Kissing Sin (Riley Jenson Guardian #2) - Page 6

I barely had time to scream a warning before they were flowing through the cut glass and racing toward me. I backpedalled fast, blocking blows with my forearms. My skin crawled every time I touched the slick, cold flesh of the creatures. They smelled of rotting flesh even though none of them looked to be in decay, and my stomach rolled, threatening to rebel. I swallowed, and tried to breathe through my mouth as I punched one of the blue things in the face and sent him flying back across the room.

My neck prickled a warning. I spun. A fine line of silver arced toward me. This time, it wasn't an arrowhead laced with enough elephant juice to knock me out, but a goddamn laser. I dove out of the way, hitting the floor with a grunt that sent air whooshing from my lungs. The smell of burnt leather touched the air as the beam punched through the back of the sofa.

"Here," Rhoan said sharply.

Something silver spun through the semidarkness. Not another laser beam, but a laser. I caught it left-handed and twisted around as something grabbed my ankles. A stinking blue thing had my toes in his clammy little grip and was attempting to hold me still as he raised the laser. Stupid, that's what he was. Even I knew you didn't give an opponent an even chance to fire.

I pressed the laser's trigger and fired without bothering to sight. Right now, any hit was a good hit. Light that was red and somehow angry leapt across the distance between us, slicing into flesh and bone. The creature's arm plopped to the floor beside me, the stump black and smoldering rather than bloody. The smell of burnt flesh rent the air, and I almost lost my coffee right there and then.

Fighting the tide, trying not to breathe too deeply, I kicked with my free foot, sending him flying backward. Another beam of red bit across the darkness, finishing what I'd started.

I scrambled to my feet. Another of the creatures came at me, all arms and ugly flesh. I ducked several blows, then threw one of my own. My punch landed mid-gut, but it was like hitting Jell-O. Wet, slimy Jell-O that just wobbled under the impact, absorbing without consequence.

Well, shit… The thought got no further as his fist hit my chin and the force of the blow sent me flying backward. I hit a wall with a grunt, and slid down the paintwork, briefly seeing a double of everything.

Including a flying blue thing, its teeth bared and gleaming wickedly in the darkness.

I closed my eyes, tasting the air, judging his whereabouts and closeness by scent alone, then raised the laser and fired.

There was a thud, and the smell of burned flesh rent the air, making my stomach curl. I opened my eyes. Two headless blue things wavered in and out of focus near my feet.

— Advertisement —

"Riley," Rhoan said, suddenly coming into vision. A second later his hand grabbed mine. "You all right?"

He helped me rise, and I gave a shaky nod. "Just a little dazed by a punch to the chin."

He touched the right side of my face gently. "You're going to have a bit of a bruise there."

"So kissing is out for a day or so?"

"I'd say so."

"Bugger."

He grinned. "You don't need to kiss to have a good time."

"That's so true."

"You want some ice?"

"Please." It actually hurt to talk, but I'd be damned if I'd give that up.

He squeezed my arm, then turned around and headed for the kitchen area. "The question we need answered right now," he said, over his shoulder, "is how the hell did they find us?"

It didn't seem to be aimed at anyone in particular, so I shrugged and said, "Misha?"

"I wouldn't think so. He's playing a game that's wholly his own. Which is not saying that he wouldn't betray us if it did suit him."

"And right now, it doesn't." Because of me, because of the plans he had for me.

Jack came out of a bedroom, a cut above his eye and his shirt torn. His normally merry features were cold and hard, and a good percentage of the anger gleaming in his eyes was aimed my way. "That was a fool thing to do, Riley."

I stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Arranging that meeting with Misha in the Blue Moon."

Oh, that.

"Hey, you wanted me to meet him. Don't blame me if he didn't want to play by your rules."

"We can't get people into the Blue Moon tomorrow. The man said it's a werewolf-only day."

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter, because nothing will happen to me there. Besides, there's only two exits to watch." My gaze went past Jack as Quinn came into the room. He didn't look hurt, even though he wasn't armed, and relief swam through me.

