IT WAS A BUSY REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. THERE was packing, paperwork for the apartment, the deposit and rental agreement signed with my new landlord, and saying goodbye to my family.
Using some of the money from the first job with Bones, I’d bought a box spring and mattress and a dresser for my clothes. Add a few lamps, and that was the whole enchilada. The rest of the money I split with my mother, telling her one of the vampires I’d taken down had carried cash. It was the least I could do. The remaining money I hoarded, knowing I would still have to get a part-time job to make ends meet. How I was going to handle college, a job, and helping to track down a group of enterprising undead murderers was anyone’s guess.
Bones hadn’t called or come over, as per my request, but he’d been in my thoughts all week. To my horror, one morning my mother asked me if I’d had a nightmare the previous evening. Apparently I’d been saying the word “bones” in my sleep. Mumbling something about graveyards, I brushed her off, but the reality remained. Unless Bones and I broke up—or I got killed, of course—one day I’d have to deal with her and him. Frankly, that scared me more than going after Hennessey.
My grandparents let me keep the truck, which was nice of them. They had been less than pleased with me lately, but I received a stiff hug from each of them when it was time for me to leave. My mother followed me in her car because, as I expected, she wanted to see me settled in.
“Be sure and learn good, child,” Grandpa Joe gruffly said when I started to pull away. My eyes pricked with tears, since I was leaving the only home I’d ever known.
“I love you both,” I sniffed.
“Don’t forget to keep going to Bible study with that nice young gal,” my grandmother instructed me sternly. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, if she only knew what she was saying.
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be seeing her soon.” Real soon.
“Catherine, it’s…it’s…you could always stay at the house and commute.”
My mother’s obvious dismay as she looked around my apartment made me hide a smile. No, it wasn’t pretty, but it was all mine.
“It’s fine, Mom. Really. It will look much better after we clean.”
After three hours of side-by-side scrubbing, it didn’t look any better, in fact. But at least now I wouldn’t worry about bugs.
At eight p.m., my mother kissed me goodbye, throwing her arms around me and hugging me so hard it almost hurt.
“Call me if you need anything, promise me. Be careful, Catherine.”
“I promise, Mom. I will.”
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…What I was going to do next was far, far from careful, but I was doing it anyway. A soon as she left, I picked up the phone and dialed.
While I was waiting, I took a shower and put on new clothes. Not night clothes, because that seemed too obvious, but regular clothing. The time apart this week had been rough, and for more than just the scary fact that I missed him. My mother made her usual comments about how all vampires deserved to die and for me to keep hunting them, in between admonitions to study diligently. I’d cringed with guilt every time I had to nod and agree with her so she didn’t get suspicious.
My hair was still wet from washing it when I heard him rap twice. I opened the door…and the last few days fell away. Bones stepped through the entrance and locked it behind him while pulling me into his arms in one motion. God, but he was beautiful, with those chiseled cheekbones and pale skin, his body hard and seeking. His mouth covered mine before I could get a breath in, and then I didn’t need to breathe because I was too busy kissing him. My hands trembled when they reached up to grasp his shoulders and then clenched when he reached under my waistband to feel inside.
“I can’t breathe,” I gasped, wrenching my head away.
His mouth went to my throat, lips and tongue moving over the sensitive skin as he bent my spine until only his arms held me upright.
“I missed you,” he growled, restlessly pulling off my clothes. He swept me up in his arms and asked a single question. “Where?”
I jerked my head in the vicinity of my bedroom, too busy feasting on his skin to answer. He carried me into the small room and nearly flung me on the bed.
A tentative knock at my door the next morning made me groan as I rolled over. The clock showed nine-thirty. Bones had left right before dawn with a whispered promise to meet me here later. He said my apartment had too much exposure for him to sleep. Whatever that meant.
I stumbled into my robe, fastening my attention to the doorway where the knock had come from. Heartbeat, whoever it was, and only one. That made me leave my knives in the bedroom. Opening the door armed might set a bad tone if it was my landlord.
The sound of footsteps retreating had me snatch the door open in time to see a young man about to disappear into the unit next to mine.