Chapter Three
"Riley?"
The voice was warm and familiar, but far away. Far, far, away
"Riley, tell me what's wrong. "
Despite the pain engulfing me, the soft question sent heat shimmering through every nerve cell. It had to be Quinn. No one else I knew caused that sort of reaction. But why the hell was he there, rather than haunting the halls of my apartment building?
And what did he mean by what was wrong? I'd been shot, for Christ's sake. That much had to be obvious, even to the simplest of minds
God, it hurt. Burned
"Is the bullet silver?"
Silver. The bullet was silver. That's why it hurt so much
"Take. . . out. " Hurry
He swore. Amen to that, I thought weakly. My eyes refused to open, my arm was numb, and the numbness was spreading all too quickly through the rest of my body. The wolf had missed my heart, but in many respects, it didn't matter. If Quinn didn't get that bullet out of my shoulder soon, I was one dead puppy
I floated in a sea of molten agony, drifting in and out of consciousness, my body aflame and dripping with sweat
Yet his voice reached me, dragged me back
"I haven't got a knife. I'll have to use my teeth. It's going to hurt. "
No shit, Sherlock. But the words stayed locked inside. The numbness had reached my neck and mouth, and breathing was becoming harder
My shirt was torn away, then lips touched my flesh, a brief caress that made my skin tremble. Then his teeth were slashing down, slicing deep. A scream tore up my throat but seemed to lodge somewhere near my tonsils. His mind surged into mine and, like a cool and gentle hand, cocooned me, soothing the ache, easing the fire
His teeth withdrew from my flesh, but were replaced by his fingers. There was no escape from the agony of his delving, no matter how much he tried to protect me. When he touched the bullet, moved it, I screamed again
Then the bullet was gone, the fire was gone, and in its place normal, peaceful pain
I reached to that magical place inside and called to the wolf. Power swept around me, through me, blurring the pain, healing the wound. But once I was back in human form, the world slid away
It was dawn by the time it came back
Several sensations struck me almost immediately. My head was resting on what felt like flesh-covered steel, but the rest of my body lay on something hard and uncomfortable. There was a steady, aching throb in my shoulder, and a deeper burning down my arm. Even when silver didn't kill wolves, it could permanently maim. Fear touched my heart and I quickly twitched my fingers. They moved and I breathed a silent sigh of relief
A cool breeze stirred around me, filled with the scents of humans and exhaust fumes, mixed with the tantalizing nearness of sandalwood, man, and mud. Somewhere to my right came the steady roar of passing traffic and, closer still, the rattle of a train drawing away from a station. Obviously, I wasn't in my apartment. Though I could usually hear the trains, my apartment didn't shake with the force of their passing like this place did
I opened my eyes, and looked around. The room was small, shabby, and rubbish-filled. There were windows to my left, both barred and missing glass, and an open doorway to my right. Wooden seats lined the graffiti-strewn walls, and the floor was asphalt. Recognition stirred. We were in the goddamn waiting room at the train station
I turned slightly to ease the ache in my shoulder and realized then my head was resting on Quinn's thigh. He was still wearing the coat I'd given him that morning, and, if the bare knee I could see was any indication, little else. Given his near nakedness, and the fact I had to be covered in blood, it was a wonder the police hadn't been called
I lifted my gaze to Quinn's. Concern lingered in the dark depths, along with wariness. "How are you feeling?"
His voice flowed across my skin as sweetly as a caress, and deep inside, excitement stirred. If I was getting that sort of reaction in a situation like this, then the next moon fever really would be bad
"I feel like shit. " I gripped one edge of the seat and forced myself upright, away from him. "Why are we here? Matter of fact, why are you here?"
He hesitated. "I followed you home from the Directorate last night. "
So he was the reason I'd been spooked on the platform. Though he obviously wasn't the only reason. "And why would you be following me when you're supposedly waiting for my flatmate?"
He stared at me for a moment, dark eyes now shuttered. "Because I wasn't sure you were who you said you were. "
"And why would you think that?"
"I'm attacked, Rhoan has disappeared, and when I get to his flat, he suddenly has a roomie I know nothing about. "
"Not surprising, considering you couldn't remember much of anything yesterday. "
"True. " He hesitated. "But even when my memory returned, I had no recollection of his mentioning he shared the apartment with anyone. "
"And why should he have mentioned something like that?"
He shrugged. "We've been friends for a while. I think it odd he's never mentioned you were sharing. "
"Well, he's hasn't mentioned you at all, buddy boy, so the distrust is completely mutual. " I rolled my shoulder, then retied the remnants of my shirt to ensure my boobs didn't fall all the way out. Another fine for indecent exposure was not what I needed just then. "So tell me why we're here. "
"I had nowhere else to take you. I'm a vampire, remember, and have limited options. "
"A hospital is public. "
He raised an eyebrow. "And here I was thinking wolves preferred to avoid hospitals where possible. "
"We do, but there are a dozen other places you could have taken me. " Like the cafe across the road that served hazelnut coffee and thick steak sandwiches. Right then, I needed both. Followed by a chaser of chocolate and maybe even a little sex
My gaze slid down his body and came to rest on his lean, muscular legs. Okay, a whole lot of sex, preferably with those legs wrapped securely around mine. . .
I tried to get a leash around my rampaging hormones. It was not the time for such thoughts
"A cafe is too public," he said, the amused glitter in his eyes suggesting he suspected the direction of my thoughts even if he couldn't actually read my mind. "Here, at least, I could ensure no one came near enough to disturb us, or see the state you were in. Anywhere else, I might have raised suspicions. "
Meaning, of course, he was using the old mind-lock trick to keep people out of the room. "This place is usually pretty full, even on a Sunday. That's a fair amount of control you have happening there. " More, in fact, than even Gautier had. It was an almost scary thought
He considered me for a moment, then said, "And yet, despite that one moment when you were in pain, I am not able to touch your mind at all. That suggests a considerable amount of power on your part. "
"I work with vampires. Believe me, I need to know how to block you guys. " I paused. "If you were following me, why the hell didn't you try and stop that madman?"
"Because I wasn't sure what he was up to until he pulled out the gun. Despite popular opinion, vampires are not faster than a speeding bullet. "
I half grinned. "So you couldn't read him either?"
He raised a hand. A thin wire hung from a fingertip. "He was wearing a shield against psychic intrusion. "
The nanowire was the latest development in nanotechnology for the protection against psychic intrusion. I didn't know how it actually worked, but I did know it only worked when the two ends were connected, and that it was somehow powered by the heat of the body. It wasn't yet available to the general public, and the Directorate was fighting to keep it that way. A lot of their information gathering came via psychic means
And if that werewolf had a wire on, he obviously had either government or criminal connections, because they were the only ones who currently had them
"Not being able to read him must have pissed you off. "
> "A little. "
More than a little, if his expression was anything to go by. My grin became full-blown. "So what did you do when he shot me?"
"What do you think I did? I killed him. "
Which was the vampire's answer to any problem - kill first, ask questions later. It was an okay solution if the problem happened to be someone who'd undertaken the ceremony to become a vampire, but pretty much useless with everyone else. The truly dead couldn't answer questions. "And the body?"
"Unfortunately, your attacker fell into the path of an oncoming train. Services were delayed for some time while police investigated. "
"And, of course, they will find no indication of murder. "
"Of course. " He studied me, and despite the amusement touching the corners of his eyes, his expression still held a lot of wariness