"Who... are you?"

The question came from Lieutenant Geri Hicks, the blonde from the bar who was supposed to fill my spot as bait for my team. I squatted in front of her, tossing aside the few pieces of iron pinning her down.

"I'm Cat."

Geri studied me as we piled into the waiting van. She cracked her back and flexed her fingers, astonishment still on her face.

"It doesn't even hurt," she marveled.

"Vampire blood is a powerful healing agent, but don't forget it's also dangerous," Don said.

"So." Geri quit wiggling her parts to stare at me. "You're the one."

The freak.

She didn't say it. Unlike Bones, I couldn't read minds, so maybe she hadn't even thought it. Still, after growing up stuck between two worlds, it was how I considered myself. I had the strength, speed, vision, hearing, and glowing eyes of the nosferatu, but parts of me were very human. My teeth, for one. No fangs.

"Yeah, I'm the half-breed."

Her lips pursed. "This was all a setup? There was no vampire prowling Bellissima's, no two girls were found in the alley?"

Bones whistled. "Catch on right swiftly, don't you?"

She opened her mouth to say something and then shut it.

He laughed. "That's the first intelligent thing you've done all night."

Geri glared at him. That knowing, arrogant curl to his mouth didn't falter. She must be cursing you up one side and down the other, I thought to Bones in amusement.

"Okay." Geri lifted her chin. "Tell me what I should have done differently."

Bones leaned forward. "First, you waited too bloody long at the bar. If a vampire's looking for blood, he or she is impatient. Don't wait for someone else to get their attention as Annette did."

"I was just about to-" she began.

He waved a hand. "Then you failed to arouse my interest when you attempted to cut in. You had an opportunity to get rid of the other girl and maneuver me into position, yet you squandered it. If a vampire asks you what you can offer them, have an answer! Make it memorable."

"Such as?" She scoffed.

"I'll take that," I replied with a grin. "With a vampire, memorable means dirty. 'I can suck the skin straight off your cock,' would have probably worked, as well as 'bend me over and you'll find out why I'm better.' If the above two fail, then trip the other woman and bust her ankle. Then your advantage is that you're not the one who's limping."

Dave chuckled. So did Bones. My uncle Don looked a little uncomfortable, but he didn't disagree. How could he? I had a nearly flawless record when it came to my targets.

"I don't think I should have to stoop accomplish my objectives," Geri said icily. "I'm a soldier, not a whore."

Uh-oh. Bad choice of words.

"Got something against whores?" Bones asked in a silky voice. "Careful, it's my former profession. Do you have any other prejudices we should be aware of?"

She looked between me and Don. I shrugged. My uncle tugged his eyebrow and looked away.

"Pride and prejudice are two luxuries you can't afford in this job," I said. "People's lives are on the line. That has to mean more than your comfort level."

"If it means that much to you," Geri asked, "why are you giving it up?"

My uncle sighed while pale fingers tightened on my arm.

"I'm too recognizable now, so my position has to be filled by someone else."

That was one of the reasons. There were more, but I wasn't getting into all of them with her.

Geri digested this information. She'd been handpicked out of thousands of soldiers, field agents, spooks, and policewomen. The criteria was tough. She had to have the mental strength to deal with the supernatural, and physically she had to be attractive as well as strong.

At last Geri smiled, but it wasn't at me. It was at Bones. "You were really a whore?"

He arched a challenging brow. "Yes."

"Men or women?"

I didn't know where this was going, but Bones didn't hesitate. "Women."

"Were you any good at it?"

I laughed. My uncle looked like he'd swallowed something pointy.

Bones wore a ghost of a smile. "I've been told that, yes."

Geri nodded. "Good. Maybe you could meet my boyfriend for drinks? Sweet guy-he's great at everything except sex. If you could casually drop some hints...?"

My sides hurt from holding the laughter in. Bones nodded with complete seriousness. "Tell him to expect my ring. Don't fret, I'll inform him in such a manner he won't know he's being instructed. It's not the first request I've had like this."

"I think she'll do just fine," I whispered to my uncle as Bones went on, getting the particulars on Geri's boyfriend.

Don regarded me with solemn features that in no way resembled my own. "It won't be the same without you."

We were almost at the compound. I sighed. "Everything ends eventually, Don."

