Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

Jodie had already told me that, but regret washed through me anyway. Not so much because Adrienne was, beyond a doubt, dead, or because this monster and his kin so grieved for her. The regret was for Jodie, who had so obviously built her world around Adrienne and who now had nothing, "And this is my fault because...?"

"Because you were supposed to find her."

"Even a guardian can't work miracles." I took another sip of beer, then leaned a hip on the doorframe and added, "Besides, you're the one with the psi-skills. Why haven't you done anything to find her?"

"Because Adrienne's mind-blind, and therefore a dead zone for me."

In life and now in death, I thought grimly. But at least it explained why he was harassing me rather than Rhoan. He might not be able to read my thoughts thanks to the strength of my shields, but he could still sense me. "So if Adrienne was mind-blind, did that mean she didn't have the family trait of clairvoyance?" And why would Dia and Jodie say otherwise?

"Oh, she had it. In fact, she was probably stronger than most of us."

"How, if she was mind-blind?"

He shrugged. "I'm no expert. Her talent wasn't strictly clairvoyance though. She wasn't intuitive and didn't dream, but she could touch people and see things. Sometimes past, sometimes future, but always about that person."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to harness a talent like that for the pack's benefit."

It was sarcastically said, but for once, Blake didn't seem to notice, "We tried. She wasn't obliging."

Good for her.

"So what are you going to do about Adrienne?" he continued.

"Same thing I'm going to do for the other three who have disappeared - try to find whoever is responsible."

"Trying is not good enough."

"Well, it'll have to be." I paused. "Where did you get that picture of the man that was in the files you sent?"

"Found it on her desk."

"At home?"

"Yes." He frowned. "Why is this important? Have you found out who he was?"

"Not yet. Was there anything else on her desk? Notes or anything?"

"If there were any notes, it'd be on her laptop. Which," he added, "has disappeared along with her."

She'd had the laptop on the island, so her disappearance had to have happened sometime between her stepping off the island boat and getting the plane back to Melbourne.

Was that drawing of the man she'd bumped into at the club, and was he connected to the disappearances? Or something else?

"There were no notes on the drawing itself?"

"Nothing at all."

Then how the hell did he get the name Jim Denton? I doubted that he just plucked it out of thin air. "If there's nothing else, then you and I have nothing more to talk about. So you can just fuck off and leave me alone."

He glowered at me for several seconds, then said, "Patrin and Kye are coming to Melbourne. Patrin wants a full report."

Great. Just what I needed. One arrogant son of a bitch harassing me in person. "Who the hell is Kye?"

"His bodyguard."

"So the great Patrin needs a bodyguard?" The thought cheered me no end.

"Patrin has been helping police with certain inquiries and, as a result, has been receiving threats. Hence Kye's presence."