by Jami Gray
“Protection?”
“Protection,” she confirmed.
He cocked his head. “I’d be better at sniffing out lies, Iliana.”
Time to teach this wolf that some humans weren’t too far from the Kyn. “No, you wouldn’t, Ryuu.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You sound so certain.”
“Because I am.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Shall we do a little test?”
It was her turn to arch an eyebrow. “Like Truth or Dare?”
He smiled and her heart paused before resuming a faster pace.
Damn, he was dangerous to a woman’s libido.
“Three questions, three answers. Whoever guesses the most correct truths wins.”
Deep inside, where he couldn’t see, she grinned from ear to ear. She loved a challenge. “Deal.”
“I’ll go first.”
Now why did she think he meant that as a warning? “Shoot.”
Leaning back, his grin upped the anticipatory tension stringing between them. “Are you in a relationship?”
He wasn’t pulling his punches and she almost laughed out loud, amazed at how fast he managed to capture her interest. “No.” Knowing shifters were phenomenal at reading body language and physical reactions, she answered his first question honestly. Giving him a baseline of her reaction would make the game more fair. For him.
The gold in his eyes flickered, and his voice deepened. “Truth.”
Hidden in her shoes, her toes curled as she blocked the full body shiver threatening to erupt.
He kept going, “Why not?”
Amusement rose and her lips curved the tiniest of bits. “My job keeps me busy and relationships require effort. I haven’t found anyone interesting enough for me to expend that much effort.”
“Lie,” his voice was soft.
He was good, she’d give him that. She wouldn’t defend herself, that wasn’t part of this little game. She waited for his last question.
“What are you hiding from?”
For a split second she froze at his unexpected question. It took every skill she honed over her twenty-seven years not to react further. “What makes you think I’m hiding?”
He shook his head. “Answering a question with a question means you’re trying to come up with a believable lie.”
Letting her spine relax and a smile grow, she shook her head slowly. “Fine. I’m not hiding from anyone.” Which technically was true. She wasn’t hiding from a person, per se.
He frowned and she could’ve swore he growled before answering, “Truth, maybe.”
His disgruntled response made her laugh. “My turn.” Let’s see how well he did when she turned the tables. One of the best parts of this game was letting the other person go first. Their questions revealed more than their answers, and she had no qualms about using whatever advantage she could. “Are you in a relationship?”
Humor crept around the bland note in his voice. “No.”
“Truth,” she murmured. “Why not?”
His shoulders rose in a negligent shrug. “I don’t have time for anything serious right now. I enjoy keeping my options open.” He picked up his coffee and took a sip, before sitting back in his chair, watching her.
Poor Ryuu, did he really think she’d fall for that? She didn’t even need her particular ability to determine this one. Although it did help her understand the why behind it. “Lie. If you were given a chance at something real, you’d be all over it in a heartbeat.” And while a part of her pitied whoever became the object of his protective nature, another part envied them. She didn’t give him a chance to react further, but hit him with her last question. “Who are you hunting?”
It wasn’t a physical reaction so much as a tightening in the office’s air, as tension shifted from playful and flirty to cautious and dangerous. Her heart wanted to race, but she managed to keep it steady, barely. As her particular ability kicked in, she couldn’t stop her muscles from tensing.
“Recently, a very irritating hacker.”
His deceptively casual answer made her blink, but it didn’t stop her from reading the truth underneath it. Even though her mouth was dry and the voice trying to keep her ass in one piece screamed to stay quiet, she opened her mouth and stated, “Lie. You intend to hunt down the mastermind behind the murder of your pack-mate and the one threatening the Kyn.”
He cleared the desk before she could blink. His hands held her arms locked against the armrests. It didn’t hurt, but she couldn’t move. Instinctive fear rose, her pulse taking off like a rocket while nerves all but jumped from under skin. She tried to keep her breathing, even while she held his burning gaze.
“What do you know about it?”
She licked her dry lips.
His gaze dropped to the movement before returning to hers.
“Nothing.” The one word escaped on a breath of sound.
He lowered his head, and even through her fear she was fascinated by the starburst of gold erupting in his eyes. Stunned, she watched his wolf come front and center as he leaned closer, until his nose brushed against her jaw and his warm breath fell over her neck. “Truth,” he growled.
“Truth,” she repeated.
He drew back slowly, never releasing her. “What are you?”
Swallowing in an effort to get some moisture to her mouth, she answered, “Psychic.” Against her arms his fingers flexed. “My ability is a subset of psychometry, except instead of reading objects, I read the truth, or lack thereof, behind a person’s words.”
He drew back and slowly sank into a crouch in front of her. She was startled to feel his thumb brush against her wrist. “A human lie detector.” She nodded. He kept studying her, his too intent gaze made her squirm in her chair as the predatory tension began to fade. “All of Division’s agents are psychic.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Was that a question or a statement?” She almost laughed at his disgruntled glare. “Look, Ryuu, you and I both know why Division prefers to use psychics. Hell, we’re not the only hush-hush group that does so, there are rumors of a black-ops type group made up of ex-military members with abilities. Dealing with the Kyn requires every edge we can utilize, you and yours can be a bit difficult to work with.”
