"You heard nothing this morning. You were dreaming," he said, his voice vibrating with power.

I blinked, taken aback by his intensity. "Okay. It's none of my business anyway."

That made him cock his head, like I'd just said something unbelievable. Gregor stared at me, almost bewildered, and then suddenly he was in front of me.

His hands grasped my face and didn't let me turn away. "I said, 'You heard nothing this morning. You were dreaming.'" His voice practically echoed and if his eyes gleamed any brighter, they'd leave burns on my skin.

"All right, you've made your point! I'll forget I ever heard it. You don't have to get all glowy and loud."

He sat back on his haunches with a stunned expression, his eyes fading back to their normal gray-green. A sharp laugh escaped him. "Extraordinary," he murmured.

"What?" Was I in really bad trouble for overhearing?

Gregor shook his head and fixed me with a bemused look before returning to his chair. His fingers drummed on the white table cloth.

"'Twasn't meant for your ears," he said at last.

I controlled the rude urge to snort, No shit.

"I didn't realize your abilities were to such a degree, and so now I must explain."

"You don't have to." Me and my big mouth.

"But I do." Softly. "I don't want you under a misapprehension. Cannelle and I are, shall we say, no more. She is in stewardship to me and on occasion, I have permitted it to go further, but this morning was... good-bye. She will stay on here, but our relationship will not alter from employee and employer again. Do you understand?"

Yeah, I did. A strange relief spread over me, mixed with apprehension. I was very much intimidated by the vampire sitting across from me. He could switch from jovial to callous in an instant, and I was more than a little afraid of him. But still...

"Why are you telling me this?"

Gregor leaned forward, and there went that herd of butterflies in my stomach. "Why do you think?"

My mouth went dry. Without thinking, I licked my lips, almost bolting from my seat when he slowly licked his. It was like kissing without touching, and it was a lot to handle for me, going from being shunned by all the boys my age to having breakfast with a gorgeous vampire who looked at me as if I were dessert. This was too fast, and nothing had really even happened.

"Um, did you say these were blintzes?" I wanted to break the weighty silence and snatched at the plate like it was a life raft. "Great. I'm starving."

Gregor settled back into his chair. He had a slightly superior, pleased expression. "As am I."

Chapter Twenty-Six.

Alternate "Middle" Version of Destined for an Early Grave

Author's note: This is the last and longest of the chapters. It contains roughly thirty thousand words, or the length of a large novella. In this version of Destined for an Early Grave, when Bones left Cat after the infamous "piano scene" to go to New Orleans, Gregor found a way to erase Bones's memory of Cat, similar to how Mencheres had erased Cat's memory of Gregor when she was a teenager. As you can imagine, having Cat erased from his mind changed Bones's behavior dramatically, and thus the original middle of the novel was very different from the version that was later published. I decided to take that subplot out because so much had already happened to Cat and Bones in DFAEG that the memory loss seemed too burdensome. However, I'm sentimental, which is why I took the chunk out of the final manuscript but didn't delete it from my computer.

So, if you want to see Cat and Bones interacting with each other while Bones has no memory of their previous life, read on. For context, this alternate "middle" version starts on page 207 of the published version of Destined for an Early Grave. You'll see some scene overlap with only small changes at first, then the new content starts after Cat arrives at the military base. In case you're wondering, the entirety of the alternate "middle" ends right before Cat is turned into a vampire. After that, the story was pretty much the same as in the published version, which is why I call this a deleted "middle" section of DFAEG. Also, among other notable differences, Spade and Denise are already a couple in this version. Their romance originally happened off page, which changed when I got the green light to write First Drop of Crimson.

Bones fangirl warning: His memory of Cat has been stolen, as stated above, so it starts out with Bones acting like he used to before he met Cat *cough, slut, cough*. If you don't want to see Bones that way, don't read this.

The knock at the door didn't wake me. Must have been too soft and tentative. Only when Vlad said, "Come in," in a less-than-pleased tone did I wake up. God, he was right. My reflexes were shit.

Shrapnel stuck his head inside. I mentally berated Vlad for not giving me a chance to disappear into the bathroom. How incriminating did this look?

