Bound to Shadows

"Good, because we need to talk."

"That sounds serious."

"It is." He led me down the steps. His car was on the street and double parked, blocking the traffic from either direction. There were a couple of cars waiting to get past and it was probably only the Directorate plates that were keeping them from expressing their displeasure.

Rhoan opened the passenger door for me, then scooted around to the driver's side and climbed in.

"So," he said, starting the car and then driving off. "What's the problem?"

I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Kye."

Rhoan glanced at me, grey eyes considering. "That was his place, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"And you spent the night with him?"

"Yes."

"For fuck's sake, Riley, I thought you had more sense."

I smiled bitterly. "Tell me, Rhoan, how much success have you had keeping your paws off your soul mate?"

"That's different—"

"No, its not. Whether I like it or not, that man is a part of me, just like Liander is a part of you. I can't ignore him and I can't get away from him. I have to deal with him—and this whole situation—the best I can."

"And that best is sleeping with him?" He snorted softly. "That's not exactly dealing with the problem. That's giving into it."

"Yeah, it is. And it was done for a damn good reason, so don't you be looking down your nose at me, brother, or I'll damn well flatten it."

He gri

"Oh, trust me, I wasted a few of them on him, too." For all the good it did. "What's Liander involved with at the moment ?"

He didn't answer immediately, but the tension in the car suddenly ramped up several degrees. "He threatened Liander?"

"Yes."

"And you believe he'd do it?"

"He's the one who shot you—just to prove the point."

He didn't actually look surprised. But by the same token, the chill in his eyes suggested Kye wouldn't want to meet him on the street anytime soon. Which was the exact reason I hadn't told him earlier. "Bastard."

"Yup."

He blew out a breath and flexed his fingers against the steering wheel. "So we have to get him out of Melbourne. Immediately."

I knew he meant Liander rather than Kye, although I would have loved for him to get Kye out of Melbourne, too. "You have to get him out. I have to stay here and not only catch two killers, but deal with said bastard."

He swung into a McDonald's drive-through and ordered breakfast for us both. Once I'd paid and we'd collected our food, we headed for Vi

"Tell him he can't be a daddy if he's dead."

He glanced at me sharply, hope flaring in his eyes. "Does that mean you'll agree to the surrogacy?"

"I can't agree to anything until we make sure everyone survives the current threat. Let's concentrate on that first." I took a bite of my egg and bacon McMuffin. "According to Kye, he has a tail twenty-four seven, so you'll have to make sure you're not followed."

"They wouldn't want to try." His voice was flat, deadly, and a shiver ran down my spine. He might be my brother, and we might both be little more than leashed killers, but sometimes he scared me. He had a switch that I didn't. He could so easily become everything I was fighting—a cold blooded, unfeeling killer.

Kye, in another form.

I gulped down some coffee, but didn't feel any warmer. Maybe because I knew that, one day, that switch would be mine. It was inevitable if I remained a guardian—and it wasn't as if I had any other option, when it came to that.

"It might be worth warning Qui

Not when he'd already threatened to beat Kye to a pulp. I finished my McMuffin, then started in on the hash browns. "If you don't eat faster, I'm going to finish the lot."

He grabbed one from the container and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. I shook my head in disgust then jumped as my phone rang. I dragged it out of my pocket and saw it was Jack. And he didn't look happy.

My stomach curled. There'd obviously been another murder. I pressed the receive button and said, "Who's dead this time?"

"I'm hoping no one." His voice was grim. "Sal just hit the emergency button. You and Rhoan get over to her house ASAP."

"You've tried contacting her via the comlink?"

"Yep. She's not answering." His voice was grim. "Drive fast."

We did.

Sal lived in a little two-story brown brick terrace near the heart of Brunswick Street's human hot spot. Meaning there were more night clubs here than there were in any other part of the city. Most supernaturals tended to avoid the area, simply because of the intense human population, but vamps seemed to love it. I guess being close to your food source did have its advantages. Interestingly enough, there weren't any clubs catering to blood whores here. Maybe it was too trendy and not out-of-the-way enough for them.

Rhoan parked several houses down from Sal's, then opened the trunk and tossed me a laser. He pocketed one himself then gripped a rifle. In my brother's estimation, you could never have enough fire power.

"Front and back?" .

I shook my head. "These are terrace houses. You'd have to run right around the block to get into the back lane."

If they had a back lane, that was. Some of these areas didn't. "Let's just hit the front together."

He nodded and walked forward, the rifle held at the ready by his side. A hunter ready to hunt. I turned on the laser and followed. The soft whine of the weapon powering up was a whole lot louder than either of our steps.

The pale yellow picket fence that divided Sal's little front garden from the street came into view. Bright red hollyhocks spilled over the pickets, contrasting sharply to the blue spikes of the monkshood. Names I knew simply because our mom had loved the cottage garden look when we were kids.

The door—a heavy wooden thing with metal straps ru

Rhoan opened the front gate and ran lightly to the door. He tested the handle, then shook his head and side-stepped to the window, quickly and carefully peering around the frame.

Again, he shook his head then pointed to the upstairs window. I pressed on the laser's safety, shoved it into my pocket, then shifted shape. In seagull form, I flew up to the window and into the house.

The minute I landed, I shifted to human form, but remained kneeling, the thick brown carpet soft on my knees. The house was quiet and smelled ever so faintly of dog and vampire. There was no hint of blood riding the air, no hint of death. And in this room at least, no sign of violence.

I rose, grabbed a blanket from the bed, and dangled one end out the window. Rhoan grabbed the end and swiftly climbed up.

We moved to the door. After a three-two-one count on his fingers, we moved out—him high, me low. There was no one in the hall. And no one in either the two remaining bedrooms or the bathroom.

Which left the lower part of the house. I flicked to infrared and sca

Although Jack would surely have mentioned if he was. But I guessed that depended on whether they'd caught the tracking signal yet.

I glanced at Rhoan. "Anything?" I murmured.

He shook his head. "The house is empty as far as I can tell."