Understatement of the year, and judging by her boss’s grumblings, every encounter threatened to leave Division members in need of a hair transplant or a few stiff drinks. While she worked with a few Kyn over the years, this was her first encounter with someone so unapologetically other.
He gave a soft snort, let her go, and rose to his feet. He backed up until he could lean against the edge of his desk. He folded his arms over his chest. “Fine. I’ll play bad cop to your good cop.” His nostrils flared as he inhaled. “You aren’t carrying.”
The unexpected switch of topic caught her off guard. “No, I’m not.” Of course, she could rectify that once she got to her car. She’d come for a conversation and hadn’t considered bringing in her service weapon. Not that a gun would do much good against a Kyn unless you knew who or what you were facing.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “We need to see if Ansa is in today. If she’s not, and we have to track her down, I’d feel better if you were armed. Especially if she does have something to do with this.”
Okay, he was making her worry a bit. “What kind of Kyn is she?”
“No idea. She could just as easily be human, Iliana. Taliesin is an equal opportunity employer.”
There was no hiding her blush at her foot-in-mouth moment. “Sorry.” He was correct, and her experience could testify that the Kyn weren’t always the most vicious things out there. “It’s locked in my trunk.”
He offered her his hand with a wicked grin. “Guess I’ll just have to make sure to excel in my role as protector, then, huh?”
She took it, enjoying the warmth of his palm against hers, his words wrapping around her like protective threads. As much as she’d like to wallow in the moment, she had a job to do. “Let’s go chat wit
h Ms. Veneno.”
* * * *
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kern.” Rachel disconnected the line with one press of a polished nail. “Ms. Veneno’s voicemail indicates she’s not in the office today.”
Ryuu ran a hand through his hair. Of course, because that would be too easy. “See if you can reach her manager to find out if her absence was planned, please?” He turned to Iliana as Rachel worked the complex phone system. “How come you’re here without a partner? Division seems to send agents out in sets.”
The hint of heated vanilla edged with a bite of spice followed behind the slight color rising over her cheeks, as something flashed through her dark eyes. “Upset because you didn’t rate two agents?”
He grinned, liking her spiky wit. “Not at all, I’m just used to tripping over duplicates whenever working with Division, and figured it was standard operating procedure.”
Her lips twitched as her gaze slid away, before coming back. “It’s SOP only if a situation is deemed sensitive.”
Instead of assuaging his curiosity, her answer sharpened his interest. He’d bet the majority of cases involving the Kyn were deemed “sensitive”, so why was she here solo? He angled closer to her, allowing his wolf to indulge in her scent. Maybe then he’d stop scratching under his skin. “Implying I’m not ‘sensitive’? Now you’ve hurt my feelings.” He mustered a mock pout and tucked his head down.
She turned, giving him her profile as she laid one hand flat against the reception desk, while the other went to her hip. “Truthfully?” Her eyes glinted in the light. “We’re spread a little thin right now, and I’m in the midst of a partner change.” She slid a mischievous look from the corner of her eye. “Don’t worry, Osborn knows where I am.”
“Mr. Kern,” Rachel’s voice cut off his response. He turned away from Iliana, and Rachel handed him a small sticky note. “Ms. Veneno’s address. Today is her flex day, and according to her manager she was planning on spending time in her garden.”
He took the piece of paper with a quiet thanks. He and Iliana made their good-byes and headed out.
A comfortable silence fell between them as they rode down the elevator. When they hit the lobby, Ryuu rested his hand at the base of Iliana’s spine, his fingers itching to drift lower to the flex and sway of her ass. It wasn’t that he was unsure of his welcome, all those little glances and blushes were proof she was as drawn to him as he was to her, but timing was everything. When he could get her from behind her badge, then he’d sate his wolf’s hunger to play. For now, he was happy in his role as her protector.
They cleared the glass doors and hit the parking lot. It was closing in on mid-morning, and for once Portland’s weather was in a benevolent mood. The sun spread her warmth, glinting off newly green trees as they stretched their branches under blue, spring skies. Birds sang, accompanied by the low thrum of traffic zipping along the freeway hidden behind the foliage.
Following in the curvy agent’s wake, his step found an extra bit of bounce. Good gods, if he kept this up, a damn princess would materialize singing from the sidelines, complete with fawning wildlife. He blamed his slip from reality on his lack of sleep.
Iliana led him to a nondescript, blah white sedan. The chirp of the deactivating alarm was quickly followed by a hollow thunk. The trunk popped open, and she pushed it up to dig around inside while he made his way to the passenger side. There was a quick combination of beeps he picked up only because of his sensitive hearing. A gun safe, probably. More rustling, another soft click, and when she straightened she was securing her holstered gun on her hip. She snagged a lightweight linen jacket and closed the trunk.
A few minutes later Ansa’s address was programmed into her GPS, and a computerized voice began dictating their route. As she picked up speed to merge onto the freeway, he decided it was time to discuss their plan. “So what’s your plan here? Are we just going to go up, knock on her door, and ask questions?”
