Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

"Unless you want me puking over your undoubtedly nice carpets, that could be a good idea."

He nodded. We reached the restaurant and he bought me a burger, fries, and Coke, refusing to let me pay for it. I sipped the drink as we moved on to his building. Security let him in after an eye scan, and we took the lift to the tenth floor. Another eye scan later, and we were in a section that consisted of endless rows of desks. He led me through them and into an office at the far end

"Chip?"

I was tempted to hand him one of the French fries, but didn't think he'd see the humor in it right then. So I handed him the microchip and sat on the edge of the desk, one leg swinging as I munched my food. The screen popped into existence after security confirmed his identity yet again. He slipped the chip into a slot and it disappeared into the depths of the desk. A second later, floor plans appeared

"Where did you feel Rhoan?"

I pointed a greasy finger at the appropriate wall and the screen shimmered slightly. "There's about six feet between the walls and the roof, but there's a camera close by and I would imagine it's infrared."

"There's another entrance here." He pointed to a spot just past where I'd found Rhoan. "And a small guardhouse."

"That might be a good point of entry, if we could distract the guards."

He nodded. "They have laser sensors here and here." He indicated the two spots. "And it looks as if they also have sensor beams set one foot above the outer wall."

"Fuck."

"Crude, but appropriate." Amusement flirted with his lips again as he leaned back in the chair and studied the plans. "Though one foot leaves enough room to get under if you are aware of its presence. If Rhoan is still in there, it's going to take some planning to get him out."

"What do you mean, 'if'?"

"They've got cameras. They would have seen you walking around the perimeter."

"So? They wouldn't know me from a bar of soap."

"If Moneisha is involved in making either the crossbreeds or the clones, that may not be true." He studied me for a moment, dark eyes flat and somehow chilling. He reached into the pocket of his jeans. "I found this on that werewolf who shot you."

He dropped the small button into my palm. I looked at it, not sure what to make of it. My confusion must have shown, because he added, "It's a camera. A very powerful, very experimental, camera."

"They watched me being shot?" I couldn't believe anyone would be so... I stopped the thought. I worked with guardians, so yes, it was certainly possible to believe someone would be bloodthirsty enough to enjoy something like that

"He never intended to shoot you in the heart. He wanted to maim, not kill."

I took a quick swig of my Coke and regretted it the minute it hit my already churning stomach. "They couldn't have known you were there, and if you hadn't have been, I would have died."

"True. But he also had a small medical kit on him, meaning he could have been intending to retrieve the bullet himself."

"So why shoot me, then patch me up? What was the point?"

"Maybe they wanted to watch your reactions."

I went cold. "But that would mean - "

"If they're holding Rhoan for what he is," he said gently, "then they undoubtedly suspect what you are, too."

"But no one - " I broke the words off. If Jack had guessed, maybe others had too. "There's nothing on our birth certificates, and we've told no one." I fixed my gaze on him. "I can't believe Rhoan told you."

"He didn't. I guessed. Werewolves generally do not make good guardians because they cannot sense the dead. Yet he has senses as keen as my own." He paused. "And you blurred in an effort to avoid that bullet. Something else werewolves cannot do."

I slipped off the desk and began to pace. "What I don't get is the why? They're creating their own freaks. Why would they need me or Rhoan?"

He caught my hand as I passed him, stopping me in my tracks. "You are not a freak."

There was anger in his voice, in his eyes, as if the mere idea I could think such a thing offended him greatly. I found myself smiling. "Easy for you to say. You're just a common old vampire."

"And you are a miracle of existence. Never think otherwise."