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Deleted Flashback to When Cat Was Sixteen

Author's note: This was the original start of the flashback when Cat's memory of her time with Gregor was finally restored. It was cut because of-all together now!-pacing concerns. In it, you see a young, naive Cat being manipulated by both Gregor and Cannelle. Gregor was the worst, of course, using both charm and implied threat to get what he wanted, but Cannelle didn't lack for cruelness. As in the book, this flashback takes place just before Cat met Danny and the course of her life changed, putting her on a direct path to her future identity as the Red Reaper and her meeting with Bones. Some things are just meant to be, aren't they?

Licking Falls, Ohio Summertime I shaded my eyes against the late afternoon sun glinting through the branches. Soon it would be dark. That relieved me as much as it bothered me. No one else could see in the dark like me, but I wasn't supposed to let anyone know that.

"Joseph," my grandmother called from the front porch. "Go get Catherine and have her come inside for supper!"

"She'll be along shortly," was my grandfather's reply. From the sound of it, he was still working on the old Chevy. "She can smell the food, I tell you."

Another conversation I'd unwittingly eavesdropped on, even a few acres away. At least this wasn't anything embarrassing. Hearing them discuss erectile issues or his bowel movements in what they thought was the privacy of their bedroom would scar me forever, I was sure.

I left the tree I'd been sitting in to run farther into the orchard, away from the house instead of toward it. I didn't have much time until I had to get back, but I loved the orchard. Especially at night. Natural sounds surrounded me instead of the chatter from my family, and it felt peaceful. Often I'd sneak out here when everyone at the house was asleep. It was one of the few times I could relax.

After about thirty minutes, however, I headed back toward the house, walking at a fast pace. It was getting chillier out. March could still produce snow on occasion. Maybe winter wasn't done with us after all.

I was almost to the house when I heard the man's voice, low and cultured, with a French accent. It nearly made me stumble on my way up the front lawn. No car was in the driveway and this was rural Ohio. If you were a Southerner, you were still considered foreign here. I also hadn't heard him arrive, but then again, I had gone to the edge of the twenty-acre property. Too far away for even my ears.

When I went inside the house, my grandparents were already seated at the dining table, which was set for five instead of four. My mother was in the kitchen, her hair out of its normal tight bun and hanging messily down her back. That, in addition to the tall man with his back to me, was unusual, but my grandparents seemed relaxed so they must know what was going on.

"Sorry I'm late," I began, moving to help my mother with the heavy cast-iron pot she was removing from the oven. "I lost track of time."

The stranger turned around and faced me. This time I did stumble over my own feet. His arm shot out to steady me, making me blink at how fast he'd moved. My grandparents sat serenely as if nothing was occurring, and my mom just brushed by me to place the stew on the table.

I stared at the hand on my elbow and the tall man connected to it with mild shock. Golden hair combined with darker strands gave it an ash-blond color, and his eyes were grayish green. A scar ran from his eyebrow to his temple and his skin was as pale as mine, but his hummed with a taut vibration that made me tingle where he touched me.

"Who are you?" I blurted, pulling free and rubbing my arm briskly. The pins-and-needles sensation left it as soon as his grip was released.

"I'm Gregor," he said, looking me over in the most unusual way. My chemistry teacher studied items in a petri dish in the same manner. "I'm an old friend of your mother's."

My eyes bugged at that. Mom didn't have old friends. She didn't have new ones either. She stayed as solitary as I did and only ventured into town when absolutely necessary. I did a quick estimation of his age. Slight lines around the eyes, that scar didn't appear new, and he appeared to be in his early thirties, like my mother.

Could this be my father?

"Mom?" I asked hesitantly. "You know him?"

"Of course, Catherine." Her reply was almost mechanical. "He's an old friend. We'll talk about it after dinner."

Oh my God! Was this the man I'd been denied the slightest knowledge about? The one whose mere mention caused her to fly into an ugly rage? The way he was examining me looked like someone appraising what was his, that's for sure. My chin lifted and I went to the sink to wash my hands thoroughly. Talk after dinner, would we? I knew what my first question would be-where the hell have you been all my life?

The meal passed awkwardly. My mother barely spoke, only answering direct questions in a monosyllable. Clearly she was uncomfortable about having Gregor here, but she didn't act angry or confrontational as was her norm when upset. My grandparents talked between themselves, seemingly oblivious to the tension, and Gregor kept his conversation directed at me. How old was I? When was my birthday? What grade was I in? Did I have any hobbies? Had I met many people? Have I ever been to a dance club?

