Embraced by Darkness (12 page)

I flexed my hands, but it didn’t do much to ease the tension still riding me. “Yeah. You and your sons are so damn tolerant and kind when it comes to homosexuals that she had absolutely no cause to fear your reaction at
all
.”

His gaze darkened again. Spectral figure or not, a wise wolf would have shut her mouth.

“I do not wish to hear
that
accusation again.” His voice was soft. Deadly. The sort of voice heard just before he threw someone off a mountain.

Despite myself, I shivered.

“If you want answers, you may have to face a whole lot worse than homosexuality.”

“Like what?”

I shrugged. “Cases never play out as you expect them to.”

“What I expect is Adrienne home safe and sound. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You and the families of the thousands of others who go missing every year. In a case like this, what you want or expect doesn’t really matter.” I glanced at the time. “I’m off home for some R and R. See you around, Blake.”

“Why aren’t you going to the hospital to interview this Jodie person?”

“Because she won’t be in any real state to talk until at least tomorrow.”

I turned my back on him and walked out. Though his gaze felt like it was burning holes in my back, he didn’t actually follow, and for that I was grateful.

When I finally got back to Kellen’s apartment, he was sitting on the sofa reading Blake’s file. He looked up when I entered, his green eyes concerned.

“Your current case involves your pack?”

I wrinkled my nose. “It isn’t really an official case. My alpha has asked me to investigate several disappearances.”

“Alpha? Don’t you mean your grandfather?”

“No. He was challenged and lost.”

“Ah.”

He put the file down then held out a hand. I weaved my fingers through his and allowed myself to be pulled onto his lap. His arms circled my waist and his scent wrapped around me, until all I could feel was his warm and steady presence. And it was a somewhat delicious sensation, knowing that this big, strong wolf was mine. That he wanted me, and only me.

If I was a cat, I’d pretty much be purring in contentment right now.

“Your pack has no claim on you once another alpha has claimed you as his own,” he said. “I can stop him contacting you, if you like.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You can?”

He brushed my hair to one side and kissed the nape of my neck. A tremor of desire rolled through me. “Just say the word, and he is yesterday’s news.”

“He’s a rather nasty piece of work.”

“So can I be if someone is hassling my woman.”

His woman
. I liked the sound of that. Liked it very much.

“That’s so very tempting,” I murmured, wriggling closer, enjoying the heat and scent of him as it flowed across my senses. “But I’d better deal with it myself.”

“The offer remains if you happen to change your mind.” His lips were so close every word felt like a caress against my skin. Desire spread like a wildfire. “Are you finished for the day?”

I draped my arms loosely around his neck and dropped butterfly kisses on his lips, his nose, and his cheeks. “I’m yours to do with whatever you wish.”

“Anything?” he said, voice so deep and husky it sent a shiver of delight down my spine.

“Anything at all.”

“Even ravish you senseless, until all you want to do is beg for mercy?”

Anticipation sizzled, and I grinned. “It will take a long, long time to get me there, wolf.”

“I can be a patient man when I want to be.”

“Prove it.”

His lips met mine, and from that moment on, there was no more talking, just a whole lot of loving.

And oh, it was good. I might have had many lovers in my short lifetime, but the way Kellen made me feel was somehow totally different from anyone else. There might not be the same sort of connection between us that I’d found—however briefly—with Quinn, but there was a connection all the same. It was deep, it was real, and it was so, so wonderful. He made me feel cherished, safe, like I was the only woman in the universe, the only woman for him. And that was a mighty powerful feeling.

Was it soul deep? I guess more than a part of me believed so, but something within still held back the words he wanted to hear. Maybe it was stupid, given the emotions tumbling through my mind, but I still wanted time to be sure.

Forever was a long time to live with a mistake.

D
espite Jack’s promises that the Directorate’s daytime division would have proper offices by the time I got back from the holidays, it appeared we were still holed up in the old conference room. Which was fine for the moment, but when Kade, Iktar, and whoever else Jack had hauled into the squad finally got through training, it was going to be a mite snug. Not that I minded getting snug with Kade, but Iktar? I shuddered. The featureless spirit lizard was not my idea of a good time.

So why the delay? The night division had more space than they needed—
and
decent coffee dispensers to boot—while we made do with one room, and a coffeemaker that had to be constantly refilled.

Of course, the fact that the night division was basically filled with leashed psychos might have had something to do with it. Wouldn’t want the inmates getting restless, and all.

Jack wasn’t in sight when I strode in, but down the hall, in the liaison’s room, the cow was doing her sultry-voice routine, so it was a fair bet Jack was down there.

Rhoan sat at one of the desks that had been squeezed into our so-called operations room. He glanced up as I entered, and said, “How are you feeling after your brush with the mad trucker yesterday?”

“Other than a healing cut or two, I’m fine. Any word about the driver?”

“Broken arm and a few lacerations is about the extent of his war wounds. The truck was stolen, by the way. Jack said it was found abandoned an hour later.”

“Don’t suppose anyone saw the driver?”

“Not a soul.”

“Typical.” I poured us both a coffee, slopped in some milk, then plonked my butt down on the edge of Rhoan’s desk and handed him a cup. “I don’t suppose you managed to look into Adrienne’s movements, did you?”

He wrapped his fingers around the mug and leaned back in his chair. “Did you know she was a reporter?”

“I guessed it was a possibility. She was apparently asking all sorts of questions up on the island.”

