Riley Jensen 03 - Tempting Evil Part 28

"Are all calls to there monitored?"

"As far as I know, only outside calls are monitored and recorded."

I threw the towel in the laundry basket and finger combed my hair. "Is it shadowed enough outside for you to disappear?"

Amus.e.m.e.nt briefly sparked in his eyes. "There only needs to be the slightest hint of dusk and I can be gone. The spirit lizards Starr makes do not match our natural skills."

A scary thought. "So would it be possible for you to arrange for the power in this place to be temporarily shut down?"

The amus.e.m.e.nt deepened. "At what time would you like this possibility to occur?"

I blew out a breath. Merle had a six o'clock appointment, which didn't leave me a whole lot of time to play with. Especially given I had to be back in the arena by seven. "In ten minutes."

I might be able to use Merle to get me in there, but I didn't want any physical record of me actually going near the place. Which meant we had to take the cameras out.

"You realize they have maintenance on standby to cater for such problems. The main power will not be out for more than ten or fifteen minutes."

"Then maybe you need to smash up the power box a bit more, so it takes them longer to find that many replacements." I hesitated. "What about backup systems?"

"They have several emergency generators that will kick in immediately. The main one provides power to the security systems if the main source goes down. There are also smaller units in the labs and security area to provide them with lighting and electrical systems."

"And if we shut down the main backup?"

"Everything will lock down. You would not be able to get in anywhere."

"Ah. No point in doing that, then."

I rubbed my temples wearily then spun and walked back into the bedroom. Merle was still p.r.o.ne, his mind still caught tight. I dove deeper, taking control of his speech and movement centers, then forced him to reach for the phone and dial the security center.

"Security. Harris speaking."

Merle's thoughts told me Harris wasn't the main man, security wise, just one of the plebes who watched the cameras and monitored phone calls, and maybe that was just as well. A man who was only there because he had to be was a far easier target-and one more likely to stray.

"Harris, Merle."

"Evening, Mr. Merle. What can I do for you?"

"I'm sending a woman over to collect a copy of the day's reports."

"A woman, sir?" It said a lot about Merle and Moss that only the faintest hint of surprise showed in the guard's voice.

"Yes, Harris. You got a problem with that?"

"No, sir."

"She'll be there in ten. Make sure the guard on entrance ten know she's coming and lets her in. I don't want my toy harmed."

"Yes, sir."

Lances of fire were beginning to shoot through the back of my eyes, and sweat trickled down my spine. I had to end this quickly, before the totality of control slipped and he became conscious enough to fight me. I made him drop the handset, then touched his forehead with my fingertips. Though I had no idea if touching him this way would help enforce my will, it just seemed the right thing to do. Besides, Jack had done it the few times he'd subjugated prisoners, so it had to be of some use.

"You will sleep until you are woken. When awake, you will remember nothing more than having s.e.x all afternoon and ordering Iktar to escort me upstairs at five before falling asleep. Go to sleep now, and sleep the sleep of the well sated."

As the orders slipped into his subconsciousness and became fact, I pulled out of his mind, carefully erasing the traces of my presence and making doubly sure he remembered nothing more than f.u.c.king the h.e.l.l out of me.As the connection fell away, a shudder ran through me. The pain behind my eyes became so fierce that for several seconds all I could see was shooting stars. I took a deep breath and swept a hand through my damp hair. What I'd really like to do right now was to take a painkiller or two and catch a few hours' sleep. But I'd given myself an hour's window to do some worthwhile investigating and maybe even some rescuing, so I couldn't waste it, no matter how much my head ached.

"Wake him just before six." I rubbed my eyes wearily, and pushed to my feet. "Let's get going."

"You know where central security is?"

"Yes."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question my knowledge, simply led me out of the rooms to the elevator. When it was moving, I looked at him. "Ten minutes, remember. And if you don't do what I asked, I'll find those detonators and set them off myself."

"I will do as you ask."

"Good." I glanced up, saw we were almost at the ground floor. "What is the toy room you mentioned earlier?"

"A torture room on the first level."

Trust Starr to call a torture room a toy room. "What else is there?"