A light laugh escaped. “What did you think I was planning on doing? Kicking her door down, holding her at gunpoint and demanding answers?”
“I’m all for whatever works. If she is involved, I can’t see how questioning her will help you any.”
She lifted one hand from the wheel and shook her finger at him. “Ah, impatient one, that is where you’re wrong. You’d be amazed at how what a person chooses not to say, will reveal their true answers.” She slid him a glance, before turning her attention back to driving. “Word choice is just as unique as scents.”
Interesting comparison. “Explain that.”
Her shoulders rose and fell in a delicate shrug. “I’m not sure I can.”
“Try,” he urged, his need to unearth her secrets almost as great as his wolf’s craving to play with her.
Her fingers began an absent rhythm on the steering wheel.
He swore he could feel her mind picking through ways to explain. He didn’t rush her, but waited, patiently, like any good hunter.
Finally she broke the quiet, “When we were doing our Q&A in your office, I asked you why you weren’t in a relationship. Remember what your answer was?”
He tilted his head. “I like keeping my options open.”
She was shaking her head before he finished. “Nope, your first response was you didn’t have time. When you said that, you were impatient, frustrated, and a little bitter. That meant not having time wasn’t your choice, but someone else’s. You’re very committed to your responsibilities, be they professional or personal. That’s why you haven’t pursued a relationship, it would put you in an unattainable position of dividing your loyalty. It was when you added the part about keeping your options open, that clenched it for me.”
He was floored by her ability to pick up on half formed ideas he rarely admitted to himself. Unfortunately, she didn’t really give him a chance to ignore the evidence. Still, he was completely captivated by her. “Why?”
This time there was no escaping the teasing bent of her smile. “You gave me a pat answer, one you knew others expected from you. Thing is, it doesn’t jive with your initial response.”
“So?”
“Sooo,” she drew out. “Any time someone is questioned, their initial response contains the most truth, especially if they answer quickly without time to consider their answer and its implications. It’s basic human nature.”
“Ah, but I’m not human.”
She laughed. “Human or Kyn, do you believe we’re all that different?”
“Don’t you?” This time there was no teasing in his question.
Catching his underlying seriousness, she looked at him for a brief moment. “No.”
A simple answer with surprising depth, and it sank beyond his normal wariness, and curled around him and his wolf. Stunned by the unexpected impact, he stared unseeingly out the window, blind to the passing scenery until she called his name.
“Ryuu.”
He blinked and turned to her, as she flicked on a turn signal to exit following the suggestion of the electronic GPS.
Assured she had his attention, she continued, “Will you be able to determine if Ansa is Kyn or not before we see her?”
“Once we’re at her house, probably.” He shook an unfamiliar discontent away and focused on the here and now. “If she lives in an apartment, things could get dicey.”
Iliana frowned. “Why is that?”
He shook his head. “Apartments mean multiple scent tracks. Trying to pick out an individual scent without previously identifying it, is difficult. Without knowing Ansa’s base scent, I’m stuck trying to parse out human versus non-human scents, and that’s not as simple as it sounds.”
He tried to come up with a good comparison, and the one that popped up made him grimace, but he went with it. “Think of it like a public restroom versus a private one. In a home, the scents left behind are based on the individuals who live there. You have individual perfumes, soaps, or lotions mixed with their cleaning supplies. Public restrooms are inundated with people, who all carry
a different combination of scents, which then mixes with whatever commercial grade cleaning crap is used, and together it creates a mishmash of competing scents that tend to overwhelm the nose. Identifying one particular scent becomes near impossible.”
“Man, it must suck to walk around town then,” she muttered.
He rubbed his chin. “Yeah, it can be a real nightmare. If Ansa lives in a house, scents will be limited to her and her visitors, so I should be able to determine what she is fairly quickly.”
They stopped at a traffic light and she dropped one hand to her thigh, her thumb absently brushing over her slacks. “Is there some kind of baseline scent-o-meter for Kyn?”
He opened his mouth to answer, pausing while the GPS directed them to the left for another couple of miles. “More like signature scents. Shifters carry an earthiness, probably because they’re more in tune with Mother Nature than any other. Witches do as well, but not as much, while wizards lean toward chemical type scents. Demons hold a deeper, darker tone, while Fey are illusive and lighter.”
“And humans?”
When her teeth sank into her bottom lip, he wondered if she regretted asking that particular question. “Humans carry a mixture of scents.” He didn’t go into detail. Explaining how personality traits carried a unique spectrum of scents might make her uncomfortable around him. Living among humans, he’d encountered everything from acidic self-indulgence to sweet compassion. A shifter’s keen sense of smell gave them an added advantage when determining a human’s intent.
“Huh,” her comment was soft, but she didn’t say anything more.
He let the conversation lie, as she followed the directions and pulled up in front of a split-level house perched on an incline. Blue with white trim, carefully manicured bushes and a shading tree stood guard over the small front porch. Parked in the drive was a compact four door.