His gaze met mine, and some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. "You okay?"

I nodded, warmed by his caring more than I wanted to admit, and forced myself to meet Jack's less-than-happy gaze again. "How many attacked you?"

"Five." His face was grim. "Looks like they were intent on getting you and the shifter back."

"Or getting rid of us," Kade said, as he came through the doorway carrying another laser pistol. "These things are set to kill, not stun."

"Goddamn it." Jack grabbed the gun from Kade, and examined it. "Are these the weapons you were talking about?"

"Afraid so." Kade's gaze raked my length and came to rest on my lips. He smiled. "Want me to kiss that bruise better?"

"Rhoan tells me kissing is off-limits for now."

"That's unfortunate. But I'm willing to compromise and kiss other places."

"Thanks," I said dryly, "but I think now is not the right time to be discussing compromises."

"Hey, I'm versatile – "

"Enough." Jack's voice was curt. "Grab your things, people. We're getting out of here while we can."

"And going where? Obviously the mole in the Directorate is someone close to the director if they know we're here." Rhoan came out of the kitchen and handed me an ice pack. "Either that, or Riley and Kade have trackers in them."

I raised my eyebrows. "You didn't check?"

"We ran a scanner over you both," Jack said, "But maybe they've developed something the scanners can't pick up." His expression became even grimmer. "Rhoan, you recheck Riley. Kade, let's look you over."

Rhoan motioned me to one of the bedrooms. I followed him in, and closed the door. Everyone in this apartment might have seen me naked at one stage or another, but I wasn't about to flaunt it at this particular moment.

"So," he said, "tell me about this meeting Jack is unhappy about."

I did as he began to check me for bugs.

"The Blue Moon is safe, no matter what Jack thinks. It's Misha you'll have to watch. Don't trust him, no matter what."

"I won't." I hesitated. "Why does the mole at the Directorate have to be someone close to the director?"

"Because she's the only one who knew our whereabouts."

"Which would suggest the Director herself." Only, she wasn't likely to betray her own brother, or the organization she'd started and ran for more years than I'd been alive.

"It's not her. But it could be someone who has access to her office and maybe overhead a conversation."

"What about Gautier?" Even saying his name had a shiver running through me. Gautier might be the Directorate's top guardian, but he was a creep, a murderer, and, I suspected, a psychopath on the edge.

"He's not close to the director."

"But I'm betting he's reporting to someone that is."

"It wouldn't make a difference. Whoever the mole is, they've obviously been with the Directorate a long time. It's someone very canny, someone we wouldn't ever suspect."

"So make a list of people you'd never normally suspect, and start watching them."

"Hard to do when we don't actually know who we can and can't trust."

True. "Couldn't we just watch who Gautier talks to?"

"Gautier's clever enough to realize we're doing that." Rhoan glanced at me. "Besides, he's on assignment up north at the moment. Has been for the last month. He's not involved in this little episode."

At least that explained why I hadn't seen him around. I thought I'd just been damn lucky. "What about Alan Brown?"

"As shifty as hell, and definitely involved in something, but again, I'm not sure he's in on this."

"But he fast-tracked Gautier's entry into the Directorate, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but we've a feeling he was forced into that. Brown's being blackmailed."

I raised my eyebrows. "Someone knows about his appetite for whores?"

"His appetite for gambling, more likely." Rhoan sat back with a grunt. "Can't find anything resembling a bug."

Good. At least I wasn't responsible for bringing problems home to threaten him and the others. "If you know he's being blackmailed, then surely you'd be able to trace the source."

He rose, grimacing. "I wish it were that easy."

"Paper trail?"

"No trail."

"How come?"

"Brown's as cagey as a fox. We're certain he's giving someone information, but we can't uncover who or what."

"You've put him under surveillance, then?"

He gave me the look. "Hell, no. We just thought it was easier to let him wander around as he pleases."

I whacked his arm. "Don't get smart."

"Then don't ask dumb questions."

I grabbed my clothes off the floor and re-dressed. "What about the whores he uses?"

