"You're not the only guardian he has, Riley. Blake - and whoever else is behind this - needs to be stopped immediately. Otherwise, next time they might just settle for an assassin's bullet."
And as he'd already said, Jack didn't want me dead.
I glanced at West. "Do you know if Tyson has any other spies in this town?"
West shook his head. "Not that I know of. Besides, it'd be overkill."
If it meant their plans for my eventual end ran smoothly, I had no doubt that both Tyson and Blake would employ as much overkill as they thought necessary.
"Then you need to keep playing the game. Report on time, and don't give anything away."
West didn't look happy, but I was betting he was smart enough to know he had little choice in the matter. "And if I do?"
"Then maybe you get to keep your job."
As I spoke, a sliver of energy spun through the air. West blinked and his eyes went briefly lifeless - although if you weren't watching him carefully, you wouldn't even have noticed it.
What did you do? I asked, without looking at Quinn.
Just applied a little insurance. He won't be able to warn Tyson even if he wanted to.s grunted. "Floor it." He disconnected then glanced at us. "He'll be here within half an hour. I would suggest you two move away from the doorway so as not to spook him."
We did. I walked across to sit on the desk beside Evin, but Quinn merely stepped to one side of the doorway. Ready to block off any immediate escape once West saw who, exactly, was waiting for him.
We waited patiently - although in my case, that wasn't exactly easy. I mean, after all the confusion of the last few days, I just wanted to hunt down all the clues and catch the bastards behind both crimes.
Lights eventually swept across the front windows as a truck rumbled into the driveway and stopped. A car door slammed, then footsteps approached.
A second later, the front door opened and West stepped in. His gaze swept the room and came to rest on me. There was a brief flash of surprise, but nothing else. He obviously had no real clue as to why we were all here.
"Denny and his friends have lodged a complaint about you," he said, walking across to the coffee machine and helping himself to a drink. "I told them they were damn fools and that if they didn't get charged with kidnap and blackmail, they'd be damn lucky."
"I'm not here to lay charges against Denny and his friends," I said calmly.
"Then you're a damn fool, too."
"She didn't say I wouldn't," Evin snapped. "And trust me, those bastards will pay."
"Good. They need to be taught a lesson." West took a sip, then turned around to face Harris. "Where do you want me to start?"
"I think a good place," Harris said, voice flat, "would be by telling us exactly what you know about the kidnapping of Riley Jenson - whom we happen to know as Hanna London."
He didn't even look at me. Just raised an eyebrow, his expression even and unfazed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Lie," Quinn said impassively.
West glanced at him. "Who the hell are you?"
"Riley's lover, and a consultant to both the vampire council and the Melbourne Directorate." His sudden smile was neither warm nor friendly. In fact, it reminded me of a predator about to consume its prey. Quinn's anger and need for revenge might be less visible than my brother's, but that didn't mean it was absent. Far from it. "It is the first of those you should be worried about, because trust me, I ache for the chance to see justice done."
"That," West said, "sounded very much like a threat."
"Mike," Harris said heavily. "Hanna - Riley - is a guardian. Being involved with kidnapping a guardian puts you beyond our laws. I'd seriously advise you to stop the pretense and start cooperating, or they will make you."
"I'm an officer of the law. That gives me rights against this sort of - "
"No, it doesn't," I cut in, my voice edged with the anger roiling through me. He had no choice and nowhere to run - surely he could see that? "Whoever is behind this has not only kidnapped me and messed with my mind, but they're holding Evin's pregnant mate hostage and they attempted to kill Quinn. That means we can legally question, torture, or even kill any nonhumans involved in this case, and there's not one damn thing Harris or anyone else can do to stop us. So quit messing with us, West, or we really are going to start messing with you."
The threat tasted bitter on my tongue and I had to resist the urge to rub my arms. With a lot of my memories back in place, the ache not to do this job was coming to the fore again.