"An armory. Secure meeting rooms. Stuff like that."

The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened. I headed left, but not directly toward the security area. There was ten minutes to kill before the power outage removed the threat of the cameras, so I pushed open the nearest exit door and walked out into the coolness of the gathering evening. The sun had moved behind the mountains and trees, and shadows hunted across the ground. The scent of eucalyptus filled the air, and kookaburras were beginning their evening laugh-fest. I walked across to the nearest gum tree and squatted down on my heels. Awareness tingled across my skin, and I glanced sideways to see a guard appear a few doors down. Meaning my earlier guess that we would be watched from now on had been spot-on.

I casually touched my ear, then plucked a long blade of gra.s.s and idly fiddled with it.

"Hey, Jack," I said softly. "Any more news of Nerida and Berna?"

"And good f.u.c.king morning to you, too. Or evening, as the d.a.m.n case is."

"This is the first chance I've had to report, so don't pull the heavy on me."

"It doesn't take much to flick your ear and let me hear what is going on even if you can't speak."

"Which is impossible to do when you're unconscious."

He swore loud enough to make my wince, then added, "You'd better update me."

I did. "You heard from Rhoan at all?"

"He touched the com-link briefly as he was going into the fight, but nothing since then."

"d.a.m.n. Hope he's okay."

"He's been in far worse situations. He'll be fine."

"But Starr is suspicious of us both, Jack. He's got a watch on me, even now." I flicked the blade of gra.s.s away and glanced sideways at the man in question. He was leaning, cross-armed, against the brick wall, his face raised as if he was studying something in the trees. The mere fact I'd sensed his presence when I hadn't even heard him meant he was something other than human. Which possibly meant it wasn't going to be easy to ditch him, but I had to try before I went anywhere near the security center.

"Then maybe we'd better pull you out."

Pull me, not my brother or Kade. "I'm not going anywhere just yet."

"Riley, if he does suspect, it's far too dangerous for everyone-"

"I have things to do first."

He swore again. "You can't rescue that kid-"

"We made promises to people. Jack. I'm going to try and uphold them before I run. Besides, I'm not going to leave my brother alone in this mess."

"He's got far more experience than you to fall back on."

He hadn't seemed too d.a.m.n worried about my inexperience when he'd sent me in here. "Experience won't mean squat if he's outnumbered. Which he is."

Jack grunted. "At least tell me what you're planning, then."

I gave him a rough outline. He was silent for a few minutes, then said, "You know, it might be worth destroying the labs and security."

"What? Why?"

"Starr may be suspicious of you, but I actually doubt he realizes that you're working for the Directorate or that you're a dhampire. Even if his suspicions are raised over you losing your guard, he won't suspect you being behind the destruction of security and the lab. We both know only someone with vampire speed can manage to get to those two places in a short amount of time."

"Agreed, but I'm still not seeing the point."

"It's a simple subterfuge to deflect his suspicions. Given the kitchen bombing that barely missed taking out Merle, he may suspect the cartels playing friendly are actually attempting a little double-cross."

"Which means I couldn't actually leave, even if I wanted to."

"Yes."

"Then how do I get the baby out?"

"Women," he muttered. "Look, bring the kid to the forest and I'll call in an eagle-shifter to get her out. We'll look after her until Dia is free. Okay?"

I grinned. I'd actually figured I'd have to argue a whole lot longer before Jack gave in. "Okay. And you know this means Dia will be in the Directorate's debt, don't you?"

"Oh, I'm counting on it." His voice was dry. "Just remember, kiddo, that you can't leave live evidence behind."My grin faded. "I know."

I'd just avoided thinking about it, because it was just another step down that road, another twist in the chain Jack was wrapping around me. One kill, then two, and before I knew it, I'd be killing without thought, without regret. Or so he hoped.

"Good. Contact me when you've finished creating havoc."

"Will do."

I touched my ear to turn off the link, then rose and walked downwind. After a few minutes, the muskiness of something feline and male touched the air. The guard was following, but keeping his distance.

Good.

