Tempting Evil (22 page)

Indecision shone in her eyes. She didn’t want to trust me—neither of them did. But we’d all seen what had happened to anyone who went against Starr’s rule, and that was far worse than anything I might do.

“Okay, okay,” she said, voice hoarse.

I glanced at Berna as footsteps echoed in the hallway. “And you?”

“I will talk.”

“And not attack?”

She grinned. It wasn’t a pleasant grin. “Not immediately. But I would suggest you sleep lightly.”

That threat could at least be dealt with later. I released Nerida and she collapsed to the ground, alternatively coughing and sucking in air. I stepped past her, past Berna, and into the other stall, slipping the handkerchief under my towel before quickly turning on the water. As I stepped under it, I switched on the com-link. The door opened and the guard stepped in, I put on my best confused expression as I stepped out of the water and grabbed my towel.

“What the hell is going on?” The scowling guard looked me up and down, then shifted his gaze to Berna, who hadn’t moved.

“Anxiety attack,” she said. “Sometimes happens to foxes in enclosed spaces.”

“Why is that towel up there, then?” He waved irritably at the camera.

“I meant to toss it over the stall door and threw too high.” I shrugged.

He grunted, and pointed to Berna. “You, get that down immediately.”

Berna obeyed.

“All of you, you’ve got ten minutes. Finish whatever it is you’re doing and get back to your room.”

The guard gave us all another once-over, like he suspected there was more going on than what was being said, then grunted and spun on his heel. I waited until he was out of earshot, then crossed my arms and leaned against the door frame. I couldn’t physically see Nerida from where I was standing, but her image was crystal clear in the mirror—which was why I’d chosen this stall.

“You heard the man—we’ve got ten minutes. Tell me a little story.”

Nerida leaned her head back against the tiled wall. The red marks around her neck were very evident, and this time not even the dead could hold back the guilt.

“I didn’t mean for the explosion to be so big.”

“You put gas and flame together, and the end result is usually a big explosion.”

She grimaced and ran a hand through her damp hair. “Yeah. But I didn’t mean for it to bring down the floors above. I just wanted it to be big enough to kill a man.”

“What man?” But even as I asked the question, I knew.

“Leo Moss.” She spat the name like it was a curse, and even though I was viewing her through a mirror, it was very evident that the complete and utter hatred she had for the man verged on madness.

“Why?”

“Because he and Merle killed my father and destroyed my family.” Her gaze met mine in the mirror. “I will kill them both. Have no doubt of that.”

I didn’t doubt her vow. I just didn’t think she had the strength to do it. I glanced at Berna. “And your part in this whole little revenge scheme?”

The bear-shifter shrugged. “I came here in the hope of keeping her alive. We’ve been friends a long time.”

“If these are those two women you asked me about,” Jack said, voice like a scratch of anger in my ear—was I ever going to get a dressing-down when this mission was over!—“prelim searches have revealed they had military time together, in the ranger division. Left four years ago, and the trail runs a little cold after that.”

“Friends don’t usually go to such lengths—unless they’ve sworn an oath to protect each other.” Or were lovers. I paused, then aimed the second question at both Jack and Berna. “How far would you go?”

“Until we know more about these two,” Jack said, “you say nothing of your reasons for being there.”

Which was going to be damn difficult, considering they already had their suspicions about my identity after I’d challenged them both over the bed.

“She saved my life.” Berna hesitated, then added, “And I will go as far as I am required to uphold my vow and return the favor.”

Which was a very military sentiment. It also explained why they’d moved as one when they’d threatened me earlier. “How did Moss and Merle wipe out your family, Nerida, and how did you uncover information about this place? It’s not exactly on any known map.”

The bear-shifter’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What does either of those matter to a thief?”

I smiled coldly. “I have my own reasons for being here, and they aren’t so very different from yours.”

“I knew you weren’t what you were pretending to be,” Nerida muttered, as she pushed to her feet.

I straightened a little, watching them both warily. “Answer the question.”

“My family ran a shipping business. When my father refused to sell, Merle arranged to have him arrested. Moss then killed my mother and my sister.” She paused. Her gaze became haunted, and her struggle with a grief that was obviously still too raw, too close to the surface, was evident. I wondered how long ago it had all happened. “He has the aura of a were and a taste for pain. He used my family until their injuries were too great, and then he left them to die. Only they didn’t die soon enough, and I found them. That’s how I know who it was. That’s when I made my vow.”

