Bound to Shadows (21 page)

Or, at the very least, warn them to get rid of the damn mirrors in their houses.
She hesitated, then nodded. “As long as Jack promises to keep his source confidential. They’d
kick my ass if they found out it was me.”
I couldn’t help grinning. “I think you’ll find there’d be more than a couple volunteers at the
Directorate ready, willing, and able to protect that ass of yours.”
An eyebrow winged upward. “Why, Riley, is that a compliment?”
“God, gag me with a spoon if I ever did that!”
She laughed—a throaty, warm sound. “Of course. How foolish of me.”
“Riley,” Jack said into my ear. “Get over to Vinny’s and grab whatever information you can about
this man you saw leaving her building last night—and by whatever means necessary. You’ll have to
fly, because I want Rhoan to bring Sal back to base.”
Jack was obviously using a party line to talk to us all, because Sal immediately said, “I am
quite capable of bringing myself in.”
“Yes, I know, but I refuse to lose any more councilors—or part-time councilors—especially when
that person is one of my own. So you will do as you’re told.”
“Boss,” I said, “have you managed to get Kye’s tracker signal yet?”
“We’re only just now picking it up. He’s not in the area.” Which was no guarantee that he
hadn’t
been. “Get moving, Riley.”
“As soon as I finish my coffee.” Which was a stupid thing to say, really.
“Now, Riley,” he said, in that voice that suggested I’d better or there’d be hell to
pay.
I blew out a breath, gulped down as much hot liquid as I could, once again burning my insides in
the process, then did as ordered and got the hell out of there.
O
f course, I might have been ordered to drag the information
we needed out of Vinny, but that didn’t mean I was stupid enough to do it alone. I’d confronted
her like that once before, and it was only thanks to the fact that Quinn had been there as backup
that Rhoan and I had gotten out relatively unscathed.
Once I’d flown back to my car—which, surprisingly, had been ignored by vandals or looters in what
was traditionally a high-crime area—I grabbed my phone, hit the VID button, and dialed
Quinn.
“Well, hello there,” he said in that softly lilting tone that always made my toes want to curl.
“I was wondering when I was going to hear from you.”
“Sorry, it’s been a horrible night.” If you could call great sex with a decidedly unwanted man
who also happened to be your soul mate horrible, that is. “Have you got anything important going
on right now?”
“Why?”
The way he said it told me it wouldn’t have mattered if he did. He’d be there for me, no matter
what I needed. God, I really
did
love this man—even if it had taken
me forever to realize that fact.
“I have to go question Vinny, and I suspect she’s not going to like the subject
matter—”
“And you’d like my presence as a motivational tool,” he finished for me.
I grinned. “Well, she did become very motivated the last time you accompanied us.”
“That’s because whatever else she is, she possesses a sensible respect for beings who are far
older and far more powerful than she is.” He paused, and a deliciously sensual smile touched his
lips. “Unlike some werewolves who shall remain nameless.”
I laughed. “As you’ve noted repeatedly, werewolves have no sense.”
“A truer point has never been made.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll be there in twenty
minutes.”
“I’ll be here waiting.”
“Let’s hope it always remains that way,” he said, and hung up before I could say
anything.
Making me feel even more horrible than I already did.
I rubbed the heels of my palms against my eyes and wished it would all become simple. Wished that
the problem that was Kye would just disappear and that it could go back to being just me and
Quinn.
But that was never going to happen, and I had to learn to deal—no matter how much pain that
caused both to me and to those I loved.
Of course, Quinn would never understand the way I’d dealt with things last night. He was an
old-fashioned sort when it came to sex, and giving in to what was basically blackmail would be
something he’d never understand.
Or condone.
Not that he’d ever learn of it. Not if I could help it. I might love the man, but I also knew
what he was capable of, and the one thing that worried me was him taking out Kye in a fit of
anger. Or—worse—a fit of jealousy.
He might know about the soul mate bond of werewolves, but I doubted he understood the true depth
of it. Doubted he believed it could really lead to the death of the surviving partner, even
though he’d witnessed the devastation Rhoan had gone through when Liander had almost
died.