I walked along the outside of the building until I was at the far end of the house, close to the remains of the kitchen and well away from the security center. Then I stepped into the trees and the deeper shadows lurking within. The minute I found a path, I wrapped those shadows around my body and ran like h.e.l.l around to the other side of the house. With vampire speed it only took seconds-but that was long enough to have disappeared from the guard's sight. And the whispering wind would already be scattering my scent. All I had to hope now was that he didn't go running back to Starr to report the loss. Though given the fear that madman induced, I figured no guard in his right mind would want to do that. But then, nothing was ever certain in this world, and fate seemed to be enjoying c.r.a.pping all over me of late.

I stopped in the duskiness of several large trees and scanned the outside of the building. Lights shone in several windows, meaning the power was still on. I shifted my weight, suddenly anxious to get things moving. Tension crawled through my limbs, and an odd sense that something was wrong teased my mind. I had no idea what or why. Maybe it was just tension rising from the knowledge of what I was about to do. What I had to do, if we were all to keep undercover and keep safe.

I let my gaze rest on the metal doors that were the main entrance to central security. The floor plans indicated heavy fortification within that area, which included the substantial doors and a long corridor to traverse before reaching the control room.

And though it wasn't mentioned on the plan, it made sense that the center would have its own power source if all else went down. But any auxiliary source would take time to get going. I just had to make sure my timing was right, or they would catch me on camera.

The lights suddenly went out right along the building. I waited, watching for several heartbeats, then, when the lights remained out, silently thanked Iktar and walked out of the trees. The camera above the doorway didn't move, even though I was peripherally in the camera's sensor range.

I rapped on the metal. The sound seemed to echo, but for several seconds, there was no reply.

Then a gruff voice said, "Yes?"

"I've been sent here to collect some reports."

A small hatch in the middle of the door slid aside, and blue eyes stared out at me. "Lady, we just been hit by a power blackout.

No one is coming in these doors until we have the generator up and running."

I shrugged casually. "Fine. I'll just tell Mr. Merle you said I couldn't have them."

I turned to go and the guard swore softly. "Fine, fine. Just wait a moment."

The hatch slammed closed, and after several seconds, the door opened enough for the armed guard to step through. He was a big man, all muscle and broad shoulders. I couldn't tell what sort of gun he held, because while I'd been trained to use them, I didn't really like them and, like any sane person, tended to avoid them whenever possible. Hence, I'd skipped all the theory stuff on makes and models.

And really, who f.u.c.king cared what brand or type it was when it was aimed at your face? Any gun was scary this close.

I slowly raised my arms and did my best at looking defenseless. Which wasn't really hard, considering the gun and the fact I was naked. Actually, it was hard to look anything else but helpless when sans clothes.

He held the gun steady while he looked quickly around. In reality, I could have taken him out there and then, but that would have given warning to those inside.

When he was sure there was no one hiding in the bushes, he opened the door and motioned me inside. As I moved past him, I noted not only the thin strand of wire around his neck-a sure sign that he was shielded from psychic intrusion-but the knife at his side and the second gun strapped near his shins, barely visible through his tan trousers.

"Stop," he growled, before I'd taken three steps beyond the door.

I did as he bid, lightly drawing in his scent while trying to "feel" him with my other senses. He actually smelled quite nice-a mix of sage and sharp spice. But I wasn't getting anything along the sensory lines, which meant he was human. Anything else I would have recognized.

The door slammed shut and darkness consumed us. Bolts thudded home, then the guard's hand gripped my arm with unerring accuracy. Which suggested he was one of Starr's "enhanced" humans, because there was no way in h.e.l.l a normal human could see in this darkness. h.e.l.l, I could barely see, and I had wolf sight. Switching to vampire infrared solved that problem, but he didn't have that option.

Or maybe he did. Who knew what gene pool Starr's people had been paddling in of late?

"Walk," he said, tugging me forward.

"d.a.m.n dark in here." I forced a quavering note into my voice. Acting helpless and scared couldn't hurt.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to lead you astray." Amus.e.m.e.nt touched his voice. "Though I'm telling you, if we weren't in this place, I'd be tempted to let you lead me astray."

"And here I was thinking you didn't notice."