Bound to Shadows (4 page)

“Three beheadings in as many days,” Jack continued. “This is not good.”
“No.” We had trouble enough with the vampire population. We didn’t need them getting antsy about
some crackpot running around lopping heads off. “You don’t think we’ve got a new anti-vampire
gang on the loose, do you?”
“It’s entirely possible,” Jack said, voice weary. “But there’s been no rumor of such a gang in
action.”
“There soon will be if they keep up at this rate.”
“If they keep up at this rate, we’ll have more than a gang to worry about.”
Yeah, like vampires forming vigilante gangs of their own. It had happened once before—thankfully
well before my time at the Directorate—but I’d heard the whispers about it and had seen the
photographs of the resulting riots. It had damn near erupted into a race war, and from what I’d
heard, it was only luck—and a whole lot of tough talking from Director Hunter—that had stopped a
bloodbath.
“Has Cole gotten back to headquarters?”
“No. He’s still en route. I’ll redirect him.”
“You want me to wait?”
He hesitated. “No. Finish your investigation, then go catch some sleep. I want the report on my
desk by five, though.”
Meaning I’d better do it before I went to sleep, because unless there was another death, I fully
intended to sleep well past five. “Do you think someone is trying to get back at Starke through
his employees?”
“I certainly hope so, because the other option is not one I want to contemplate.”
Especially given the unrest already out there in the vampire community. “Then Cole’s
fast-tracking his report on this one?”
“Yes. It’ll be ready by eight tonight.”
So much for Cole heading back to his warm bed and his waiting lover. “I’ll be in at eight,
then.”
I hung up, then scooped up the still-whining terrier and stepped back into the hallway. My nose
wrinkled as the scent of rotting flesh wrapped around me, but I didn’t bother trying to breathe
through my mouth. I needed to explore the scents in this place. Besides, past experience told me
it wouldn’t help anyway. I stepped past his body and investigated the other rooms. Other than the
dust that littered the basin and shelf, there were dirty clothes on the bathroom floor and a
dogeared toothbrush sitting on the sink, complete with a shiny strip of blue toothpaste. He’d
obviously been about to brush his teeth when he’d been interrupted. I sucked in the flavorsome
air, sorting through the undercurrents, finding the dankness of mold and something else.
Something that was too nebulous to define, and yet oddly seemed out of place.
Frowning, I spun around and headed for the room opposite. It was a living room, and though
sparsely furnished, it was obviously where Gateway spent most of his time. There were newspapers
stacked beside the sofa and remotes neatly lined up on the stained coffee table. The rest of the
room was surprisingly tidy. There wasn’t even dust on the top of the TV, which isn’t something I
could claim in my own apartment. I swept aside the curtains to check the window locks, but again
they were intact.
Which left me with the bedrooms.
I was walking toward the front rooms when the little dog suddenly began barking. I jumped
slightly and glanced at the door as a shadow loomed. But as I reached for the door handle, I felt
it.
A familiar—and altogether unwelcome—tingling that ran across every sense, every fiber, setting
them alight. Setting my soul afire.
There was only one man who had that effect on me.
My soul mate.
Kye.

M
y hand froze against the doorknob.
I didn’t want to confront him. I didn’t even want to see him.
I hadn’t set eyes on him since he’d walked away six months ago, and if I never had to see him
again, that would have been all right by me.
I might have spent most of my life longing for my soul mate, but the reality wasn’t what I’d
hoped for.
Kye was a killer for hire—a man who didn’t care who employed him or who he had to kill. All that
mattered to him was the money, the thrill of the chase, and the satisfaction of getting a job
done as quickly and as efficiently as possible. He wasn’t a man who wanted a wife or a family or
entanglements of any kind. He was everything I
didn’t
want in a soul
mate.
But I couldn’t deny that he was, or change the fact of it—no matter how much I might wish
otherwise.
“Are you going to open the door or not, Riley?”
His voice was like a good red wine—rich and smooth—and it touched places deep inside that no one,
not even Quinn, could reach. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then complied.
