I made quick work of Sergio, wrapping him in plastic and popping him in the trunk, whistling to myself. Kitten had performed even better than I had expected - she was a natural, really. It was an odd thing to be a natural at, killing vampires, but it was yet another way we were perfectly suited. Tonight had just shown me again that we were meant to be together, hence the whistling.

Once done, I went over to where Kitten was hunched against the car, holding her wrist. She tried to make out like she was fine, but I removed her makeshift sleeve-bandage and saw that it was a nasty bite, with the flesh torn. I pulled out my knife to heal her and she tried to stop me, but I just gave her a look and told her not to be irrational.

"How much did he take?"

She watched her wrist heal as she answered. "About four good pulls, I guess. Stabbed him in the neck as fast as I could to get his mind off it. Where were you, anyway? I didn't see a car behind us."

I told her about following far enough back to not be noticed, when suddenly we both realized our heads were only inches apart and our knees were pressed together. She tried to shift back, but was penned in by the car door.

Clearly trying to change the subject, she said, "I think the car's ruined. The rear door is in scraps."

Curious, I asked, "Why did he go for your wrist, if you were both in the backseat? Couldn't get to your neck?"

"No." She grimaced. "He got frisky in the front seat and tried to feel me up, thanks to you and the no-panties idea. I wasn't about to let that happen, so I climbed into the back and put my arms around him from behind so he wouldn't get suspicious. Stupid of me, I know now, but I didn't even think of my wrists. Every other vampire had always gone for my neck."

Inwardly I snorted. "Yeah, including me, right? The car swerved off the road so fast, I thought you two were already sprawling inside. What made him pull off so erratically then?"

Flippantly, she replied, "I told him to come and get me." Suddenly, she tensed and asked, "Is he okay back there in the trunk?"

I chuckled. "You want to keep him company?"

I got an evil glare for my troubles. "No, but is he really gone? I'd always cut off their heads to be sure."

"Critiquing my work? Yeah, he's really gone. Right now we need to get out of here before some nosy driver pops alongside and asks if we need help." I let go of her wrist and looked at the wound. The edges were already pulled together. "That'll hold you. We need to move this vehicle."

She stood up and looked at the mangled Benz. "How I am supposed to drive in this wreck? Any cop that sees this car is going to pull me over!"

I gave her a cocky grin. "Don't fret. Have it all worked out."

I pulled my mobile out of my jacket and called my mate to tell him his services were needed, and where we were. "Step on it, right?" I hung up and answered her. "Sit tight, Kitten. Our ride will be here in a minute. Don't worry, he's nearby. Told him I might have a use for him tonight. Course, he was probably figuring on it being a little later in the evening."

I paused and gave her an appraising look. "You left with him right quick, didn't you? He must have been quite pleased with you."

"Yeah, real happy. Color me flattered. Seriously, Bones, even if you tow this car there's still too much blood in it. And you didn't listen to me about bringing cleaning materials. This thing could have been at least mopped up."

I moved closer to look at her wrist again. Now only a thin red line remained as evidence Sergio ever met her. I leaned back a bit, but didn't let go.

"Trust me, luv. I know you don't, but you should. You did a smashing job tonight, by the way. That stake in his back was just a thought away from his heart. It slowed him, as did the one in his neck. You would have had him even if I wasn't here. You're strong, Kitten. Be glad of it."

She shot me a sarcastic glance. "Glad? That's not quite the word I'd use. Relieved? You could say that. Relieved I'm alive and there's one less murderer prowling around for naïve girls. But glad? Glad would be if I never had this lineage. Glad would be if I had two normal parents and a bunch of friends, and the only thing I'd ever killed was time. Or if even once I had been to a club

just to go dancing and have fun instead of ending up staking something that tried to kill me. That's glad. This is just…existing. Until the next time."

She pulled her wrist from my hand and scooted back a bit from me. A look that was way too heavy for her years crossed her face. Then it was replaced with self-pity. I knew she was unhappy with her life, and that she'd been given some heavy loads to bear, but she wasn't the only one who'd known suffering in this world, and she was well old enough for the pity party to stop.

"Rot."

"Excuse me?"

"Rot, I said. You play the hand you're dealt just like everyone else in this bloody world. You have gifts people would kill for, no matter that you scorn them. You have a mum who loves you and a nice house to go home to. Sod your backwoods neighbors who look down their ignorant noses at you for your lack of a father. This world is a big place and you've got an important role to play in it. Think everyone goes around whistling about the life they lead? Think everyone is given the power to choose the way their fate goes? Sorry, luv, it doesn't work that way. You hold the ones you love close and fight the battles you can win, and that, Kitten, is how it is."

