Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Guardian 8)

"We're sending Lyndal to you via Quinn's plane. She'll get there around lunch. But you need to carry on phoning every night as usual. They have to believe everything is fine. "

"But the guards will know - "

"The guards won't remember a damn thing, and they'll believe she's still here safe and sound. As long as you and West keep up the charade, we should have a few days' leeway. "

"But what if they do realize? We're sitting ducks staying here. "

"I didn't say you were staying there. I just said you needed to keep phoning. "

"But caller ID will tell them - "

"Caller ID can be faked. They'll think you're still there, Evin. Trust me. "

"I do. " He paused, then said, "When you confront Blake, I want in. Whatever you do, I want to be a part of it. He has to pay, Riley. For you, and for Lyndal. "

"He will. But I haven't yet decided what - "

"I don't care. Just factor in my help. "

"And mine," Lyndal murmured. "I may be pregnant, but, by god, someone is going to pay for what these bastards did to me. "

I glanced at her and saw the fire in her eyes. The need for retribution. And understood it, totally. I gave her the phone. "We need to move. Say good-bye. "

I turned and led the way downstairs. She talked and walked, hanging up as we neared the front door. She paused when she saw Quinn, her nostrils flaring, then glanced at me and marched forward.

Not at Quinn, but the two men. She raised a fist, but Quinn caught it before she could land a blow.

"I can understand the need to lash out," he said softly, "but leaving a bruise they can't remember might just undo the mind washing I've done. "

She glanced at him, her thin face fierce, then nodded once and stepped back. "Will the Directorate take care of them later?"

"If not the Directorate, then I will," Quinn said. And he said it with such an utter lack of emotion that it was chilling - and totally believable. "They are dead men walking. "

"Good. " She crossed her arms over her breasts, though it wasn't an attempt to cover her nakedness. "What next?"

"We've some clothes for you in the back of the car, if you'd like to climb in and dress. " Quinn glanced at me.

"You need to put the guards back. "

"Put them back how?"

"The vampire tripped on some loose carpeting going up the stairs, hit the hall stand, and knocked himself unconscious. "

Meaning I'd have to ensure there was loose carpet. "And the wolf?"

"Before the vamp had his accident, he and the wolf had a minor altercation. The wolf was knocked down and smacked the back of his head on the tiles. "

And given I'd neutralized my scent before we'd come here, no one would scent me. "Neither man has appropriate bumps. "

He glanced at me, his smile cold. "Oh yes they have. "

I snorted. "And you stopped Lyndal from hitting him. "

"I built my bumps into their memories. "

"You could have done it to hers. "

"It's not easy to account for bruising to the front and back of the head. In a case like this, where you're adding memories and forcing them not to see certain things, too many complications can risk blowing the whole thing. "