“You may as well kill me,” Francois said bitterly. “For that is what Ian will do once he discovers we were duped and failed him.”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “Or I’ll tell everyone that Ian fell for the same trick back in February. See, I had him in the same position you’re in, Francois, and Ian seems the arrogant type who wouldn’t want that to become public knowledge. If you guys behave, you’ll live to bite another day, I promise.”
Tate came over. He took off his shirt and handed it to me.
“Your nose is still bleeding, Cat.”
Yeah, I knew that. I could taste it, since it was running in a slow drip into my mouth. I swiped at my face with Tate’s shirt. Annette finished with Francois’s wrists and then sliced her palm, holding it an inch from me.
I met her eyes... and then brought her hand to my mouth. Her cut had been deep, and though the wound healed almost instantly, the blood it drew remained. I sucked on it for a second, noting with detachment that she tasted different from Bones, and felt my nose tingle as it healed.
“Thanks,” I said, dropping her hand.
A slight smile curved her mouth. “Wouldn’t want to have your lovely face marred, now, would we? After all, you have another party to go to.”
THIRTY-FIVE
AN HOUR LATER, ONE would never guess I’d done anything more strenuous today than paint my toenails or shop at the mall. I was relaxing in the steam room, with an attendant rubbing my feet, of all things. I’d tried to politely refuse such pampering, but I was told it was part of my prearranged treatment. And truthfully, it felt so wonderful, my protest was halfhearted at best.
After that, there was the sauna, exfoliating, and an herbal bath with exotic oils and mints. If there was any trace of Bones’ scent on me after this, it’d be a frigging miracle. Even my teeth were treated to a bleaching solution that nearly burned my gums off.
When I was done being put through a high-end version of a car wash, the attendant came in and handed me a box.
“Here you go, miss. This is for you.”
Inside was a dress, a cell phone, a set of car keys with a vehicle description, and a pair of high-heeled shoes. As soon as I took them out, I smiled. The guys wouldn’t be the only ones with dangerous footwear. The heels on these were solid silver, covered with only a layer of black paint.
I got dressed quickly, checking the clock on the wall. Then I looked at my reflection and paused. The dress had Bones written all over it, since it was more like a teddy than evening wear. It had a halter that plunged to my waist in a style that would have made even Jennifer Lopez pause. Double-sided tape held the two black strips of material to my breasts in vertical swaths. The bottom was attached, cut high on the legs front and back, and the only thing that saved the outfit from being obscene were the translucent bits of fabric that ranged from hip to mid-thigh length and swayed when I moved.
One thing was for sure—this dress sure as hell didn’t lack for fluidity. There wasn’t enough of it to hinder movement.
Once I had my makeup on, the new cell phone from the box rang as if on cue. An unfamiliar voice was on the other end.
“Reaper, meet us at the overpass of Forty-fifth and Wilkes. You’d better be alone. By now you should know that we have four of your people, and we don’t need all of them.”
How charming. Not even a hello. “I’ll play ball, but if you kill any of them, you’re next.”
I was already on my way to the parking lot, those new keys in my hand. They went to the blue Explorer parked near the entrance. I fastened my seat belt as I drove off, since going through the windshield wasn’t in my plans tonight. At least not that I knew of.
Two cars waited for me at the designated area with four vampires in each of them.
“Let’s get this show on the road, boys,” I greeted them.
Sixteen pairs of eyes roamed me from head to high-heeled feet. Helpfully I spun in a circle and stretched out my arms.
“You can check me for weapons, but what you see is what you get. Now, if you’re finished gaping, I have a date with whoever your boss is.”
“Hello there, darling,” a voice behind me said, with a pronounced English accent.
I spun around to see a tall vampire with long, spiky black hair lounging by the guardrail. He hadn’t been there a moment ago. His aura announced him as the most powerful of the group, a Master vampire, and it wasn’t the first time I’d met him.
“Where I come from, it’s polite to introduce yourself first before calling someone a sexist demeaning nickname, or maybe you weren’t brought up with manners?”
He smiled and straightened from his easy slouch to sweep me a bow that was still the courtliest I’d ever seen.