I glanced at Berna to confirm the statement, and it was in that moment Nerida attacked. She was fast, with the skills of a fully trained soldier to back her up, and for several seconds it was all I could do to simply block and survive, let alone counterattack. Granted, she was no Gautier, but then, this wasn’t a wide arena but a shower stall with next to no room to move. And I was in it while she wasn’t.

I ducked several whistle-fast blows, caught another in my fist, and missed the one aimed at my stomach. Her fist sunk deep and my breath left in a whoosh. I had no choice but to ignore the burning sensation in my gut as I ducked and weaved and was gradually driven back farther into the stall.

Then lights went out. Berna, probably. And though she was undoubtedly trying to stop the monitoring guards from seeing what was going on, she’d unknowingly given me an advantage. Night was my friend, not theirs. I switched to infrared, dropped underneath another one-two series of blows, then came up fast and pushed her backward, as hard as I could. As the werefox staggered backward and tried to catch her balance, I wrapped the shadows around myself then leapt upward. Wolves could leap extremely high—vampires even higher. I had the skills of both at my call, and landed with little effort on the thin edge of the stall wall. I took a moment to balance, then quietly stepped onto the top of the next stall, then the next, before easing lightly back down to the floor.

“Where the fuck has she gone?” There was a thump and a rattle as Nerida’s fist hit the wall. “She’s disappeared.”

“That’s impossible. She’s probably just cowering in a corner.” Exasperation edged Berna’s voice. Maybe she was getting a little tired of her friend’s actions.

And I had to wonder why they were wasting time thumping the walls rather than using their olfactory senses—hell, given I’d been with Kade in the hay and had then been surrounded in smoke and death, I’d have to be leaving one hell of a scent trail.

But I wasn’t about to give either of them time to remember that option. Nor did I have much time left to contain them, as the scowling guard was probably already on his way back down.

Berna bent over and peered into the stall. I padded over, shook off the shadows, then grabbed a fistful of her short hair, yanking her back and up before thrusting her hard into the stall. She collided with Nerida and both hit the back wall, and there was a crack loud enough to suggest broken bones. They went down in a heap and stayed there. But the heated looks being flung my way suggested it wasn’t because they were too hurt to move, but rather because any good soldier knows when to retreat in order to fight another day.

I crossed my arms and resumed questioning. “How did you set the gas off?”

Nerida swore as she pulled her leg out from under Berna’s rump. “Small incendiary device we snuck in.”

I wasn’t going to ask how they’d managed that, because given all the bags had been thoroughly searched, there was really only one place they could have hidden it. And I was mighty surprised Starr hadn’t brought in measures to cater for such occurrences. Hell, I knew for a fact many of the cartel employed female assassins. A good amount of Directorate time was spent hunting down the bitches after they’d completed their bloody deeds.

“And you didn’t ever stop to consider who else might be in the way of the explosion?”

Nerida’s gaze met mine. “Not once I saw Moss.”

Insane with revenge and blind because of it. Great. “And have you ever stopped to consider that the picture is way bigger than the piece you’re concentrating on?”

“No.”

“Then I suggest you fucking start, before you end up on the wrong end of someone else’s revenge.” I flicked on the light. “Moss, Merle, and Starr have destroyed more lives than you could ever imagine. Stop being so blinkered, start seeing what is really going on, and for God’s sake don’t blow anything else up. Or I’ll have you taken out so fast your heads will spin.”

I glanced down the corridor to see the guard headed our way again. And he looked even unhappier than he had the last time.

I leaned forward and grabbed my towel, soap, and the handkerchief. “Now, if you don’t mind, ladies, I need to complete my shower.”

I flung the towel over my shoulder and headed for the shower stall Nerida had originally used. It had a good line of sight via the mirrors, and while I needed to get clean, I wasn’t fool enough to turn my back on either of them.

The guard stalked in as I stepped under the water. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Just a little disagreement,” Berna muttered. “Nothing to worry about.”

“It is when I’m wasting time coming down here to sort it out. You two, back to the rooms now. And you in the shower, hurry up.”

Though the heat of the water did a lot to wash the smell of death from my skin, I didn’t want to linger too long. That would only piss off the guard more and maybe bring our little scuffle to the attention of those higher up. So I washed and dried and meekly made my way back to my bed.

