Full Moon Rising

“Meaning you’ve found Rhoan?”

“He’s at Moneisha.”

“Moneisha? That’s surprising.”

I did up my coat. The chill coming off the river was seeping into my bones, and the warmth flowing from Qui

“Why? I thought you were investigating Moneisha yourself?”

His dark gaze met mine. “Jack told you?”

“Yes. And it a

“I couldn’t remember the truth—only various bits and pieces of it, originally—and by the time I did remember it all, you’d run.”

“Well, naked vampires camping out on my doorstep or following me home do tend to raise suspicions.”

“I had to be sure you were who you said you were. As I said before, Rhoan never mentioned you.” His gaze came to mine, his expression briefly curious. “You ca

“No, we ca

I had the information chip Jack had given me, but was interested in seeing just how free with information Qui

“My investigations have led me to believe we have two branches of research happening—one doing cloning, one doing the crossbreeds. On the surface, neither seems to be co

“I’m going in there tonight to get Rhoan out.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Alone?”

“Jack suggested I take you.”

“Someone covering your back is always a good idea.”

Having this vampire covering my back wasn’t such a good idea. Not when the moon was riding me so hard. I glanced at my watch and saw it was nearly twelve. “Look, do you mind if we continue this conversation inside?”

“You’re cold?”

“Starved more than cold. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”

He rose and offered me a hand up. His fingers were warm against mine, gentle yet strong. It was all too easy to imagine those hands on my body, caressing and teasing

Though his expression remained flat, the surge of his desire washed over me like a summer storm. He might have his shields up on full to protect himself from my aura, but that didn’t stop the awareness zinging between us

“What would you like to eat?” he said softly

You. I cleared my throat and stepped away a little. The night was much colder without his touch. “A burger would be good.”

He nodded and, ignoring the slight space I’d put between us, pressed a hand to my back and guided me forward. Heat flared where his fingers rested, rolling through the rest of me in waves

“There’s a nice restaurant down near the Swanston Street end,” he said, his voice a musical caress that made me want to sigh

“Do nice restaurants sell burgers and fries?”

“This one does. Tell me what you discovered about Moneisha.”

“Security is tight, and they apparently have infrared cameras.”

“That’s going to be a problem.”

I took the microchip from my pocket. “Information and floor plans.”

He smiled. “Then perhaps we should grab take-away and make our way to my office.”

“You have an office close by?”

He pointed to the white building that dominated the skyline a block away. “My office is on the top floor.”

I looked up… and up. “And you don’t get height sickness?”

I certainly did, but it didn’t have anything to do with my dual heritage. It was an end result of being thrown off a mountain when I was a pup. Why the fear manifested in buildings, I have no idea, especially when I could still climb mountains and be fine as long as I didn’t go near any cliffs

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Then perhaps we shall keep to one of the lower floors.”

“Unless you want me puking over your undoubtedly nice carpets, that could be a good idea.”

He nodded. We reached the restaurant and he bought me a burger, fries, and Coke, refusing to let me pay for it. I sipped the drink as we moved on to his building. Security let him in after an eye scan, and we took the lift to the tenth floor. Another eye scan later, and we were in a section that consisted of endless rows of desks. He led me through them and into an office at the far end

“Chip?”

I was tempted to hand him one of the French fries, but didn’t think he’d see the humor in it right then. So I handed him the microchip and sat on the edge of the desk, one leg swinging as I munched my food. The screen popped into existence after security confirmed his identity yet again. He slipped the chip into a slot and it disappeared into the depths of the desk. A second later, floor plans appeared

“Where did you feel Rhoan?”

I pointed a greasy finger at the appropriate wall and the screen shimmered slightly. “There’s about six feet between the walls and the roof, but there’s a camera close by and I would imagine it’s infrared.”

“There’s another entrance here.” He pointed to a spot just past where I’d found Rhoan. “And a small guardhouse.”

“That might be a good point of entry, if we could distract the guards.”

He nodded. “They have laser sensors here and here.” He indicated the two spots. “And it looks as if they also have sensor beams set one foot above the outer wall.”

“Fuck.”

“Crude, but appropriate.” Amusement flirted with his lips again as he leaned back in the chair and studied the plans. “Though one foot leaves enough room to get under if you are aware of its presence. If Rhoan is still in there, it’s going to take some pla

“What do you mean, ‘if’?”

“They’ve got cameras. They would have seen you walking around the perimeter.”

“So? They wouldn’t know me from a bar of soap.”

“If Moneisha is involved in making either the crossbreeds or the clones, that may not be true.” He studied me for a moment, dark eyes flat and somehow chilling. He reached into the pocket of his jeans. “I found this on that werewolf who shot you.”

He dropped the small button into my palm. I looked at it, not sure what to make of it. My confusion must have shown, because he added, “It’s a camera. A very powerful, very experimental, camera.”

“They watched me being shot?” I couldn’t believe anyone would be so… I stopped the thought. I worked with guardians, so yes, it was certainly possible to believe someone would be bloodthirsty enough to enjoy something like that

“He never intended to shoot you in the heart. He wanted to maim, not kill.”

I took a quick swig of my Coke and regretted it the minute it hit my already churning stomach. “They couldn’t have known you were there, and if you hadn’t have been, I would have died.”

“True. But he also had a small medical kit on him, meaning he could have been intending to retrieve the bullet himself.”

“So why shoot me, then patch me up? What was the point?”

“Maybe they wanted to watch your reactions.”

I went cold. “But that would mean—”

“If they’re holding Rhoan for what he is,” he said gently, “then they undoubtedly suspect what you are, too.”

“But no one—” I broke the words off. If Jack had guessed, maybe others had too. “There’s nothing on our birth certificates, and we’ve told no one.” I fixed my gaze on him. “I can’t believe Rhoan told you.”

“He didn’t. I guessed. Werewolves generally do not make good guardians because they ca