I am a vampire. Though Quinn"s mind-voice was soft, it held a note of censure. I blinked, taking a moment to realize he was answering my earlier statement. I control my base needs, but I am not made of steel, and I cannot forever ignore such a delicious odor.
Call me a dolt, but I"d actually forgotten the blood would call him. I shifted shape immediately, then motioned him forward. And here I was thinking you only took blood while making love.
For blood as sweetly addictive as yours, I would make an exception. His gaze briefly met mine. I have done so in the past, remember.
Images of him licking the wound on my wrist came to mind, and desire skittered across my skin. Who"d have thought the touch of a vampire"s tongue on a non-intimate place such as a wrist had the power to make a woman o.r.g.a.s.m like that?
Not me. And it was an experience I wouldn"t mind repeating-just not here, not now.
No. He grasped the wheel and spun it. There was a soft click and the door opened, smooth as b.u.t.ter. But later, most certainly.
You"re awfully certain there is going to be a "later".
If there"s one thing I know about werewolves, it"s that they are easily addicted to good s.e.x. The fact of the matter is, I give good s.e.x.
I gave a mental snort. And a whole lot of arrogance.
After over a thousand years of refining my technique, I have a right to the arrogance.It"s just a shame that a thousand years of living didn"t also teach you tolerance of other race"s beliefs and practices.
Amus.e.m.e.nt ran through my mind, as warm as a summer breeze and just as enticing. I left the door wide open for that jibe.
Yeah, he had. So why was he amused rather than annoyed? That didn"t run with what I"d seen of him so far-though, I guess I hadn"t seen a whole lot of the real Quinn. Just the "gotta avenge my friend at all costs" Quinn.
And that one was hard enough to resist. I"d be putty in his hands if he actually turned on the charm for a change.
Somehow, I"m doubting that.
His voice was wry and I grinned as I edged around the corner. More darkness, corridors, and labs. Only this time, the air was warm, and heavily layered with scents that were either human, organic, or chemical in origin. And accompanying the scents, voices-men and women chatting softly. There appeared to be no concern that the darkness was anything more than a simple blackout, which was good. It meant they wouldn"t be as watchful as they should be.
A soft noise caught my attention. I looked at the left-hand corridor, zoning out the drone of conversation and concentrating on the noise coming only from that corridor. Again I heard it, clearer this time-the whimper of a child.
Dia"s kid. Had to be.
I padded into the darkness, my bare feet making little noise on the cold white tiles.
How many hearts beat in the lab directly in front?
He paused, then said, Three, not including the child.
Can you hold the adults, make them see nothing, while I rescue the kid?
Doing so as I speak. Amus.e.m.e.nt filled his voice as he added, Not that I think they"d be taking much notice of anything else but each other at the moment anyway.
I opened the lab door and saw what he meant. The three adults-two men and one female-had obviously decided to put the darkness to good use, because they had a little menage a trois happening. The expression on the woman"s face said she was enjoying every minute, and why wouldn"t she? Having every need attended to so thoroughly by several willing men was bliss- though for me, personally, the whole b.u.m entry thing just didn"t work.
I looked past them and saw the small room at the end.
Inside the solitary small crib was a tiny child whose aura was so bright it forced me to blink.
Hurry, Riley. Our time is almost up.
I hurried. But only to the doorway. Starr was sick enough to set up some sort of trap to protect his hostage on the off chance that the power went off.
I couldn"t see anything out of place. I stuck an arm through the doorway, and nothing happened. No alarms, no bombs, no traps. I walked over to the cot.
The child inside was the image of her mother-white on white-except for her eyes. They were the most amazing shade of violet I"d ever seen. And not only that, the kid seemed aware. Like she knew why I was there, and what I intended.
There were no wires attached to the little girl, but given Dia said her daughter had been b.o.o.by-trapped, I wasn"t about to pick her up until I was very sure it was safe.I gently felt her limbs and little body, trying to see if there was anything implanted, then did the same to the area surrounding the cot. It wasn"t until I looked underneath that I saw the sensors.
I looked in Quinn"s direction. He was looking at me rather than the free floor show, which was a little surprising given his earlier flirtation with voyeurism.
It looks like the cot is rigged with explosives or something. Can you search their minds and find out where the kill switch is?
There had to be one, simply because Dia was allowed to cuddle her child once a week.
Light switch near the door is the trip. He paused. Lucky you didn"t just lift her up-it"s powered by the backup gen, same as the security doors.