"You've seen the disks in his office. If he's using the whores to pass information, there's only one way he could be doing it, because he certainly doesn't talk to them."

"He's a vamp, so he's telepathic. Maybe he's figured out a way around the psi-deadeners." Hell, if Jack could get past them, surely other vamps could. Though Brown didn't seem to be anywhere near the same league as Jack.

"We've checked the whores. Their minds haven't been touched."

"Then he has to be passing something during sex." Though given what I'd seen on those videos, the only thing Brown had seemed interested in passing was his own dead sperm.

"We've had our own cameras installed. We don't believe that is happening."

"Then how is he getting information in or out? And if you don't think he's involved in my snatching, does that mean he might not have been involved with Genoveve?"

"Possibly. Many of those files Brown inherited from the former assistant director."

"And he is?"

"Very dead."

I raised my eyebrows. "Accident?"

"Probably not."

I slipped on my shoes. Rhoan started for the door, but I placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. Lowering my voice, I asked, "I know you said you weren't going to steal Kade's file for me, but did you happen to search the database when you were in there today?"

"Yes. There's nothing to be found."

"Nothing you can get hold of, anyway."

"Yes." He looked at me. "What are you plotting?"

"Me?" I gave him my most innocent look. He didn't look to be buying it. I smiled and added, "Look, don't you find it strange that he's here? You and I both know that Jack would normally have shipped him off so fast his head would spin."

"True enough." He continued to study me with that patient you're-about-to-get-me-into-trouble look. "But that doesn't solve the problem that I can't get into locked files."

"No." I hesitated. "But I can."

"Oh, can you now?" He eyed me with amusement. "I'm betting Jack doesn't know about that little gem."

"Er… no." As a liaison and his personal assistant, I did have some access that Rhoan didn't. But I'd also picked up some other access codes in recent months, thanks to time spent watching him key them in from the safety of my desk. It was amazing just how easily you could work out keystrokes if you took the time. "You really don't want to know any more. Do you?"

"No." He stood. "So what are you planning my part in this little snoop operation to be?"

"All you have to do is get me his com-unit."

He snorted. "Yeah. Like that's going to be so easy."

"It could be. After all, we're about to depart in haste. It'd be easy enough to grab equipment and just slide the com-unit my way."

He gave the sort of sigh that spoke of long-suffering patience. "I'll try."

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

He grinned and opened the door. "Anything to keep my twin happy."

"Anything to keep the peace, you mean."

"That, too."

Two of the three men in the main room swung around as we entered. Quinn was a shadow in the corner, but one whose presence I could feel through every pore.

"We're going to split into three groups," Jack said. "Rhoan, I want you to head into the Directorate and start writing up reports. Make sure they're encrypted and sent to Director Hunter only. Tomorrow morning, pick up some trackers and bugs, then head on over to the Blue Moon and do a thorough check of the club and its patrons. Riley's not going near the place until we know it's safe. Quinn, as we dare not risk any of the cars we have here, I want you and Riley to beg, borrow, or steal a vehicle, and drive around until we contact you to come in."

"And what will you and Kade be doing?" Quinn asked the question that was sitting on my lips.

"We'll be paying a little visit to the company who manufactures these devices." He held up the plastic-wrapped laser.

Rhoan and I shared a glance. If Kade was involved in something like that, he was definitely more than just a builder.

Jack tossed me a phone. "Don't go anywhere near that club until we call you."

"Just make sure you call me before three tomorrow. I doubt Misha will take kindly to being kept waiting."

"And yet he will wait. Remember, he's probably got as much to gain from all this as us. Let's move it, Kade." He headed for the door, but threw over his shoulder, "Rhoan, call in a cleanup team and ensure all Directorate goods are out of here before you leave."

My gaze shot across to my brother and I couldn't help my grin. Sometimes, things did fall into place.

He just rolled his eyes and shook his head as he said, "Quinn, do you want to head downstairs and find yourself a car? I'll meet you out front with Riley."

He waited until Quinn had left, then picked up the com-unit and walked over to hand it to me. "You do know he's going to check that all items were picked up from this place. Which means he'll realize soon enough this com-unit is missing."

