Next Denise tried the number she had for Bones, Cat’s husband, but it, too, was disconnected. Denise dug around her house until she found an address book with the number for Cat’s mother. The number was from over a year ago, so no surprise when that was also out of service.

Frustrated, Denise flung the address book on her couch. She’d been avoiding contact with the undead world, but now when she needed someone plugged into it, she didn’t have anyone’s current number.

There had to be someone she could reach. Denise scrolled through the entries in her cell phone, looking for anyone who had connections to Cat. When she was almost at the end, one name leapt out at her.

Spade. She’d saved Spade’s number in her phone a few months ago, because he’d been the one to pick her up the last time she saw Cat.

Denise hesitated. Spade’s sculpted features, pale skin, and penetrating stare flashed in her mind. Put Spade in a Calvin Klein ad and women would be tempted to lick the page, but Denise’s memory of Spade was irrevocably tied to blood. Especially since the last time she’d seen him, he’d been splattered in it.

She shoved that aside. Someone had murdered Paul, and Spade might be her only link to reaching Cat. Denise pressed “call,” praying she didn’t hear that chipper monotone telling her the number was no longer in service. Three rings, four…

“Hallo?”

Denise felt light-headed with relief at hearing Spade’s distinctive English accent. “Spade, it’s Denise. Cat’s friend,” she added, thinking of how many Denises a centuries-old vampire probably knew. “I don’t seem to have Cat’s number and…I’m pretty sure some thing murdered my cousin. Maybe both cousins and my aunt, too.”