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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I just stared at him blankly. “Who?”<br />
Bones also cocked his head in puzzlement. Glad I wasn’t <strong>the</strong> only one who felt lost.<br />
“The human female you were seeking,” Mencheres amended. At my continued confused look, he sighed. “The one who worked with <strong>the</strong> reporter<br />
you are friends with and who disappeared while investigating rumors <strong>of</strong> vampires?”<br />
“Oh!” I said, <strong>the</strong> light bulb finally going <strong>of</strong>f in my memory. I’d forgotten all about sending Nadia’s picture and information to Mencheres so he could<br />
circulate it among his allies, looking for a clue as to what happened to her.<br />
“She’s dead?” I asked in resignation. Poor Timmie. He’d held out such hope that she was okay.<br />
“No,” Mencheres said, surprising me. “On <strong>the</strong> contrary, she’s quite well, according to what I discovered.”<br />
“So why do you have that uh-oh tone to your voice?” I asked warily.<br />
His lips curled. “My uh-oh tone is because you indicated your friend had more than a platonic interest in Nadia, and she is now <strong>the</strong> lover <strong>of</strong> a<br />
powerful vampire who has no intention <strong>of</strong> sharing her.”<br />
“Oh,” I repeated, more thoughtfully this time. Then, “His willing lover?” Some vampires weren’t up on <strong>the</strong> whole “no means no” concept.<br />
“Her willing lover,” Mencheres corrected.<br />
Well. Timmie’s chances with Nadia just went from slim to never gonna happen. I was glad she was alive and not being held against her will.<br />
Considering I’d thought Mencheres had come to bear more grim news about Apollyon, this was almost cause for popping <strong>the</strong> champagne, if I’d had<br />
any. Timmie’s heart might be bruised, but <strong>the</strong>re were far worse things that could have befallen Nadia. She’d gone looking for vampires and<br />
apparently found a whole lot more than just pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir existence.<br />
“Your sources are good? There’s no doubt Nadia’s with this vampire <strong>of</strong> her own free will and not just tranced into staying?”<br />
“I know <strong>the</strong> vampire Nadia is with,” Mencheres stated. “It would be very unlike Debra to force a human into staying with her, even one who’d<br />
discovered our race. Debra could have easily sent Nadia away with no memory <strong>of</strong> her discovery.”<br />
“Unless Nadia is like me,” Kira said, with a slight smile. “Erasing my memory didn’t work out so well for you when we met.”<br />
Mencheres let out a growl so edged with passion that I had an urge to glance away. “It worked out extraordinarily well in <strong>the</strong> end,” he murmured to<br />
Kira.<br />
Her s<strong>of</strong>t laugh was also filled with things that were best left behind closed doors. Technically, <strong>the</strong>y weren’t doing anything but sitting on <strong>the</strong> couch<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r, but with <strong>the</strong> newly charged air around <strong>the</strong>m, I felt almost like a voyeur in my own home. I looked away to study my fingernails, as if struck by<br />
an urgent need to get a manicure.<br />
Out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> corner <strong>of</strong> my eye, I caught Bones’s slight grin. He knew how this would affect me, but <strong>the</strong> sudden heat coming <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> two <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m did<br />
nothing to discomfit him, <strong>of</strong> course. Mencheres and Kira could start boinking like rabbits right in front <strong>of</strong> Bones, and he’d probably just warn <strong>the</strong>m<br />
that <strong>the</strong> sectional <strong>the</strong>y were on tended to flip over during such activity.<br />
If Mencheres and Kira wanted to take this upstairs to a guest room, <strong>the</strong>y were welcome to, but if <strong>the</strong>y were staying down here, I was defusing <strong>the</strong><br />
mood.<br />
“Not nice for Nadia to disappear without telling her friends she was okay, though,” I said, clearing my throat.<br />
Mencheres rescinded <strong>the</strong> energy he’d been emitting until <strong>the</strong> room felt back to a PG–13 level, instead <strong>of</strong> R heading into NC–17. “Debra is what<br />
you would refer to as old school,” he replied, pulling his gaze away from Kira to look at me. “She would not want Nadia contacting people from her<br />
former life, especially those who had an interest in exposing our race.”<br />
Her former life. I almost let out a snort. That was <strong>the</strong> damn truth, because once a person became involved in <strong>the</strong> vampire world, nothing about<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir life would ever be <strong>the</strong> same again.<br />
Then I glanced at Bones’s pr<strong>of</strong>ile, noting his curly hair, richly defined cheekbones, dark brows, and lips that were firm enough to be masculine<br />
and full enough to be sinful. Nothing about my life had ever been <strong>the</strong> same once I plunged into <strong>the</strong> vampire world, too, but looking at him, I wouldn’t<br />
want it any o<strong>the</strong>r way. I hoped Nadia found half as much happiness in her undead relationship as I’d found in mine.<br />
“I’ll call Timmie, give him <strong>the</strong> news,” I said, rising.<br />
“Poor bloke can’t catch a break when it comes to women,” Bones noted.<br />
I met his dark brown gaze with my first real smile in <strong>the</strong> past several days. “He just hasn’t met <strong>the</strong> right one yet, but once he does, he’ll forget<br />
everyone else.”<br />
His smile became full <strong>of</strong> promise even as his power seemed to encompass me like a slow, sensual fog. “Indeed,” he agreed, his tone now deep<br />
and silky. “The right woman is well worth waiting for.”