Riley Jensen 03 - Tempting Evil Part 9

She stiffened ever so slightly. "I am not pimping you. I am simply offering you an opportunity to make a lot of money."

"Yeah. By having s.e.x. It's called pimping, whether you like it or not."

I studied her for a moment, wondering how fine a line I should walk between reluctance and acceptance. But given Poppy's supposed history, she wasn't likely to be trusting anyone too quickly.

"This is one of those s.e.x-slave scams they've been talking about in the papers lately, isn't it? You know, lure innocents with the enticement of money, then ship them off to parts unknown, to be held captive and abused. Well, I ain't interested, lady." I banged on the gla.s.s part.i.tion between us and the driver, wincing as the sound echoed through my head. "Hey, you, stop this crate and let me out."

"I promise, this is no scam."

"Yeah, right."

She reached into her pocket, and drew out a business card. Only it wasn't from the employment agency Jack had mentioned, but one of her own cards. And it was her personal address, as well. "If you are interested in hearing more about the job, come and see me tomorrow."

I looked at her, then the card, and finally reached out to take it. "You never did answer my question, you know. About being blind."

She smiled again. "No. But perhaps I will later, if you accept the job."

"If that's supposed to be an enticement, it ain't working."

"If you want an enticement, then perhaps I can teach you to use your telepathy without dropping all your shields."

The car slid to a stop. I wrapped my fingers around the door handle but didn't open it. "And why would you be offering to do that?"

"Because you need it."

"And do you often run around offering psychic training to those who need it?"

"No." Her gaze came to mine. "Only to those who will save us."

"That's the second time you've said that, and it's no clearer now than it was before."

"I guess it isn't." Her gaze fell away as she leaned back in the seat. "I'll see you tomorrow."

It was a dismissal and a statement of fact, all in one. I frowned, but thrust open the door and climbed out. The night had grown colder in the brief time I'd been in the car, the breeze chill. Goose b.u.mps ran across my skin. Thank G.o.d I wasn't actually sleeping on the streets tonight. I slammed the car door shut and watched Dia's black limo disappear into the night.

"So," I said, rubbing my bare arms as I looked around to see where I was. "You heard it all?"

"Yes. And I'm mighty disappointed you didn't tell me about the fluctuations in your telepathy strength."

"It's only just started happening, boss. With everything else that's been going on, it just slipped my mind."

"That's not good enough, Riley. We need to keep a close check on what is going on with your psi-abilities."

"So I'll try and remember to tell you the next time anything strange happens."

"Don't try. Do." He paused. "Why didn't you finish off those vamps?"

"You want them dead, you kill them."

"We have, but that's not the point."

No, the point was he wanted me to kill on order. I might have acknowledged the need to become a guardian-if only internally-but that didn't mean I had to happily dive straight into the killing bit.

"The card she gave me has her personal address, not that employment agency she and Starr have been using as a front." I looked left and right, then crossed the road, heading for the shops on the other side. Coffee and chocolate were in order-they might not actually ease the ache in my head, but they'd at least make me feel a little bit better.

"It's not a front, but a registered agency."

"Has she ever used her house before?"

"Given we've only been following her for six weeks, it's hard to say."

"So she could suspect something?"

"She didn't sound suspicious."

"No." I hesitated. "I've just got this feeling she knew more than what she was saying."

"She'd be naturally suspicious of anyone-which is why she does a check on them first."

"Maybe." I pushed open the door of the 7-Eleven, and helped myself to coffee-they didn't have hazelnut, so I compensated with a hazelnut chocolate bar-then I headed around to grab some Panadol. Off-the-shelf painkillers mightn't be the strongest available, but they were better than nothing. Once I'd paid the man, I headed back out.

"What did you make of her saying, 'You will save us'?"

"A slip of the tongue, perhaps?"

"She didn't seem the sort to do anything by mistake." I sipped my coffee, wincing a little at its bitter taste. "There's something going on here that we don't understand."

"It's natural to feel that, given we know so little about her or her relationship with Starr." He paused. "But be careful all the same."

Like I wasn't going to be? "How thorough a background search did you do?"