"Forgive me, but the caller says it's urgent. May I give you the phone?" He held it close to his side, obviously nervous. Maybe Vlad was really grumpy when he woke up.

Vlad gestured in annoyance. "Very well, bring it."

Shrapnel moved like a jackrabbit and then hurried out, closing the door behind him.

"Who's this?" Vlad snapped into the phone.

Spade's voice blared out loud enough to cause me to bolt upright. "If you don't put Cat on the line this time, I'm going to roast you alive in your own sodding juices-"

I snatched the phone away from Vlad. "What is it? I'm here, what's wrong?"

There was a loaded moment of silence. Too late, I realized what I'd done. Vlad lifted a shoulder as if to say, You're stuck now.

"I was told he couldn't be disturbed because he was in bed." Each word was a blistering accusation. "That he was extremely indisposed. Lucifer's bloody balls, Cat, is this why you haven't returned my calls?"

"I-I-I didn't..." Good God, I was stammering.

"Indeed!"

"Look, don't even!" My anger came to the rescue. "If something's wrong, tell me, but if you're just going to play Pussy Police, you should start with your best friend. He's probably nose-deep in one right now."

"He's arse-deep in mortal danger, if you still care," was the icy reply.

That took the hostility right out of me. Spade wasn't one for hysterical exaggerations. I clutched the phone like it was slippery. "What happened?"

Maybe I sounded as fearful as I felt, because Spade's voice lost some of its anger.

"Fabian, your helpful ghost, has been in New Orleans trying to speak with him. From what he can deduce, which is little, Crispin's mind has been altered. And Gregor's lying in wait outside the city to kill him."

"What do you mean, his mind has been altered?" My voice couldn't get more shrill.

Vlad winced.

"Just as part of your memory was erased years ago by Mencheres, it appears Gregor's found a way to do the same thing to Crispin. He doesn't remember Fabian. He doesn't even know he's at war with Gregor."

I was so stunned I couldn't even gasp. How could Gregor have done that? How?

"Crispin went to New Orleans to have a meeting with Marie," Spade continued. "After it took place, from what I've gathered, he started acting strangely. Then Marie closed the Quarter to any more undead visitors, and Gregor's assembled a slew of forces beyond the city's outskirts."

That knocked me out of my temporary paralysis. I jumped up and began rummaging for clothes. Vlad scooted into my spot, unperturbed.

I asked, "Are you there? On your way?"

"We can't, that's the whole bloody problem! Because of you, Gregor has clear rights to take Crispin out under our laws. And now Crispin doesn't even know he's under a death sentence. He'd likely walk right up to Gregor with a 'fancy seeing you here' before that filthy git slaughtered him!"

"He doesn't remember why he's at war with Gregor?" The ramifications of that finally began slamming into me.

"Although Fabian's very careful in what he says since Crispin still doesn't know what to make of the ghost, Crispin has never mentioned you, either," Spade said brutally.

I sat on the floor, my knees weak. For a second, I couldn't even breathe. Then I pushed my feelings aside and began to plan.

"He'll need to be airlifted out of there. A helicopter would be best. We can arm it with silver bullets. We'll do a midair transport onto a plane. Did you say you've been leaving messages for me about this?" I gave Vlad a truly menacing glare.

"I've been leaving messages for you to call, but we only found out tonight about Crispin's condition and Gregor's ambush."

Vlad shrugged, unapologetic. "You said you didn't want to speak to them. This part is news to me. I would have told you had I known."

I didn't bitch at him. After all, it was my own fault for hiding, not Vlad's.

"There's a problem with your plan, Cat," Spade said tightly. "Else we would have already done something similar. No one of any line is allowed in the city, and that means above it too. It would be sentencing them to death by Marie's decree, and she's too powerful to dismiss. I'd risk it myself, but if one vampire or ghoul crosses the line into the Quarter, Gregor and his people will follow. It has to be humans of no vampire affiliation, do you understand?"

Yeah, I did. Now I knew why he'd been in such a twist to get ahold of me.