"What would you know about it?" She asked bitterly.

I threw back my head and laughed before I seized her shoulders, moving closer until my mouth almost touched hers. "You…haven't…the…slightest…inkling of what I've been through, so

don't…tell…me…what I know." There was a hint of menace in my voice, the way I bit out each syllable. I could hear her heart start to pound, and I loosened my grip on her shoulders so my fingers no longer dug into her skin, but my hands remained.

Unconsciously she licked her lips, and she watched as my eyes follow the movement. The air

fairly crackled between us. In answer to hers, I snaked my tongue out and slid it across my bottom lip. Again, I watched her follow the movement, almost like she was mesmerized.

Ted's horn blaring nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"Bones…!" she called out, frightened of discovery.

Brassed off as I was at the timing of it (shite! I almost got to kiss her!) I still had work to do, and it started right now.

.

"Ted, you buggering bastard, good of you to arrive so quickly!" I said insincerely.

"I'm missin' my shows because of you, buddy. Hope I didn't interrupt nothin' between you and that gal. Two of you looked awful cozy."

"No!" She bleated. "Nothing going on here!"

Ted laughed and looked around the car, taking in the blood. "Sure…I can see that."

I gave Ted instructions on where we needed to go and that he could have the car, then went and fetched my motorbike and stashed it in the back of the truck with the Benz. I hopped into the back of the truck myself and called out, "Come on, Kitten. Your taxi's waiting."

She questioned us riding in the back, and I explained that Ted preferred not to be seen with me. She made a sarcastic comment about envying him for being smart about that. She wouldn't sit in the car where her blood was splashed all over the seats, so she huddled into a ball on a crate, as far away from me as she could get in the cramped interior of the truck. Dammit, we had been so close earlier... In response, I perched nonchalantly on another crate.

"I know this isn't a concern for you, but is there enough oxygen in here?"

"Plenty of air. Just as long as there isn't any heavy breathing." I raised a brow while my eyes told her I hadn't missed an instant of our earlier moment.

"Well, then I'm safe. Absolutely safe." I gave her a knowing smile in return.

"Shit."

"Something wrong?" Thinking of anything in particular, Kitten? Or anyone?

I kept my knowing smile but my expression was serious. She glanced around the interior of the truck, searching for something to break the tension.

"So who's this Hennessey you were asking about?"

Bollocks. How much to tell her? "Someone dangerous."

"Yeah, I gathered that. Sergio seemed pretty scared of him, so I didn't think he was a Boy Scout. I take it he's our next target?"

I paused, thinking. How much do I let her know? I don't want him to know about her, and she's just reckless enough to go after him with or without me if I tell her why I'm really after him. "He's someone I've been tracking, yes, but I'll be going after him alone."

That red headed temper came up at once. "Why? You don't think I can handle it? Or you still don't trust me to keep this secret? I thought we covered this already!"

"I think there are certain things you'd do well to stay out of," I hedged.

"You said something about Sergio being Hennessey's best client. What do you mean by that? What did Hennessey do to whoever hired you? Do you know, or did you just take the contract on him without asking?"

I let out a sigh. "Questions like that are why I won't tell you more about it. Suffice it to say there's a reason why Ohio's been such a hazardous place for young girls lately. It's why I don't want you chasing after vampires without me. Hennessey's more than just a sod who bleeds someone when he can get away with it. Beyond that, don't ask."

"Can you at least tell me how long you've been after him? That can't be top secret."

I frowned at the snippy tone in her voice. "'Round eleven years."

She almost fell off her crate, she looked so shocked. "Good God! He must have a real fancy price on his head! Come on, what did he do? He pissed off someone rich, obviously."

I gave her a look. "Not everything is about money."

"How did you become a vampire?" Even she seemed surprised she'd asked the question.

I arched my brow. "Want an interview with the vampire, luv? It didn't turn out too well for the reporter in the movie."

She murmured, "I never saw it. My mother thought it was too violent," then started laughing.

I grinned as well and looked meaningfully toward the car. "I can see that. Good thing you didn't watch it, then. Heaven knows what might have happened."

Laughter fading, she looked at me pointedly until I finally acquiesced. "All right, I'll tell you, but then you'll have to answer one of my questions. Got an hour to burn anyhow."

"Is this quid pro quo, Dr. Lecter?" she scoffed. "Fine, but I hardly see the point. You already

know everything about me."

I gave her a look of pure heat and I whispered, "Not everything."

