I stood as well. "What a good idea."

In place of a warm hello, Tate, Dave, and Angus all received stinging rebukes from me for letting Belinda out of their sight. Even though she'd done nothing more than screw around, the point was that she could have. Since she'd behaved while training the men and had gone on a few missions without incident, they'd dropped their guard. Forgotten how dangerous she was. I never forgot. After all, she had once tried to kill me.

The vampire cells were on the fourth sublevel, the most heavily guarded area of the compound. We'd once housed four of them; now there was only her. The others became unnecessary after Bones began to supply Don with blood for Brams. Belinda was a training toy, and we didn't need more than one of those.

Bones lounged in the doorway as the reinforced metal doors were opened. A silver blade dangled from in his hands. I smiled at her as I entered the small room.

"Did you miss me, Belinda? You must have. I heard you were so lonely you snuck away for comfort while on a mission. Now tell me, whatever did you and that other vamp talk about?"

Her cornflower-blue eyes glowered at me, and she tossed her fair hair over her shoulder. "We didn't talk, as I told your other goons. You've had me locked up here for over a year, Cat. I deserved a little fun. I didn't try to run away, I knew he'd just hunt me down and stake me."

The "he" in question stared at her. "Why, sweet, that's the first intelligent thing I've heard you say. You're quite right, and I would have been horribly displeased about your interrupting my honeymoon. It would have taken me weeks to finish killing you."

The flatness in his voice sent a shiver up my spine. This was a side of Bones I didn't see very often. From his expression, he'd meant exactly what said.

"Oh, so you're married now?" She flicked her gaze between the two of us. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, I know you really mean it," I growled. "Back to the question, and don't give me that wide-eyed little-girl look. Who was the unlucky schmuck, and what did you say?"

"What did we say? Word for word? Well, it went something like this: 'Hurry up and fuck me before these idiots notice I'm gone. Um, oh, yes, mmm, harder, ah...'"

Her mocking grunts continued until I slapped her.

"You asked," she snapped.

"You'd better cease the grunting, Belinda, and be more helpful," Bones warned her.

She blinked at him. "You liked hearing it before, remember? You know, your face looked so much better when I was sitting on it."

I threw her across the room with such force I heard multiple bones break. Belinda managed to give a strained chuckle even as she huddled in pain.

"Do you know how the four of us fucked him back then?" she grated. "One on his cock and one on his face, and then we just kept switching-"

A gurgle interrupted anything else she'd been about to say. Belinda had the strangest look on her face as she stared at the twin knives protruding from her chest. I hadn't seen Bones throw them, but they were buried so deeply in Belinda's sternum that their hilts were past her rib cage. Then Belinda's pretty features began to shrink, wrinkle, and shrivel. She tilted over, withering more with each passing second.

Bones came behind me and gripped my shoulders. "Bugger," he said softly. "I should have asked her more questions first. Lost my temper, Kitten, I apologize."

I was still transfixed by the sight of Belinda withering in front of me, not to mention the images she'd inserted into my mind with her words.

"I can smell your anger," Bones went on. "Is it at me for killing her, or at her for what she said?"

"At her," I breathed. "I don't care that you killed her. In fact, I'm pretty pleased about it. I doubt she told the other vampire anything useful. My location is random, my identity has been common knowledge since Ian's, and this compound is too big for Max or anyone else to try to wage an assault against it."

Finally I looked up and met Bones's gaze. "I'll get over the rest of it. While I didn't need her giving me a mental picture, it's in the past. I can't walk around all the time being pissed at things you did before meeting me, can I?"

He kissed my palm. "I'd take them all back, Kitten, if I could."

Juan picked that moment to walk by. He took in the sight of Bones and me standing over Belinda's mummifying corpse, and his eyes widened.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked in astonishment.

I brushed the hair from my face. "Belinda just got fired."