“No more,” the guard said from the doorway, once I was settled, “or I’ll report all of you.”

I resisted the impulse to snap that we weren’t kiddies—mainly because that impression was far better than the real reasons for the fight.

I waited until the guard had gone, then reached my hand under my wet towel and grabbed the handkerchief. “You dropped this earlier,” I said, and tossed the scrap of cloth across to Nerida. “Don’t do it again.”

“Oh, I won’t. You can be sure of that.”

Meaning next time she would ensure there were no telltale signs left behind. I blew out a breath and laced my fingers across my belly. After a while, their breathing grew slower—or in Berna’s case, noisier—indicating they were slipping into sleep. Whether they actually were, or whether they were foxing, I couldn’t say. But I wasn’t about to let the desire to sleep overwhelm me, not with Berna’s threat hanging over my head.

I flipped off the sheets and headed out the door.

Voices and the growl of machinery rode the night, and lights now lit the far end of the house. Starr wasn’t wasting time getting down to repairs, it seemed.

I headed in the opposite direction, getting as far away from the sounds and the smells as I could. But even deep in the trees, where the moonlight failed to pierce the thick canopy of leaves, the dead were with me.

And they wanted their revenge.

Chapter 11

I
woke with a start, and to the realization I was not alone. I twisted around sharply. Quinn sat two feet away, his expression thoughtful as he leaned back against the gnarled trunk of an old pine, his arms crossed across his chest and long legs stretched out in front of him. He seemed little more than a shadow of the pine, even though the sun was still too low to cast such things this deep in the trees.

I rubbed my eyes and struggled into a sitting position. “What time is it?”

He glanced down at his watch. “Just after seven.”

No wonder I felt like shit. I’d only had five hours’ sleep, and after the last few fun-filled days, that just wasn’t enough. “Why did you wake me?”

“I didn’t. I was merely watching you.”

Something
had woken me, but I let the matter slip and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not that interesting when I sleep.”

“Perhaps not, but you were at least quiet. A rare thing, I’m discovering.”

I picked up a twig and flicked it at him. He smiled, and it rose to his eyes, briefly warming the night dark depths. Something deep inside sighed in pleasure. “Did you uncover anything interesting last night while following Moss?”

“Nothing other than the fact that he and Merle do not see eye to eye. You?”

I shrugged and told him about Nerida’s mad quest.

“So you’ve warned her off?”

“Yes.” I hesitated, then added, “But there’s still a problem.”

“What?”

“The dead want revenge.” I paused again, mainly because I didn’t want to sound like an idiot. But if there was one person who could help me understand what was going on, then surely it was Quinn. He was an empath
and
one of the dead. “I could feel them all around me last night, feel their anger and their need to get back at her.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Empathy with the truly dead? An interesting path for a developing talent to take.”

“It’s not interesting, it’s freaky.” I drew my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. “How is something like that even possible?”

“Many clairvoyants are able to see, and converse, with shades or spirits.”

“But I didn’t converse with them or see them. I could just feel them—or rather, their emotions.”

“Maybe the rest is yet to come. But you have always had empathy with the dead—how else would you have been able to sense my emotions so often?”

I wanted to argue that
that
was different, because he had flesh and a heartbeat—however slow it might be—so, technically, he wasn’t dead
dead
. But what was the point? I
had
always been able to sense his emotions. And sometimes even Jack’s. How else would that have been possible if it wasn’t some twisted form of empathy with the dead? And surely it wasn’t a huge step from reading the undead to reading the dead.

I rubbed my arms lightly against a sudden chill. Trust me to develop a talent that held no earthly value and was as scary as hell. “Thing is, this empathy is extending. I’m beginning to sense the emotions of some flesh-and-blood people.”

“If that’s the case, and this is the first sign that the ARC1-23 is having an effect, then you should not be here. You should be back at the Directorate, being tested and watched.”

My gaze met his. “I’m not walking away from this mission. I want to be a part of Starr’s downfall.”

“Why? What is so important about it that you risk your life, or at the very least, your future?”

“Starr kidnapped me, abused me, and most importantly, he murdered a friend. And for all that, he will pay.”

“So this Nerida is not the only one on a quest for revenge?”

I smiled grimly. “This question coming from a man who has spent how many years and wasted how many lives seeking his own revenge?”

