Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

She hesitated. "There will be eleven other women with you, all either shifters or weres. At least one of them is not who she pretends to be."

I raised my eyebrows. "Another plant?"

"No. She wants revenge."

Then maybe I could enlist her help sometime over the next few weeks. "Who?"

Dia smiled. "That I shall let you figure out yourself. I'd hate to influence your instincts."

"Meaning you're not entirely sure of your own guesses?"

"Meaning, I cannot say whether she will be a help or a hindrance to what either of us want."

Uh-huh. Typical psychic avoidance of the question if ever I'd heard it. "Why only twelve of us?"

"Because three women stayed on after the last moon dance."

"Why only three? I would have thought the money would be enticement enough to stay longer."

"I honestly don't know. Perhaps they simply wish to go home."

Or perhaps there was more going on behind the scenes than Dia was aware of. "Will it be safe to talk to you once you arrive at the estate?"

"In the house, no. As I said, there are voice monitors in the halls. But I will endeavor to be outside whenever possible. I have made it a habit to wander the grounds, so Starr will not think it unusual."

"There's nothing else?"

"Not that I can immediately think of."

"Good." I half held out my hand, then dropped it. Not because she couldn't see the action, but because she might do another reading. I had a feeling I wouldn't like what she might see. "I'll see you there, then."

She simply nodded. I flung the backpack over my shoulder and escorted myself out. I'd barely made it through the wrought iron gates when a black van cruised up beside me, the side door opening even as I looked up.

"Get in," Jack ordered, both in my ear and out loud.

I did. As the van cruised on, Jack swiveled away from a bank of com-screens and monitors that lined one wall of the van and held out a hand. I gave him the notebook and contract.

"This is a bit of a risk, isn't it?" I plonked down on the other swivel chair and scanned the monitors. They were showing nothing more than fences, trees, and a long expanse of lawn.

"Dia knows who we are. And if what she said about Starr holding her daughter hostage is true, then he has no need to monitor her when she is not at the estate. Nor have we found any evidence of it."

Didn't mean there wasn't. If Starr knew about the Fravardin, what was to stop him creating similar creatures for his own use? I watched Jack flick through the notebook's pages, then asked, "Anything useful?"

He looked up, then gave me back the book. "Lots. Memorize it, then I can arrange to get the information to Kade and Rhoan."

I raised my eyebrows. "How? Neither of them are telepathic."

"No. But we currently have use of the seconded hawk-shifters, and only the fence line is fully monitored."

Which is basically what Dia had said. I nodded toward the monitors. "That the estate?"

"Yes. We're trying to get cameras closer to the house, but they're doing regular checks and it's making it extremely difficult."

I raised my eyebrows. "Stepping up security because he's called all his generals in?"

"I suspect so. After all, what better time would there be for another cartel to strike?"

"Given what Dia said about the vampire attack, he may be installing infrared, also." Which would put a serious dent in my nightly activities. I could shadow as well as any vampire, but infrared would pick up my heat trail.