Full Moon Rising

by Arthur, Keri

  I looked down at the fluffy thing. “I have no idea what it is. I asked for something sweet and got this.”

  “A warning never to ask for something sweet at an old rock and roll bar.”

  He leaned back, and sunlight danced across his sculptured cheekbones, making them shine a deep, rich gold. Which matched the highlights in his silver hair. I couldn’t help smiling. Last week, he’d been blue. It was just as well he was one of the top special effects artists in the country, because he’d never be able to afford his ever-changing looks otherwise.

  And it always made me wonder how the hell he’d survived the military’s strict rules for ten years. It wasn’t a place that appreciated individualism, and I just couldn’t imagine Liander bowing to conformity. I’d asked him about it many times, but he’d merely shrugged and changed the subject. As far as I was aware, not even Rhoan knew the exact details about his years in the military.

  Which was all very mysterious. And if he continued to be a prominent feature in my brother’s life, I’d start digging. Not just because I was nosy—though I was—but because Rhoan was my twin and my pack. If there was something in Liander’s background that could end up hurting Rhoan, I wanted to know about it.

  “What can I do for you, Riley?”

  “Have you seen Rhoan lately?”

  He frowned. “Why? Is something wrong?”

  I hesitated, mainly because I knew Liander actually loved my brother—even if my brother didn’t feel the same way. Liander deserved the truth—or at least some semblance of it. But with Misha sitting beside me, I had to go with the same story. “I just need to get hold of him. You got any idea where he might be?”

  “I thought he was on a mission.”

  “Davern told me he was investigating Evensong Air.”

  Liander grimaced. “That lush. He wouldn’t know one end of a dog from the other these days.”

  I grinned. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning Rhoan was investigating the owner, Quinn O’Conor, not Evensong Air itself.”

  My stomach sank. Just as well I’d listened to my instincts rather than my hormones. “I was under the impression the two of them were friends.”

  “They are, which was why Rhoan was so pissed at having to go undercover and investigate.”

  At least Quinn hadn’t lied about that part of it. “Any idea what he was investigating?”

  Liander shook his head. “You know he never gives away stuff like that.”

  I sighed and leaned back. “Then you haven’t any idea where he might have gone?”

  “I know he was checking out the street directory before he left.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t suppose you know what address?”

  “No. But I was sitting beside him and know the page number was sixty-nine.”

  I grinned. “No wonder you remembered it. Bit of wishful thinking there, huh?”

  Amusement touched the corners of his silvery eyes. “In the end, there was nothing wishful about it.”

  “Lucky you.”

  “Indeed.”

  “There’s a street directory at my place,” Misha said. “If you want to check out what’s on that page number.”

  I leaned over and kissed his cheek again. “Thank you.”

  He smiled into my eyes. “I can think of better ways to thank me.”

  The slow burn of passion ignited again. It wasn’t the fierceness I’d felt earlier, but it was certainly a warning that this moon phase would be a bad one. And for the first time, I wondered if Talon and Misha were going to be enough to keep me satisfied.

  I said good-bye to Liander and let Misha escort me downstairs to reclaim my bag and coat. Once outside the club, he pressed me back against the wall and kissed me. It was a slow, sweet possession that was so very different from the fierceness that Talon offered but just as arousing in its own way. Which was why I liked being with them both. In the two, I had my ideal man.

  “I’ll go get my car,” he said, after a while.

  “I’ll wait.”

  He grinned, and walked off whistling. Five minutes later, we were roaring into the city at warp speed in his shiny red Ferrari—which he lovingly called his “bound to get a shag” wagon. Though why a werewolf, armed with an aura that could sweep all objections aside with little effort, needed a “shag wagon” was beyond any sort of reasoning.

  Misha lived in the penthouse suite of a tower apartment building he’d recently purchased. It stood next to the Casino and the South Bank entertainment complex, and from what he’d recently said, the rent was making him huge gobs of money. His apartment, like him, was silver, but the coldness of it was offset by the brilliant views offered by the floor-to-ceiling windows and the splashes of vibrant colors tucked into odd corners. I never went too near the windows. Though I loved the view, I had a weird fear of heights that kicked in around twenty stories high. Fifteen was close enough to twenty to be cautious.

  I dumped my bag and coat on the nearest chair and looked around. “Where’s the street directory?”

  “In the kitchen.”

  I raised my eyebrows as I headed that way. “Strange place to keep a street directory.”

  He gave me a grin as he walked around the bench and grabbed a couple of mugs from the cupboard. “Not when you have a business meeting to attend and are studying where the hell it is over breakfast.”

  I opened the directory and flicked to page sixty-nine. It didn’t provide any immediate revelations.

  “Do you know if there’s anything of interest around here?” I slid the book across the bench toward him.

  “The Moneisha Research Center is there.” He indicated a spot surrounded by green.

  I frowned. “Why does that name ring a bell?”

  A smile tugged his lips. “It’s only been in the news for the last week.”

  It wasn’t that. I’d seen that name somewhere else, somewhere recently, but I’d be damned if I could remember where. I waved a hand. “You know I never read the headlines.”

