“Stop him; he’s happy about this because he intends to kill Tate!”
Bones gave me a jaded look. “That’s not why, luv. Ian collects the rare and unusual, and that child is the rarest, most unusual person in the world right now. He’ll scour the globe with Tate and Fabian looking for her.”
That notion was almost as unsettling as my first. Then I consoled myself with the knowledge that Ian was many things, yet a pedophile wasn’t one of them. He might want to “collect” Katie, but he wouldn’t lay a lustful—or harmful—finger on her. The same couldn’t be said for others who might also be hunting for Madigan’s missing experiment.
“Since all urgent business has been attended to, I need a private moment with my wife,” Spade said, interrupting my line of thought.
Denise threw me a rueful look before she walked off with Spade. The two of them disappeared into the farthest silo away from us. With the thick concrete and metal walls going a hundred feet up, I could barely hear them once they were inside.
My jaw clenched. I had a few things to discuss with my spouse, too, but before I could, Cooper’s condition still needed to be addressed.
“After what Madigan’s done to you, we can’t risk taking you to a hospital,” I said, mentally switching gears. “But Bones knows a few off-the-grid doctors—”
“No more doctors.”
Cooper shuddered when he said it, memories of brutal experiments flitting through his mind. After all he’d been through, I sympathized, but Spade was correct. Cooper was fading right before our eyes. I wasn’t even sure more vampire blood could heal all the cellular damage. He didn’t just need one doctor. He needed several.
“Cooper, you’ll die,” I said as gently as I could.
White teeth flashed in a brief smile. “That’s my plan, and I’d prefer it sooner rather than later since I hurt everywhere. Bones?”
“You don’t need to ask,” my husband replied evenly. “You’ve been one of mine for years. It’s time you receive the full benefits of that.”
Oh, he meant that sort of death. My tenseness eased. Madigan might be worm food, but it appeared we were bringing someone back from the grave tonight after all.
“Kitten, have Charles ring Mencheres and tell him we need a secured vehicle for new vampire transport,” Bones stated since neither of us had a cell phone.
Then he pulled Cooper to him, bending his head back almost casually before slamming his fangs into the other man’s throat.
Looked like Spade needed to place that call to Mencheres right now.
By the time I got back from informing Spade and Denise of what was going on and waiting while Spade made the call, Bones was already done. Cooper lay on the ground, his pulse silent, only a small smear of red on his mouth indicating the enormity of the change taking place in him. Sometime in the next few to several hours, he’d rise as a vampire, permanently free from all the damage Madigan had inflicted on him and vulnerable only to decapitation and silver through the heart.
Well, and to passing out at sunrise for the first few months, but Bones’s people would protect him through that temporary stage.
And since we finally didn’t have any life-and-death situations to resolve, I could turn my attention to other pressing matters.
“Bones.” My voice was soft yet steely. “We need to talk.”
Twenty-three
The inside of the grain silo reminded me of Madigan’s elevation platform. Both were tall, circular spaces with smooth, un-climbable walls. The main difference was that light shone through the top of the silo and its hundred-foot height was far shorter than Madigan’s mile-high secret elevator.
The barren interior suited me fine. Bones and I had nothing to focus on except each other though I stood as far away from him as the narrow space would allow. For his part, Bones locked his aura down until I felt nothing from him except a slight tinge in the air. His expression was equally inscrutable. Only smudges of blood marred his chiseled features, the color in vivid contrast to his creamy, crystal skin.
“Sabotaging the Dante machine, ripping off doors, disabling entire security systems, and throwing soldiers around like rag dolls . . . your telekinetic powers have grown tremendously,” I started with. “You hid that from me. Why?”
His mouth curled as though he’d swallowed something distasteful.
“Initially, I thought to surprise you with how they’d developed. Then I didn’t say anything because I feared one day, I’d need them to stop you from doing something rash.”
“You were planning to restrain me with them?” I couldn’t contain my angry snort. “What was your plan for when you let me go? Run like hell?”