"Very. We don't send people into dangerous situations w.i.l.l.y-nilly, you know."

I grinned. "I'm mighty glad to hear that. So what now?"

"You go find a room at an appropriate hotel and catch some sleep."

"Then?"

"Then, we see what tomorrow brings."

"Meaning, lots of things are happening, but you're not telling me just in case things go wrong my end and I blab details."

He chuckled. "Rhoan's right. For a girl, you're pretty d.a.m.n clever."

Meaning, as I'd suspected, he'd been watching and listening in to our training session. "If I was clever, I wouldn't be standing here on a deserted St. Kilda street, freezing my b.u.t.t off, but in New York, or Paris, or even London-somewhere they couldn't give a d.a.m.n about what my DNA could do for them.""I'm not interested in your DNA."

"No, just what I could do for your new guardian squad," I replied dryly. "So how in the h.e.l.l do I get to Dia's place from here?"

"Catch one of the trams that run along Malvern Road, and get off at Kooyong Road. Huntingfield is halfway between Malvern and Toorak."

"So either way I'm hiking."

"It won't kill you."

"Says the man who wasn't beaten to a pulp by Gautier yesterday."

"I feel obliged to point out that you weren't, either."

Only thanks to the fact he'd intervened. "Night, Jack."

"Night, Poppy."

I snorted and flicked the b.u.t.ton behind my ear. The slight buzz of energy that had been teasing my lobes died, but the ache in my head didn't. I popped a couple of the Panadol, swilling them down with the bitter coffee, then munched on more chocolate to take away the aftertaste.

After strolling along for several blocks, I found a dingy-looking hotel that had rooms for rent at cheap rates. Just the sort of place someone like Poppy might settle for-though if I wasn't playing her part, I certainly wouldn't have gone near the place.

The hotel sat next to a bar, so not only did it stink of sweaty humanity, but booze as well. The raucous laughter coming from inside the bar suggested heavy patronage-which in turn meant little sleep. I blew out a breath, reminded myself it was only for one night, and headed inside.

The reek was worse within the four walls, and the rooms more dilapidated than the outside. The bed itself looked older than Methuselah, and had obviously seen more than a few couplings on it. I screwed up my nose, and glanced at the floor. The carpet looked no better, but at least the floor didn't have a disastrous sag in it.

With a sigh, I hauled off the blankets-which at least looked and smelled clean-and made myself a bed on the floor. Then I stripped off, shifted shape to hurry along the already healing scratches on my arms, and settled down to sleep.

Surprisingly, and despite all the noise and odors, I did sleep, not waking until the hotel's manager banged on the door the following morning.

With a groan, I rolled onto my side and stared Wearily at the clock on the bedside table above me. Eight. Time to get some breakfast and head on over to see Dia.

After stretching out the kinks and giving my face and arms a quick wash down with cold water, I dressed and headed back out to the street. Unfortunately, trams didn't run as regularly on a Sunday, so I grabbed a couple of Mcm.u.f.fins from McDonald's to munch on while I waited at the stop.

It was well after nine when I hit Toorak. I climbed off the tram at Kooyong Road, and pressed the disk behind my ear.

"Heading for Dia's now."

"Keep the line open."

"Will do."I strolled up Kooyong Road, admiring the million dollar houses and wondering what it'd be like to live a place that practically screamed money. Personally, I'd be afraid to move lest I break something.

Huntingfield Road came along, and I turned left onto it. Many of the houses here seemed more ornate, making me feel even more out of place. A feeling that grew when I stopped to press the intercom b.u.t.ton to one side of the huge, wrought iron gates that guarded Dia's house.

To say the place was amazing would be an understatement-though the house itself wasn't as ornate as some of its neighbors. It was an old, early twentieth-century design that reminded me greatly of the grand old English mansions often shown on the TV.

Though this was painted a warm, soft gold, ivy crept over the brickwork and sprawled across the roof, giving the impression the house had been here forever. The lawn that stretched from the side gate to the porch was a rich carpet of green-so lush my feet suddenly itched with the need to run through it-and the pines that lined the boundary gave the whole property a feeling of isolation. I'd never been envious of anyone else's living conditions in my life, but I couldn't help thinking how amazing it would be to live in a place like this. A little bit of luxurious heaven, and yet with everything you could ever want or need within walking distance to your doorstep.