  “Ah well, you’ve missed out on some interesting times.” He pressed the button on the espresso machine, filling both mugs, then slid one across to me and sat down opposite. “Moneisha is apparently involved in gene research.”

  “So? Half the labs around the world are involved in gene research.”

  “Yeah, but Moneisha has apparently succeeded where others have failed.”

  I frowned. “Succeeded in what?”

  “Pinpointing the cluster of genes that make a vampire a vampire. Word is they want to try and splice vampire DNA into the eggs of other races.”

  I stared at him. “You’re kidding?”

  He shook his head. “Hence the protests outside the labs for the last week and Moneisha’s being in the news more than they would want.”

  “But . . . ?” Words failed me. I just shook my head and sipped at my coffee.

  “Why would anyone want to do something like that?” he finished for me. “Imagine the supersoldier you could build if you could have all of a vamp’s abilities and none of the restrictions, such as bloodlust and the inability to move around in daylight.”

  “I don’t think I want to imagine something like that.” It was simply too scary a thought. Vampires were bad enough—but soldiers with all of a vampire’s skills and none of the restrictions? I shuddered. “Is the government behind Moneisha?”

  “No. It’s privately owned.”

  “Who by?”

  He shrugged. “Last I heard it was owned by some company by the name of Konane.”

  Another name that sounded familiar. “And they are?”

  “A research company. I can try and find out a bit more about it if you’d like.”

  “I would like.”

  I pulled the directory toward me and studied it for a few minutes. I had no idea if Moneisha was connected in any way to Rhoan, or if he was even headed that way. But there was nothing else on this map that seemed in any way a likely target, so I could only try. If I kept following
his footsteps, sooner or later I was going to find some real information.

  I checked the transport situation, noting there was a railway station within walking distance of the Moneisha labs, then closed the directory and pushed it toward Misha. “Thanks for that.”

  His smile touched his silver eyes as he reached across the table and took my hand in his. His fingers were warm against mine, his skin so pale. He caressed my wrist with his thumb, shooting slivers of desire up my arm. “How are you intending to get out to Moneisha?”

  “Train. Why?”

  “Would you like to borrow one of my cars?”

  I raised my eyebrows. Misha was a collector of not only high-priced shag wagons, but vintage automobiles. At last count, he had about fifty antiques and five newer “classics” stored in the special parking lot underneath this tower. “You’d trust me to drive one of your cars?”

  I couldn’t help the surprise in my voice, and his smile grew. “Only one of the ones that I don’t mind getting bashed up. I’ve seen you drive, remember.”

  “I know. Hence my surprise.”

  “There is an ulterior motive, of course.”

  His voice had dropped several octaves and slid through my system as smoothly as warmed chocolate. Talon might be excitement and raw power, but Misha was certainly passion. “And what might that be?”

  “You have to return the car and the keys, and therefore might spend tonight with me rather than Talon.”

  I leaned across the table and kissed him. “A car would be far handier than public transport, so I just might be forced to accept that proposition.” The hunger glittering in his eyes echoed through me, stirring the moon heat to life. “But why not get a down payment right now?”

  “Why not indeed,” he agreed, and pressed his hand against the back of my neck, holding me still as his mouth claimed mine.

  As places to make love went, a kitchen bench wasn’t that bad an alternative.

  I checked the map for the umpteenth time, wanting to be sure I was headed in the right direction. On foot, I could find my way anywhere. Shove me behind the wheel of a car and I could get lost in a traffic circle.

  Up ahead, the lights changed from green to red. The cell phone chose that moment to ring and I slipped the earpiece in as I stopped the car.

  “Riley here.”

  “How are you feeling, little wolf?”

  Talon’s husky tones lost none of their impact electronically, and a warm shiver slipped down my spine. He didn’t even have to touch me to turn me on.

  “I’ve been with Misha, and I’m feeling fine.”

  Talon paused. Maybe he didn’t like the thought that I could still need another after the pounding he’d given me.

  “He can’t do to you what I do to you.”

  His words held an edge that made me frown. Was Talon getting jealous? Surely not. “No. And sometimes that’s a good thing.”

  The lights changed. I put on the turn signal and moved over to the side of the road. Given my driving record, talking to Talon while trying to steer the car probably wasn’t a good idea.

  His laugh skittered across my skin and made me hunger, yet there was also that rawness in it that stirred uneasiness through me. Sex with Talon was great, but if he was beginning to think there could be anything else between us, he needed his head examined. As a part-time lover he was fantastic, but I was damn sure I couldn’t cope with him full-time. And not just sexually. Arrogance, and a complete belief in one’s own superiority, was okay in the bedroom, but it would probably drive me crazy elsewhere.

  “Can I see you again soon?” he said.

  “I’m with Misha tonight.”

  “Then come now.”

  There was no hiding the annoyance in his voice this time, and I frowned. “Why do you suddenly have a problem with me being with Misha?” In the two years we’d been together, I’d had up to four other partners. It had only been recently that I’d settled on Misha and him.

  “I don’t. Well, I do when I want you and he has you, but it’s not a jealousy thing, if that’s what you mean.” He paused. “How about I add a sweetener? I have that information you wanted.”

