hornet’s nest he’d stirred up, and if we were very lucky, he’d die without ever knowing.
Of course, we’d need a lot more than luck, as the grim look Bones threw me reminded me. I stared at Marie, not knowing how we’d stop this in the time allotted, only knowing that we had to.
“I guess that means I’ll see you in sixty days.”
Her smile was thin. “I hope so, Reaper, for all our sakes.”
Seven
T he RV smelled like an Italian restaurant that had been overrun by stoners. Needless to say, I didn’t want to speak to my uncle at the moment, so if Don had any intentions of traveling to Charlottesville, he was doing it by ley line. We had enough garlic and weed to hold off an ethereal army.
Tyler also wasn’t going with us to investigate Madigan’s former compound. The medium stated that he and Dexter were sitting this one out—a wise choice. It also gave me a trusted person to leave Helsing with. My cat had probably run through eight of his nine lives from the other battles he’d been a part of. I wasn’t about to drag him along on what might turn out to be our most dangerous one ever.
We didn’t go straight from New Orleans to Charlottesville, though. We stopped by Savannah, Georgia, first. Knowing the person we were picking up, I expected the address he gave us to end in either a grand house or a strip club, but we pulled up to a modest town house near Forsythe Park instead.
“The nav system must’ve gotten us lost,” I muttered.
Then the door opened, and a tall, auburn-haired vampire sauntered out. He paused to blow a kiss at the disheveled-looking blonde who lingered in the doorway despite only wearing a towel.
“Have that spatula ready when I return,” Ian sang out to her.
“I don’t even want to know what that means,” were my first words when he climbed into the RV.
Ian clucked his tongue as he settled into the seat behind us.
“You don’t? Shame on you, Crispin. Married how long, and you haven’t spanked your wife with a metal spatula yet?”
I’d gotten used to Ian’s assumption that everyone was as perverted as he was, so I didn’t miss a beat.
“We prefer blender beaters for our kitchen utensil kink,” I said with a straight face.
Bones hid his smile behind his hand, but Ian looked intrigued.
“I haven’t tried that . . . oh, you’re lying, aren’t you?”
“Ya think?” I asked with a snort.
Ian gave a sigh of exaggerated patience and glanced at Bones.
“Being related to her through you is a real trial.”
This time, Bones didn’t attempt to conceal his grin. “That’s why you can pick your friends but not your family, cousin.”
An emotion flashed across Ian’s face before he covered it with his usual I’m-a-pain-in-the-ass-and-proud-of-it smirk. If it were anyone else, I’d swear it was childlike joy at hearing Bones call him “cousin.” Recent events had revealed their long-lost human connection, making Ian both Bones’s vampire sire and his only living blood relative.
That meant I was never getting rid of him. Then again, considering what my blood relatives had done, Ian was almost a saint by comparison.
“You didn’t say much when you rang me, so what’s the crisis this time?” Ian drawled, sounding bored.
Bones outlined Madigan’s plan to create supersoldiers by blending vampire, ghoul, and human DNA. When he was finished, Ian no longer looked as though he were fighting a yawn.
“Soon as I heard that humans were cloning sheep, I expected this day to come. Figures you’d be hip deep in it, Reaper.”
“Our priority is eliminating the program while also minimizing collateral damage,” I said, fighting a pang as I added, “And rescuing our friends, if they’re still alive.”
Ian grunted. “That’s not all. If Madigan was successful, you’ll also have to destroy any fruits of his labor.”
I was glad Bones was driving because that made every muscle in my body freeze. I’d been so worried about the consequences of
Of course, we’d need a lot more than luck, as the grim look Bones threw me reminded me. I stared at Marie, not knowing how we’d stop this in the time allotted, only knowing that we had to.
“I guess that means I’ll see you in sixty days.”
Her smile was thin. “I hope so, Reaper, for all our sakes.”
Seven
T he RV smelled like an Italian restaurant that had been overrun by stoners. Needless to say, I didn’t want to speak to my uncle at the moment, so if Don had any intentions of traveling to Charlottesville, he was doing it by ley line. We had enough garlic and weed to hold off an ethereal army.
Tyler also wasn’t going with us to investigate Madigan’s former compound. The medium stated that he and Dexter were sitting this one out—a wise choice. It also gave me a trusted person to leave Helsing with. My cat had probably run through eight of his nine lives from the other battles he’d been a part of. I wasn’t about to drag him along on what might turn out to be our most dangerous one ever.
We didn’t go straight from New Orleans to Charlottesville, though. We stopped by Savannah, Georgia, first. Knowing the person we were picking up, I expected the address he gave us to end in either a grand house or a strip club, but we pulled up to a modest town house near Forsythe Park instead.
“The nav system must’ve gotten us lost,” I muttered.
Then the door opened, and a tall, auburn-haired vampire sauntered out. He paused to blow a kiss at the disheveled-looking blonde who lingered in the doorway despite only wearing a towel.
“Have that spatula ready when I return,” Ian sang out to her.
“I don’t even want to know what that means,” were my first words when he climbed into the RV.
Ian clucked his tongue as he settled into the seat behind us.
“You don’t? Shame on you, Crispin. Married how long, and you haven’t spanked your wife with a metal spatula yet?”
I’d gotten used to Ian’s assumption that everyone was as perverted as he was, so I didn’t miss a beat.
“We prefer blender beaters for our kitchen utensil kink,” I said with a straight face.
Bones hid his smile behind his hand, but Ian looked intrigued.
“I haven’t tried that . . . oh, you’re lying, aren’t you?”
“Ya think?” I asked with a snort.
Ian gave a sigh of exaggerated patience and glanced at Bones.
“Being related to her through you is a real trial.”
This time, Bones didn’t attempt to conceal his grin. “That’s why you can pick your friends but not your family, cousin.”
An emotion flashed across Ian’s face before he covered it with his usual I’m-a-pain-in-the-ass-and-proud-of-it smirk. If it were anyone else, I’d swear it was childlike joy at hearing Bones call him “cousin.” Recent events had revealed their long-lost human connection, making Ian both Bones’s vampire sire and his only living blood relative.
That meant I was never getting rid of him. Then again, considering what my blood relatives had done, Ian was almost a saint by comparison.
“You didn’t say much when you rang me, so what’s the crisis this time?” Ian drawled, sounding bored.
Bones outlined Madigan’s plan to create supersoldiers by blending vampire, ghoul, and human DNA. When he was finished, Ian no longer looked as though he were fighting a yawn.
“Soon as I heard that humans were cloning sheep, I expected this day to come. Figures you’d be hip deep in it, Reaper.”
“Our priority is eliminating the program while also minimizing collateral damage,” I said, fighting a pang as I added, “And rescuing our friends, if they’re still alive.”
Ian grunted. “That’s not all. If Madigan was successful, you’ll also have to destroy any fruits of his labor.”
I was glad Bones was driving because that made every muscle in my body freeze. I’d been so worried about the consequences of
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