Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

"How? All the offices upstairs have eye scan locks."

"They do. Except the scanners have mysteriously started acting up the last twenty-four hours, and all staff have been issued with special keycards and codes until the problem is resolved."

"Convenient," I said dryly

He merely smiled. "Alan Brown has a long-known habit of bringing prostitutes into his office. Unfortunately, Brown took some coffee that didn't agree with him earlier this afternoon and went home sick. He won't wake until tomorrow."

"And how was this managed? You and I both know Brown wouldn't touch anything you gave him with a ten-foot pole. And you couldn't exactly ask any of the guardians to tamper with his coffee, because you don't know whom to trust right now."

Jack nodded. "But I know I can trust the director."

I raised my eyebrow. "Alex Hunter? The woman is a bitch."

"And that bitch is my sister."

Trust me to put my foot in it. Or open my big mouth, as the case might be

Rhoan laughed, and Jack reached across the table, patting my hand comfortingly. "It's okay. She is a bitch, most times. But she wants to know what is going on every bit as badly as us. The Directorate is her baby - she was one of those who pushed to get it set up - and she has no intention of letting it be used for nefarious purposes. As of this weekend, you, Rhoan, and I are on special assignment and reporting directly to her."

Meaning I was taking the first step down that guardian path. And there wasn't one damn thing I could do about it. If I said no, he'd lock me away somewhere safe, and that would be almost as bad, not only because I was a wolf who couldn't stand enclosed spaces for long but because some warped part of me wanted to be involved. I might not want to be a guardian, but these bastards had come after me twice now, and the wolf wanted revenge

I glanced at Quinn. "But how are we going to get into Brown's office when Quinn looks nothing like Brown?" He was far, far too handsome, for a start

"He will by the time I've finished with him," Liander said

"You think you can do something tarty for me as well?" I couldn't risk wearing the blue wig and makeup again, just in case it set off alarms somewhere

Liander grinned. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to redo your look. You have to keep up with the times, Riley."

It was a comment he'd made more than once. I stuck my tongue out at him before looking back at Jack. "When are we moving?"

"As soon as everyone is ready. Liander will be holding the fort here."

"And we meet back here afterward?"

Jack nodded. "Let's move it, people."

I grinned. He sounded like the old army sergeant he'd once been. I rose, munching on my apple as I headed back upstairs for a shower. Raiding Alan Brown's office wasn't exactly what I'd been hoping to do tonight, but at least I was with Quinn

And come hell or high water, it was going to be the night I rocked his staid little world ness returned slowly. It came as an ache - a throbbing heat that radiated from hot spots in my arm and my neck, with smaller flares of warmth coming from my wrists and my ankles

Noise surrounded me. My heart, beating nine to the dozen in time with the pain. Above that, the throbbing beat of a bass, a rhythmic tune that seemed to pound through the metal underneath me, mingling with the deeper, throatier roar of an engine

Laughter drifted past - deep, powerful and male. With it came scents - musk, mint, and decay, entwined within the metallic odor of blood. Blood that was stiff and heavy on the sleeve of my coat

I cracked open my eyes. There was nothing to see but blackness. I blinked, and realized the blackness was a cover of some sort. Pinpricks of light spotted the material, indicating it was daylight. I wondered if it were the same day, or another

Laughter edged across the noise again, and through the musky foulness of the blanket covering me I caught a whiff of alcohol. I hoped that meant my captors were drinking, that it wasn't just another odor coming from the blanket covering me. The chances of escape escalated if the men were boozing

I shifted slightly, trying to ease the ache in my arm. Chains rattled, scraping harshly across the metal flooring underneath me. The surrounding noise stopped, and I froze

"She awake?" The voice was deep, guttural

There was several beats of silence, then, "Nah. I told you, they pumped her with enough juice to drop an elephant. She won't wake for at least another twenty-four hours." The second voice was a mirror image of the first

Silence fell again. I listened to the hum of the tires against the road and, after a while, drifted off to sleep. The slamming of a car door woke me sometime later

The road noise had stopped. So too had the throaty roar of the engine. The sharp odor of the two men had faded somewhat, and I could hear only one intake of breath