"He's English!" I settled on desperately. "And Mom...Mom hates foreigners!"

She stayed an hour. By the time she left, I was a nervous wreck, and so was Timmie. He'd drunk so much coffee, he practically had the shakes even though he was sitting down. I'd attempted to steer the conversation to college, the orchard, my grandparents, or anything else that didn't contain the word vampire. Every chance I got, I made pitying expressions behind her back, or twirled my finger near my temple in the universal gesture for insanity.

Timmie tried to be supportive during my mother's "spell." "That's right, Justina!" he said more than once. "We're going to knock those demons out and slay them with the power of Jesus. Hallelujah, can I get an amen?"

In fact, he affected such an overly zealous att.i.tude that as I walked her to the door, she drew me aside and muttered that he was sweet-but possibly a fanatic.

When she was finally gone, I leaned against the door and closed my eyes in relief.

"Thank G.o.d," I grumbled.

"Sure," Timmie agreed. "Amen!"

"You can stop that," I said, giving him a tired smile. "I owe you one, Timmie. Thanks." I had just put my arms around him in a hug of grat.i.tude when the door opened behind me without a knock.

"Am I interrupting something?" a coolly p.i.s.sed, accented voice asked.

This time, my glance heavenward was in silent challenge. Is that how it is? Fine, then, bring it! Let's see what You've got!

Timmie jumped like he'd been stabbed. "Ungh!"

I didn't know what that meant, but the sight of him leaping away with a hand shielding his groin had me turning around in irritation.

"Dammit, tell him you're not going to neuter him!"

Bones folded his arms and regarded Timmie without pity. "Why?"

I gave him an evil look. "Because if you don't, I'm going to get really, really celibate."

My glare told him I meant it. He made an acquiescing motion that nevertheless sent Timmie bolting in the opposite direction.

"Don't fret, mate. You can leave with your stones intact, but remember, pretending to be her boyfriend was just that. Don't let the fantasy go to your head."

"You heard that?" Now I waved a frantic, mental white flag at the sky. Okay, You win!

His mouth twisted. "Death to all demons, can I get an amen?"

Great. "Look, I'm sorry, but I went a little nuts when she accused me of-of drinking!"

"You do drink," he countered, not getting it.

"No!" I tapped my neck. "I mean of drinking."

Timmie looked thoroughly confused, but understanding dawned on Bones's face.

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l," he said finally.

I nodded. "In a nutsh.e.l.l."

Bones turned back to Timmie. "Private time, lad. Say goodbye."

It wasn't the nicest way he could have worded it, but from the set of his shoulders, it could have been worse.

"Timmie, thanks so much again, I'll see you in the morning," I said with another smile.

He looked glad to be on his way and made a beeline for the exit. Just as he was out the door, however, he stuck his head back in.

"I don't mind foreigners. G.o.d save the queen!" he squeaked, and ran.

Bones arched a brow. I sighed.

"Didn't hear that part? Never mind. Don't ask."

EIGHTEEN.

T WO WEEKS WENT BY, BUT WE DIDN'T FIND anything more about Switch. What was worse, even the few police reports that had been filed on the missing girls suddenly disappeared from record. Hennessey was covering his tracks faster than we could follow them.

"This makes no sense," Bones fumed. "Hennessey's been s.n.a.t.c.hing up girls for the better part of six decades, and he's never been this careful before. When things got messy, he'd leave. Pick another area to spin his web. I can't fathom why he's taking the time to mesmerize their families, why he's making the additional effort to have the police reports disappear, or what he's up to!"

We were back at the cave, so we could talk without having to worry about one of my neighbors overhearing. The walls were thin at my apartment. I didn't want to dwell on all the nonconversations Timmie must have already listened to when Bones spent the night.

"Maybe he's tired of running," I offered. "He's comfy, wants to stay awhile, and knows if the headlines start blaring about a serial killer, the police will have to get serious. Then he'd have to lay low or get out. What if that's his motivation?"

Bones threw me a look while bent over his laptop. "I've considered that, but there has to be more. Lola said he had new protection, remember? That's the wild card. Whoever they are, he's being a d.a.m.ned sight more discreet for them, and it begs the question why. They're either vampires or humans of prominence, is what I reckon. People with reputations to protect."