It figured. Once I"d flicked the switch, I wrapped the child in her blanket and lifted her up. She didn"t say anything, didn"t do anything, not even wriggle or whimper at being picked up by a sweaty, b.l.o.o.d.y stranger. She just looked at me with those amazing eyes of hers.
Seeing too much, as her mother felt too much.
A shiver ran through me. Maybe Starr wasn"t just keeping this child for ransom reasons. Maybe he also wanted to know what was going on inside her head. Because something definitely was.
Jack wants me to blow this lab if possible.
I"ve instructed one of the lovers to reset the switch as we leave, Quinn said. The cot will blow instantly, and it"ll give us cover and time to escape.
And Starr might just think someone got careless.
Perhaps.
Quinn sounded doubtful, and I can"t say I blamed him. I cradled the little girl close and walked back to Quinn. The threesome on the floor where reaching the heights, their moans becoming louder and louder.
People come to investigate the noise. Shadow the child. He turned and led the way back out.
I drew the darkness over the child"s body and followed Quinn out the door. Several people had gathered at the end of the corridor, sn.i.g.g.e.ring and talking. Even as we pa.s.sed them, they began to creep forward. At least with their attention on the threesome doing the horizontal tango, they were less inclined to notice us. Not that Quinn would have allowed them to, anyway.
A point he proceeded to prove by spinning open the old door and ushering me through. Not one of those in the hall turned to look, even though some were very close. When the door had closed again, I asked, How are we going to get back through the chameleons?
We run like h.e.l.l.
No, really.
Really.
f.u.c.k. Chameleons were fast. I knew that, he knew that. Outrunning them hadn"t been an option the first time I"d crossed paths with these creatures, and I doubted it would be now.As we reached the door, an explosion shook the air and the walls. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and alarms began to sound. Quinn ignored it all and gripped the door handle, his fingers a flame against the cool metal. Ready?
No. I cradled the baby a little closer, shielding her as much as possible, then reluctantly nodded.
Quinn thrust the door open, and I ran through. The darkness howled, a sound of anger that seemed to echo off the very walls.
Air stirred, a whirlwind of hate that seemed to be aimed at me more than Quinn. I didn"t look back, didn"t look sideways, just concentrated on getting to the door and the tunnel beyond it.
Something brushed past my hair and crashed into the wall near the door as I ran through. Bones snapped, a creature howled.
Quinn, cleaning up behind me, ensuring safe pa.s.sage. I fled into the tunnel, my footsteps slapping against the cold stone.
Behind me, a creature roared, the reverberations echoing through the red-tinged darkness. Though I heard no sound, Quinn grabbed my arm, pushing me forward faster. It felt like I was being run off my feet and yet didn"t seem anywhere near fast enough.
Wasn"t fast enough.
Even as the ladder came into sight, there was an odd click and suddenly cameras were moving, tracking us.
A heartbeat later another alarm sounded, closer and harsher than the other, a strident sound that was deafening in the tunnel confines.
The child didn"t make a sound. Didn"t move. She breathed-I could feel it, see the bright heat of her body-but her stillness was eerie. h.e.l.l, I jumped when that alarm started, but not the kid. It was almost as if she understood that she couldn"t cry, that to do so would put us all in even greater danger.
Of course, she could also be doped out of her tiny mind, but somehow, that just didn"t ring true.
Maybe it was me who was out of my tiny mind.
As we neared the ladder, Quinn touched my shoulder. I slowed, watching as he scrambled up. From behind came the skitter of claws on stone. He hadn"t locked the security door and I cursed him-until I realized he"d given us cover. Starr just might think it was the creatures who had tripped the alarm.
I reached for the rungs and began to climb. It didn"t matter if it was clear or not up top-I"d rather face six men with guns that two extremely p.i.s.sed chameleons.
No matter how awkward it might have been to climb a ladder while holding a kid, let me tell you that no ladder had ever been climbed quite so fast. Quinn grabbed my hand and helped me over the final section, then slammed the door shut on my heels and closed the cover.
I leapt over the bodies of two security guards who"d obviously been patrolling nearby, and ran like h.e.l.l into the thick darkness of the forest.
The thump of many footsteps against concrete suggested security were answering the alarm. I hoped my brother wasn"t amongst them or, at least, wasn"t the first in line to open that door.
