Halfway to the Grave

TWENTY-SEVEN

R ODNEY WAS A GHOUL, TO MY SURPRISE. Somehow I just expected vampire. Bones lifted my mother out of the backseat, tape still over her mouth, and handed her off to me as he made the introductions. Rodney didn’t bat an eye. He must have been used to people showing up at his house bound and gagged.

I set my mother on her feet and shook Rodney’s hand as much as I could while keeping her from bolting away.

“I hate to impose right off, Rodney, but where’s the bathroom?”

“It’s no imposition, it’s on the left,” he said with a smile.

I hauled her with me. “Be back in a minute, Bones. I want to get her cleaned up and have a word with her.”

“Take your time, luv.”

I locked the door behind us and immediately began to run the water in the tub. On the way over, I’d come up with a plan, but now I had to get my mother to play along. She made furious grunts behind her gag, and I sighed. Even with the water running, Bones might hear us.

I gave the bathroom mirror a cagey glance and then turned the faucet to run as hot as possible. Soon the room filled with steam. Bingo.

I used my finger to write on the now-fogged mirror:

Leaving tomorrow don’t speak he’ll hear you

Her eyes bugged. “He killed the man who murdered Grandpa Joe and Grandma, Mom,” I said in a clear voice. “He won’t hurt me and he won’t hurt you.”

She wrote three words next to mine:

Leaving without him?

I nodded my head yes, even though I wanted to throw up. “I know you hate vampires and I know this will be hard, but you’re going to have to listen to me for a while.”

He doesn’t know, he would stop us

“Just give me a little time. You have to trust me. Our lives depend on it.”

Play along no matter what

“We’re staying here tonight, and then tomorrow we’re leaving the country. It’s the only way.”

I kept repeating that to myself. This was the only way. It just hurt more than I could stand.

“Well? Are you going to be reasonable? Can I take the gag off?”

She gave me a hard stare and wrote again on the mirror:

Leaving without him promise me

“You can trust me,” I repeated. “I promise.”

My mother nodded once, and I took her gag off. She glanced at the door, but didn’t say a word.

I grabbed one of the pretty hanging towels and rubbed our words off the mirror. “Try to be nice when we go out.”

Bones and Rodney were seated at the table. My mother glared at both of them, but said nothing. For her, that was being nice.

“Take your pick of the guest rooms, one upstairs and one in the basement,” Rodney offered.

“Show me the one in the basement,” I said instantly.

“Of course, follow me.”

I took my mother’s arm and we went down a flight of stairs to the basement. Rodney opened a door to a guest room complete with fluffy blankets and, more importantly, no windows.

I gave my mother a light push inside. “This’ll be perfect for you, Mom.”

She stared stupidly at me as I started to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Upstairs. With Bones. Good night.”

I slammed the door and watched with grim contentment as Rodney locked it from the outside. The mere fact that he had a downstairs bedroom with a lock on the outside was cause for comment, but none of my business.

There was a pounding on it almost at once.

“Catherine! You can’t mean to-”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, Mom, when we’re alone. Tomorrow. Don’t cause a fuss, you’re making Rodney hungry.”

Although I had no way of knowing the truthfulness of that statement, he winked at me and made a low rumbling noise in his throat. The room inside at once became quiet.

“Thanks for that,” I whispered gratefully. “She would have banged all night.”

He smiled as we walked back up the stairs. The door to the basement he also locked and gave me a meaningful glance.

“In case she’s really feisty.”

Bones waited for me in the other guest room and I went straight into his arms, breathing in the scent of him. For several minutes we just held each other. Selfishly I tried to drink in the feeling of him next to me. I might know this was the only way, but oh God, did it hurt.

“I told you we’d make it through the night, luv. You didn’t believe me.”

“No,” I softly answered. “I didn’t. But you were right, and both of you are alive. That’s all that matters. It means more than anything to me.”

“You mean more than anything to me.”

He lowered his head and brushed his lips across mine. In response I wound my hands around him and pressed him to me so tightly, I knew I’d have bruises in the morning.

“Why are you crying?” he whispered.

I swiped at the tears I hadn’t realized were there. “Because…I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

He kissed me. “Nothing will happen to me, I promise.”

I promise too. In fact, I’m going to bet my life on it.

“I want you to know that despite everything, I’m so glad I met you,” I choked out. “It was the luckiest day of my life. If I hadn’t, I never would have known what it was like for someone to love me, all of me, even the parts I hated. I would have gone through life empty and guilt-ridden, but you showed me a whole new world, Bones. I’ll never be able to thank you for all you’ve done for me, but I will love you every day until I die.”

