Full Moon Rising

“Assistant Director Brown,” the guard at the desk said, his eyes all but popping out of his head when he saw me. “We weren’t expecting you in this evening.”

“Got a little business to attend to,” Qui

He had Brown’s movements down pat, and I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh

“I’ll have to code an elevator for you,” the guard said. “We locked them down for the night.”

Qui

Qui

“No touching the merchandise on my money.” His voice was flat and cold, and the guard paled

“Sorry, Director,” he stammered

“Do it again, and I’ll have you fired.”

He let go of the guard’s hand and stepped into the elevator with me. I waited until the door closed, and said, “That was a bit much. The tapes show that’s a somewhat regular occurrence when Brown brings his women in.”

“I don’t care. That man has no right to touch you.”

“We’re here in disguise. We have to follow the pattern set.”

He glanced at me, eyes unreadable thanks to the blue lenses he had in. “That may be your game plan, but it’s not mine. Not when it comes to something like that.”

“Brown’s not a gentleman, and he certainly doesn’t mind sharing. Remember that.”

“I’m not Brown. You remember that.”

The doors opened before I could reply. Qui

Cameras tracked our progress up the hall. When we got to Brown’s office, he pressed in the code, swiped the card, then motioned me inside

The lights came on as he reset the lock. I stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. Though I knew the basic layout of the office, the sheer size of it still surprised me. It wasn’t as huge as the office Talon had in his house, but it was still pretty amazing. Nor was the furniture the standard-issue cheap stuff we got downstairs. This was mahogany and leather right down the line

I tossed the jacket on the nearest chair and moved down to the far end of the room

“Lighting level dim,” Qui

His voice had an edge and I looked at him. He smiled grimly. With all his makeup, it wasn’t a pretty sight

“That dress you’re almost wearing is dead see-through in bright lights.”

I struck a pose and batted my eyelashes i

“Oh, I love the view, but unfortunately, I need to concentrate on what we’re here to do.”

I gri

“Cabinets open,” he said, tone still gruff

There was a soft click, and the wall slid aside. I walked to the cabinets at the far end, my smile growing as I heard the soft groan behind. Obviously, the dress was see-through in dim lights too

“I don’t know what Jack hopes to find,” I said, pulling out the first drawer. “Surely Brown is not stupid enough to keep anything incriminating in his office.”

“It would certainly be a lot safer than keeping it at home,” Qui

I raised an eyebrow. “And you know this because… ?”

A smile tugged his lips—lips that were still full and lush and oh so kissable. “Because I’ve had a somewhat less-than-respectable past.”

So Jack had said. “You robbed Fort Knox?”

“Their security wasn’t as sophisticated back then. Certainly not strong enough to keep a determined vampire out.”

No wonder he was megarich. I shook my head and he chuckled. “It wasn’t the first bank to suffer unexplained losses.”

“You made a habit of it?”

“I had several brief flurries into crime. Respectability gets boring after a few centuries.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So how far into the current respectability phase are you?”

“Far enough for it to start feeling old.” He pointed to the cabinet I had open. “If you don’t start looking, we’re never going to get out of here.”

And I wanted to get out of there, because I wanted to make love to him. Whether or not he was still wrapped in an ugly outer layer

I began flicking through the paperwork. In this age of electronic marvels, it was amazing just how much paper was still used. Of course, paper was no longer just paper, more a special form of recycled plastic, but it felt the same and was used in the same copious amounts that it ever was

It was a half hour before we found something

“Financial costings,” Qui

I opened another drawer. “Nothing unusual in that. From what Jack says, a good half of the projects presented to the board are turned down.”

His gaze met mine. “This was for genome research. The proposal was presented fifteen years ago.”

I frowned. “Why would he be keeping something like that?”

“Why indeed?” He tossed the folder on the nearby chair and continued searching

The drawer I’d opened was filled with boxes and boxes of fingertip-sized silvery disks. I plucked one free and gri

“Is there anywhere here we could check them?”

“Yeah, but we can’t go through all of them. It’ll take years.”

“Check a couple from each box. I’ll continue searching the drawers.”

I flipped the disk across to him. “You check. I don’t need to be looking at other people making love right now.”

“Neither do I, believe me.”

“Yeah, but the consequences of your getting all hot and bothered are far different from a werewolf’s getting all hot and bothered.”

He smiled. “Ah, but getting a wolf hot and bothered definitely has its benefits.”

“Not at this precise moment it doesn’t.”

“You have a point. Just select some and we’ll examine them later.”

I gri

The words were barely out of my mouth when movement caught my attention. Soft steps in the hall outside, coming toward the office. I blinked, flicking my vision to infrared. The walls melted away, revealing two men. Though they were little more than red heat blurs, the metal at their sides suggested guards

“Qui

He swung round, eyes narrowed slightly. “They’ve been told about the babe Brown has in his office, and intend to check her out under the guise of a regular security check.”

The fact that he could read their intentions when the building had psychic blocks situated right through it only confirmed Jack’s earlier statement that the Directorate would never hold a vampire like Qui

“Apparently,” Qui

“If Jack knows, it’s no state secret.”

“I’d suggest Jack knows more about what goes on in this place than most of the directors.” He paused again. “The guard downstairs is asking them to make sure the camera is on. Which cuts out attacking them.”

I met his gaze. “We attack them and we warn Brown and whoever else might be behind all this that we’re on to them. We can’t risk that yet.”

“So we give them what they want—a show.” He walked over to one of the visitor’s chairs and sat down. “You’d better get that beautiful butt of yours over here, because they’re almost at the door.”