"Its all right." Rhoan's voice was soft, soothing. His arms were wrapped around me, and he was rocking me as a father would a child "You're all right."
The air that swirled around us was cool against my fevered skin, and the air I sucked fiercely into my lungs filled with the scent of eucalyptus and night. We were outside again.
I opened my eyes. Quinn's gaze met mine, dark depths as expressionless as his face.
"The door wasn't open," I said.
"No," he agreed softly.
"Door?" Rhoan said. "Which door?"
I pulled my gaze from Quinn's and looked at my brother. "Nothing. It doesn't matter " But it did matter, because Quinn had just breached my shields and entered my mind after telling me not so long ago that he couldn't.
Rhoan touched a hand to my cheek. "Did you remember anything important?"
"Just a smell. A man, someone I've met before."
He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing else?"
I shook my head, and he sighed. "Enough is enough. We're taking you home tonight."
And I was ready to go. Ready to just sleep and forget, if only for a few hours. "Is it safe to go home?"
He grimaced. "Not really. The three of us are heading to a safe house for the time being. When Jack and Kade sort out the mess here, they'll join us."
"Why is Kade staying rather than you or Quinn?" I asked, surprised.
"Because Kade was here for over two months, and knows this place better than any of us."
Which sounded perfectly logical, but I wasn't believing it. Jack had plans for Kade, that much was obvious. "So where is this Directorate safe house? And has it got a bath big enough for a werewolf to laze in?"
He grinned. "It's a penthouse suite in a hotel right on the shores of Brighton beach. I think it's safe to presume it has a decent size bath."
A smile tugged my lips. "Well, I guess if we're going to be locked up, we might as well do so in style."
"Exactly. You okay to stand?"
I nodded, and he helped me to my feet. I wobbled a little, and was glad of his support those first few seconds. "I'm fine," I said, when I was.
He released me. "I'll just go see Jack, then we can leave."
I nodded and leaned back against the concrete wall. The coldness crept through my sweater, and felt so good against my overwarmed skin.
Once he'd left, I looked at Quinn. "You have some explaining to do."
He shrugged. "There's nothing sinister in what happened. You were in great pain, and your psychic shields were low. I simply slipped past them."
"That time I was shot with the silver bullet, you said you could read no more than surface thoughts. This time it was more than that."
He studied me for a second, dark eyes glinting dangerously in the night. "What did you want me to do? Stand back and watch you suffer needlessly?"
"You lied to me." Again.
"Only a little."
I crossed my arms. "I've got a feeling your version of little and mine are two entirely different things."
"It's only when you're in pain that your shields are lowered enough for me to enter uninvited. In some respects, your mind is almost as untouchable as your brother's."