This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)
This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)
This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)
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anymore, I’d thought being a friend and family meant someone would keep me in <strong>the</strong> loop. Boy, was I wrong.<br />
“Christ Almighty,” Bones muttered.<br />
Don shot him a look. “We’ll talk about that later. Now, tell me what trouble is brewing with <strong>the</strong> ghouls, Cat.”<br />
My uncle’s expression said that continuing to discuss <strong>the</strong> obvious reasons why he should save his life would only be pointless right now. I tried to<br />
pull myself toge<strong>the</strong>r enough to focus on why we’d come, but I felt like <strong>the</strong> floor had just opened up underneath me.<br />
“You remember last year that a ghoul leader, Apollyon, was all worked up about me possibly changing into a vampire-ghoul hybrid? Well, he<br />
hasn’t calmed down . . .”<br />
Several minutes later, I’d given Don all <strong>the</strong> details as we knew <strong>the</strong>m. He tugged on his eyebrow as he listened. When I was finished, he let out a<br />
heavy sigh.<br />
“Those vampires reporting back to you are a good start, but I don’t think it’s enough. If hostilities increase between vampires and ghouls, humans<br />
will bear <strong>the</strong> brunt <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fallout. We need someone to infiltrate Apollyon’s group. Find out everything we’re only guessing at now.”<br />
I let out a grunt. “That would be great, but <strong>the</strong>re’s a problem. Any ghouls we’d trust enough to spy would be known associates <strong>of</strong> Bones and would<br />
be killed on <strong>the</strong> spot. Finding someone tough and reliable that Apollyon wouldn’t recognize will be hard . . .”<br />
My voice trailed <strong>of</strong>f even as Bones raised a brow. Don gave me a short nod.<br />
“Dave.”<br />
I closed my eyes, hating <strong>the</strong> thought <strong>of</strong> my friend in such a situation, but Don was right. Dave was smart, tough, experienced, and already dead.<br />
Bones had raised Dave as a ghoul over two years ago after Dave had been killed on a mission, but few people in <strong>the</strong> undead world had ever met<br />
Dave. He’d been too busy as a member <strong>of</strong> Don’s team to hang out at many fang or flesh-eater parties.<br />
“We’ll ask him,” I settled on. “Let him decide if he wants to do it. Going undercover is always dangerous, but going undercover to infiltrate a group<br />
<strong>of</strong> murderous undead zealots is too dicey to make it an order.”<br />
“Go get him,” Don said. “He’s in <strong>the</strong> Wreck Room.”<br />
I met my uncle’s intractable gaze with an equally stubborn one <strong>of</strong> my own. “I’ll go get him and we’ll deal with <strong>the</strong> ghoul situation, but I’m not giving<br />
up on you. Think about my <strong>of</strong>fer. About all <strong>the</strong> positive changes you can make in <strong>the</strong> world if you’re still alive.”<br />
He gave me a faint smile. “I was always going to die, Cat. Whe<strong>the</strong>r in a few months or a few years, it’s inevitable. You should have already<br />
accepted that, but you haven’t. You’ve thought with <strong>the</strong> mind <strong>of</strong> a vampire since <strong>the</strong> day we met. Your fangs are new, but that’s <strong>the</strong> only difference I<br />
see since you changed over.”<br />
I bit my lip, refusing to acknowledge that he might be right. “I’ll go get Dave.”<br />
Chapter Five<br />
I walked out <strong>of</strong> Don’s room with Bones following me, trying to concentrate on anything but my uncle’s sad, stubborn gaze. Click-click-click went<br />
my shoes on <strong>the</strong> tile. Lung cancer. Click-click-click, bringing me closer to <strong>the</strong> elevator. Past <strong>the</strong> point <strong>of</strong> surgery, chemo<strong>the</strong>rapy, or vampire blood.<br />
Click-click-click. Known for seven years.<br />
Once inside <strong>the</strong> elevator, however, my control cracked and tears blurred my vision. Aside from my mo<strong>the</strong>r, Don was <strong>the</strong> only real family I had left.<br />
My grandparents had been murdered several years ago and my fa<strong>the</strong>r was serving a whole new definition <strong>of</strong> “hard time” for repeatedly trying to kill<br />
me. Even though our relationship was nowhere near normal, over <strong>the</strong> past few years, Don had become <strong>the</strong> closest thing to a fa<strong>the</strong>r I’d ever had.<br />
And soon he’d be gone. Forever.<br />
Bones folded me into his arms. With his height, my face was pressed to his collarbone, his lea<strong>the</strong>r jacket cool against my cheek while his hand<br />
smoo<strong>the</strong>d over my hair. I held on to him, sinking into <strong>the</strong> oasis <strong>of</strong> his embrace, feeling his strength not just in <strong>the</strong> muscled wall <strong>of</strong> his body, but also in<br />
<strong>the</strong> power that enveloped me like a thick cloud as he dropped <strong>the</strong> shields from his aura.<br />
Then I pushed him away, clearing <strong>the</strong> pink from my vision with several blinks. If I let myself dwell on this now, I wouldn’t be able to handle <strong>the</strong> very<br />
important tasks ahead <strong>of</strong> us. I wasn’t giving up on Don, but I had to pull myself toge<strong>the</strong>r and concentrate on what needed to be done. <strong>This</strong> wasn’t <strong>the</strong><br />
time for me to fall all to pieces.<br />
“I’m okay,” I said to Bones, holding out a hand when he would have spoken. “Let’s just get Dave. One crisis at a time, right?”<br />
The elevator doors opened to reveal a darkly handsome vampire on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r side, black hair in a loose ponytail and normally playful expression<br />
subdued.<br />
“Hey, Juan,” I said, managing a limp smile.