That crackling energy came back between us and she fidgeted about on her crate, pulling herself into an even smaller ball. Finally, she asked, "When did it happen? When you were changed?"

"Let's see, it was 1790 and I was in Australia. I did this bloke a favor and he thought he was returning it by making me a vampire."

"What?" She seemed shocked. "You're Australian? I thought you were English!"

I smiled blankly. "I'm a bit of both, as it were. I was born in England. It's where I spent my youth, but it was in Australia that I was changed. That makes me part of it as well."

"You have to go into more detail than that."

"I was twenty-four. It happened just a month after my birthday."

"My God, we're almost the same age!"

I snorted. "Sure. Give or take two hundred and seventeen years."

"Er, you know what I mean. You look older than twenty-four."

"Thanks ever so." I laughed at her obvious remorse over that last statement, but put her out of her misery. "Times were different. People aged far more rapidly. You bloody folks don't know how

good you have it."

"Tell me more. Please."

Leaning forward, all seriousness now, I told her, my eyes closing as I remembered. That my mum was a whore, that I grew up in a whorehouse, that my mum died of syphilis young. That I was a thief and a beggar. That I earned my living as a whore as well. That I was arrested and almost sentenced to hanging, but was saved by one of my clients and sent to work as a convict. About my three mates- Timothy, Charles, and Ian. About Ian escaping, then coming back and turning us.

By the time I was finished, she had uncurled from her ball and looked amazed. "Your turn." My eyes opened to stare right into hers. "Tell me what happened with that sod who hurt you."

"God, Bones, I don't want to talk about that." She hunched defensively at the memory. "It's

humiliating."

My stare didn't waver. "I just told you that I used to be a thief, a beggar, and a whore. Is it really fair for you to cry foul over my question?"

She shrugged to try to hide how it still hurt her and summarized it briskly. "It's a common story. Boy meets girl, girl is naïve and stupid, boy uses girl and then hits the road."

I just arched my brow and waited.

She threw up her hands. "Fine! You want details? I thought he really cared for me. He told me he did, and I fell for his lies completely. We went out twice, and then the third time he said he had to stop by his apartment to get something before we'd go to this club. When we got there, he started kissing me, telling me all this crap about how special I was to him…I told him it was too soon. That we should wait to get to know each other better, that it was my first time. He disagreed. I—I should have hit him, or thrown him off me. I could have, I was stronger than he was. But…" she dropped her eyes, "I wanted to make him happy. I really liked him. So when he didn't stop, I just stayed still and tried not to move. It didn't hurt as much if I didn't move…."

She blinked rapidly and took in an uneven breath. "That's about it. One miserable time and then he didn't call me anymore. I was worried at first—I thought something bad might have happened to him." She gave a bitter laugh. "The next weekend I found him making out with another girl at the same club where we were supposed to go. He told me then that he'd never really liked me and to run along because it was past my bedtime. That same night, I killed my first vampire. In a way I owe it to being used. I was so upset I wanted to either die or murder someone. At least having some creature try to rip out my throat guaranteed me one or the other."

I didn't make any of my usual jokes. There was nothing funny in either of our stories. When she dared to meet my eyes again, I was simply staring at her, no scorn or judgment on my face. The silence stretched, seconds into minutes. It filled with something unexplainable as we kept looking in each other's eyes.

Suddenly the truck jostled to a stop. With a slight shake to clear my head, I said, "We're nearly at the place, and there's still work to be done. Hold open that bag for me, Kitten."

I unwrapped Sergio and popped his head off like it was a soda bottle. I dropped it into the bag Kitten was holding.

For the first time since I'd met her, she went a bit girlish. "Yuck." She thrust the bag back into my hands. "You take it."

"Squeamish? That lump of rotting skull is worth fifty thousand dollars. Sure you don't want to cradle it a bit?" I teased.

The rear door opened and Ted appeared. "We're here, bud. Hope you both had a smooth ride." His eyes twinkled as he looked back and forth between the two of us.

Kitten instantly sounded defensive.. "We were talking."

Ted grinned, and I hid a smile as well. "Come on, mate. We've been driving for, what…fifty minutes? Not nearly enough time."

We both laughed. Kitten didn't, seeing nothing amusing at all. "Are you finished?"

I shook my head. "Stay in the trailer for a minute. Something I have to take care of."

"What?" If curiosity killed the cat, I was hoping this one had nine lives...

"Business. Got a head to deliver, and I want you to stay out of it. The less people know of

you, the better."

I took off, and met my client at our appointed meeting place. They glanced into the bag, satisfied it was Sergio, and paid me the 50K promised. About half an hour later, I made it back to the truck. Kitten was still sitting in the back, swinging her legs in their fuck me boots over the edge. Image after image immediately appeared in my head... but still, the night wasn't finished.