He stood in a halo of sunshine, his golden skin glowing with warmth and the dark red of his hair
running with brighter highlights. He was a golden man with chilling amber eyes set in a face that
was handsome and yet uncaring.
But not unfeeling.
Because I could feel his hunger. I felt it rip through my body before it settled down low. It was
a fierce and unwanted ache that had nothing to do with my heart’s desire and everything to do
with my werewolf soul. But while she had wanted this feeling, she didn’t want this man. That made
it a little easier to ignore the hunger.
And if I kept telling myself that, I might eventually believe it.
“What are you doing here, Kye?” My white-knuckled grip on the edge of the door belied the
calmness of my voice.
“I might ask you the same question.” He glanced from me to the squirming, barking dog in my arm.
“Found yourself a pet, have you?”
“He belongs to the owner of the house.” I glanced down at the almost frantic terrier and
scratched his head. “And he doesn’t seem all that happy to see you.”
“Neither do you,” he said, voice dry. “I would have thought you’d at least have a smile for the
man of your destiny.”
“Destiny can bite my ass.”
He laughed. It was a soft, seductive, and altogether dangerous sound. “Ah, Riley, it’s nice to
see you haven’t changed.”
“No, I’m still a guardian, and you’re still interfering in Directorate business.”
He raised his eyebrows. “And what business would the Directorate have with a vampire who has
obviously been dead for several days?”
I opened my mouth to ask how he knew Gateway was dead then snapped it closed again. Kye was a
werewolf, so he’d smell the decay even if he couldn’t see the body.
“And my questions to you would have to be: Why are you here to see him, and did you have anything
to do with his death?”
His sudden smile made my stomach lurch, and it was all I could do not to drop the little dog and
step into Kye’s arms. They would be waiting for me, despite the outward indifference and the
distance we were keeping between us.
“Vampires like him hardly ever require my style of killing.” He crossed his arms and leaned
casually against the door frame, the leather of his old jacket straining deliciously across his
shoulders. “Besides, from what I’ve heard, he’s been too busy drowning himself in alcohol of late
to make the effort of hunting him worthwhile.”
Because for men like him, the hunt was almost as important as the fee. Almost. “And how would you
know he’s been drinking to excess?”
He raised an eyebrow, amusement setting his golden eyes ablaze. “I can smell the
booze.”
“Liar.” Alcohol was the one scent not present in this house. Rotting vampire, unwashed dog, and a
little bit of mold, maybe, but not booze.
The smile was still flirting with his lips, and a whole lot of me ached to kiss him. “Then maybe
I know he was a drunk because I do my homework when I’m following a lead.”
“What sort of lead?” I glanced down at the still-squirming dog and wondered whether his intense
reaction came from having another male on his turf or something more sinister. Whatever it was,
scratching his head didn’t seem to be calming him down. I stepped back, deposited him in the
front bedroom, and quickly closed the door. He continued barking, and started scratching at the
door.
“That dog seriously dislikes you,” I added, crossing my arms as I faced Kye again.
He shrugged. “The alpha always defends his territory.”
The steely edge in his voice suddenly had me wondering if I were one of those territories that
needed defending. Was that why he’d suddenly reappeared? To reclaim what was his?
The thought made me shiver. His gaze swept me, then rose to linger on my mouth. His hunger
swirled around me, thick and strong, and little droplets of sweat broke out along my
spine.
I wanted him. God, how I wanted him.
I clenched my fists a little bit tighter, digging my nails into my palms, using the pain to
offset my desire.
It was a useless thing to do, really, when he was a werewolf and we were connected on more than a
base level.
“I’m chasing a missing person,” he said softly. “Did the vamp inside kill himself, or did someone
help him along?”
“I don’t know. And since when did you start taking on missing persons cases?”
“I go where the cash is. And don’t play games with me, Riley. You’ve been in the business long
enough now to make an informed guess.”
“It’s a Directorate case, Kye. I can’t discuss it.”