Maybe he’d remember this after I was gone. Maybe he wouldn’t hate me for what I had to do.

“Kitten,” he moaned as he drew me down onto the bed. “I only thought I was living before I met you. You’ll love me until you die? That’s not nearly long enough…”

I cursed each ray of sunlight that mocked me with its appearance. Bones already told me he and Rodney would be leaving for about four hours to make the final arrangements for our departure. They would take Rodney’s car, leaving me the Volvo just in case they had to summon us to meet them. All that was left now was for him to leave, not knowing that we would never see each other again.

Rodney, the domesticated ghoul, made breakfast. Pancakes and omelets for my mother and me. Under my threatening glare she ate hers, looking as though she would choke with each swallow. Out of courtesy I ate far more than I wanted, not having an appetite but not wanting to appear rude. One of the few things I was thankful for was that Rodney was waiting until later to eat…whatever his normal breakfast consisted of.

When Bones started toward the door, I surprised him by grabbing him and throwing my arms around him. I buried my head in his neck. I can’t let you go yet. I can’t do it. It’s too soon!

“What’s this? Miss me before I’ve even left?”

My heart constricted. “I’ll always miss you when you’re gone.”

It was treading the tightrope a little dangerously, but I couldn’t help but say it.

He kissed me, achingly tender. I held him and desperately tried not to cry. This hurts so much! How can I let you go? How can I let you walk away?

How can you not? my logic countered. You love him? Then prove it. Keep him safe.

Ruthlessly I swallowed back my tears. It’s better to do this now than later. You know this is the right decision. He’ll live long past your lifetime, and he’ll forget about you eventually.

I pulled away, touching his face very softly. “Give me your jacket.”

Even in the midst of reveling in his last embrace, I was adding the final nails to the coffin. Bones shook it off, raising a dark brow in question. “In case we have to leave and meet you,” I said in explanation. “It’s cold outside.”

Bones handed me the faded denim coat he’d worn yesterday while causing a forty-car pile-up and I folded it under my arm. He gave one last brush of his lips on my forehead as I prepared to shut the door behind him. You can do this. Let him go. It’s the only way.

“Be careful, Bones. Just please…be careful.”

He smiled. “Don’t fret, luv. I’ll be back before you know it.”

I watched through the peephole long after they drove off and then fell to my knees, letting myself feel all the pain of a shattered heart. I cried until my eyes burned and I could barely breathe. This hurt so much worse than those bullets had.

Twenty minutes later I stood and was a different person. There was no more time for weeping. I had a job to do. You play the hand you’re dealt, Bones had always said. Well, I’d been born a half-breed for a reason, and now was my chance to prove it. Come one, come all, bloodsuckers! The Red Reaper’s ready for you!

I advanced on my mother and spoke in low clipped tones. First things first.

“Get dressed, we’re leaving. Now, I’m going to tell you exactly what you’ll say, and God help you if you don’t follow every fucking word of it…”

The helicopter hovered overhead, a large mechanical beetle in the sky. Don Williams was wheeled over the uneven ground at his insistence and ten other agents fanned out around the perimeter. In the middle of this scene I huddled around Switch’s body. It hadn’t been hard for me to find him. Bones had told me he’d left him in the woods near Cedar Lake. With my new nose, I’d scented him out soon after arriving. Switch was now wearing a denim jacket over his decomposed remains, and a silver knife protruded grotesquely out of his back.

Even seated, Don commanded the activities. “Is that him?” he demanded as he drew near.

“It’s him.”

Don stared down at the unrecognizable corpse and frowned. “There’s nothing left but bones!”

“Funny you should say that,” I responded in a flat tone. “That was his name. Bones.”

The cold wind caused me to shiver and I glanced around at the dreary landscape of naked trees and frigid earth.

“He’s dead, so why the rush? When your call came in, you said if we didn’t arrive within the hour, you were leaving because it was too dangerous to wait. Well, it’s been forty-five minutes and he doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.”

I stood and towered over him in his wheelchair. “Because yesterday he told me there would be vampires coming for retribution over what happened the night before last. Oliver had toothy friends. The team isn’t in place and I can’t fight them on my own. Since I value my own neck, I don’t want it to become food. Get me and my mother out of here. Now.”

“We’re taking him as well,” he insisted. “We’ll want to study the body.”

I shrugged.