Unease rolled through me again, and this time, I knew for sure it centered on Rhoan. I just wasn"t entirely sure why. Was it simply sibling concern? Or the growing certainty that something had gone seriously wrong for him? Maybe the next thing I needed to do once I"d delivered Dia"s child to safety was hunt him out-if only to see him and ensure he was okay.
Because the last time I"d felt anything like this, he"d been kidnapped and milked for his seed.And then something else hit me-the realization that Starr was likely to check the whereabouts of all his people. Including the wh.o.r.es and us fighters. I stopped abruptly.
"What"s wrong?" Quinn"s voice was even, showing no hint of breathlessness despite all we"d been through. Annoying, to say the least.
"I need to get back to my room, which means I need you to do me a favor." I swiped at the sweat trickling down the side of my face. "Will you take the child to the forest and wait for the shifter to come in and collect her?"
He frowned, and gave the silent little girl a dark look. "I am not overly fond of children."
"I"m not asking you to be fond of her. I"m just asking if you"d take her to safety."
He didn"t answer immediately, so I offered up the child. Somewhat reluctantly, he took her. "When and where?"
Rather than respond, I flicked the com-link, and said, "Jack?"
"Regular reports, Riley. That was in the very first lesson on proper guardian behavior."
"I think that was the one I slept through."
He swore. "d.a.m.nit, just report."
I smiled. It might not be wise to bait my boss, but d.a.m.n if it didn"t feel good when he bit. "We"ve got the kid and blown the lab but the s.h.i.t has temporarily hit the fan. Quinn"s going to bring the child to the meet now. I"ve got to get back and act like nothing has happened."
"Everyone"s cover still intact?"
"That very much depends whether the cameras in the tunnels had infrared or not." I hesitated. "Listen, those underground levels are not new. Quinn reckons they"re far older than the cartel itself. You don"t think this place is situated an old military bunker, do you?"
"Maybe one named Libraska, you mean?"
"Well, it does make sense for Starr to have his most valuable a.s.set close to hand." And it would also explain the existence of the elevator entrance to his rooms-the one no one seemed to know about.
"We"ve no records of any installation, military or not, being built in this area, but I"ll get Alex to check with her Government source. Hopefully, we"ll have an answer soon as to what Starr is sitting on."
Alex was Alex Hunter, the woman responsible for the birth of the Directorate, and who"d been in charge of it since its inception.
Not only was she a very old vampire-far older than even Quinn-but she was also Jack"s sister. Talk about job security.
Though how Jack could be several hundred years younger than Quinn, and yet still be the sibling of someone several hundred years older was a point Jack and said sister had so far been unwilling to explain. But I very much intended to get an answer, even if I had to nag Jack to death.
"Where do you want Quinn to meet your removalist?"
"There"s an old pine leaning over the fence near the south corner. We"ll have people there in five." He hesitated. "Be careful.
And keep in contact, Riley. I mean it."
I"m sure he meant it the first time he said it, too. It still didn"t mean I"d remember. I flicked off the com-link and glanced at Quinn. "You"d better get moving."
He nodded and shifted his grip on the child, then wrapped his free hand around the back of my neck and pulled me close. His lips, when they met mine, were warm and demanding, the kiss itself unlike any other kiss from any other man. It was both a promise of intent and a declaration of feeling, and so d.a.m.n right-so d.a.m.n hot-it had me melting.
A sigh escaped when his lips left mine. He chuckled softly. "Keep that thought for when all this is over."
I opened my eyes and stared into the obsidian depths of his for several heartbeats. "Only if you accept what I am, Quinn. It wouldn"t be fair to either of us, otherwise."
His smile was tinged with bitterness, though that bitterness didn"t seem aimed at me but rather himself. "It has occurred to me that to win the race, I must first be in the race. I may not like a werewolf"s propensity for many mates, but if sharing means I get the chance to prove that we are meant to be, then I have little other choice but to accept it."
My hormones did a happy little jig. "Meaning no more demands that I see you, and you alone? No more jibes at the werewolf culture?"
"Yes to the first, and I will try to the second."
Well, that was better than nothing. I leaned forward and kissed him gently. "Thank you."
"Even the very old can try to change if we see something worth changing for." He briefly touched my cheek with his fingertips, then stepped back. "Be very careful in that house."
I nodded. He turned and disappeared into the night, though I watched the flame of his body heat until the trees took it from sight. After which, I turned and headed back to my room.
Only Berna was there when I entered, but she wasn"t asleep. Far from it. Her expression was dark, angry, like she was ready to hit someone. And her eyes, when her gaze met mine, suggested that someone was me.