"Whose car is this?" We were riding in a black Volvo SUV, fully loaded with that new car smell.

Bones cast a sideways glance at me. "Yours. Do you like it?"

I shook my head. "Not whose it is now, but won't it be reported stolen soon?"

"No," he replied. "This was your Christmas present. It's registered under the name on your false license, so there's no way for them to track it. Hope you don't mind missing out on the surprise, but under the circ.u.mstances, it was our best option."

My mouth hung open, because he was clearly serious. "I can't accept this. It's way too expensive!" In the midst of everything, here I was arguing over the lavishness of a Christmas gift. Normal and I would never meet.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Kitten, for once could you just say thank you? Really, luv, aren't we past this?"

A sharp stab of misery poked me when I remembered we were way past this, just not like he thought.

"Thank you. It's beautiful. All I got you was a new jacket." Christmas was only two weeks away, but it might as well have been a thousand years.

"What kind of jacket?" G.o.d help me, how would I have the strength to walk away from him? His dark brown eyes were lovelier than anything money could buy. I swallowed hard and described it, because talking kept the tears at bay.

"Well, it was long, like a trenchcoat. Black leather, so you'd look spooky and mysterious. The police probably ransacked whatever was left of my apartment the vampires didn't destroy. It was wrapped and hidden under the loose board in the kitchen cabinet."

Bones took my hand and squeezed it gently. Now there was no halting the moisture from my eyes.

"Switch?" Better asking late than never. The fact that Bones was here made the question almost rhetorical.

"Shriveled in Indiana. That b.u.g.g.e.r ran at full speed for hours. Sorry I couldn't have taken my time with him, Kitten, but I wanted to head straight back to you. When I caught him, I staked him and left him to rot in the woods by Cedar Lake. With all the bodies left back at the house, one more isn't going to rock the boat. In fact, Indiana's where we're headed now."

"Why Indiana?" Dimly I was glad Switch was dead. Maybe now my grandparents could rest in peace.

"Got a mate there, Rodney, who will set you and your mum up with new identification. We'll bunk at his place tonight and leave tomorrow afternoon. Just have to run a few errands in the morning to be set. From there, we'll proceed to Ontario for a few months. We will track down those last two sods, mark my words, but we'll do it quietly once this heat over Oliver cools down.

When your lads can't find a trace of you after a bit, they'll look for other fish to fry."

Oh, if only it were that simple. "How did you know when they were moving us?"

He gave an amused grunt. "By watching. When they cleared a path from a floor to the back exit and had armed guards waiting by a bunch of vehicles, it was obvious. I just stayed ahead of them until the timing was right."

A solid thumping noise drew my attention to the backseat. Bones grinned.

"Looks like your mum woke up."

TWENTY-SEVEN.

R ODNEY WAS A GHOUL, TO MY SURPRISE. Somehow I just expected vampire. Bones lifted my mother out of the backseat, tape still over her mouth, and handed her off to me as he made the introductions. Rodney didn't bat an eye. He must have been used to people showing up at his house bound and gagged.

I set my mother on her feet and shook Rodney's hand as much as I could while keeping her from bolting away.

"I hate to impose right off, Rodney, but where's the bathroom?"

"It's no imposition, it's on the left," he said with a smile.

I hauled her with me. "Be back in a minute, Bones. I want to get her cleaned up and have a word with her."

"Take your time, luv."

I locked the door behind us and immediately began to run the water in the tub. On the way over, I'd come up with a plan, but now I had to get my mother to play along. She made furious grunts behind her gag, and I sighed. Even with the water running, Bones might hear us.

I gave the bathroom mirror a cagey glance and then turned the faucet to run as hot as possible. Soon the room filled with steam.

Bingo.I used my finger to write on the now-fogged mirror: Leaving tomorrow don't speak he'll hear you Her eyes bugged. "He killed the man who murdered Grandpa Joe and Grandma, Mom," I said in a clear voice. "He won't hurt me and he won't hurt you."

She wrote three words next to mine: Leaving without him?

I nodded my head yes, even though I wanted to throw up. "I know you hate vampires and I know this will be hard, but you're going to have to listen to me for a while."

He doesn't know, he would stop us "Just give me a little time. You have to trust me. Our lives depend on it."

Play along no matter what "We're staying here tonight, and then tomorrow we're leaving the country. It's the only way."

I kept repeating that to myself. This was the only way. It just hurt more than I could stand.

"Well? Are you going to be reasonable? Can I take the gag off?"

She gave me a hard stare and wrote again on the mirror: Leaving without him promise me "You can trust me," I repeated. "I promise."

My mother nodded once, and I took her gag off. She glanced at the door, but didn't say a word.

I grabbed one of the pretty hanging towels and rubbed our words off the mirror. "Try to be nice when we go out."

Bones and Rodney were seated at the table. My mother glared at both of them, but said nothing. For her, that was being nice.

"Take your pick of the guest rooms, one upstairs and one in the bas.e.m.e.nt," Rodney offered.

"Show me the one in the bas.e.m.e.nt," I said instantly.

"Of course, follow me."

I took my mother's arm and we went down a flight of stairs to the bas.e.m.e.nt. Rodney opened a door to a guest room complete with fluffy blankets and, more importantly, no windows.

I gave my mother a light push inside. "This'll be perfect for you, Mom."