He smiled his sexy smile, and desire prickled across my skin. The moon heat might be a few weeks off yet, but being in the presence of this vampire always made me feel like the moon was full and ripe. I wanted him, always wanted him, no matter how angry or just plain pissed off with him I might be. And in a totally different way from how I wanted Kellen or even Kade. This was deeper. Way deeper.

How much deeper was something I might never find out, given his problems with the werewolf lifestyle, and my own determination to find my werewolf soul mate.

“I guess I should not throw stones,” he agreed.

“No, you should not.” I stretched out my legs. “So why are you here? Really?”

“I want you to show me the section of the forest where Moss disappeared. I’ll try and find the tunnel entrance, if there is one.”

I frowned. “Your infrared can’t see past soil, can it?”

“No, but if there is an entrance, there will be other indicators, even if it is something as simple as an area of grass trampled down.”

I nodded. “Jack knows you’re here. He isn’t happy.” Which was the understatement of the century. After he’d spent ten minutes telling me off for continuing to ignore direct orders, I’d innocently mentioned Quinn and had learned the hard way my dear brother hadn’t gotten around to telling Jack about his presence here. Meaning I’d been on the receiving end of yet another tirade. Was it any wonder I still had a headache?

What I needed was coffee. Buckets of it. And a big, hearty breakfast. Both of which might be difficult to get considering Nerida blew the kitchen apart last night.

“I’m here to help, not hinder, your mission,” Quinn said. “I will not take out Starr until you have all the information you require about his organization and the labs.”

“Well, actions speak louder than words, so I’m not believing until I actually start seeing evidence of your restraint.” I pushed to my feet. “I’ll take you to the place Moss disappeared. They want us to do some fight training this morning, then I have a brunch meeting with Starr.”

He fell in step beside me. “Why do you have a meeting with Starr?”

“Because he’s fascinated with my unusual beauty.” Just saying those words had me grinning. Anyone who knew me would certainly class me as unusual—or, more likely, just plain weird. But men usually only considered me a beauty after the intake of several glasses of booze. Not that I was ugly by any stretch—just an ordinary girl with a good figure and big tits.

Which I supposed was the only thing some guys worried about.

“Well, it was your hair I noticed first.” His fingers briefly touched my hair—a featherlight caress that shimmered right down to my toes. “It was so long, and such a glorious color. It’s a shame you cut it so short, even if it suits you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I cut it to shoulder length only a few months ago. You said you liked it. Or was that another lie?”

“No lie. But this is even shorter. It’s a shame.”

Hard to disagree when he was basically echoing my own comments to Liander. “So that comment you made about me not being as flat as most werewolves did not come from observation?”

He smiled. “Okay, so maybe there was just a little observation. But I’m hetero and Starr is not.” Despite the amusement touching his lips, concern gleamed in the dark depths of his eyes—which shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. I knew he cared, but it was often hard to remember when he was continually stabbing away at my heritage. “We are talking about a man who has made a concerted effort to get you into his labs. Is it wise to get so close? I thought that was Rhoan’s job?”

“It is, but saying no wasn’t an option.”

He glanced at me again, and the worry was deeper. My daft hormones did an excited little shuffle. Nothing like a man worrying about my safety to get them zooming along excitedly.

“I have noticed this place is run like a dictatorship.”

“You should have seen last night’s dinner entertainment. If that didn’t turn people off thoughts of rebellion, I don’t know what would.” I hesitated. “What do you plan to do if you find the tunnel?”

“Explore it, of course.”

“It might have infrared sensors.”

“It might, it might not.” He shrugged.

Meaning, of course, he was well able to take care of any resulting guard dispatch. Given the little I’d seen of his skills, he was probably right. “And if you can’t find the tunnel?”

“Then I shall dig myself a nice little ditch, cover myself in soil, and wait out the noon hours.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Is that where the legend of vampires and coffins comes from?”

A smile touched his lips. “In itself, no. The world was not always as densely populated as it is today, and protection in the form of housing was not always easy to find. Soil, on the other hand, is readily available in all lands, at all times.”

“Does it have to be a particular depth?”

“No. One or two inches is sufficient. Though it is not unusual for the newly turned to panic and go as deep as they can. And, of course, the tombs and graves of the recently dead are often the easiest place to borrow.”

I chuckled softly. “Hence the legend.”

“Yes.”