“Well, if she was working on a story, then she was doing it on her own. According to her boss, she was supposed to be on holiday.”

“So she didn’t contact him about anything?”

“Nope. Last story she did for him was an entertainment piece on a new nightclub.”

“There’s a new wolf club? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

He grinned. “If you read the newspapers more, you might have known about it. But it’s not strictly a wolf club.” He picked up a matchbook off his desk and flicked it toward me. “It’s the first mixed-race club allowed in Victoria.”

I caught the matchbook one-handed. It was black, with “Mirror Image” written on the front flap in a white, basic font. Underneath this was a phone number and address, and nothing else. I flipped open the lid, and inside sat two neat little rows of matches, their tips black instead of the usual red. There was nothing on the back of the matchbook.

I looked back at my brother. “Mixed-race? As in, open to humans
and
nonhumans?”

“Yep. It operates in the exact same fashion as regular clubs.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What happens when the moon is rising?”

“Nothing. They’re open all year round.”

“Really? Have the laws changed or are the owners just crazy?”

The old rules gave clubs the right to exclude human entry entirely—and this was a good thing, because were loving could sometimes get extremely rough, especially during the full-moon phase. The fact of the matter was, humans just were physically unable to handle it. And I didn’t mean sexually. We could shift shape to heal any wounds received during intercourse. They could not. What might be a deep but easily healed wound for a were could be fatal for a human. And the outcry after such a death would be huge, even if the act was consensual.

Of course, the idiots in parliament had been trying to legislate a change for ages, but the Australia-wide protests from both the supernatural community and the saner section of humanity had so far managed to stall them. Or so I’d thought.

“They haven’t changed,” Rhoan said. “They’ve just been…ignored. This club is operating under a trial license for a year. If everything goes well, the current law forbidding human entry into wolf clubs will be overturned.”

“That’s just stupid.”

“Humans have always wanted what they can’t have. It’s the whole forbidden-fruit effect.”

That was an effect not restricted to humans, but in this case, the laws were there for a very good reason—the protection of humans.

“This club would have to have a hell of an insurance bill.” I looked at the matchbook, flipping it over and still seeing nothing of interest. “Did you ferret out the article she wrote?”

“I’ve requested a copy be sent to us.” He paused. “Adrienne is very well liked by her coworkers, you know. That’s surprising, considering her family.”

“I guess there has to be one good apple in every bad barrel.” I took a sip of coffee, then asked, “No whispers of her sexuality, then?”

He raised a pale eyebrow “No. Why?”

“Because she’s sharing her apartment with a woman Blake had no idea existed, and I found that woman overdosed in Adrienne’s bed yesterday afternoon.”

“That doesn’t mean there’s a relationship. They could be good friends.”

“And how many people are willing to off themselves over the disappearance of a good friend?”

“Not many, but then, it wouldn’t be the first time someone emotionally unstable has done such a thing.”

True. “Nothing else of interest?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t had the chance to do anything more. I’ve been chasing after this damn baby vamp sucking the life out of folk in the Footscray district.”

“When will these idiots realize we make the creator pay for the crimes of his young?” The Directorate wasted too much of its time ridding the world of rogue baby vamps when there were often greater evils to worry about.

He snorted. “For some of them, probably never.”

“What, their brains go out the door when they become a vampire?”

“Think of it this way. Expecting some vamps to control their urge to create underlings is like handing out free condoms and expecting horny teenagers to actually use them. The excitement of the moment always gets in the way.”

Amusement ran through me. “That’s the first time I’ve heard of vampires being compared to horny teenagers.”

He shrugged. “It works, though. Most of these babies are created by vamps who are still young themselves and who love the feel of power it gives them.”

“So have you caught any trace of his daytime hidey-hole yet?”

“Narrowed it down to a couple of buildings. I’m off hunting once Jack gets here for his daily pep talk.”

I grinned. Pep talks weren’t exactly Jack’s forte, which is exactly why we referred to his morning rundowns that way. And it had the extra bonus of pissing him off—something I liked to do every now and again, just for the hell of it.

I tossed the matchbook in the air and caught it lightly. “I’ll check this out once I talk to the girlfriend at the hospital.”

“What girl in what hospital?” Jack said, as he strode into the room.

“It’s a missing-persons case that may blow up to be a whole lot more.”

He walked over to the coffee machine, filled up a cup, then said, “Tell me about it.”

I did. He harrumphed. “I don’t want it monopolizing your time, but keep me updated on progress all the same.”

I nodded. At least I had the go-ahead to pull in Directorate resources if I needed to. “Has Cole handed in his report from the Richmond murder case?”

“It’s in the system. Both parties involved tested as human.”

“
What?
Impossible.”

“Not according to the lab results.”

“But he tore that poor woman apart. A human just isn’t capable of that sort of strength.”

“You mentioned possible vamp involvement in your report.”

“Yeah, but if a vamp had been there, we would have smelled him.”

He gave me the “look.” “Not necessarily. Some of us do wash, you know.”

I smiled. “Those of you who do are few and far between.” Smelling like the grave seemed to be the “in” thing amongst Jack’s lot. Though, admittedly, I did know some very nice-smelling vamps. Jack was one. Quinn was another. Even the cow smelled pleasant, though I was never likely to tell her that. “Besides, if there was someone else involved, wouldn’t there have been some indication? Surely Cole and his team would have found something—some hint or clue to suggest this?”