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Bones Realizes Cat Almost "Jumped"

Author's note: This is more of a snippet than an actual scene, but I'm including it because many readers who previously saw it on my website said that they really liked what Bones said to Cat. Because of that, I deeply regret not including it in the published version of At Grave's End. At the time, I thought I had too many emotional statements already, and I didn't want to venture into purple prose or cheesy territory, so I left it out. In hindsight, that was a mistake. Emotions should be on overload when you realize you almost lost the person you love most, and I've tried to remember that when I write the rest of my stories. For context, I've included a few sentences of the published version, which starts when Cat and Bones are finally alone after Bones returns from the "dead."

"Your body aged almost to the point of truly dying. That's why your hair's white, isn't it?"

"Yes. I expect so."

It hit me then, staring at his unlined, beautiful face and that stark white hair framing it, that neither of us should be alive. He'd almost been killed by a knife in his heart, and add one more step on a rocky ledge for me, and Bones would have returned to my body being broken beyond revival.

His hands closed around my face, and his whole body stiffened. "What is this you're remembering?"

I let the memory come, restricting none of it, hearing once again Vlad's pitiless admonishments and the final question that saved my life. What are you?

Bones let out a cry and clutched me to him. Pink liquid streamed from his eyes, matching my own tears in volume if not in color.

"If I would have come back to that, Kitten, it would have killed me more certainly than any silver in my heart. Promise me, promise me, promise me you will never do such a thing. If I die, I will wait for you, do you understand? No matter how long. I will watch from beyond to make sure you live every year you have to its fullest, and then we'll have so much to talk about when I see you again... Promise me right now, Catherine!"

I held him back just as tightly even as I choked out a laugh. "Did you miss that part? My name isn't Catherine. It's Cat."

Chapter Twenty-Four.

Original Beginning of Destined for an Early Grave

Author's note: This is the original beginning of Destined for an Early Grave, cut to get to the main plot point of Cat's dreams sooner. It was also set about a month before Cat and Bones take their boat trip and features Cat and Bones's first meeting with Geri, the woman who ended up replacing Cat as "bait" on Don's team. This was an enjoyable scene to write because I got to show Cat and Bones having a little fun with the new recruit. As I've said before, a lot of the "just for fun" scenes got cut in the name of pacing, but it wasn't all blood, danger, jealousy, and despair at Cat's former job, and this scene gets to showcase some of the lighter moments between Cat, Bones, and her team. Even Denise came to help out, and as you can see, Denise had a great time moonlighting as a temporary team member.

The blonde sat at the bar, her finger tapping against the rim of her glass. She was drinking scotch and soda, easy on the scotch. The soda was diet. Even the thought of its taste made me grimace. I favored gin and tonics myself.

She kept glancing at the man across the bar. His hair was dirty-blond with dark roots, and underneath the illumination of the strobes, the lighter tips gleamed. So did his skin with its pale crystal texture. His eyes were in stark contrast to his coloring, as were his brows. Both were a brown so deep they could be mistaken for black.

From my position overlooking the bar, I gave an inward smile. Gorgeous, isn't he? Go on, keep checking out those high cheekbones and those nice broad shoulders. If you like all that, just wait until you see his ass.

A beautiful woman with strawberry-blond hair came down the staircase and went straight over to the blond man.

"Tell me you're straight, horny, and want to dance," she said with an upper-crust English accent. "After that, conversation is optional."

I shouldn't have been able to hear her with all the people, blaring music, and distance. But her words were as clear to me as if they'd been spoken in my ear. Being half-vampire had its advantages.

The man's lips curled in amusement, making him even more attractive. "Yes to all the above, luv," he replied in a matching English accent.

The blonde at the bar watched them and her mouth thinned. She paid her tab, keeping her eye on the couple as they made their way into the throng of dancers. The man spun the woman around, moving with a prowling grace, all leashed energy and sexiness contained in a lean, rock-hard package. Next to him, everyone else looked clumsy by comparison.

The blonde from the bar marched over, maneuvering her way through the other dancers.