The brief spark of amusement in his eyes died a little, replaced by the thoughtfulness I’d seen earlier. But again, whatever his thoughts were, he was keeping them well and truly to himself. Which was a nice change, and yet also a little alarming. I had a feeling those thoughts were about me—us—and part of me itched to ask. But the sane part knew it was better not to. However much this vampire irritated the hell out of me, he was at least still in my life, still by my side. No matter how much I might have told him to leave if he could not accept my nature and beliefs, I didn’t actually
want
him to go.

Because he was right. There
was
something good between us, something that was worth taking the time to explore. I was willing, as long as it was an open relationship. Maybe he was beginning to see the benefits of such a deal, as well.

Besides, it wasn’t as if we actually knew much of each other beyond the realms of sex. It might actually turn out that we were totally incompatible outside the bedroom. Hell, I hadn’t wanted Talon in my life on a regular basis, but we sure as hell had a good time sexually. Of course, he’d turned out to be a sick psycho. Maybe Quinn would, too. Who really knew?

Only time would tell and the reality was, we hadn’t had a lot of that so far.

I glanced ahead and saw that we were near the clearing where Moss had done his invisible trick. I stopped in the shadows of some gum trees and waved a hand around. “It happened here, somewhere.”

His gaze scanned the area, then came back to mine. “You be careful.”

“You, too.” I paused, suddenly feeling awkward and having no idea why. “I’ll talk to you tonight.”

He nodded. But as I turned to retreat, his fingers slipped down my arm and caught my wrist. “Make sure you use full shields,” he said softly. “Remember what Misha said about Starr. If I can read your surface thoughts, then it is most likely Starr can. You cannot afford the slightest mistake while in his presence, or the game will be up and we’ll all be in danger.”

God, didn’t he think I knew that already? Stating the obvious would only succeed in making me even more jittery.

He released my hand, his fingers sliding over mine almost sensually. I turned and walked away. But I could feel his gaze, a heat that was centered in the middle of my back before flooding across my skin in waves. The vampire wanted me, and his desire was every bit as powerful, every bit as alluring, as a wolf.

Which he wasn’t, so I shouldn’t be feeling what I was feeling. Unless I’d somehow become even more attuned to him.

But I resisted the temptation to turn around and ask him what the hell was going on—or more precisely, what he’d done. I had training and a brunch to attend, and right now, they had to take precedence over emerging metaphysical and sexual connections.

T
raining for Starr’s arena was a whole lot easier than training with my brother. Most of the women who’d been brought in were shifters of some variety, and therefore had strength and speed. While many didn’t have any actual fighting skills, it really didn’t matter because it was mainly wrestling, and in mud at that.

Skill wasn’t a prerequisite. Good balance and intuitiveness was. The trainers matched us according to weight and height, which meant that at least in the initial rounds, I avoided both Berna and Nerida—who still managed to scowl at me down the length of the arena.

We practiced for two hours, and damn if it wasn’t fun. In fact, if I’d been training with men rather than women, it could have been erotic. I’ve never mucked around in mud before, but the sensation of hands and bodies sliding across mud-lathered skin was sensual, to say the least. I made a mental note to try this with a more suitable partner, and kept on fighting and following instructions. Afterward, we were escorted to the showers. The rest of the women were then taken to breakfast, while I was herded from the pack and escorted to the private elevator.

Which was more than enough time to realize my guard definitely didn’t believe in regular showers. Needing something to distract my nose from the overwhelming odor of stale, sweaty human, I lowered my shields a little and tried reading him. His thoughts were all over the place—one minute he was thinking about his night with one of the hookers, the next wondering what the powers that be were going to do about breakfast, because he was mighty hungry and hadn’t signed on to this crummy outfit to starve. And in between, he admired my tits and wondered if it was the red hair that was turning him off.

Not one of Starr’s great thinkers, obviously.

I re-shielded and glanced up at the ceiling. There were definitely monitors up there, and I had no doubt the psi-deadeners were present, too. So how come I was slipping past them?

Granted, it wasn’t as if there weren’t precedents for such events—Jack had proven it was more than possible a few days ago when he’d stopped Gautier’s attack on me. I wouldn’t have put my developing talent in the same league as Jack’s, let alone Quinn’s, but maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t
just
the onset of menstruation affecting my telepathy, but the ARC1-23 drug as well.

So what else was happening inside of me?