Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

"The jury is still out on the other six, though."

"I just got your ass out of jail, brother, so you could play nice for a little while."

He chuckled softly. "If you insist."

"I do." I hesitated, then added, "Jack's going to try to drag me into this investigation. I don't want to be involved any more than I am, Rhoan. I don't want to be a guardian."

"I know." The amusement fled from his voice. "And I'll do what I can to keep you free, but when it comes to this particular case, I don't think there's any escape."

Which is not what I wanted to hear

He paused, then added, "You might want to ring Talon and Misha, and just warn them that work is creating problems that may spill into your private life. Tell them to be careful."

"Misha's gone back to his pack, and I have no intention of speaking to Talon for the next couple of days. He's being a bastard."

"Always has been. You just couldn't see past the sex."

"True. But then, the sex was damn good." Or it had been, until recently. What had changed, I wasn't sure. Certainly Talon hadn't

"Just be careful, Riley."

Like I needed to be told that. "See you soon, bro."

I hung up and caught the tram down to the Casino. If I didn't get Misha's car out of the garage soon, the fees would cost me more than the old Mercedes was actually worth. I took the elevator down to sublevel three and headed out across the concrete expanse. Water dripped in the distance, and up ahead, lights blinked, sending shadows scurrying through the concrete paddock

Sound whispered around me - the soft scuff of a heel, followed by the faint caress of mint in the air. I stopped abruptly, muscles tense as I looked around. There was no one else there... and yet there was. My gaze swept across the shadows filling the distant corners. A vampire lurked there - but he wasn't what I sensed. It was something else... something stranger

I sniffed. The air was a mix of dampness and exhaust fumes, but underneath it lay something old. Something rotten

Something almost dead

My stomach stirred. I clenched my fist and forced my feet to walk on. The car was only two rows away - closer than the elevator. Not that I could retreat that way even if I'd wanted to because whatever that smell belonged to stood between me and the elevator

Air caressed my cheek with foulness. The vampire was on the move. I dug the keys out of my bag and clicked open the car. The taillights flashed in response, briefly illuminating my surroundings with cheerful yellow

I opened the car door and threw in my bag. My neck prickled a warning and I spun. Something glittered in the air - a thread of silver arrowing toward me

I swore and ducked out of the way, but it was too close, too fast, to avoid. It sliced through my coat into my arm, biting deep into my flesh. Pain slithered through me, and with it came a cold sensation. Icy fingers began spreading from the wound, reaching up toward my shoulder and down toward my hand. I wrenched the thing free, but it felt like half my arm came with it, and I couldn't help screaming

When I held the thread up, I saw what remained of the barbs on the arrowhead. Saw the flesh hanging off them

Warmth pulsed down my arm, and from the shadows came a surge of blood hunger, a force so strong it almost knocked me over. Sweat broke out across my brow, yet the coldness was spreading, making me tremble

Air screamed. I blinked, switching to the infrared of my vampire vision, and saw the blur of heat rushing at me. I swung, kicking the vamp as hard as I could. But my movements seemed to be in slow motion, and the vampire easily avoided the blow

His fist swung. I ducked, felt hair stir as his hand skimmed the top of my head, then rose, fist clenched as I cut upward. The blow hit him under the jaw and knocked him off his feet. The force of it numbed my fingers. I shook my hand, trying to get some feeling back

Sweat stung my eyes and obscured my vision. I blinked, but it didn't seem to help any. The vampire was little more than a smudge of red as he scrambled back to his feet and rushed at me

He lashed out again. I blurred, but it felt like my feet were stuck in glue. The vampire's blow smashed into my chin and sent me sprawling backward. I hit the car door with a grunt and fell sideways to the floor, my breath leaving in a whoosh of air. Pinpoints of lights were dancing before my eyes, and I wasn't sure if it was lack of breath or something else

Then the vamp hit me, his body covering mine, hot and heavy. Though gasping for breath and fighting the blackness threatening to consume me, I heard the vampire's snarl. The shadows were unraveling around him, revealing gaunt features and dead brown eyes that were identical to Gautier's. His teeth were extending, saliva dripping from the points in expectation of the feed

I thrust my hands between us, and tried to push him away. I might as well have been trying to move a mountain. My strength was slithering away, the darkness coming in, and close by the dead thing

Watching, waiting

I didn't know what it was. Didn't care. Just knew I couldn't let it get me