Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

"Do they lose security personnel that often?" I asked.

"Yes, because part of their job is checking the zoo. Let me tell you, there's some very angry creatures penned in that area, and they often take it out on the guards."

No surprise, given the fact that being penned for any amount of time was enough to drive most nonhumans insane. There again, the nonhumans filling these particular pens were bred in a lab then locked in the zoo, so they probably wouldn't have had much of a grip on sanity to begin with. Not that Starr would care what his creations did as long as they killed on order.

"Did Kade get the floor plans I sent to him?" Jack asked.

Again I repeated the question, then winced as Kade pulled a sliver of wood from my skin.

"Yeah. Not that it'll do me much good. I have to stay outside - they'd pick me up as an unknown the minute I entered any of the buildings."

"So the cameras are monitored twenty-four hours a day?"

"Afraid so." He picked another bit of wood from my skin and flicked it away. It landed in the middle of the water and bobbled its way downstream. "Shift changes are seven in the morning and seven at night. You might have a few minutes leeway there, but that's about it."

"Has he seen Starr about at all?"

I repeated Jack's question.

"I get the impression that except for mealtimes, he never moves from his bolt-hole."

"And there's been no mention of Libraska from anyone else?"

"None at all." He kissed my shoulder then sat down, his long, leanly muscled legs stretching out either side of me. "But there's been a lot of new arrivals in the last few days. Something is happening."

Jack snorted. "Starr is marshalling his forces for a war against the other cartels."

I repeated the comment, felt more than saw Kade's disagreement. Which was yet another worrying indication that the drug Talon had forced onto me was starting to effect my system.

Damn it, I didn't want any more psychic powers. And I definitely didn't want an increase in power in those that I did have. I was quite happy as I was, thank you very much.

But like so many other things in my life of late, I didn't appear to have much choice.

"I've studied the files and know most of Starr's generals by sight," Kade said. "A lot of the arrivals don't match what's in the files."

I frowned. "Maybe there's more generals than we know about."

"Or there's a whole lot more happening than we realize."

And wasn't that a pleasant thought. "Have you seen Dia Jones around?"

"The white psychic? Yeah, Pretty bit of tail, too."

"You seen her with a kid at all?"

He hesitated. "No. But word is Starr's holding her kid hostage for her good behavior."

So she was telling the truth there, too. "In the labs underground, apparently. You know anything about them?"

"Not really. I know they're on a lower level, but not the same one as Starr's. I also heard they have completely different access points and codes than Starr's quarters."

"Riley, why is this important?" Jack said. "You are not going after the kid. It'll jeopardize everything."

I ignored him. I was here, he was sitting in his van, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop me now. And short of endangering Rhoan or Kade, I was going to do what I could to rescue that kid. "What about the scientists?"

"Six that I know of."

"You able to point them out?"