"Can I cut in?" she asked bluntly, giving the other woman an unfriendly look.

"Why?" the man asked in a casual, cool tone. "What can you offer me that this lovely woman can't?"

The blonde balked. "Um, well... I can, er-"

"I'm already bored," he said, cutting her off. "Run along."

His dancing partner laughed. "Carry on." She smirked.

The man turned his back and continued dancing, leaving the blonde to gaze at him in disbelief before she walked away with brisk, angry strides.

"Asshole," I heard her mutter.

After a few minutes, I watched the couple make their way from the dance floor to the back exit. The blond woman watched, too, and almost shoved people out of her way to follow. I followed as well, but more discreetly, taking the long way around.

The alley behind the club was a dark, narrow stretch. Perfect for a secluded, if not private, quickie.

Or a great place for a hungry vampire to snack off an unknowing donor.

The man took his dancing companion behind a metal fire escape that hung from the three-story club like a spiderweb. I crept closer with much more discretion than the charging blonde, watching as he enfolded the woman in his arms with his mouth going to her throat. The woman's head fell back while her eyes closed.

"Get away from her, asshole," the blonde barked as she flung open the side door. She had a gun trained on him.

The man lifted his head, fangs visible and pearls of red on his lips.

"Really want that dance, do you?" He laughed. "Give me a moment and I'll be right with you."

The blonde fired. So did the three men who appeared behind her in flanking formation. Then the four of them stared at the empty space where he'd been, seeing nothing now.

"Secure the perimeter!" the blonde shouted. "I want-"

Her voice was cut off by a piercing creak as the metal fire escape fell on the four of them. It landed with a twisting screech that drowned out their screams, barricading the side door to the club with the wreckage. From start to finish, it took less than five seconds.

From out of the shadows, a ghoul crept up to me. "Hicks looks pissed."

I smiled. "You should have seen how pissed I was the first time I came up against Bones. Woke up with a concussion and chained to a cave wall, with him laughing at me. I think I was more mad than afraid."

"You were most definitely furious," Bones replied as he leapt down from the rooftop, Annette in his grasp. "Called me a coward and told me to choke on your blood. Was it any wonder I fell in love?"

Dave, the ghoul, grunted. "People get turned on in strange ways, if you ask me."

"Fucking... bloodsucker." The pained insult came from underneath the debris.

Bones stalked over and pulled a piece of metal up to reveal the blonde's dirty, bleeding face. "You are as witless as your mates when it comes to handling the undead."

Bones kicked at a nearby pile of the fire escape. A low moan was the response. Then Bones gestured to Annette with a disgusted shake of his head.

"Instead of me, they shot her. Do you see your blouse?"

A man with thinning gray hair and a face lined with age walked down the alley. One tug of the eyebrow preceded his reply.

"Did you think Cat would be easy to replace?" my boss and uncle, Don Williams, asked wryly.

I snorted. "Don't try to guilt me, Don. I'm not staying just because of this fiasco."

"...can't... feel my... legs," the blonde gasped.

"Too right you can't, your back is broken," Bones noted. "Your arms as well, I suspect."

Sirens sounded in the distance. None of us paid any attention to them. With our credentials, the police wouldn't be allowed to sneak a peek past the soldiers on both sides of the alley and the rooftops. My uncle ran a special brand of "Homeland Security" that outranked the local cops, FBI, CIA, and even the military.

I stood next to the tangled metal, ignoring the groans of pain coming from under it.

"All right, pay attention. That vampire," I said with a nod at Bones, "could be ripping your throats out now and inviting friends for leftovers. When you have a vampire in your sights, you don't give him a warning. You open fire before he knows you're a threat. And maybe you need to be reacquainted with the term innocent bystander."

I waved at Annette, illuminated under the streetlights, unhurt by the bullet because she'd been dead for centuries.

"A bystander is someone you get out of the way. If you don't, they stand by and screw things up. You certainly don't shoot them because you're too rattled by the vampire to aim properly."