"By which time, I'll have returned it." I kissed my brother's cheek. "Don't worry, I won't drag you into this one."

"How often have I heard that?" His voice was dry and I grinned. We both knew the answer to that particular question was "more often than necessary." He touched my elbow lightly and motioned toward the bedroom I'd woken in. "Let's go grab a bag of clothes for you."

I walked into the room and dropped the unit on the end of the bed then headed for the wardrobe. "I just hope the passwords I know will get me deep enough into the system to uncover who the hell Kade is."

"If you haven't got full codes, it might be better not to tackle the Directorate's data, but rather, go for outside sources. As his assistant, you have clearances into most Government systems."

Now there was a thought. And it was less likely to get me in deep shit with Jack. "Uncover what he isn't, you mean?"

He nodded, and walked across the cut-open window. His short red hair barely stirred in the cool breeze as he stared out into the night. Given his expression – or rather, the chilled lack of it – those creatures wouldn't want to attack a second time.

"If Kade is a builder, there'll be trade certificates, business registrations, stuff like that. And you should be able to find other pointers, like birth certificates and school reports, to confirm he is who he says he is."

"And if he isn't who he says he is, I'll beat the damn information out of him." Hey, I had to take my frustrations over fate and the shit she was shoveling my way out on someone.

Rhoan's sudden smile lifted the coldness from his eyes. "Or you could tease him, then withhold sexual privileges. That'll get the information out of him right quick."

I smiled. "Ah, but that'll be punishing myself, as well."

"There's plenty of wolves out there who'd be more than willing to cure that particular affliction."

"Not to mention a particular vampire who'd be more than willing," I muttered without thinking.

"Is that why he's still here?" Rhoan asked. "Because he's finally realized he let a good thing go?"

I snorted. "It's not the only reason, no. I'm never the only reason he's down in Melbourne."

My voice held an edge, and he frowned at me. "I thought we'd sorted all this out?"

I blew out a breath. I really should learn to shut my mouth. "We did. But I sort of offered him a compromise."

He shook his head. "That's not wise."

I shoved the com-unit in the bag and cushioned it with more clothes and a couple of pairs of shoes. "I know, I know. But if he could learn to deal with me having other partners, then I can't see the harm in it."

"The harm in it is that he won't ever change, no matter what he says."

Maybe. And maybe he deserved the chance to prove otherwise. "It's all a moot point until he says yea or nay to the compromise, anyway."

"So when did you make this deal?"

"Up on Macedon."

"And why were you up on Macedon?"

Oh God, I hadn't told him yet. I took a deep breath, and slowly released it.

"What aren't you telling me?" he said, more forcefully this time. We might not share the telepathy of twins, but in many ways, we didn't need it.

"That appointment I had was for the fertility specialist."

He was silent for a long moment. "And?"

"I'm temporarily fertile."

It wasn't the answer he'd been expecting and his shock rippled through the air. "What?"

"I can't risk it, Rhoan. Not with the ARC 1-23 running through my system."

"Ah, Jesus." He swept a hand through his bristly hair, then strode toward me. After wrapping his arms around me, he squeezed tight and said softly, "I'm sorry, sis."

I could barely even nod, he was holding me so tight.

"Misha knows, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

"That's why he wants this meeting, then."

"Yes." Because he wanted to use me, and reproduce with me, just like everyone damn else seemed to.

Everyone except Kade, who just wanted to have a good time, and Quinn who wanted me to be his, and only his. Only he didn't want the wolf, just the woman, and he couldn't have one without the other.

"I know how much you want a child, but you can't do it."

"I know." I pulled back. "I'm protected against pregnancy. Only Quinn knows that."

"I can imagine how he took it." Rhoan grimaced.

"Yeah, he did mention something along the lines of whoring myself for the sake of the Directorate."

"He may be a very old vampire, but he was still once human. And they just can't get their minds around sex being something that should be shared and celebrated. Which is why – "

"Don't," I interrupted, "lecture me on the subject any more, bro. I've offered him a deal and I intend to stick to it."