I didn't know much about the vampire world, so I wasn't going to be any help there. I did know a thing or two about the breathing community, however, so I felt my pulse ent.i.tled me to speculate.

"Corrupt cops? Maybe a police chief? Some of those reports could have been accidentally lost, but not all of them. Say you're the chief of police, or you're running for sheriff, whatever, and you want to get some easy cash while still making the public believe you're competent. A bunch of disappearances would look bad. So you try to get your business partner to clean up his act, and maybe you tip him off as to where he can find some vulnerable girls. G.o.d, if it was a sheriff, he could invite Hennessey to pick his favorites out of a lineup at the local stockade! Then he could make the records disappear as well. What if all such a person asked for in return was that Hennessey control public outcry? It's not such a big price to pay, is it?"

He tapped his chin thoughtfully, considering that. Then his cell phone rang.

"Hallo.... Yes, Charles, I can hear you.... Where?...

When?...Who?...All right, I'll see you shortly."

He hung up, staring at me.

"What?" I asked, impatient.

"Seems there's been a development. He's with one of Hennessey's people now who wants to talk to me about switching sides."

"I'm going with you," I said instantly.

Bones made a regretful noise. "I knew you'd say that."

Spade opened the door to the hotel room, giving me a flick of his gaze.

"I'm surprised you brought her with you, Crispin."

I didn't say 'f.u.c.k off,' but it was close.

"Better to have her come and know what transpired than for her to stay back and wonder about it," Bones replied. "Let us enter, Charles, so we can get started."

This two-name thing is annoying, I was thinking as Spade stepped aside. Can't vampires just pick one? A woman was in the center of the room. I might have noticed how plush the interior was, and that it was as big as my grandparents' whole upstairs, or any other number of inconsequential details, except for one thing.

She was without a doubt the most gorgeous female I'd ever seen. In person or on television. She looked Latino, with curly black hair down to her hips, positively perfect features set on a body that didn't seem real, and crimson-colored lips. I just stared at her for a minute. Only in cartoons did women have such minuscule waists, big b.r.e.a.s.t.s, round bubble b.u.t.ts, and legs like that. It wasn't hard to notice her figure, either. Her dress could barely be called one, and it was so tight, it was a good thing she didn't need to breathe.

"Francesca," Bones said, going to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you've come."

And that was all I needed to see to decide right then and there that I hated her guts.

"Bones..."

She drew his name out like it was candy, and when she kissed his cheek, leaving a bright red lipstick imprint, her eyes met mine in open challenge.

Spade's hand on my shoulder shook me from my state of murderous contemplation. I'd just been fantasizing about whipping two of the knives out of my jacket and flinging them into her double-Ds.

"Francesca, this is Cat," Bones said next, gesturing to me. "She's with me, so you need not hesitate about speaking freely with her present."

I advanced with something stretching my face that may or may not have been a smile. "Hi. We're sleeping together."

I heard it come out of my mouth in a detached sort of way, only mildly noticing Spade mutter something about this not being a wise idea and that both of Bones's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

Francesca shared neither of their reactions. Full, pouty lips curled.

"But of course, nina. Who could resist him?"

Spoken while her fingers trailed down the side of his shirt, and I almost lost it right there.

"Kitten." Bones caught my hand that shot out and tucked it casually in his arm, as if I hadn't been about to knock her on her well- shaped a.s.s. "Let's sit, shall we?"

I didn't know what was wrong with me. Some small, rational part was screaming that this was a person who could help bring down Hennessey and to get a grip on myself. The rest of me was in full, blind hostility mode and not comprehending what rational behavior meant.

Bones led me toward a nearby couch, not letting go of my hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Francesca taking in the view of him leaving, licking those plump red lips.

My free hand swung in an arc to land on the a.s.s she was admiring. With a glare, I gave it a big squeeze, using the last of my control not to shriek, You like that? Look who's got it!

Bones stopped, glancing down meaningfully. I s.n.a.t.c.hed my hand back almost in confusion, giving myself a mental shake to try and snap out of the insanity.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Quite all right," he said with a smile that somehow made me feel less of a schmuck than I'd acted like. "Just a bit more difficult to walk."

I laughed at the picture of him trying to go any distance with my throwing hand clutched to his chest and my other one pried to his a.s.s. Yeah, that would be dicey.

