Full Moon Rising

“Only in the last fifty years. There were a lot of places, particularly military ones, that were built in the twentieth century that were never recorded—for security reasons. It was a volatile era.”

“What about the thing that attacked her?” Qui

“No. But if they’re playing around with the basic building blocks of life, who knows what they’ve come up with?” Jack glanced at me. “You up to a little more investigating?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like I have a choice?”

“There’s always a choice.”

I snorted softly. “Between you trying to railroad me, and these nutters coming after me, I think choice has temporarily flown out the window.”

He didn’t bother to deny my allegations, merely smiled. “You are going to make such a wonderful guardian.”

“You’re better off chasing after Liander than me—you’d have more hope.”

“He’s already come after me,” Liander commented, his silver eyes sparkling with a combination of amusement and a

“Well, you were military, and you do slide in rather well.” Rhoan’s smile was decidedly wicked. “And just think of the advantages—me, primarily.”

Liander gri

“Bitchy.” Rhoan’s smile widened

“The truth,” Liander said, voice dry

“Enough,” Jack said, and glanced at me. “We’re pla

Which left me with Qui

“And probably handheld sca

Jack nodded. “But the generators only handle essentials, and we can avoid any guards, whether or not they’re holding sca

“And in the meantime, I’ll be doing what?” I asked

“Searching the paperwork in Alan Brown’s office.”

“How? All the offices upstairs have eye scan locks.”

“They do. Except the sca

“Convenient,” I said dryly

He merely smiled. “Alan Brown has a long-known habit of bringing prostitutes into his office. Unfortunately, Brown took some coffee that didn’t agree with him earlier this afternoon and went home sick. He won’t wake until tomorrow.”

“And how was this managed? You and I both know Brown wouldn’t touch anything you gave him with a ten-foot pole. And you couldn’t exactly ask any of the guardians to tamper with his coffee, because you don’t know whom to trust right now.”

Jack nodded. “But I know I can trust the director.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Alex Hunter? The woman is a bitch.”

“And that bitch is my sister.”

Trust me to put my foot in it. Or open my big mouth, as the case might be

Rhoan laughed, and Jack reached across the table, patting my hand comfortingly. “It’s okay. She is a bitch, most times. But she wants to know what is going on every bit as badly as us. The Directorate is her baby—she was one of those who pushed to get it set up—and she has no intention of letting it be used for nefarious purposes. As of this weekend, you, Rhoan, and I are on special assignment and reporting directly to her.”

Meaning I was taking the first step down that guardian path. And there wasn’t one damn thing I could do about it. If I said no, he’d lock me away somewhere safe, and that would be almost as bad, not only because I was a wolf who couldn’t stand enclosed spaces for long but because some warped part of me wanted to be involved. I might not want to be a guardian, but these bastards had come after me twice now, and the wolf wanted revenge

I glanced at Qui

“He will by the time I’ve finished with him,” Liander said

“You think you can do something tarty for me as well?” I couldn’t risk wearing the blue wig and makeup again, just in case it set off alarms somewhere

Liander gri

It was a comment he’d made more than once. I stuck my tongue out at him before looking back at Jack. “When are we moving?”

“As soon as everyone is ready. Liander will be holding the fort here.”

“And we meet back here afterward?”

Jack nodded. “Let’s move it, people.”

I gri

And come hell or high water, it was going to be the night I rocked his staid little world

Chapter 9

“You could have hired a less conspicuous car,” I said, accepting Qui

He shrugged and slammed the door closed. The doors locked automatically, and the car beeped softly as the alarm was set. “It’s fast, comfortable, and besides, I’m half-thinking about getting one. This is a good way of testing it.”

The stiff breeze caught the thin gray strands of hair that had been combed over his newly bald cranium, standing them on end like flags. Match that with a goatee beard, puffy cheeks, and a small beer belly, and you had the picture of a man well past his prime. It was hard to believe that under all the makeup there was one incredibly handsome individual. I gri

“Liander should get a medal for the work he’s done on you.”

He took off his coat and put it around my shoulders, then slid his hand down my arm and twined his fingers through mine. Heat trembled through me, and the fires of need leapt into focus. It was barely nine in the evening, and the moon had only just begun to rise. Yet the fever was a slow burn in my blood, a force ready and able to explode. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore it. Yet I couldn’t ignore the caress of his body’s heat as we strolled toward the Directorate building a block away. Couldn’t ignore the tension emanating from him, a tension that spoke of a need as great as my own

“He hasn’t done such a bad job on you, either.” The soft lilt in Qui

Which was the effect Liander had been going for. Apparently, ghostly was going to be the next big fashion trend. Personally, I agreed with Qui

But at least I’d been able to keep my sexy boots, though he’d swapped the peekaboo shirt and microskirt for a thigh-length dress that was little more than gossamer, and very similar in design to the outfits Brown’s tarts wore in the security vids we’d viewed. Brown liked his women naked and ready to go, it seemed

Which is probably why Qui

It was going to be so much fun dragging his complacent sexual views out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary

We climbed the steps and walked to the Directorate’s main doors. Qui