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Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tate puff up like an enraged blowfish. “I’m not some fanger’s boy toy!”
Annette laughed, low and knowing. “According to vampire law, you’remyboy toy if I say so.”
“You should’ve read the fine print before hopping into bed with her, Tate,” Cat said coldly. “You’ll be lucky if I don’t pay you back by tattling to Don about it, too. But right now, we’ve got bigger issues. Okay, Bones,” her gaze swung back to him. “Does biting Juan and Cooper cover us if things go south with Ian? Or does Annette have to bang them, too?”
He could already guess Juan’s preference, so this answer would disappoint him. “Biting them will suffice.”
“Okay.” Cat squared her shoulders. “I don’t want to call myself anyone’s ‘property,’ but if it’s do that or watch one of my men die…then fuck my pride.”
Tate gave her a look that Bones could well relate to, even if seeing it made him want to knock Tate’s head off.
Cat stood. “Let’s go to the compound so you can bite Juan and Cooper. Then, Annette and I will take the guys to play bait-and-switch with Ian’s men while you and Rodney get Noah. When am I supposed to meet up with Ian after this?”
“Midnight, which gives you time, because after you capture Ian’s guards, you need to go to a spa.”
Cat looked more shocked than she had at hearing that Ian had found her. “A spa? Why on earth would I do that?”
Annette started to roll her eyes, and then stopped at the look Bones gave her. Cat wasn’t used to determining things by scent. It was her only truly human trait.
“You need at least an hour in a steam room to sweat my scent from your pores. If you went to Ian as you are now, he’d know from one whiff that you were double-crossing him with me. Don’t fret, everything’s been arranged.”
“Oh.” She took in an experimental sniff, and then nodded. Thanks to their blood sharing last night, she’d now be able to smell things nearly as well as a vampire for the next few days. She’d also be faster, stronger, and quicker to heal. He hadn’t done it to be practical, but he was glad of those benefits now.
Cat gave a falsely cheerful smile. “Okay, looks like I’ve got a date with Ian’s men, then a steam room, and then Ian.”
“And me,” Annette said in a purring tone.
Bones gave her a sharp look.
Annette waved it off. “You already know that’s the best disguise, Crispin. If I go as your representative, and Cat pretends to be my date, the guards will be far less suspicious of her presence when we bring in her men.”
Annette was right. From the tightening of her mouth, Cat knew it, too.
“Let me guess: I’m supposed to be the super horny date who also suggests a ménage with Ian’s guards, too?” Cat said.
Annette let out a surprised, if approving, laugh. “That would be the fastest way to get them to lower their weapons.”
Cat shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve faked being easy to get a vampire to drop their guard.”
No, she’d been hunting vampires that way for years. Still, so much could go wrong. Having a good plan only mitigated the danger. Nothing could erase it.
“This is gonna be some night,” Tate muttered.
For the second time that morning, Bones agreed with him.
42
It didn’t take long to get Cooper and Juan up to speed on the new developments. It took even less time to bite each of them, and then get them loaded into the back of a construction van that Rodney provided. Annette drove, with Cat riding shotgun. They were headed to the rendezvous point with Ian’s guards, so Bones and Rodney went to Noah’s.
Bones stared at the tidy, single-story house with beige walls and forest green trim. Noah was home; Bones could hear his heartbeat. He shouldgo inside, snatch Noah up, and leave, but a new, insidious thought had Bones waiting in their spot a block away until Rodney’s gaze grew heavy enough to feel.
“Something I should know about?” Rodney drawled.
Yes. That Ian can’t use Max against Cat if Max is dead.
It would be wrong, of course. A betrayal, even. Cat trusted Bones to retrieve Noah and leave. Not steal the vengeance she’d been dreaming about since she was sixteen. But could he really continue to let Ian have such a mighty tool against Cat, especially if Bones could simply…remove it?
Rodney sighed. “You want to kill him, don’t you?”