"You can let go now," I whispered, feeling more in control and determined to be adult about things. Okay, so chances were, at one time he and our little would-be turncoat had had a fling. Could have been a century ago. Before my grandparents were even born. I could handle it. If I were a man, I'd want to have s.e.x with her, too. See? Very adult.

Bones sat next to me on the couch, Spade took the empty s.p.a.ce by him (raising my opinion of him), and that left Francesca to slink into the chair opposite us. My feeling of superiority was short-lived, however, when she settled herself down and then crossed her legs.

I didn't need a mirror to know my whole face had just turned red. With a hemline up to her thighs, that gesture didn't leave anything to the imagination. Bones curled his fingers around mine and squeezed. His hand was still warmed from our contact moments ago. That's how fast he had to grab me again to keep me sitting where I was instead of yanking off my jacket to make her a pair of panties.

"We all know why we're here," he said in an unruffled voice, as if Francesca hadn't just flashed him a shaved beaver pelt. "It's no secret that I'm after Hennessey and you're one of his, Francesca. I know you and he aren't close, but it is still the highest offense to betray your sire. Make no mistake, I'm out to kill him, and any information you give me will be used for that purpose."

You go, boy! I silently applauded him. Cut right to the point and show her a little s.n.a.t.c.h doesn't distract you! You are SO getting lucky tonight.

Francesca's mouth curled. "Why else would I be here, if I didn't want you to kill him? If you were to do less, I wouldn't risk it.

You know I've hated him for the past ninety-three years. Ever since he took me from my convent and turned me."

"You were a nun?" I asked in disbelief, actually peeping back up her dress to make sure I hadn't misunderstood. "You're kidding."

"Bones, what is her purpose here? Why must she stay?" Francesca demanded, ignoring me.

His eyes glinted emerald at her. "She's here because I want her to be, and it's not up for discussion."

That statement just upgraded him from s.e.x to s.e.x with a b.l.o.w. .j.o.b first. Not that I minded the extra activity, to be honest. I'd found out I enjoyed it. Guess that made for two tramps in this room.

"I want Hennessey dead," Francesca summarized after losing a staring contest with Bones. "He has been my Master for too long."

This bewildered me. "What does she mean, her Master?" I asked Bones. Was Francesca a slave? Just when I thought Hennessey couldn't sink any lower in my opinion.

"Vampires operate under a form of pyramid scheme," Bones explained. "Each line is ranked by the strength of its head, or the Master, and every person the Master sires is under the Master's rule. Feudalism would be another example of it. There you had the lord of the manor, and they were responsible for the welfare of all those on their lands, but in return, their people owed them loyalty and part of their income. Such is the way with vampires, with a few more variations."

This was news to me, and it sounded barbaric. "So. In other words, vampire society is like Amway and a cult rolled into one."

Francesca muttered something in Spanish that didn't sound complimentary.

"Speak English, and without the sarcasm," Bones said to her curtly. Big dark eyes blinked in anger. "If I didn't know you to be the man you are, I'd leave right now."

"But you do know me," Bones replied smoothly. "And if I choose to detail our world to the woman I'm with, that shouldn't suggest I take your position less seriously. You really should show Cat a bit more respect. It was because of her your fondest wish was nearly granted and Hennessey was almost dust."

At that, Francesca laughed. "You're the vomiter!"

I didn't know if that was technically a word, but I got her drift. What a way to be referred to.

"That's me."

She was still smiling. It made her even more radiant. With that faint dusky tone to her flesh, she looked like she was made of colored diamonds. "Well, nina, that does afford you some lat.i.tude. Hennessey didn't say very much about you. He was too incensed, and so humiliated. It was truly a pleasure to witness."

"Does he know how much you hate him?" I asked with skepticism. "Because if he does, how are you going to get close enough to help us?"

She leaned forward. It opened up her cleavage even more. I tried not to look, but my G.o.d! They were so bouncy.

"Hennessey knows very well that I hate him, but I've managed to hide things from him before." She paused to give Bones a knowing smile, and I almost lost it again. "He enjoys keeping me, knowing how much I despise being his. Vampires can only leave their sire's domination if they win in a duel against them, get ransomed by another Master, or are released as a gesture of goodwill. Hennessey is too strong for me to beat, there is no goodwill in him, and he will never let another vampire ransom me.