"I still don't think it's a good idea, but I'll shut up on the matter." He kissed my forehead. "Let's get out of here, before those blue suckers decide to pay a second visit."

I glanced toward the lasered window. "You don't really think they'd attack again so soon, do you?"

"Probably not, but these people have a tendency to do the unexpected."

Like causing a car crash and snatching me for breeding purposes just when we'd all begun to think I was safe. Dammit, why were they after me? What was so goddamn important about my genes that they were so determined to have me? And why not Rhoan, who carried the same genes?

"Sol can keep this?" I raised the small laser he'd given me earlier.

"Yeah. Jack will have a coronary, as they're guardian-only weapons, but right now, I don't give a shit." He grabbed the bag from my shoulder. "It's got a stun setting, if you'd prefer to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Already noted, bro."

He smiled. "Keep behind me, and wrap the shadows around you."

I did, and we made it down the stairs without mishap. Quinn was little more than a deeper shade of night, but I would have known he was there even if I wasn't using infrared. His rich scent warmed the night air.

"There's several cameras currently trained on us," he commented, opening the front passenger door for me. "I'm not sure if they're infrared, but I'll be dumping this vehicle as soon as possible."

"Good." Rhoan glanced at me. "Be careful."

He meant with Quinn. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You too."

He waited until I'd climbed in, then handed me the bag. "If there's any trouble, call."

"I'll keep her safe," Quinn said.

"You'd better." Rhoan stepped back, and Quinn slammed the door shut. Five seconds later, my brother had gone back inside and we were under way.

"Where are we headed?" I asked, after a few minutes.

"After we dump the car? I'm open to suggestions. Neither my place nor yours would be safe right now, and hotel registers can be checked too easily."

And even signing in under a false name wouldn't be safe, as there wouldn't be many people checking in at this hour of the night.

I rubbed my forehead wearily. There was an ache behind my eyes, my head was beginning to pound, and I desperately needed some sleep. But more than that, I needed some sort of sanity back into my life.

My gaze went to the softly lit ship that was crossing the bay, heading toward the open ocean. Right now, I felt like that ship – gliding through the darkness, heading for ever more treacherous waters.

But that ship at least knew its final destination. I had no idea.

"Riley?"

Sighing, I said, "Let's find somewhere I can use the com-unit safely. I need to check a few things."

His gaze swept me, a heat I felt rather than saw. "Like what?"

It was so tempting to snap out something along the lines of "that's none of your damn business," but that'd be churlish and he didn't deserve any more of that. "Like, who the hell Kade really is."

"So you fucked – " He stopped abruptly.

"Yes," I stated, wavering between annoyance that he'd started to repeat the same old line, and amusement that he'd actually stopped it mid-sentence. A small improvement was better than nothing, I supposed. "I fucked him without doing a background check. And don't you dare try and tell me you check the background of every woman you bed."

"No." He paused. "I apologize."

"Oh, I bet that hurt."

He gave me his vampire look and simply said, "What has made you suspicious of him?"

"The fact that he's still here, helping us."

"Ah, so it's not suspicion as such, but curiosity." He glanced at me. "You know what curiosity did to the cat."

"Yep. And it so won't stop me."

"Nothing seems to stop you."

Given I wasn't entirely sure how to take that statement, I simply said, "Where are we going to dump the car?"

"Here?"

I looked around the darkened, grimy streets, and could instantly think of a dozen better places to go. Which I guess made it the ideal spot. "Fine."

He swung into a side street and stopped in the shadows of an old gum tree. I grabbed my bag and climbed out. The wind had become even colder, whipping around my bare legs with some force, sending goose bumps fleeing across my flesh. The scent of the ocean mingled now with the overripe aromas of rubbish, age, urine, and stale human. The surrounding houses were as dark and dingy as the street itself, yet the sound of lovemaking that was coming from the one closest indicated that some of these hovels were at least occupied by more than the drunks I could smell.

I glanced across the roof of the car. "Do you know this area?"

