"So you know where he is?"
"Yes." He hesitated. "Though you and I are both aware he doesn't always report changes of direction."
Wasn't that the truth. And if he wasn't where he was supposed to be, then finding him was going to be a whole lot of fun. "When will he become overdue?"
"He's due to report at nine tomorrow morning."
"And if he doesn't?"
"I shall decide then what to do."
"I want in."
"Riley, you're not a guardian."
Yet. I could almost hear the unspoken modifier. I could certainly see the amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. Though I'd failed the tests, Jack, for some reason, held the firm belief that I had the makings of a great guardian. He'd told me so, lots of times. But because I'd already taken the test, he couldn't force me to take another. I was safe - at least until he found a way to make me do the damn thing again. Or until I played into his hands, as I suspected I might be doing
"He's my pack mate. I don't intend to sit back and twiddle my thumbs if he's in trouble."
"Then report to work in the morning, and we'll see what happens."
Which was neither a yes nor a no, but about as much as I was going to get that night. "Thanks, Jack."
"Try not to scent anything else on the wind tonight," he said, voice dry. "It looks like an ant could knock you over right now."
"But only a very toned ant."
He laughed and hung up. I stared at the phone's blank screen for several seconds. If Jack wasn't going to be forthcoming with information, maybe I should try someone else. Like Kelly
Guardians often discussed missions, so maybe she knew where Rhoan had been headed. I had no idea if she was actually home, but I knew for a fact she wasn't working. It was worth a try
I dialed her number, but after three rings it clicked over to the answering machine. "Kel, it's Riley. Give me a call when you get home, no matter what the time." I hesitated, then added, so as not to panic her, "Nothing urgent. I just have a question."
I hung up, shoved the phone back in my bag, and walked home
Only to find the night's weirdness had not finished with me yet. A vampire stood at my door
A naked vampire, in fact
I stopped and stared. I couldn't help it. He was naked, after all. And damn, he was built
He had hair that might have been black, but just then looked brown with all the mud caked onto it, dark eyes that were anything but soulless, and a face angels would kill for
His body was just as caked with mud as his hair, but underneath the dirt, it was lean and powerful - in an athletic sort of way. And to complete the perfect packaging, he was well endowed. Not the largest I'd ever seen, but mighty fine all the same
The stairwell door slammed shut against my back, knocking me out of my admiring stupor
"Hello," I said
"Hello," he repeated
A polite vampire. Amazing. "Is there any particular reason you're standing naked at my door?"
I was hoping there was. Hoping that maybe he was some kind of present. Granted, my birthday was quite a few months off, but a girl can always dream
Though my dreams didn't usually contain naked vampires, especially mud-covered ones
He answered my question with one of his own. "Is there any particular reason you're covered in blood?"