I leaned back against the headrest and turned on the music. But it didn’t stop the thoughts from
going around and around in my head, like cats chasing their tails. Nor did it help ease the worry
that, sooner or later, this was all going to blow up in my face.
Fifteen minutes later, Jack buzzed me. I picked up the phone from the seat and hit the RECEIVE
button. “If you’re wondering why I haven’t moved, I’m waiting for Quinn. I’ve got a feeling I’m
going to need his help if we want Vinny to talk.”
“Good idea,” he said, “but that’s not what I’m calling about.”
The edge in his voice had my heart just about leaping into my throat. “Nothing has happened to
Rhoan or Sal, has it?”
“No, they’re safely on their way into the Directorate. But we did a full trace on Carlos Martez
and have discovered that he died some five and a half years ago in a traffic accident.”
“Well, he looks pretty good for a dead man.”
“Obviously, we are dealing with someone who has usurped his identity.”
Had Kye known that the real Carlos was dead when he’d given me his name? And if he had, why not
tell me? Or was it simply another of his games? Another way of maintaining some form of control
over me? “Was Carlos listed as human or vampire?”
“Vamp.”
“Then how could he die in a car accident?”
“Easily. He ran into the back of a truck, which subsequently lost its load and decapitated
him.”
“And it was definitely an accident?”
“Yes. There was a witness.” He paused. “Interestingly enough, that witness is a young woman
currently residing in Vinny’s nest.”
“How convenient.”
“Yes.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm. “We’ve also done a preliminary search for Ammon Nasser.
We have no records of him entering the country, but that’s not unusual, given we only list those
who come here legally. I’ve applied to the greater council for details, but it may take some
time.”
“You know, they’re not exactly falling over themselves to help us, and that’s damn strange,
considering it’s their people being chopped up.”
“We’re dealing with a very old, very formal organization here, Riley. And there are set processes
in place for good reason, whether they chafe you or not.”
I grinned. “Hey, they’re the ones with their necks on the line, not me, so it’s no skin off my
nose.”
He snorted softly. “Make sure the com-link is on so we can hear the conversation when you’re in
Vinny’s.”
“It’ll be my first priority.” Which was a blatant lie, because my first priority would be kissing
the hell out of Quinn.
Which is precisely what I did when he arrived eight minutes later.
“You’re late,” I murmured, when we finally came up for air.
He smiled and lightly traced his finger around my well-kissed lips. “Unfortunately, the traffic
was worse than usual. A four-car accident, according to the news.”
I kissed his fingertip and barely resisted the temptation to draw the digit into my mouth and
suck on it. That would only lead to activities we really didn’t have time for.
“Shall we head inside?” he said, even as the scent of desire began emanating from him. I guess
after all the time we’d been spending together he’d know exactly where my thoughts had been
heading.
“Yeah.” I swung around and led the way. He walked beside me, not touching me physically but close
enough that the scent of him, the heat of him, swirled around me—a blanket of warm protection
that I just wanted to roll up in. But that was a distant likelihood for the next several hours,
at least. “Our dear Vinny has been keeping secrets from us. We’re about to lean on her to
discover them.”
“I always did appreciate a good ‘lean,’” he said, amusement in his voice. “But she’s grown
stronger since our last visit, and since she thinks she knows exactly what I’m capable of, she
will be less tractable.”
“Even
I
don’t know exactly what you’re capable of,” I said wryly, “so
she’s a fool if she thinks she knows all there is to know.”
And Vinny was many things, but a fool wasn’t one of them.
My phone beeped as a message came in, and I dug it out of my pocket and glanced down. My heart
skipped several beats when I saw it was from Kye.
Lunch is canceled
, it said.
Have meeting with a
client, Will contact you later
.
Hope surged. Maybe last night—and my decision to stop fighting and give him what he wanted—was
already beginning to pay off. With the challenge gone, maybe—just maybe—he’d pack up and move
on.
It was a slim hope, but one I had to cling to nonetheless.
“Anything important?” Quinn asked, his voice nonchalant.
I glanced at him, noting the sudden remoteness in his expression.
He knew
.
“Just a canceled lunch meeting.” I shoved my phone away. “Nothing important.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, voice still noncommittal.