The polite interrogation was starting to wear on me. It was all I could do not to snap, "They have paternity tests if you're not certain!" Something about him made me nervous. It wasn't just the very odd reaction I'd had to him touching me, although that sensation I chalked up to shock at meeting my potential father. He moved differently. His eyes followed everything, and the air around seemed to be charged. You're just freaking out, I told myself. There's nothing weird about him. You're the only bizarre one at this table.

When dinner was over I stood, practically snatching up everyone's plates and clearing the table. Like someone possessed, I rinsed them and had the dishwasher running before five minutes passed. Gregor watched me the entire time, as if he'd never seen anyone do dishes before. I was seized with anxiousness. My illegitimacy had been a painful stigma ever since I was a child. What would I say to this man who'd contributed to that?

"I'm taking a shower," I announced, finding a way to delay the inevitable. "I'll be back down later."

Even though I didn't want to, I couldn't help but sneak a glance behind me as I climbed the stairs. Yes, Gregor was still staring, and yes, he seemed to see right through the thin excuse.

"I'll be waiting, Catherine."

It was spoken so softly I almost thought I'd imagined it. But I hadn't. Now he was smiling, and it was pleased and... chilling.

My reprieve didn't last long. Right after my shower, my mother hustled me outside onto the front porch with Gregor. My grandparents were inside watching TV, as if they didn't know or care what was going on. Their apathy baffled me, because Grandpa Joe hated the scorn from my illegitimacy about as much as I did. A change had come over my mother that held my attention. She seemed relaxed and cheerful. Those were two words I'd never before used to describe her. And she was smiling.

"Catherine," she began with a glance at Gregor, "I'm going to tell you about your father...."

Ten minutes later I sat transfixed in disbelief, staring at her. Good God. Somewhere along the way, my mother had gone completely crazy. My father was a vampire she'd been dating who was killed when he was set upon by well-intentioned Marines? There was an entire undead subculture existing side by side with humans? And I wasn't completely human myself?

She'll need inpatient psychological therapy, was my first thought when she finished. And medication. A lot of it.

"Mom, sometimes our minds make things up to help deal with what we don't want to face," I started out hesitantly. "I'm learning about it in school-"

"She's not lost her wits," Gregor interrupted. Oh yeah. I'd almost forgotten about Mr. Strange since she told me he wasn't my long-lost father. "You're half-vampire, but you needn't worry. I'm going to take care of you."

Crap, he was nuts too.

"I've waited to tell you this until I thought you were old enough to understand." My mom tried to take my hand, but I pulled away. "I know I've been hard on you at times, but it was just so no one else would find out about you. Still, it's time you know...."

"Seeing is believing," Gregor interrupted her, standing also. "Look at me, Catherine."

I turned around-and screamed.

Gregor's eyes glowed a bright, shining emerald, as if lasers had flicked on in his gaze. His smiled revealed two curved fangs in his upper teeth, and he was elevating in midair. A faint breeze came off him, blowing his hair. Then suddenly I was grasped in his arms, my legs kicking at nothing while he laughed. It was a joyous, frightening, knowing sound that silenced my scream. This wasn't an act. This was real.

"Haven't you always known there was something special about you?" Gregor whispered fiercely. "All your life, that you possessed something no one else had? I'm going to take you away from here. You'll come with me, meet people you've only read about, experience things you can't imagine-"

"I can't go anywhere," I said breathlessly while my mind reeled. "I have school tomorrow."

Gregor laughed again. He dropped down from the dozen feet we were suspended and spoke low and intimately in my ear. "I'll teach you everything you need to know, ma cheri."

The way he caressed the words while almost nuzzling my ear made me shiver. I hadn't been in such close proximity with a man before. It made me nervous on top of shocked and confused.

"Mom?" I asked hesitantly.

"You have to go with him, Catherine," she answered. "He's a trusted friend, and he'll take care of you. There are things I can't protect you from if you stay here. Don't worry about school; I'll tell them you're staying out of state with a sick relative. You'll call me whenever you want to. You'll be all right."

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Yet the arms imprisoning me weren't my imagination. The very big, tall body next to mine wasn't a hallucination. I had to go with this... man, creature, vampire? Leave everything I knew behind? Sure, I'd wanted to get out of this town, but never in all my imaginings did I think it would be this way!

"You're-" I had to stop, lick my lips, and try again because my mouth was dry. "You're really a vampire?"