  “You ran a search on Evensong?”

  “And the owner. Found a couple of interesting tidbits. You can come over to my place and collect them.”

  My heart accelerated. He’d never asked me to his place before—never told me much about himself at all, in fact, and curiosity stirred.

  “When and where?”

  He chuckled. “What are you doing right now?”

  “Driving out to the Moneisha labs.”

  “You haven’t got a car.”

  “Misha lent me one of his.”

  “No way. He’s seen you drive and he adores his cars.”

  I grinned. “It’s a Mercedes and he has several of them. He says he can afford to lose one.”

  Talon snorted. “I hope it’s some bright color, so the other drivers can see you coming.”

  “It’s red.”

  “Red is the color of danger.”

  “I’m not that bad.”

  “Oh yes, you are. I hope you’re not driving while you’re talking to me.”

  “I can multitask.”

  “Yeah, right. What street are you on now?”

  I peered up at the nearby street sign. “On Burwood, near Oaklands Avenue. Why?”

  “Because I’m going to send out an all-points warning to my people to get the hell out of the area.”

  “Bastard.”

  He chuckled. “Why are you going to Moneisha?”

  “I’m probably chasing a wild goose, but that’s where Rhoan might have been heading.”

  “Why would he be going there?”

  “He’s a guardian, so who knows? I’m just going to walk around the perimeter and see if I can feel anything.”

  “So how far off are you?”

  “About ten minutes. Why?”

  “Just trying to work out how long it’ll be until you get here. I’m feeling hungry, little wolf.”

  My pulse slipped into third gear and the ache I’d thought Misha had sated became fierce again. Lord, what was I going to be like a day or so before the full moon? “So give me your address and I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

  Not surprisingly, he lived in Toorak, a classy suburb filled with the superrich. I jotted the address down in my diary and hung up with the promise to be there within an hour and a half.

  I continued on, and despite the aspersions on my driving skills, reached Moneisha without incident. After parking, I grabbed my coat and strolled toward the red-topped white buildings I could see through the guardhouse gateway. There were two sets of fences—a solid white concrete one that had to be at least eight feet high, and, farther in, a wire one. Even from across the road, I could feel the buzz of electricity running through the wire. I had no doubt there would be other security systems right through the lawns that surrounded the building.

  The gray-suited guard shifted in his box, watching as I approached. I dropped my shields, and reached out to touch his mind telepathically. It felt like I was hitting a brick wall. Either he was wearing some sort of electronic mind-shield or was immune to telepathic touch. I gave him a cheerful smile and walked by, following the long, white wall. I wasn’t sure what I hoped to find here, but I had to look.

  I was about three-quarters of the way around when awareness shot through me. Joy leapt, and it was all I could do to stop myself from dancing. I’d found him. And while I had no idea why he was here, I had every intention of finding out. I stopped and heard the buzz of the security cam as it swung around to watch me.

  Forcing myself to move, I crossed the road, then got out my phone, pretending to answer it as I leaned against the front fence of a house and studied the rooftops beyond the wall. There were two buildings, and they didn’t appear connected to the main one. They were also within six feet of the two fences. An easy enough jump if you could get past the security systems.

  F
or the first time in my life, I wished I could communicate telepathically with my brother. But that was the one ability he didn’t inherit from our mixed heritage. We both got the infrared vision and the ability to differentiate between nonhuman races and track them down, but he was totally mind-blind. Which was probably a good thing considering he worked with some of Melbourne’s most dangerous vampires.

  The camera was on me again. I couldn’t stay there. But I had every intention of coming back later that night, when the darkness played into my hand and allowed me to use the vampire ability to fade into shadow.

  I walked back to my car, but the vid phone beeped before I could get moving. “Riley speaking.”

  “Riley, it’s Jack.”

  I grinned. “Hey, boss, there’s no need to send Kelly out tonight. I’ve found our missing man.”

  “Really?” Amusement played around his mouth. “And where would that be?”

  “Moneisha.”

  His amusement fled. “Why on earth would he be there?”

  “Considering you won’t tell me what mission he was on, that’s not a question I can answer.”

  He laughed. “Would you like Kelly’s help extracting him?”

  “Does her help come with terms?”

  “Most definitely.”

  “Then no.”

  “You won’t get in there without some form of Directorate help. Moneisha has more than just infrared and electric fences guarding it.”

  “Why? What does it do?”

  “Officially, it’s a drug research center.”

  “And unofficially?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Is that why Rhoan was investigating it?”

  “He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near it.”

  Because he was supposed to be investigating Quinn. The question was, why? My gaze went back to the white walls. If there was more than just infrared, how was I going to get past it? I didn’t do this for a living. I could take care of myself, but I didn’t have the training or the skills to get past major security. Which meant I had two choices—either I let Jack extract him or I strike some sort of deal.

  The first option was obviously the sanest, but a niggle deep inside suggested that at this moment, it wasn’t the right choice. Though I had no idea why it wasn’t, I’d spent most of my life listening to my instincts. And though in the past that had often got me into trouble, I wasn’t about to abandon the habit.