Jeaniene Frost - Up From the Grave

“Does your facility have people like me trapped in it?” I asked, baring my fangs for emphasis.

“No.”

“Why the fuck not?” I snapped in frustration. If Tate and Juan weren’t there, then Dave and Cooper weren’t, either. Dammit, this had been our best lead!

“Test subjects are housed elsewhere,” James replied to my rhetorical question.

“Where?” Ian asked before I could.

James blinked. “I don’t have clearance for that information.”

Bones walked into the clearing right as I grabbed James by the shoulders and lifted him off his feet, almost shaking him with my sudden surge of hope.

“Who does?”

The two words were spaced from my vehemence, but they merely earned me another slow blink. Then James spoke, and my short-lived hopes were crushed.

“Only the old man, Director Madigan.”

Iyanked the tiny shower door open, then cursed when it ripped off. In my foul mood, I’d forgotten to check my strength, a rookie mistake I hadn’t made in years. Next I’d flash fang at a tourist and tell him in a Euro-trash accent that I wanted to drink his blood.

“All isn’t lost, Kitten.”

Bones appeared in the RV’s tiny bedroom. I wrapped a towel around me as I shot him a jaded look.

“You’re famous for your honesty, so things must really be bad if you’re lying to make me feel better.”

A smile ghosted across his lips. “Not lying, luv. James knows more than he realizes.”

I went over to the narrow closet and picked out another outfit, glancing behind me to make sure Bones had shut the door before I dropped my towel. Ian would shamelessly peep on a free show, family ties or no family ties.

“Aside from making my brain hurt over the intricacies of genetic code and DNA splicing, I don’t see how his knowledge will help us find our friends. If Madigan hasn’t already killed them.”

From the lingering looks Bones gave certain parts of my body, he wasn’t above admiring a free show, either, despite the seriousness of the topic.

“While you were showering, James revealed that new blood samples are shipped to the building every two weeks for testing. The last one was eight days ago, so soon, a new one will arrive. That courier will have information on where it came from, and we’ll find the facility from there.”

“You think Madigan’s dumb enough to have a return address stamped on a FedEx label?”

My question was brusque to cover the spark that flickered within me. Please, God, let this work, we don’t have anything else . . .

Bones took the clothes I was about to put on and threw them aside.

“No, but the courier will either be coming from that facility, or he’ll tell us who he received the package from. That will leads us to Tate and the others, Kitten. I promise.”

Then he pulled me to him, his mouth slanting across mine. One by one, shirt buttons popped open until nothing but hard, sleek flesh rubbed against my bare skin. My moan turned into a gasp at the demand in his kiss, and when his shields dropped and lust poured over my emotions like hot caramel, I shuddered.

“Ian,” I managed.

A chuckle vibrated against my lips. “Don’t fancy him joining us, sorry.”

I shoved against his chest, but it didn’t move him. “He’ll hear us,” I got out before Bones’s mouth stole away my voice. Then his hand stole my reason when it slid between my legs, stroking flesh that swelled and slicked beneath his touch.

Another chuckle, this one distinctly wicked. “Yes, so don’t be stingy with the compliments.”

I intended to argue more. Then his hands weren’t the only things caressing me. Power swept over my body in delicious tingles, making my flesh hum before settling on my most sensitive parts with sensual intent. I barely noticed when Bones lifted me onto the bed, his body blanketing mine before my back hit the mattress. By the time his mouth scorched down my stomach and lingered between my thighs, I didn’t care what Ian heard.

All I cared about was that Bones didn’t stop.

The woman wore a UPS uniform, but her plain sedan and thoughts revealed that she worked for another employer. Still, if Bones and I wouldn’t have had our senses lasered on everyone who entered that parking garage, we would have skipped right over her.

For starters, she parked at the sidewalk instead of inside the garage even though that’s where she was headed. Furthermore, everything about her seemed designed to be forgettable, from her short, lackluster hair to her average build and her pleasant-yet-plain features. Dress her in another uniform, and she could serve you pancakes at the local diner without once piquing your curiosity, yet her thoughts were in stark contrast to her appearance. She took note of her surroundings with military precision I’d worked hard to drill into my men when I commanded my old unit.

She’d never fall for the broken heel in the street act. She’d run me over first and check to see if I was an actual threat later.

Which meant we needed a new plan.

“We need to switch tactics,” Bones stated, echoing my concerns.

I gave the sunlight a frustrated glance. If only she’d made her drop at night! With the cover of darkness, we could snatch her up and fly her away with minimal chance of anyone noticing. But revealing our species to humanity with a splashy supernatural kidnapping in broad daylight would make our current predicament look mild by comparison. There was a reason vampires had stayed in their metaphorical coffins for millennia. Anyone who threatened the secret of our existence ended up dead the messy, painful way by the Law Guardians.

“We could follow her home, take her there,” I suggested.

“She doesn’t live around here,” a sleep-thickened voice stated from the backseat.

Ian. I’d almost forgotten he was here, probably because he’d been napping the past seven hours while Bones and I staked out the parking garage. Now he sat up in a slouch, sliding his black satin sleep mask up to his hairline.

“She’d live near the pickup point, not the drop-off location,” he continued, blinking at the bright sunlight streaming into our car. “Which one is she?”

“The brunette wearing the UPS uniform,” I said, pointing at her as she walked briskly toward the elevator. From our parked position on top of a hill across the street, we had a good view of the multi-level garage, which was why we’d chosen the spot.

Ian stared until she disappeared inside the elevator. Then he glanced back at me.

“Don’t fret, poppet. I’ll get her.”

“We need to do this discreetly. If I wanted to make a colossal scene, I’d just drag her off kicking and screaming now,” I said, not adding, “dumb ass” only because he was family.

“She’ll come without a fuss,” Ian said with confidence.

“You can’t green-eye her in the elevator, it’ll have video surveillance. So will the garage,” I retorted.

“I don’t need these,” Ian said, flashing emerald in his turquoise gaze for a split second, “when I have this.”

With a casual swipe of his hand, he ripped his shirt open, causing buttons to fly everywhere. Another swipe took his sleep mask all the way off. Finally, he finger-combed his shoulder-length hair and smiled at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

“I am, after all, irresistible.”

I couldn’t contain my snort. “I resisted you just fine the day we met, or don’t you remember me sticking a knife in your chest?”

Ian smiled with lazy wickedness. “I remember, but you seem to have forgotten that you kissed me first. And thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Caught off guard, I flushed. Hey, I’d been celibate for over four years at the time—I wasn’t thinking clearly!