She stared stupidly at me as I started to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Upstairs. With Bones. Good night." I slammed the door and watched with grim contentment as Rodney locked it from the outside. The mere fact that he had a downstairs bedroom with a lock on the outside was cause for comment, but none of my business.

There was a pounding on it almost at once.

"Catherine! You can't mean to-"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow, Mom, when we're alone. Tomorrow. Don't cause a fuss, you're making Rodney hungry."

Although I had no way of knowing the truthfulness of that statement, he winked at me and made a low rumbling noise in his throat.

The room inside at once became quiet.

"Thanks for that," I whispered gratefully. "She would have banged all night."

He smiled as we walked back up the stairs. The door to the bas.e.m.e.nt he also locked and gave me a meaningful glance.

"In case she's really feisty."

Bones waited for me in the other guest room and I went straight into his arms, breathing in the scent of him. For several minutes we just held each other. Selfishly I tried to drink in the feeling of him next to me. I might know this was the only way, but oh G.o.d, did it hurt.

"I told you we'd make it through the night, luv. You didn't believe me."

"No," I softly answered. "I didn't. But you were right, and both of you are alive. That's all that matters. It means more than anything to me."

"You mean more than anything to me."

He lowered his head and brushed his lips across mine. In response I wound my hands around him and pressed him to me so tightly, I knew I'd have bruises in the morning.

"Why are you crying?" he whispered.

I swiped at the tears I hadn't realized were there. "Because...I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

He kissed me. "Nothing will happen to me, I promise."

I promise too. In fact, I'm going to bet my life on it.

"I want you to know that despite everything, I'm so glad I met you," I choked out. "It was the luckiest day of my life. If I hadn't, I never would have known what it was like for someone to love me, all of me, even the parts I hated. I would have gone through life empty and guilt-ridden, but you showed me a whole new world, Bones. I'll never be able to thank you for all you've done for me, but I will love you every day until I die."

Maybe he'd remember this after I was gone. Maybe he wouldn't hate me for what I had to do.

"Kitten," he moaned as he drew me down onto the bed. "I only thought I was living before I met you. You'll love me until you die? That's not nearly long enough...."

I cursed each ray of sunlight that mocked me with its appearance. Bones already told me he and Rodney would be leaving for about four hours to make the final arrangements for our departure. They would take Rodney's car, leaving me the Volvo just in case they had to summon us to meet them. All that was left now was for him to leave, not knowing that we would never see each other again.

Rodney, the domesticated ghoul, made breakfast. Pancakes and omelets for my mother and me. Under my threatening glare she ate hers, looking as though she would choke with each swallow. Out of courtesy I ate far more than I wanted, not having an appet.i.te but not wanting to appear rude. One of the few things I was thankful for was that Rodney was waiting until later to eat...

whatever his normal breakfast consisted of.

When Bones started toward the door, I surprised him by grabbing him and throwing my arms around him. I buried my head in his neck. I can't let you go yet. I can't do it. It's too soon!

"What's this? Miss me before I've even left?"

My heart constricted. "I'll always miss you when you're gone."

It was treading the tightrope a little dangerously, but I couldn't help but say it.

He kissed me, achingly tender. I held him and desperately tried not to cry. This hurts so much! How can I let you go? How can I let you walk away?

How can you not? my logic countered. You love him? Then prove it. Keep him safe.

Ruthlessly I swallowed back my tears. It's better to do this now than later. You know this is the right decision. He'll live long past your lifetime, and he'll forget about you eventually.

I pulled away, touching his face very softly. "Give me your jacket."

Even in the midst of reveling in his last embrace, I was adding the final nails to the coffin. Bones shook it off, raising a dark brow in question. "In case we have to leave and meet you," I said in explanation. "It's cold outside."

Bones handed me the faded denim coat he'd worn yesterday while causing a forty-car pile-up and I folded it under my arm. He gave one last brush of his lips on my forehead as I prepared to shut the door behind him. You can do this. Let him go. It's the only way.

"Be careful, Bones. Just please...be careful."

He smiled. "Don't fret, luv. I'll be back before you know it."

I watched through the peephole long after they drove off and then fell to my knees, letting myself feel all the pain of a shattered heart. I cried until my eyes burned and I could barely breathe. This hurt so much worse than those bullets had.

Twenty minutes later I stood and was a different person. There was no more time for weeping. I had a job to do. You play the hand you're dealt, Bones had always said. Well, I'd been born a half-breed for a reason, and now was my chance to prove it.

Come one, come all, bloodsuckers! The Red Reaper's ready for you!

I advanced on my mother and spoke in low clipped tones. First things first.

"Get dressed, we're leaving. Now, I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll say, and G.o.d help you if you don't follow every f.u.c.king word of it...."

The helicopter hovered overhead, a large mechanical beetle in the sky. Don Williams was wheeled over the uneven ground at his insistence and ten other agents fanned out around the perimeter. In the middle of this scene I huddled around Switch's body. It hadn't been hard for me to find him. Bones had told me he'd left him in the woods near Cedar Lake. With my new nose, I'd scented him out soon after arriving. Switch was now wearing a denim jacket over his decomposed remains, and a silver knife protruded grotesquely out of his back.

Even seated, Don commanded the activities. "Is that him?" he demanded as he drew near.

"It's him."

Don stared down at the unrecognizable corpse and frowned. "There's nothing left but bones!"

"Funny you should say that," I responded in a flat tone. "That was his name. Bones."

The cold wind caused me to shiver and I glanced around at the dreary landscape of naked trees and frigid earth.