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As I rushed toward the house, I almost barreled into Spade

"Don't even think about stoppingsome knives to punctuate my threat

He barely looked at theet Crispin out Tate is still inside as well At a guess, we have less than four minutes"

Fourtheir entire body blown to bits wasn't one of them Fear made me reckless, and I dashed forward into the house at a dead run, Spade keeping pace

We were in the deserted hallhen he sprung I'd been searching the corners for danger and hadn't expected it from the man at my side His fist shot atAll I kneas onearound a corridor, and in the next, I was seeing stars before everything went black

When I opened my eyes, ere sprawled on the lawn a hundred yards frorip Even his legs were tangled around mine

"You backstabbing son of a bitch," Iwithout success

Spade gave rip

"Sorry, angel, but Crispin would killhappen to you"

So moved on the roof With Spade half on top of me, I couldn't see what, or who, it was

"Is that him?" I asked desperately

Spade craned his neck "I'm not-"

An explosion cut hiht as if God hi even as Spade flippedrass while heavy thunks landed everywhere It had to be pieces of the house raining down on the lawn like proverbial bri even with my face in the dirt

Spade didn't asped out Not until the sounds of falling objects ceased did he allow rip

The vaht of the house exploding in the night They looked discomfited, but not traumatized

"Charles, give me a hand with these"

Bones appeared above us in the swirling smoke I was so relieved to see him, I almost cried He was covered in soot, mostly unclothed from where his shirt and pants had been burned off, and his hair was in singed patches He also had three varound

"Hold those two Bloody sods," he gru one The third sat up and shook his head as if to clear it

It was Tate Thank God, he'd made it out alive as well Spade released me as Bones knelt next to me, and I threw my arms around him

"I'lad you're okayand don't you ever tell your friends to hold ain, dammit!"

Bones chuckled "Can we fight about that later, Kitten? We still have business to sort out, after all"

Then he set me back to look at me "What happened to you? You look chewed"

He took one ofthe pain in my head ebb

"Are Juan and Cooper okay?" I asked, trying to spot thes of people

"I can hear theht"

Bones gave Tate a sharp look "How did you knoas about to happen?"

Green flashed in Tate's eyes "That scu Talisman approached me while you and Cat were off somewhere He said he'd heard I was in love with Cat, and offered et her all to myself All I had to do was make sure you stayed inside the house after the bodies started to firecracker Talisrenades as possible, so I was supposed to take her outside, then I just had to savefor co"

"I would have known you'd never do that, Tate," I said at once "You're too good a man"

He laughed with more than a trace of irony "Don't be so sure I'll probably regret it later"

Bones stared at Tate for a long moment I didn't say what else was obvious-that despite how much Bones didn't care for him, either, he could have left Tate in that house to die But he'd grabbed hi them away, Tate would have burned Both of theht either would ever acknowledge

But as Bones had said, there was ht now Like the two very unhappy valared at them Try to blow up the man I loved, would they? We'd just see about that

Chapter Eleven

WE WERE ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE LAWN OF the still-s house The fire department had come So had the police, but this time, Juan and Tate didn't even need to bother with their credentials Not with so ency crews into putting out the fla questionsnever

Which hy no police had wandered over despite soht's bonfire The other four had been rounded up when the original two outed theuests had been allowed to leave while this went on, for obvious reasons, despite so," the main architect of the attack was finally revealed to be a vampire named Patra

And wouldn't you know it, this Patra was also Max's h I had no idea who she was, let alone why she'd wanted me dead

As soon as Bones heard the nayptian vaht have called pain

"Lettheir reactions with alar about a really old, powerful vampire?"

Bones turned his gaze back to me "Yes Over two thousand years old and a Master Mencheres, you knohat this means"

The other vaold dust on his skin had been replaced by ashes Right about noas thinking it matched his expression

His steel eyes opened, and whatever e were slammed behind an impenetrable mask