’t zip to my side whenever he wanted to anymore. Aside from seeing if he’d come up with any dirt on Madigan, it was also important to let my uncle know about my change in supernatural status.

“You’ll have to stay here, Bones. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be back in time to pick everyone up from the cave.”

It wouldn’t be right to ask Chris’s team to wait in a damp, chilly cave most of the night, especially since they’d had to bunk on the floor without food last night. But I’d be damned if I’d ask our helicopter escort to pick up the gang first before flying us back to the house. Madigan might know about my old childhood home, but I wasn’t about to give up the cave’s location to him, too.

Bones’s scent and the scrape of his emotions across mine let me know how much he didn’t like the idea of my going alone, but at last, he nodded.

“You’ll take sage in case Kramer manages to locate you again.”

Right, because I couldn’t show up to see Madigan covered in weed and garlic. Even if
that
wouldn’t be cause for a lot of questions, which it would, that mixture would keep Don away from me, defeating half the purpose of going.

“I’ll call you when I’m on my way back,” I said, brushing his sculpted cheekbones with the tips of my fingers. “You keep some sage close by, too, and if Helsing starts to screech, light it.”

“Oh, don’t fret about me.” Bones smiled, but something cold flashed across his face. “I’m looking forward to making that spook’s acquaintance again.”

He might be relishing the chance to avenge Kramer’s shower attack on me, but if I had my way, neither one of us would see the Inquisitor until we were slamming the door of the trap shut on him.

“I love you,” I said, because it was a better use of words than endless repetitions for him to be careful. Logic might know that Bones was more than capable of handling himself if Kramer came after him, but the thought of his being attacked while I was away still made me sick to my stomach.

“I love you, too, Kitten.”

His voice changed, becoming the warm, knowing one that made me melt a little each time I heard it. Then his lips brushed across my forehead, so feathery soft and light it was more a tease than a kiss.

“Don’t let that tosser Madigan get a rise out of you, he’ll only enjoy it,” he murmured against my skin. “Your will is stronger than his. Show him that.”

I trailed my fingers from his face down to his shoulders, pulling him closer until the hard planes of his body pressed along mine. Madigan had hung up on me ten minutes ago. That meant the chopper wouldn’t arrive for another twenty minutes.

I let my hands glide from his shoulders down to the tight valley of his stomach, then dipped one inside the front of his pants.

“Why don’t you help put me in a calmer mood?” I whispered.

I was on the floor, Bones’s mouth crushing mine, before the last word left my lips.