I wanted to reach out and catch his hand in mine, but that would only confirm his fears. And even
though those fears were very real, I didn’t want to cause him any more pain than I already
had.
We walked though the doors of Vinny’s high-rise and began to climb the stairs. A rumble of
excitement began to touch the air, growing stronger the higher we climbed. I pressed the
com-link, making sure it was on.
“Vinny knows we’re here,” Quinn said, the amusement back in his voice. “She is excited about
it.”
I glanced back at him. “Is that why the air feels so charged?”
“Yep. Our mistress of emotions is planning to challenge our authority.”
“Then she’s a damn fool.”
He smiled, but this time there was nothing warm about it. “All youngsters challenge authority at
some point in their lives. But most choose their targets more wisely.”
We reached the top floor. A different girl guarded the door, but like the previous one, she was
dressed casually but had a suspicious bulge on her right hip. And this girl looked arrogant.
Confident.
If the fledglings were taking their lead from their master, then Quinn was right. Vinny
had
grown overly confident. So why the sudden change? There’d been
little evidence of this attitude when I’d talked to her yesterday.
Did the man who’d visited her last night have anything to do with it? If so, it was more
important than ever that we find him. And that she help us.
“We’re here to see Vinny,” I said, stopping little more than a foot away from the
guard.
“You
may go in, but the old one stays here—”
“His name is Quinn and he accompanies me or I will bust Vinny’s ass and drag her down to the
Directorate.” I raised my voice a little. “So call off your dog, Vinny.”
The guard’s gaze went blank for a moment, then she said, her voice several octaves lower than it
had been moments ago, “She does not wish problems with the Directorate, but she does not wish the
old one inside her sanctuary.”
“The old one can rip your precious little world apart whether he is inside or outside, Vincenta.”
Though Quinn’s voice was still decidedly mild, there was a hint of steel underneath that was
warning enough to anyone with any intelligence. “But perhaps a demonstration is in
order?”
The wash of power that suddenly burned across my senses was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
It was dark, dangerous, and somehow unholy, and it sent chills racing across my flesh. My gaze
jumped to Quinn, and for a moment he didn’t really seem whole or real, but rather a creature of
shadow and imagination.
And somewhere deep inside of me, a memory twitched. I’d seen him do that once before, but that
time he’d done it to save my life.
From within the room, there was a weird ripping, popping sound, then the screaming began. High,
terrible screaming.
God
, I said telepathically,
what the hell did
you just do?
I showed them just what an old one is capable of. I do not believe Vincenta
will cause you any more problems
.
Did you have to kill one of them to do it?
But even as I said that, I
knew it was a stupid question. If Vinny was beginning to test the Directorate’s authority and
control, then yeah, something drastic had to be done. And whether I liked to admit it or not, the
Directorate maintained authority in this city—and others—by the knowledge that they would do
whatever it took to hunt down those who went against the rules.
Vinny was an emo vampire, and her methods of rebellion were far subtler—and possibly more
dangerous—than those of regular blood vampires. We couldn’t afford to have her flexing her
muscles when the city was already in turmoil.
I killed the one armed with silver who was standing in the shadows of the
wall curtains. It wasn’t one of her main concubines
.
I’m sure Vinny will appreciate that consideration
.
The sarcasm in my mental voice had his lips briefly twitching, but there was little amusement in
his tone as he glanced at the somewhat paler guard and said, “Open the door, or I will do it for
you.”
The guard stepped back and opened the door. Quinn held out his hand and added, “Give me the gun
and the extra bullets.”
The note of command was in his voice and the girl obeyed without question. Those bullets were
silver, as well. I felt the burn of them as Quinn pocketed both them and the weapon.
I stepped inside the warm room, my gaze sweeping the velvet lushness before stopping at what
could only be described as an explosion of flesh, blood, and gore. There were no bones, no body
parts, just an oozing, awful mess.
He’d vaporized her.
God.
Just …
God.
How on earth could you do that to another living being?
I flicked my
gaze across to Vinny and her cozy little setup down the far end of the room. If I was shocked,
then Vinny and her entourage were positively scared shitless.