There must have been something in my gaze he took seriously. He jerked his head at two of his stunned lieutenants. They took a last look at their friend, who was slowly beginning to shrivel, before trotting off. One untwisted knife wouldn’t have killed the vamp. But two had done the necessary damage to his heart. In the background, I heard the clanking of irons, and then I knew where they had Bones. Hell, once I’d been chained there myself. Now I was sure I could hear a heartbeat. Did they have a human guard on him?
The leader studied me dispassionately.
“You are the one who’s been murdering our kind the last several years. A human with the strength of an immortal, the one they call the Red Reaper. Do you know how much money you’re worth?”
Holy shit, now that was ironic. He was a bounty hunter, and I was his mark. Well, it was only a matter of time, I supposed. You can’t off a hundred creatures and expect no one to get cranky.
“A lot, I hope. Hate to be on clearance.”
He frowned. “You mock me. I am Lazarus, and you should quake before me. Remember, I hold the life of your love. Which means more to you—his fate, or yours?”
Did I love Bones enough to die for him? Absolutely. Relief that he wasn’t behind this made me almost cheerful about my impending death. Any day of the week I’d rather die than suspect him of such cruelty again.
Sobbing brought my attention back to the situation. What was going on? A glance at my watch showed fifteen minutes before bomb time. Bones would have to get out fast before that missile hit. Lazarus wouldn’t be around to collect any cash. Maybe I’d tell him that before the timer ran out.
Something human and weeping was thrown to the surface near my feet. I gave it a disparaging look before turning to Lazarus.
“Quit stalling. I don’t need to see one of your chew toys to believe you’re all badasses. Really, I’m quaking. Where’s Bones?”
“Bones?” Lazarus said, his eyes darting around. “Where?”
Two things occurred to me at nearly the same instant. One, from Lazarus’s expression, he had no idea where Bones was. Two, the tear-streaked face turning up at me belonged to the lying little shit who’d seduced and dumped me when I was sixteen.
“DANNY?” I SAID IN disbelief. “Danny Milton? You’re the reason I had to drag my ass all the way from Virginia?”
Danny also wasn’t happy to see me. “You ruined my life!” he wailed. “First your freak boyfriend crippled my hand, then you’re not dead, and now these creatures kidnapped me! I hate the day I met you!”
I snorted. “Right back at you, asshole!”
Lazarus regarded me suspiciously. “He said you used to be in love with him. You’re just pretending not to care now so I won’t kill him.”
“You want to kill him?” Perhaps I was crazed with the knowledge that less than fifteen minutes remained, or maybe I was just fed up. “Go ahead! Here, I’ll help!”
I pulled the gun from the back of my pants and shot Danny at point-blank range. Lazarus and the other vampires were momentarily stunned at this turn of events, and I took advantage. The next rounds landed full in Lazarus’s face. I didn’t bother firing into his heart, because I wanted him alive. He had information for me, if I lived, and I emptied the clip into him while my free hand flung knives at the remaining five.
They charged me. Fangs sank in and ripped my flesh before I threw them off. This was a flat-out brawl, rolling around on jagged rocks, pummeling and hacking any flesh that wasn’t mine. I was acutely aware of the seconds ticking by as I struggled to keep my knives in my hand and their fangs from my throat. After all, it was one thing to die for Bones, whether he’d gone mental or not. Quite another to die for that sniveling prick Danny Milton. You could safely say I still held a grudge.
The last vampire was eliminated with a gouge to his heart, and my watch showed less than thirty seconds. Lazarus, not dead after a face full of silver bullets, crawled toward Danny. Danny, still alive, moaned helplessly and tried to back away. There wasn’t enough time to pump Lazarus for information, let alone kill him and rescue Danny. Barely enough time to do just one.
Without a moment to think, I grabbed Danny and tossed him over my shoulder, running flat-out for the entrance of the cave. He screamed at the jostling and cursed me between gasps. The timer went to zero just as the sunlit mouth came into view. Behind me I heard Lazarus running also, but too far back. He’d never make it. Neither would I. Time was up.
Instead of the explosion I expected, there were voices. Movement right outside. Two figures entered the cave as I was almost upon them. It was Tate and Dave. I shouted because I knew they couldn’t see me in the dark.
“Don’t shoot!”
“Hold fire, it’s Cat!” Tate boomed.
What happened next happened almost instantly, though it would be forever slow motion in my mind.