“Study away, but I suggest you speed up. Vampires can smell flesh from miles away. Any of your boys left here poking at pinecones will become one big snack in a hell of a hurry.”

Don stared at me. “Why should I believe you?”

As if annoyed, I ran my hand through my hair. “Because you’re not as dumb as you look. Any of your men who were injured yesterday need to be moved immediately as well. The vamps will try to extort information from them and I’m sure those agents know things you’d rather not be shared with the undead.”

He stared into my eyes for several more long moments and I stared back without blinking. Finally he called out to his men, decision made.

“Let’s move it out, people. Wrap it up, we leave in five! Someone get the hospital on the phone and transport all injured personnel in the Medevac chopper on the double. No arrival destination listed. Stanley, pack that body and make it snappy, we’re airborne in five.”

There was a flurry of activity as the agents rushed to carry out his instructions. While they made final preparations, I sat down next to my mother. She put her hand in mine without a word.

“Ms. Crawfield.” Don approached with the sound of crunching wheels. “Is there anything you’d like to add to your daughter’s description of what happened? Anything at all?”

My mother looked up at him and dourly shook her head. “How could I? I was unconscious. That animal hit me, again. When I came to, Catherine had killed him. There he is, see for yourself.”

Don looked back and forth between the two of us. Neither of us wavered. He sighed. “Then, ladies, come with me. The helicopter will take us to the airport. Let’s try this again.”

Eight hours later, I walked the long corridor of the military hospital in Houston, Texas, with Don rolling at my side.

“It’s done?”

He grunted in the affirmative. “Catherine Crawfield has been officially killed by the FBI after trying to escape during a transfer. That’s how we explained the highway pile-up yesterday. The body of a Jane Doe has been substituted as yours.”

I nodded, only sorry that Timmie would believe that. Or maybe he wouldn’t. He had been a conspiracy buff. “And my reason for killing Ethan Oliver?”

Don smiled coldly. “A random act of senseless violence. Considering Oliver’s propaganda campaign, I thought it was fitting.”

I didn’t smile back, but I thought it was fitting, too.

“Tate asked to see me?”

“As soon as he woke up. The doctors are holding off on the painkillers, otherwise it would be pretty one-sided.”

“How badly is he hurt?” Cynically, I was more curious than concerned.

“Two broken legs, two broken arms, six broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, broken nose, some internal bleeding, abrasions, and a low iron count. He’ll be out for weeks recovering.”

“We’ll see,” I murmured.

Tate Bradley was covered in casts and gauze. His eyes fluttered when we came in the door.

I pulled up a chair and sat down. “Hello.”

A pain-filled gaze met mine. “Did I make the team, Cat?”

His voice was a raspy whisper, but the words made me almost smile. Almost.

“You want to sign on for this kind of pain on a regular basis?”

“Hell, yeah.” Breathy but firm.

I shook my head sardonically. “Then congratulations, Tate. You’re the first team member.” I stood and turned to Don.

“Get a nurse and have them take some blood from me. At least a pint. Have them transfuse it to Tate.”

Don gave me a wondering squint. “You don’t even know if you’re his type. You have to be cross-matched.”

That made me laugh. “I’m everyone’s type. Half vampire and topped off with extra-aged nosferatu. The additional strength will be out of my system in the next couple days, so I suggest you use it while it’s still effective. Here’s Lesson One in the class of I Know More Than You Know-vampire blood heals. He’ll be on his feet by the end of tomorrow. We need to start training right away. We have a lot of work to do.”

I rolled up my sleeve as Don pressed for the medical attendant.

“What else are you going to tell me that I don’t know?” he asked.

My eyes flashed their emerald glow at him and he gasped as their light settled on his face.

“You can’t even imagine…”

Later, when my mother and I were stationed at a military facility, I allowed myself to think about Bones. He would have gotten back to Rodney’s hours ago and seen the note I’d left him. In brief terms, I’d tried to explain how I couldn’t let more blood of those I loved stain my hands. No matter how cleverly he managed things, sooner or later the government would catch up with us. Or one of the vampires who’d gotten away would find us. Or my mother would ruin things between us with her hatred and inevitable attempts to run off. Or time would be our enemy as I aged and he didn’t. We had to play the hand we were dealt, all of us. Fighting the battles we could win.

And yet when I finally drifted off, in that barely conscious state where logic was absent and dreams encroached, I could almost hear Bones’s voice. He was whispering that same promise he’d made to me months ago when our relationship started, and I wondered if it was a sign-and if he’d really meant it.

If you run from me, I’ll chase you. And I’ll find you…