“No, you
won’t
discuss it. Not with me, anyway.”
He had that right. “How long are you in town?”
“Why? Did you miss me?”
“No.”
Yes
. Given the nail-digging wasn’t achieving much, I flexed my
fingers instead, but it didn’t help release the tension rolling through me. “Why are you here,
Kye?”
“As I said, I’m simply following a lead. Nothing more, nothing less.” But his gaze met mine and,
in those golden depths, I saw the hunter. The possessor. A wolf who hungered to control the very
same things that I did. It made a mockery of his words, and it was a sight that sent a chill
through my heart.
I didn’t want this.
I didn’t want him.
Even if my soul ached with the need of his kiss, his caress, his body.
But the wolf wasn’t the sum of me, and as much as I might hunger for Kye, there was another man
in my life. One I cared about, one I loved. And that part of me was what I reached for now to
keep me strong.
“Whatever it is you’re doing,” I said, my voice harsh, “make sure you keep out of my
way.”
He laughed. It was a soft, cold sound that sent shivers up my spine and heat swirling through my
body. “Things haven’t changed, have they, Riley? Your words say one thing and your body
another.”
“I’m not the only one adept at playing that game.”
“No,” he agreed. “So what do you suggest we do?”
“Precisely what we’re doing. Ignore and deny. You and I won’t ever happen, Kye, and we both know
it.”
He uncrossed his arms and reached out, his fingers caressing my cheek. My skin tingled with the
heated contact and my breath froze in my throat.
“But we will. We must. We are each other’s destiny, even if neither of us particularly wishes
it.”
“As I said before, destiny can bite my ass.” I pulled away from his caress and glanced at my
watch. “Now, if you want to avoid Directorate scrutiny, I suggest you leave.”
“Then Gateway
has
been murdered?”
He studied me calmly, a small smile teasing his lips, and I wondered whether he was reading my
thoughts again. Kye was a siphon, which meant he could take on the psychic talents of others and
use them to his own advantage. So when he was with me, he was telepathic. And despite the fact I
had psychic shields strong enough to keep even the oldest vampires out, Kye seemed able to slip
past them and catch any unwary thoughts.
Although if he could thread his way through the turmoil his reappearance was causing, he probably
deserved to catch an unwary thought or two about the victim.
“I need to know what happened to him, Riley,” he added,
Tough
was my automatic response, but I knew better than to say it. I
might as well wave a red rag in front of a bull. I wanted Kye out of my life, not haunting me in
an attempt to gain the information he needed.
“It’ll take twenty-four hours for the report to come through. Call me.” I didn’t bother giving
him the number. I had no intention of making things easy for him.
He nodded and pushed away from the door frame. “I’ll talk to you later, then.”
I didn’t reply, just watched as he turned and walked away.
And tried not to think about the way his jeans clung to his butt, or the loose-limbed, sexy way
he walked.
Once he was through the gate and out of sight, I blew out a relieved breath and closed the door.
The little dog had finally stopped barking, but the minute I opened the bedroom door, he charged
out, making a beeline for his dead master. I scooped him up. “And what are we going to do with
you, then?”
He glanced at me and whined. He really was a cute little thing, and while I couldn’t leave him
here, I didn’t particularly want to dump him at a shelter, either. Which meant either taking him
with me or finding him a home.
Dogs and a pack of wolves generally weren’t a good idea, and although he didn’t seem to have a
problem with me, his reaction to Kye suggested it would be a different matter when it came to
Rhoan and his mate, Liander.
So he needed a home. It’d be nice if I could find him another vampire.
The thought stalled and I grinned.
I knew the perfect person.
T
o say Sal was surprised to find me standing on her doorstep
would be the understatement of the year. She and I had a whole lot to do with each other on a
professional level—she’d taken over my position as Jack’s main assistant and generally handled a
good percentage of my calls—but we weren’t friends and weren’t ever likely to be.
“Riley,” she said, her normally sultry tones decidedly frosty. “I’m on vacation. From you
and
from the Directorate.”
