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“Didn’t I just prove that?” Max sneered.
Bones’s brow arched. “What was her name, then?”
Max actually took a step toward him. “Justina Crawfield. Going to ask what color panties she wore next?”
Bones smiled with all the coldness in him. “When Ian figured out you were Cat’s father, I wager he mentioned that Cat wanted you dead. Scared the stones off you to realize that someone strong enough to get the drop on Ian was coming after you, didn’t it? And you remembered Cat’s mum-clearly, as you’ve proven-so it would have been simplicity itself to look up the name of the child Justina had given birth to.”
Cat gave him a questioning glance. She was so upset that she hadn’t figured it out yet, but as soon as Max had bragged about Justina, Bones had.
“You gave that information to a hitman named Lazarus, didn’t you?” Bones said with silky menace.
Max took a step back. Rapidly.
Ian saw it and nailed Max with a glare that dared him to move another inch.
“You had Lazarus murder that couple in Cat’s former house to draw her out,” Bones went on. “Yet even when she walked into his trap, Lazarus couldn’t kill Cat. That must havereallyscared you, so you went after Cat through the only source you still had. Your brother. You knew he must have sent Cat after Ian, so you dug around until you found a mole in his operation. Then, you had that mole give another hitman Cat’s location and weaknesses. A good plan, but I’m here to inform you that your rodent and his accomplice have been exterminated.”
“Youprick!” Cat shouted. She’d known her father was behind the sniper, but now, she knew he was behind Lazarus, too. No wonder that hadn’t been an open contract. Max had wanted to keep his death warrant on Cat nice and private.
Ian had turned to stone. “What is this, Crispin?”
Bones gave a glib shrug even though he felt anything but. “In short, Ian, Max found Cat before you or I did, but he kept that information to himself so he could go behind your back and murder her in order to protect his own miserable arse. Not very loyal of him, was it?”
Ian spared a single glare at Max before turning back to Bones. “You have any proof of this, Crispin? For obvious reasons, I don’t trust you any longer.”
“I have bank records and transactions from Max’s most recent assassination attempt on Cat. Stupid sod used a personal account to pay her uncle’s informant,” Bones added with a scornful glance at Max. “If you look back, I reckon you’ll also find another large transfer of funds from one of Max’s other accounts back in February, when he hired Lazarus to murder her.”
“Uh oh,” Cat said in a taunting tone. “Looks like you’re in trouble, Max.”
From the rage nearly boiling off of Ian, that was true. He’d been publicly humiliated three times tonight, and Max was the only person he could take immediate revenge on.
Then, Ian’s gaze landed on Bones. For a moment, pain flashed in Ian’s eyes before anger buried it again. Max wasn’t the only one who’d deal with repercussions from tonight. Bones would, too, sooner or later.
But it didn’t matter. Whatever the cost, it was worth it.
Ian’s turquoise gaze then went to Max, and turned diamond hard. Then, Ian jerked his thumb behind him.
Max fell in line with a truly miserable expression.
“Hey, Max,” Cat called out as the two of them started to leave the stadium. “Watch your back. You never know when someone might stick a knife in it.”
Max paused, but he said nothing.
Neither did Ian. He left through the tented hallway with Max following close behind him.
Cat stared as the other vampires began leaving as well. “Wow, no one’s threatening to kill me.”
Bones snorted. “Nor will they, Kitten. In the vampire world, you’re now legally an extension of me, and I am not known for taking threats lightly.”
Charles came over, clapping Bones on the back with a wide grin. “Bloody hell, mate. You, a married man? Now I’ve truly seen everything!”
Bones laughed and embraced him. Both of them held on longer than they usually did. Their estrangement had been difficult, but now, it was over. More than that, it was time to celebrate.
Well, almost.
“Charles,” Bones said when they finally let go. “Mind letting us borrow that helicopter you came in on?”
47
