Kissing Sin

"Tenth floor. And the lifts are out."

"Great."

"Why don't you park your pretty butt right here, and I'll go fetch them?" Kade suggested.

I shared a glanced with my brother. Rhoan had his cell phone and could have easily called Jack down, but hey, who was I to stop a man eager to please? "Go for your life."

He ran off. The two of us enjoyed the sight, then Rhoan said, "Making any man run ten flights is just plain mean."

"He's fit enough," I said mildly. "Besides, that's what he gets for being dishonest."

He crossed his arms and leaned back against a railing. "So, did you learn anything useful?"

"Yes." Somewhere in the dark and distant bowels of the parking lot, a door squeaked. My gaze searched the shadows, seeing nothing out of place. So why was unease suddenly prickling across my skin? I frowned and glanced at Rhoan. "Can you smell anything?"

He raised his nose slightly, sniffing the odious air. "Besides car fumes and mold, you mean?"

I nodded and rubbed my arms. It suddenly seemed cooler in the car park—or was that simply my imagination? The feeling that something was out there in the dark, watching us?

"Not really." He hesitated. "Well, there is something—but I can't place it."

"I think perhaps we'd better start walking up toward the van." I sca

He nodded, and touched my elbow, lightly guiding me toward the up ramp.

That's when I heard it.

The slight scrape of claws against concrete.

I froze. So did my brother.

"It came from the right," he said softly. "From near the other ramp."

I flicked to infrared, and the shadows leapt into focus. And there, deep under the cover of the ramp, was a familiar hunched shape.

My mouth went dry. "Orsini."

"Ugly-looking suckers, aren't they?" Rhoan commented. "How fast are they?"

"Very."

"So if we run, it's likely to catch us?"

"Yep."

"One option out, then."

I looked at him. "Have you got a gun?"

He shook his head. "Couldn't carry it into the club, and didn't bother grabbing one afterward."

"That's slack. What if someone tried to snatch me?"

"They wouldn't have gotten far. Trust me on that." His expression became somewhat grim. "So, I guess we're left with dhampire strength versus orsini."

"If it comes to hand-to-paw combat, I'm betting on the orsini."

He gave me an offended sort of look. "My little sister has such confidence in me."

"I've fought these things before, that's all."

The creature in the shadows raised its ugly head and howled. The high, almost keening sound grated against my nerves and set my teeth on edge. I didn't want to face these things again. I really didn't.

"If we stay still, maybe it won't attack before the van gets here."

"I doubt it," Rhoan said. "Besides, it'll probably only give chase to the van, and we really can't afford to have that thing out on the street."

The sharp keening gained an echo. There was a second creature behind us. Great. Just fucking great.

"In case you've forgotten, there's weapons in the van. Weapons are good. Weapons kill ugly sons-of-bitches like these from a distance."

"A moot point if they're going to attack us the minute we move. And the van's not here yet." He squeezed my elbow then let go. "You beat them when you were alone and unarmed. You can do it again. Ready?"

"I'll never be ready to fight, Rhoan."

"I can't do it alone. Not when they've split up."

"I know." I took a deep breath and released it. "I'll go right." And hope like hell the cavalry got here soon.

"Luck."

"Luck and I aren't on speaking terms," I muttered.

Rhoan's grin faded as he shifted into shadow. As his footsteps retreated toward the first orsini, I kicked off my shoes, tossing them into the air with my toes so I could catch them, then sprinted barefoot across the car park.

The second orsini stood behind a car in the far corner. It roared as I moved, and the harsh sound echoed across the silence. I hoped they heard it above. Hoped they hurried.

The creature leapt out of the shadows and ran at me, its claws scrabbling harshly against the concrete, sending sparks shooting into the shadowed confines of the car park.

As it neared, I pivoted, slashing out with my foot, kicking it as hard as I could in the head. The shock of the blow reverberated up my leg, but didn't seem to do a whole lot of damage to the beastie. It simply shook its head as it slid past. I dropped my shoes and grabbed a fistful of shaggy hair, heaving with all my might in an effort to throw it sideways into the nearby concrete pillar. It barely even budged, but slashed out with a hind claw, raking my legs and drawing blood.

I yelped and let go of its hair, grabbing the paw instead. I pulled backward as hard as I could, dropping to the concrete and lifting a leg to brace the creature's heavy body with my foot as it went up and over my head.

It landed on its back and crashed butt-first into one of the concrete pylons. The impact seemed to reverberate through the concrete, and dust rained down from the ceiling above.

I sneezed as I rolled upright. The creature twisted around and leapt toward me, its claws slashing at the air. I ducked and smacked at its head with the heel of my shoe. The stiletto scraped its brow and skidded backward, drawing blood from eye to neck, the scent sharp in the fume-filled air.

It roared and lashed out. Its claws caught my thigh again, tearing flesh even as the blow sent me staggering. The creature hit the concrete, then twisted and leapt again, its nastily sharp teeth all yellow and dangerous looking as they snapped and bit at the air, trying to get me. Trying to eat me.

I shivered, and faked another blow to its head, then spun and thumped the stiletto into its chest. The heel cut through hair and skin, embedding deep. No blue fires flickered out across its skin. Whatever this thing was, there was no vampire in the mix. No adversity to wood. Other than the fact it now had a shoe stuck in its flesh anyway.

And that obviously did hurt, because the creature howled in fury and launched itself at me yet again. I dropped and spun, then, as the creature's leap took it high above me, kicked it as hard as I could in the goolies. It had worked once before, and it worked again. The creature gave an odd sort of wheeze, then dropped to the concrete and didn't move.

I twisted around and shifted shape, which had the added benefit of stopping my wounds from bleeding as I bolted for the ramp on the other side of the car park. No shadows were moving down there, but I could see the red of body heat, one bending over the other. It was the orsini that was down, and relief ran through me.

I shifted back to human shape and slowed as I neared them. "You okay?"

Rhoan shook free of the shadows and nodded. "They're amazingly powerful animals, aren't they?"

"If you can actually define them as animals." I stared at the creature for a moment, then added, "You know, Misha promised to keep me safe from attacks like this."

Rhoan looked up at me, eyebrow raised. "When was that?"

"In the club, today."

"He probably wouldn't have had time to do anything about this particular attack. If he even knew about it."

"True." I supposed the real test would come in a day or so, once he'd had a chance to contact his boss and make his threats. Though if the man behind it all was so all-powerful, what could Misha possibly threaten him with that would make him listen? And why wouldn't he have used it to free himself?

The sound of an engine, accompanied by the squeal of tires, cut through the silence. I looked up. The van came screaming around the corner, with Qui