"Give me your number. I'll call you right back."

"...testing three, two, one... You read me, Geri?"

Lieutenant Geri Hicks, my replacement with Don's team, coughed and muttered, "Affirmative."

She had a receiving line surgically planted under her skin, pumping my voice directly by her eardrum. If I shouted, she'd be in pain. Her microphone was less invasively located in her necklace.

"What's your location, Geri?"

"Crossing St. Ann Street and heading toward Bourbon. The bird still show he's there?"

I checked the satellite imagery of the French Quarter on my borrowed laptop. The plane's turbulence didn't help, but I could still spot Bones. And the woman next to him.

"Affirmative. There's a small time delay, but he should be there. You doing all right?"

Geri was nervous. I couldn't blame her. She had to bring Bones in without getting him or herself killed. Bones was lethally powerful, plus there was a good chance he wouldn't recognize her. Yeah, I'd have been wigged too.

"I'm good," Geri said.

"Roger that. Now go show him that he can't turn you down twice."

She made a noise that was almost a laugh. On her first mission, she hadn't known her mock target was also her trainer. "This is so weird."

No shit.

I was the only person Spade knew who had human connections without direct undead affiliations and who could amass airpower and support complete with cutting-edge weapons and technology. Sure, it could be argued that my old team had connections to Bones, but none of them were under his command anymore since I'd quit. I owed my uncle big for this.

We weren't sure how "altered" Bones's memory was. Only a few things were certain. Bones didn't know about the strife with Gregor. He didn't seem to be able to read human's thoughts anymore, either, or he wouldn't be with the double-crossing skank in the photo. Oh yeah, and he definitely had no idea he was married. What-if anything-he knew about me remained to be seen. Maybe I'd been reduced to old-girlfriend status in his mind.

Or maybe I'd been vanished completely.

Since she was human, Geri couldn't see Fabian. He was there though, trying to convince Bones he wasn't deranged while not getting noticed by any of Marie's people. That wasn't an easy task. When this was over, I'd owe him big too. How does one repay a ghost? That was an issue I'd ponder later.

"Approaching target, going silent," Geri whispered.

On-screen I saw her nearing Bones. He was at Pat O'Brien's in the outside area, drinking what I guessed was his usual whiskey. His arm was slung around a pretty brunette who was almost glued to him. Even now, her hand ran along his hip.

I clenched my fists. Bitch, you and I are going to have a long, bloody chat after this.

Cannelle couldn't hear my mental warning, but Vlad could. He lounged in the chair opposite me, the jet's turbulence not bothering him. We were on our way to the rendezvous point if all went well.

"You really don't like her."

I didn't answer out loud. That might confuse Geri since I was wearing a headset.

No. I really, really don't.

"I know this is forward," Geri purred through my earpiece as the satellite showed her reaching Bones and his companion, Cannelle, "but after seeing the two of you gorgeous creatures, I can't decide who I want to fuck first."

"Attagirl," I whispered. God, cheering someone to hit on the man I loved! Why couldn't I have a normal life?

With dark appreciation, I watched Bones set his drink down. Not any line would have worked. The man was a frigging chick magnet, and Geri wasn't his usual type. But with that opener? She'd gotten his attention, all right.

"Easy decision, luv." Her necklace picked up every nuance of his accent. "Ladies first. Isn't that right, Cinnamon?"

Cannelle's knowing laugh pierced me straight to the heart. The plane's armrest lost a chunk.

"She looks very fierce, cheri. I was hoping for softer company, non?"

Geri didn't let Cannelle's disparagement stumble her. She flicked her fingers in Bones's drink, then made a good show of licking the alcohol off them. "I'll be as gentle as a lamb, honey."

Geri really had come a long way since the person I'd trained months ago. Cannelle might still be wavering over her, but Bones wasn't. He caught her wrist, slowly ran his mouth along her palm, and then did something I couldn't see that made Geri gasp.

"Never let a drop of something precious go to waste."

His voice was deep with promise, an orgasm for the ears. Hearing it directed at someone else was another stab in the heart, but I masked it. I had a job to do. Everything else was secondary.