Full Moon Rising

I slipped off the desk and began to pace. “What I don’t get is the why? They’re creating their own freaks. Why would they need me or Rhoan?”

He caught my hand as I passed him, stopping me in my tracks. “You are not a freak.”

There was anger in his voice, in his eyes, as if the mere idea I could think such a thing offended him greatly. I found myself smiling. “Easy for you to say. You’re just a common old vampire.”

“And you are a miracle of existence. Never think otherwise.”

My smile grew. “You know, I could really get to like you.”

His sudden grin was devilish. “Does that mean I get to dance with you sometime soon?”

“It just might.” Once I’d gotten Rhoan out. Once I knew for sure Qui

“Good.” His gaze went back to the floor plans. “I can think of two reasons why they might want you and Rhoan. First because you both appear to have integrated your dual heritage very well.”

I went back to pacing. It was better than sitting still. Or sitting close to a treat I wasn’t able to sample just yet. “And the second?”

He looked at me. “Your almost identical looks.”

That stopped me. “What?”

“All the clones so far have been the image of the guardian known as Henri Gautier.”

“Apparently so.”

“Meaning they come from the one source.”

“The friend you thought was dead.”

He nodded. “Well, the dhampire found in my plane looked nothing like Gautier, meaning he came from a totally different source material altogether.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So what if they don’t know, or believe, that dhampires can be born naturally? What if they think you and Rhoan are lab creations? Successful lab creations that they didn’t create?”

I stared at him as the implications sank in

If that were true, my brother and I were in deep shit

Chapter 6

“That really makes as much sense as them choosing to clone the same butt-ugly image over and over again.” I paused, remembering as soon as I’d opened my big mouth that the butt-ugly image had apparently originally belonged to his friend. Presuming, that is, his dead friend was the source of the clones and not another clone himself. To cover my gaffe, I quickly added, “And surely if the people who attacked me already had Rhoan, I’d feel a greater sense of danger where he was concerned.”

“Not necessarily. Not if Moneisha is merely a collecting point. Maybe the people behind that lab are merely getting samples and don’t know yet what they really have.”

I eyed him for a moment. “So you knew Rhoan was in St. Kilda investigating the disappearances of the pros?”

He nodded. “I was with him most of the night.”

“Why did you leave? It’s not as if dawn would have threatened you.”

He grimaced. “No, but hunger could.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And you couldn’t have taken blood from the pros?”

“I could have, but I prefer not to.” His smile touched his eyes again and damned if it didn’t make my knees go weak. “I only bite someone while making love, and I do have a preference for women who are not in the game.”

The thought of him biting my neck while thrusting slow and deep made me all goose pimply and hot. Man, I was really going to have to take this vampire for a test run before he disappeared out of my life

“So Rhoan disappeared after you’d left?”

He nodded. “Rhoan was dressed like a hooker so he didn’t stand out on the streets while hunting information. I was in the shadows watching, and reading thoughts.”

Meaning they might have suspected that Rhoan had a guard, because they’d only snatched him once Qui

I swung around. “We have to go.”

Qui

And if Jack was wary of this vampire, then I sure as hell should be

All Qui

“I can shadow. They won’t see me.”

“They have infrared. You said that yourself.”

I stopped at the door and took a deep breath. He was right. But it did little to ease the anxiety suddenly knotting my insides

I glanced over my shoulder. “What do you suggest?”

He retrieved the chip from the desk, then rose and walked toward me, all grace and beauty in a lean and powerful package. “A little game of dress-up.”

I could think of a lot of games I could play with this vampire, and dressing up was certainly up there on the list. But I very much doubted he meant the type of dressing up I was imagining—more’s the pity. “Meaning?”

“Meaning, if Moneisha is looking for prostitutes, why don’t we give them an easy one to snatch?”

“Wouldn’t they be a little suspicious of a pro suddenly appearing on a quiet suburban street?”

He gave me the chip, then pressed a hand into my back again, guiding me toward the elevators. “Not necessarily. There’s a working brothel one street down from Moneisha. Hopefully they’ll think you’re just walking to work.”

I slanted him a sideways glance. “And how would you know there’s a working brothel one street away?”

“A good investigator discovers what he can about a target area.”

“Yet you said only moments before that you preferred to avoid prostitutes.”

“I do.” He gave me another of those grins. “I’m a billionaire. Women throw themselves at me all the time. I have no need to pay for it.”

Which didn’t exactly answer my question. “And do you not-pay-for-it often?”

“Quite often. I have needs, like any other man.”

I was hoping he’d assuage some of those needs with me. And as soon as I got my brother out

The doors closed behind us and the lift dropped. My stomach flirted with the idea of puking, then decided to settle again. “So where are we going?”

“To buy camouflage.” His gaze slid down my body. “The skirt is nice, but it doesn’t quite stretch into pro territory.”

Well, no, but all I had to do was take off the coat and sweater, reveal the torn shirt, and you had come-get-me material right there. “It’s nearly midnight. There are not going to be any shops open.”

“When you have the money, the shops are always open.”

The glass front doors slid open as we approached and the cool evening air swirled in. It was thick with the aromas of smog and humans, but underneath it lay something else. Musk and mint and man. The same combination that had been on the wolf who’d shot me

I stopped and heard something else. A scream of air, as if something fast and deadly was tearing through the night toward us

I threw myself sideways and knocked Qui

An arrow

The fact that it was all wood suggested it had been aimed at Qui

It hit the glass behind us and ricocheted harmlessly away. Footsteps whispered across the sounds of the night. Our attacker, on the run. I broke away from Qui