Page 101 of Both Feet in the Grave

Bones’s shrug said,What of it? It’s a party.

Ian’s gaze narrowed. Displeasure sliced through their connection before Ian’s walls went up and Bones felt nothing. Then, Ian looked away with deliberate chilliness, but he said nothing as the hundred-plus vampires that Bones had made took their seats. With it, the power in the tented stadium changed. Ian might have more people, but Bones had quality over quantity, and he’d also personally trained all of his people to fight, which made them lethal as well as powerful.

Bones’s skin suddenly tightened as invisible electrical currents crackled through the air. Ian vaulted to his feet as a tall vampire with waist-length black hair and golden bronze skin entered the stadium. The vampires around him immediately backed away, and Mencheres glided through them with all the regality of his ancient, royal lineage.

Ian embraced his sire, speaking to Mencheres for a moment before ushering him personally to the seat behind his. Then, Ian snapped his fingers, and Mencheres was surrounded by servants bearing wine, delicacies, and of course, blood. When Ian finally walked away, he paused to throw a smirk at Bones.

Bring anyone you want, that smirk said.I have Mencheres.

That indeed would’ve been enough, except Ian didn’t know that Mencheres had decided to remain neutral when it came to Cat. Bones inclined his head at Mencheres, who responded with the subtlest nod. Now, to wait for the real guest of honor.

Ten minutes before midnight, a helicopter circled the property. Then, the tented ceiling and walls rippled as it landed nearby. Ian’s shields slipped and Bones felt excitement crackle through their tie. At once, the stadium hushed as Ian’s people felt it, too. Then, his sire snapped his walls shut and arranged himself on his chair like a king.

“Bring the Red Reaper in!” Ian commanded.

The trio of vampires serving him rushed to obey. Moments later, they returned, holding open the twin doors that separated the tented hallway from the stadium.

Cat strode into the stadium.

43

The hush that had fallen over the crowd turned into an eruption of murmurs. A strangled sound left Bones’s throat, too. Cat had dyed her hair back to its natural scarlet, the color as vivid as freshly spilled blood across her pearlescent skin. Her black dress was cut ballerina high, showing off her shapely legs while swaths of silk teased her thighs like feathers as she walked. The front was even more daring, with only two strips of silk hugging her breasts in vertical lines. If not for the double-sided tape, one wrong move would bare her breasts as completely as the halter bared her back, and high heels were her only other clothing.

I’ll make sure she doesn’t have any sleeves,Ian had told Bones earlier.That’s where she keeps her knives.

Anyone could now see that Cat had no knives, which is why Bones had picked out this dress and packed it with Cat’s spa supplies. Ian wouldn’t fret about concealed weapons while Cat was wearingthis. She couldn’t hide a safety pin on it.

Cat spotted Ian and glared up at him. “Soyou’rebehind all this? Serves me right for not twisting that knife in your heart. Come on down here, and I’ll fix my oversight.”

Ian only grinned. “Your prior, prissy pants suit didn’t begin to do you justice, Catherine. You are simplydazzling.”

Cat made a rude noise. “Once and for all, my name is Cat. Now, I came for a reason, and it wasn’t to hear that you liked my dress. Where are my men, and what do you want? It must be a real doozy for you to track me down and blackmail me.”

Ian threw a grin Bones’s way. “You can thank your old friend for helping me find you,Cat. I have a feeling you’ll remember him. Crispin, say hallo to your former protégée.”

More murmurs broke out at “former protégée.” Then, hundreds of gazes landed on Bones, but he was only interested in one pair of eyes.

“Hallo, luv,” Bones drawled. “Long time no taste.”

Cat’s eyes widened when she saw him. She wasn’t the only one who’d changed her hair. He’d dyed his back to the platinum blond shade it had been when he first met her. He’d also cut it to its former short length, and he savored the smile that twitched her lips as she took that in plus his scarlet shirt-a nod to her “Red Reaper” moniker.

Then, that twitch vanished and she scowled at him. “Bones, what an unexpected revulsion. I’d hoped you’d be dead by now. Still having that premature ejaculation problem?”

Ian burst out laughing, as did many of the onlookers. Bones had told Cat to allude to their former sexual relationship to cement his claim on her, and she’d certainly done that.

“Perhaps if your snoring hadn’t been so loud in the interims, I would have been able to concentrate properly,” he said with injured outrage.

She only turned her back on him. “All right, Ian. Enough of this memory lane crap. I’m all decked out in my pretty dress, and it’s clearly a party, so what’s the occasion?”

Ian stood, raising his voice for maximum effect. “Far and wide, I’ve told people that the avenging human called the Red Reaper is actually a vampire disguised behind a pounding heart and warm flesh. There isn’t another half-breed in the world, so put simply, I want you as one of my people, Cat. Since I don’t reckon you’ll be agreeable to that, I’ve taken four of your men hostage to ensure that you’re more…open-minded on the subject.”

Cat crossed her arms, straining her barely-concealed breasts against the thin strips that covered them. “I’m guessing that being part of your people means I’d have to spend a lot of time with you, huh?”

Ian’s gaze reluctantly dragged up from her breasts. “You would require supervising, after all.”

“And if I refuse, you’ll kill my men?”

Ian shrugged. “Not all of them. After one or two, I wager you’ll see that what I’m offering isn’t so repugnant.”

---