Free At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

happen in the future? This wasn’t just about the revenge my father had wanted on me—and my mother—for my existence. Max had done this with promises of rewards and help. Now the question was, from whom?
    But I didn’t say any of that. Bones was correct—I was safe now. And he was here. Right now was all I’d concentrate on.
    For the moment, anyway.
     
    We weren’t home for more than an hour before people started showing up. First it was Juan and Cooper, who Don sent as added protection for me. Both of them were carrying enough silver knives and guns with silver bullet clips to take on a dozen vampires.
    Then Bones’s brand of added security arrived in the form of three vampires I hadn’t met before. The one named Rattler reminded me of a young Samuel Elliott, Zero looked albino with his long blond hair and glacier eyes, and Tick Tock was pitch dark with black skin, black hair, and black eyes. Mentally I referred to them as Cowboy, Salt, and Pepper.
    Then came Spade, or Charles, as Bones called him.Spade preferred everyone else to call him by the tool he was assigned when he was a lowly penal colonies convict. Something about never forgetting how helpless he’d once been. Bones had picked his name after rising as a vampire in Aborigine burial grounds. Vampires sure made it complicated to remember what name to call them by.
    Rodney the ghoul was next. He endeared himself to Juan on the spot by starting to cook up a storm. I didn’t eat, I went to bed, but to no one’s surprise, I didn’t get a very restful sleep. My dreams were filled with seeing my mother dangle by the neck from a banister and my father’s sneering face as he shot me.
    Don showed up a little after noon. I was seated at the kitchen table with Juan, Cooper, my mother, and Bones. We’d been talking about anything but the obvious when my uncle came in. I was surprised to see him, actually. I thought he’d be busy directing the transfer from one base to another.
    “Does your boss know you’re playing hooky?” I asked.
    Don gave me a dry smile. “I can’t stay long, but I wanted to go over a few things and…just see how you were doing.”
    He could have gone over any pertinent work-related items on the phone, so I was guessing his presence had more to do with the latter part of his statement.
    “I’m glad you’re here,” I said, meaning it. We might have had a rough start—okay, a very rough start—but aside from my mother, Don was the only family I had.
    “Have some breakfast,” I offered, gesturing to the multiple covered dishes near the stove. “Rodney’s cooked more food than I even knew I had.”
    Don gave the items a wary flick of his eyes that made Rodney laugh.
    “It’s a ghoul’s version of vegetarian,” he assured Don. “Nothing in there you wouldn’t find in a grocery store.”
    Don, still looking hesitant, filled a plate and sat down. I watched him take a tiny bite, swallow…and then spear a bigger portion. Yeah, Rodney was a superb cook.
    Bones’s cell rang. He excused himself to answer it, speaking in a low tone. I could only make out a few words, since Juan and Cooper began talking to Don about the new compound we were moving to. Getting everything up and running on no notice was going to be challenging.
    Bones came back in the room and snapped his cell shut. There was something tense in his shoulders that hadn’t been there before.
    “What?” I asked.
    “I have to leave for a while tonight, Kitten, but it’s nothing to fret about.”
    “Who was on the phone? And what’s going on later?”
    Bones seemed to choose his words. “That was my grandsire, Mencheres. He was confirming he’ll be at the showing.”
    I sighed. “You’re being deliberately vague, Bones. What showing? What’s this about?”
    The other vampires all pretended to be fascinated by the decor around them. Bones’s expression closed off into unreadable planes.
    “I’m calling together members of my line, Ian’s, and other