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“No,” Max said, sounding very confused.
Ian’s laughter preceded a wave of glee as his sire’s emotions crashed through their connection. “You probably don’t. You wouldn’t unless you’ve seen her. Now, tell me about every woman you shagged immediately after I turned you…”
Bones left. He didn’t need to hear Max’s reply. He already knew that twenty-seven years ago, Max had raped a young Justina Crawfield so soon after becoming a vampire that his sperm was still viable. Five months later, Justina gave birth to Cat, and raised her to despise all things vampire, including herself.
Blast it all, if he’d only reacted to Maximmediately! Now, Ian was too clever not to recognize the huge advantage he’d just gained over Cat. At least Max had no useful information on her. Max had no idea that Cat even existed.
He would now, but more importantly, Bones had discovered a new way to track Cat: Ian.
Ian didn’t fit the profile of every other vampire Cat had been sent after. The others had murdered humans in messy, attention-getting ways. Not quietly dropped two bodies without even a fang mark to show for it. Ian must have been personal for whoever pulled Cat’s strings. Because of Max? Or something else?
Either way, it meant a trail that Bones could follow back to Cat’s boss, and to her.
3
Following that trail proved more difficult than Bones imagined. With her father’s first name plus his mid-twenties age range and the month and year he would have “died,” Bones expected to have Max’s human information in less than a day. Instead, he had nothing. According to the internet, Max had never existed.
Within three days, every trace of information related to Cat’s attack on Ian had vanished, too. Even the cover story about Ian’s house being the site of a violent drug bust was nowhere to be found. It was maddening, but also further confirmation that Ian was the key to finding Cat. None of the other cover stories for her vampire hunts had been deleted this way. Only Ian’s, and how interesting that all traces of Max’s life as a human had been erased with the same thoroughness.
Bones didn’t believe in coincidence. Cat’s boss had to be behind both. Now, Bones could narrow his current list of suspects from the hundreds he had to something more manageable.
Bones threw himself into the search. Four weeks later, his list of suspects among high-ranking FBI agents, Secret Service, Homeland Security, CIA, and other important government officials was down to fifty, but he was too concerned to celebrate. Cat hadn’t surfaced again since Ian. Not since the first six months of her forced tenure had she been off the grid like this. Had something happened to her?
Bones was scouring both the regular internet and the dark web when one of his alerts grabbed his attention. He’d set up several of them to trawl for lethal crimes with a supernatural slant. A cursory glance made him frown. A couple hacked to death in their bedroom last night was tragic, but it hardly fit his search parameters. Why had this triggered his alert system? Wait…what was that address?
“Bloody hell,” Bones swore, and left at once.
* * *
His plane toucheddown in Ohio four hours later. It was the fastest he could get there after driving to the nearest airport and mesmerizing a clerk into bumping a passenger and adding him instead. Even still, every moment felt like razors on his psyche, and not for the usual reason of how Bones hated to fly.
Cat would be at this murder scene. She wouldn’t be able to resist it. After all, it had taken place inside her old house.
He checked for updates as soon as he landed. Anticipation crackled through him when he saw that the previous reports had already disappeared. He’d been in the air only two hours. Thismustbe the work of Cat’s boss, and why else would he erase the evidence unless he was sending her here?
Bones hailed a cab. “Take me to Licking Falls, and hurry.”
Nearly an hour later, Bones was at the winding road that led to the cherry orchard bordering Cat’s former house. He was halfway through the orchard when Cat’s scent danced on the wind, causing him to nearly stumble as he caught that honey-and-cream mixture. Bones inhaled-and instantly caught the metallic tang of blood plus the unmistakable stench of death. He hadn’t beaten her here after all, but she might still be in the house. In moments, he could be looking into her eyes…
The thought nearly caused him to fly right into the dash cameras of the police cars surrounding the house. Bones forced himself to stop at the edge of the orchard. Several police guarded the perimeter, but were they the only ones here?
Bones circled around to the back of the property. It helped that the trees were overgrown and brush had grown between the once neatly trimmed rows. Cat would mourn to see her family’s orchard so neglected. He pushed that thought back. One of the men patrolling the perimeter had come nearer. From his utter lack of attention to the trees at his back, this wasn’t one of Cat’s human vampire hunters. They’d know better. Bones loudly snapped a branch. The officer came closer without so much as a mention to the others of what he was doing.
Thank you, you arrogant fool.
Bones grabbed him from behind, crushing his body camera into pieces before turning the bloke to face him. “Not a word,” Bones hissed while green filled up his gaze.
Mutely, the officer nodded.
“Is there a woman inside the house?” Bones whispered.
Cat didn’t have a vampire’s incredible sense of smell, but she did have their supernatural hearing. With luck, the squawk from dispatch in the patrol cars would drown his out.
Another nod. Adrenaline shot through Bones.She was here!
“More men inside with her?” Bones asked softly.
Another nod, though less emphatic. Something about the question had confused the officer. Not that it mattered.