The intercom crackled, then Dia said, "Yes?"

"Poppy Burns, accepting your invitation."

"Ah. Good." The gates buzzed, then clicked open. "Come in."

I walked through the gates, and somehow resisted the urge to take off my shoes and run through the gra.s.s, instead following the herringbone-patterned brick path. Dia Jones opened the door as I approached. That surprised me. Surely someone who lived in a pad as plush as this would have a servant or two running around?

Her hair was no longer brown mixed with silver, just a pure whitish-silver, and with the long, flowing white dress she had on, she looked almost ethereal. Except for her eyes. They positively glowed with the power that shimmered across my skin like little zaps of lightning. I stopped, staring into her blind eyes, again struck by the sensation that this woman knew far more than we wanted her to.

"Come in, come in," Her smile was as charming as her voice was warm. "The house won't bite, and neither will I."

Obviously, she was taking my reluctance to enter for awe at her surroundings rather than her, and that was just fine by me. I stepped past her. The hallway beyond was huge, as was the chandelier that sprayed rainbows across the soft gold walls and carpets. A redwood sideboard was the only piece of furnishing in the entrance hall, and on it sat a vase filled with blood-red gladiolas. Two rooms led off the hall, and a staircase clad in a deeper gold carpet sat at the end, undoubtedly spiraling upward into more richness.

"Just head into the living room on your left," she said, as she closed the door.

The living room turned out to be another filled with gold and creams. Though the room was huge, there wasn't a whole lot of furniture-just two large sofas, a marble coffee table and a matching, white marble fireplace. The chandelier that hung above all this elegance was smaller than the one in the entrance hall, but not by much. A bright, modernistic painting held pride of place above the fireplace, adding a much needed splash of color.

"Please, sit down." Dia waved a hand at one heavily brocaded sofa even as she felt for the sofa nearest her with the other. Odd, considering she'd seemed so sure of her movements last night.

I perched on the edge of the sofa, feeling more than a little out of place in all this richness. Which, given I'd had mates who were far wealthier than Dia, was weird. They'd never made me feel inadequate in any way when it came to money-or the lack of it-so why did this woman? Or did it have nothing to do wealth, and everything to do with the overwhelming sense of power I was getting from her?But if she was so powerful, why was she doing Starr's bidding? It made no sense.

"I take it you are here about the job offer?"

I nodded. "The hotel I stayed in last night solidified the need for quick cash."

"And you wish to remain under the radar at the moment, thanks to the arrest warrant that's outstanding in Sydney?"

I gave her my best "outraged" look. Which, considering she was blind, was pretty dumb. But then, this woman was psychic, so who knew what other senses she relied on to help her "see"? "Is this what the invite was about? Hand me in and earn a quick couple of grand?"

Her smile was wry. "Look around you. I hardly think a mere couple of thousand is worth the effort of luring you here."

"Maybe that's how you got all this richness-trapping not only the suckers, but runaways."

"I always run background checks on people I'm about to employ. It's standard procedure."

"And having a warrant out on me make me undesirable?" I snorted and thrust to my feet. "Your loss, lady."

I swung my pack over my shoulder and headed for the door-hoping all the while I wasn't about to blow it. But Poppy was the indignant type who fired at the drop of a hat, so anything else might have been seen as odd behavior.

"It wasn't the warrant that caused the problem," she said.

I stopped and looked around. She wasn't even looking at me, but staring instead somewhere to my left. It was almost as if she wasn't sure of my exact whereabouts, and again, that ran against everything I'd seen last night.

"Then what is the problem?"

"The fact that Poppy Burns doesn't actually exist."

f.u.c.k, So much for Jack's clever paperwork. "I don't? We'll, gee, thanks for the tip."

I forced my feet on. She hadn't locked the front door when I entered, so at least I could get out of the house. And it didn't matter if the gates were locked, because the fence was within a wolf's jumping range.

"I have a deal to offer you and the Directorate, Riley," she said softly.

"Stop," Jack said into my ear.