“How?” Bones asked calmly.

Madigan gave a cagey look at the hold Bones had on me before replying. “They were killed while trying to take down a vampire nest.”

“Must have been quite the nest.”

Madigan all but shrugged. “As it turned out, yes.”

“I want their bodies.”

Madigan showed more surprise than he had when I lunged at him. “What?”

“Their bodies,” Bones repeated, his tone hardening. “Now.”

“Why? You didn’t even like Tate,” Madigan muttered.

My murderous haze cleared. He was stalling, which meant in all likelihood, he was lying about their deaths. I tapped Bones’s arm. He released me, but one hand remained on my waist.

“My feelings are irrelevant,” Bones answered. “I sired them, so they’re mine, and if they’re dead, then you have no further use for them.”

“What possible use would you have?” Madigan demanded.

A dark brow rose. “Not your concern. I’m waiting.”

“Then it’s a good thing you don’t age,” Madigan snapped as he rose from his chair. “Their bodies were cremated and their ashes disposed of, so there’s nothing left to give you.”

If Madigan wanted us to believe they were dead, then they must be in serious trouble. Even if Madigan wasn’t behind it, he clearly intended to leave them to their fates.

I wasn’t about to.

Something in my stare must have alarmed him because he glanced left and right before flinging a hand in Bones’s direction.

“If you’re not intending to let her complete her term of service, then both of you can get out. Before I have her jailed for dereliction of duty, desertion, and trying to attack me.”

I expected Bones to tell him where to go, which was why I was stunned when he merely nodded.

“Until next time.”

“What?” I burst out. “We’re not leaving without more answers!”

His hand tightened on my waist.

“We are, Kitten. There’s nothing for us here.”

I glared at Bones before turning my attention to the thin, older man. Madigan’s face had paled, but underneath the heavy scent of cologne, he didn’t smell like fear. Instead, his blue gaze was defiant. Almost . . . daring.

Once more, Bones’s grip tightened. Something else was going on. I didn’t know what, but I trusted Bones enough not to grab Madigan and start biting the truth out of him like I wanted to. Instead, I smiled enough to bare my fangs.

“Sorry, but I don’t think you and I would have a healthy working relationship, so I’ll have to decline the job offer.”

Multiple footsteps sounded in the hall. Moments later, heavily armed, helmeted guards appeared in the doorway. At some point, Madigan must have pushed a silent alarm—an upgrade he’d installed since my previous visit to his office.

“Get out,” Madigan repeated.

I didn’t bother with any threats, but the single look I gave him said that this wasn’t over.

We were followed from the compound all the way back to the tree where Bones had left his cell phone. Once he retrieved it, we launched ourselves into the air. It took an hour of streaking across the sky before we lost the helicopter. Bones could have crashed it, but I didn’t have anything against the pilot aside from annoyance over his maneuverability skills. Once assured that we’d lost our tail, I plummeted down into a nearby field, landing with a skidding thud.