"Not at all." He faded into darkness, and I switched to infrared. The heat of him moved around the back of the car. "This way." His breath whispered warmly past my ear as he took the bag from me.

I glanced at the house, saw the flame of the couple loving each other, and fleetingly wished I had nothing more to worry about than achieving satisfaction.

Pulling my gaze away, I followed Quinn. We moved quickly through the maze of streets, always heading away from the city rather than toward it, as might be expected.

By the time he'd stopped, we'd made our way into a small shopping strip. I eyed the bedding shop with longing, but naturally, it wasn't that one he stopped at, but rather, the dingy-looking corner store.

"No alarms," he said, before I could ask. "And there's an unoccupied floor above it."

I didn't even have the energy to work up a glare. "I thought you were going to stop reading my mind?"

"No, I said you should guard your thoughts if you don't want me reading them." He forced open the door, and waved a hand. "After you."

The old shop hadn't been used for some time, if the dust layered on the counters and the aged taste of the air was anything to go by. I moved past chair stacked on tables, brushed past several dangling cobwebs, and headed up the stairs. The upper floor wasn't large, but it did have a bed. And even though it smelled older than Methuselah, it was better than sleeping on rot-worn floorboards.

"You take the bed," Quinn said from the top of the stairs. "I'll keep watch from down below."

"Keeping out of temptation's way?" I said, with some amusement.

His expression was grim as it met mine. "As you noted before, I have a decision to make. I think it only fair I keep my distance until I do make that decision."

I grabbed my bag from him, then leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for being honest, and thank you for at least thinking about it."

Warmth touched his dark eyes. "Even a very old vampire can learn to be honest occasionally."

"So there's hope for you yet?"

The amusement died. "I don't know, Riley." He raised a hand, touching my cheek briefly but oh so tenderly. "I just don't know."

He turned and walked down the stairs. I blew out a breath, then sat on the sagging mattress and started up the com-unit. Half an hour later, I had the answer to at least one of the questions bugging me.

Kade had all the right certificates and records.

But Kade Williams didn't actually exist.

Lygon Street on a Saturday afternoon was a hive of activity and noise, the air rich with mouthwatering aromas. Quinn and I sat at an outside table, enjoying the brief splash of sunshine as we waited for three o'clock to roll around. From where I sat, I could see the Blue Moon, which was across the road and down a side street. Rhoan and Kade weren't to be seen, but I knew they'd be here somewhere. Jack waited in the underground car park down the road. He wasn't quite as old as Quinn, and had tighter sunshine restrictions.

I was making my way through a garlic heavy super-souvlaki, and barely resisting the temptation to breathe in Quinn's direction. Not because the whole garlic and vampires thing was true – it wasn't – but just because it would be an annoying thing to do and I was in an annoying sort of mood.

Part of that was our close proximity to the club. The scent of lust and sex and musk carried easily on the air, stirring my hormones to life. But considering the meeting I had to face, having eager hormones was a very good thing. Misha knew how badly I'd want a kid now that I knew for sure I only had a brief window of opportunity. He'd understand it instinctively, in a way only other werewolves could. He'd expect me to be sexually ready – aggressive, even – simply because females wolves usually were when they were ready to bear children. It didn't matter that we weren't soul mates – he'd still expect that sort of behavior from me, because he knew this might be my one and only chance.

Yet he also knew me well enough to know I wouldn't jump into anything without first questioning. He'd expect questions, and he'd expect me to answer his questions, as well.

And that was the other part of the whole mood equation. I wasn't entirely sure I was up to playing that sort of game with a man intent on using both sides for his own benefit.

Rhoan came sauntering up the street, a pleased smile touching his lips.

"The Blue Moon checked out, huh?" I said dryly, as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Yeah." He grinned. "Liander was there."

"And you did the wild thing on Directorate time?" I shook my head in mock disgust. "Really, bro, where are your morals?"

"In my balls, where most men's morals are. You planning to eat the rest of that souvlaki?"

I handed him the remainder and picked up my coffee, warming my fingers on the exterior of the cup. "So, what's happening?"

"We have several people positioned at both exits. The