“Is that even the bloody point?”
Exasperated, Bones shut off the engine and turned to face me.
“You can’t hear their thoughts. I can. This isn’t the first time they’ve done such a thing, and even if you stopped them and flogged them into hysterical apologies, their intentions were the same. If they weren’t human, would you be arguing with me over killing them?”
He had me there. From the look in his eyes, he knew it, too.
“Vampires and ghouls have their own rules.” I tried again. “They’d know what would happen if they did such a thing. These bozos didn’t get a copy of that playbook. They deserve jail time, yes, but not death.”
Bones snorted. “Why didn’t it occur to them that they were doing something so appalling, if they were caught, they’d be executed on the spot? It’s not my fault that vampires have a fairer form of punishment for rapists than humans do.”
I put my head in my hands. It was aching. Granted, it probably hurt a lot less than Bushy Hair’s must have when it hit the parking lot concrete. Logically, Bones was correct. But it still felt wrong.
“You’ve obviously made up your mind, so do whatever you’re going to do. You’re too strong for me to stop you.”
Bones gave me an unfathomable stare before climbing out of the car and opening the trunk. I listened as he made the two men carry their friend into the woods. Then Bones ordered them to dig with their hands. It was maybe forty minutes before they were done. Then I heard something like a resigned sigh.
“This goes against my better judgment, Kitten…Look right here, both of you. You will go to the nearest police station and make a confession of every blasted crime you’ve ever committed, excluding only this burial tonight. When you are arrested, you will refuse an attorney, and when you are in front of a judge, you will plead guilty. You will spend your allotted time behind bars knowing you deserve every second of it. Now take your worthless lives and go.”
When Bones came back to the car, I was still wiping at my eyes. He shut the driver’s door and let out a self-deprecating snort.
“Has it been so wretched lately that letting scoundrels escape punishment is the highlight of our time together?”
The words were flippant; the expression on his face wasn’t. It was filled with a regret that I caught before he masked it back into composure.
“It’s because this shows that you still care, despite how crappy things have been lately.”
There was that flash across his face again. “Did you really think I’d ceased to care? Kitten, I care so much it wrecks me.”
I hurtled myself across the car, latching my arms around him and feeling the mind-numbing relief of his answering embrace.
“I can’t believe I was so pissed before about being unemployed and without a wallet,” I choked, realizing how absurd that was compared to what really mattered.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I kissed him, a deep, searching kiss that wiped out the estrangement of the past several days. “How fast can you make it back to the motel?”
His gaze lit up with lovely, hungry green.
“Very fast.”
“Good.” It was almost a moan. “I’ll call Cooper and tell him we’ll see him in the morning.”
Bones rolled down his window. “Fabian,” he called out, “get your ghostly arse back in the car, we’re leaving.”
Bones did make good time back to the Red Roof Inn. The thought of that uncomfortable mattress with those thin blankets sounded sinfully appealing to me now. Yet while we were waiting at a stoplight about a mile away, pain sliced into my skull.
…understand this man will stop at nothing, and you’ll never be safe…
“Gregor,” I breathed, so low it was barely a sound.
“Where?” Bones whipped his head around.
…ensure your protection, but you must trust me, chérie…
“Oh, Jesus,” I whispered. “Bones…I think he’s at the hotel!”
Bones made a U-turn, then hit the accelerator. Brakes squealed, and other vehicles slammed to a stop while horns blared. He hadn’t bothered to wait for the light.
“Fabian,” Bones said in a tight voice, “go back to the hotel to check. We’ll be at the gates of the park we just left.”
“I will be quick.” Fabian promised, and he vanished. We didn’t even have to slow down.
Bones continued to floor it, checking the rearview mirror. After several miles, he pulled over at a gas station.
“Come on, luv, time to switch cars.”
We got out. The man fueling his Honda next to us only had time to say, “What the—?” before Bones hit him with his gaze.