I jumped into the trailer, untied my bike, and carried it one-handed to the ground. "Hop on, pet. We're finished."

"What about the car? Or the torso?"

She climbed behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist for leverage. It was heaven to feel her warmth pressed so close to me, her touching me without fear, especially to feel her long legs twine around mine. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and finish the moment from earlier. Instead I just handed her a helmet and answered her.

"Ted's taking the car. Got a chop house that he runs for 'em. It's how he makes his living, didn't I tell you?"

"And the body?"

"Part of the deal. He plants him for me. Less work for us. Ted's a smart fellow, keeps his mouth shut and minds his business. Don't fret over him."

It was a two-hour drive back to the cave, and we arrived shortly after three a.m. Her truck was parked about a quarter mile away from the entrance as usual, since the vehicle couldn't navigate the rest of the way. I pulled to a stop next to it, and she jumped off the motorcycle as soon as it quit moving.

"Off so soon, pet? The evening is young." I gave her a devilish look and curled my lips. She just collected her keys from their hiding place under a rock and heaved wearily into the truck.

"Maybe for you, but I'm going home. Go find yourself a nice neck to suck on."

I uncurled myself from the bike. "Going home wearing that dress with blood all over it? Your mum might worry at seeing you that way. You can come inside and change. Promise I won't peek." I gave an exaggerated wink that made her smile in spite of her weariness.

"No, I'll change at a gas station or something. By the way, since this job is done, when do I have to come back here? Do I get a break?"

"Sorry, Kitten. Tomorrow night you're on again. Then after that I fly to Chicago to see my old friend Hennessey. With luck, I'll be back on Thursday, because Friday I have another job for us…."

"Yeah, I get it," she grumbled. "Well, you just remember I'm starting college next week, so you'll have to cut me some slack. We might have an arrangement, but I've waited too long already to get my degree."

"Absolutely, pet. Fill your head with volumes of information that will never apply in real life. Just remember—dead girls pass no exams, so don't think you're going to neglect your training. Don't fret, though. We'll work it out. Speaking of that, here you go."

I pulled a large plastic envelope from my jacket, rifled through it a bit, then handed her some cash. "Your share."

"What's this?"

I shook my head with mirth. "Blimey, but you're a difficult chit! Fellow can't even give you money

without you arguing. This, luv, is twenty percent of the bounty Sergio had on his head. It's for your part in him losing his head. See, I reckon since I don't pay anything to the IRS, I may as well give their cut to you. Death and taxes. They go hand in hand."

"Umm, thanks." She seemed stupified.

I grinned. "You earned it, pet."

"You just got a big chunk of change yourself. Are you finally moving out of the cave?"

I chuckled. "Is that why you think I stay there? Out of lack of funds?"

Her tone was defensive. "Why else? It's not a Hilton. You have to pirate electricity and you wash in an ice-cold river. I didn't think you did that just because you liked seeing your parts shrink!"

That really made me laugh. And also pleased that she was even thinking of my parts. "Concerned for my bits and pieces, are you? Let me assure you, they're fine. Of course, if you don't take my word for it, you could always—"

"Don't even think about it!"

I stopped chuckling, but answered with a gleam in my eyes. "Too late for that, but back to your question. I stay there because it's safer, primarily. I can hear you or anyone else coming from a mile away, and I know it like the back of my hand. Be difficult for someone to ambush me without my turning it around on them. Also, it's quiet. I'm sure there have been many times the background noise from your house has kept you awake. And besides, it was given to me by a friend, so I check on it when I'm in Ohio and make sure all's well, like I promised him."

"A friend gave you the cave? How do you give someone a cave?"

I explained about my friend's tribe discovering the cave, then him seeing his tribe killed off, and making his last stand.

"How terrible," she said softly.

I studied her. "It was his choice. He had no control over anything except how he died, and the Mingoes were very proud. To him, it was a good death. One befitting the legacy of his people."

"Maybe. But when death is all you have left, it's sad no matter how you cut it. It's late, Bones. I'm leaving."

I touched her arm then, all seriousness. "About what you told me earlier, I want you to know it wasn't your fault. Bloke like that would've done the same to any girl, and no doubt has before and since you."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

I let my arm drop and I stepped back, giving her an inscrutable look. "No, I'm not. I've never treated a woman in such a manner, and most especially not a virgin. Like I said before—you don't have to be human to have some behaviors be beneath you."

She didn't have an answer for that, so she just hit the gas and drove away.