“I know. I just thought you might be able to help out a friend,” I said, the little dog still
half hidden under my jacket.
Her gaze narrowed. “And why would you think I’d be interested in helping out one of your
friends?”
“Because his master’s just been killed, and I don’t really want to dump him in a shelter.” I
pulled the little dog out from under cover and offered him to her. “His previous owner was a
vamp, so he has no fear of us nonhumans.”
A point he proceeded to prove with his ecstatic tail wagging and happy little panting. Obviously,
it was just Kye he had a problem with.
“God, he’s darling,” Sal all but purred as she plucked him from my arms and snuggled him against
her. Then her gaze narrowed. “What’s the catch?”
“Nothing. I just figured he deserved a good home, and I knew you liked dogs.”
“Thanks,” she said, then added tartly. “But don’t think you can start dumping any old stray
you’re feeling sorry for on my doorstep. I’m not a halfway house for the abandoned.”
“Got it,” I said, knowing that if I ever did turn up with another stray, Sal wouldn’t turn him
away. She might be a hardheaded bitch when she was dealing with me, but when it came to
real
dogs, she was the biggest softie around. And that made her a
good person in my book—even if I’d never tell her.
“Glad we’re clear about that,” Sal said, tossing her caramel-colored hair out of her eyes. “Now
go away.”
I grinned and left. No one was home when I got there, but I knew both Rhoan and Liander would be
back for dinner so I left them a note to wake me and went to bed.
It seemed that no sooner had I hit the pillow when something hard was hitting me upside the head.
I opened a bleary eye and found myself staring at a shoe. A rather grimy and sweat-drenched
running shoe, to be precise.
“I know that smell and I do not appreciate it sitting on my pillow,” I muttered, swatting the
shoe off my bed. “Go away and leave me alone.”
“You’re the one that wanted to be woken for dinner,” Rhoan said, his voice gratingly cheerful.
“Liander’s just about to serve.”
“What time is it?” I tried glaring at the clock, but it was facing the window rather than me and
I didn’t have the energy to reach out and grab it.
“It’s six-thirty,” he said, suddenly appearing in my vision as he bent down to retrieve his shoe.
He was wearing old sweatpants that clung to his lean, muscular legs and a blue muscle shirt that
was darkened with sweat. My nose twitched, drawing in the familiar scent of him, feeling the
security of it wrap around me like an old but much-loved blanket. All wolves needed their pack,
but for too many years Rhoan and I had only had each other. And while we now had Liander and
Quinn sharing our lives, we’d been together for so long, with no one else.
Which was why Liander now lived in our apartment, why Quinn was spending more and more time here,
and why we were seriously considering getting a bigger place. With the four of us, it was getting
a little cramped.
“You’re not showering before you eat?” I mumbled, dragging my pillow closer in a last-ditch
effort to retain some threads of sleepiness. I didn’t want to get up. I felt like crap. Dreams
had disturbed my sleep, and it felt like I hadn’t got any rest at all.
The bed bounced as Rhoan plopped his sweaty self down. “Liander likes the odor of hard work, so
no, not just yet. Did you write up your report for Jack?”
My eyes flew open and I groaned. “God, no. Totally forgot about it.”
“Which would explain the irate phone call we got a few minutes ago. I don’t think you’re his
favorite guardian right at this moment.”
“Am I ever?” I muttered, and dragged myself upright. Every muscle in my body protested the
movement. Anyone would think I’d gone twelve rounds in the boxing ring or had a night of
rough-and-tumble sex.
“You look like shit,” Rhoan said, eyeing me with a frown. “What happened last night?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary and certainly nothing strenuous.” I rubbed a hand across gritty
eyes. “I just feel drained and tired.”
“How long were you asleep?”
“Nearly six hours.”
“Maybe you’re coming down with something.” His gaze went to my neck, although if he was looking
for bite marks, there were none to be found. I healed extraordinarily quickly these days.
“Quinn’s not taking too much blood again, is he?”