Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

"How much do you know about Starr and his cartel?"

"I know what this zoo is," I said. "I know the origins of many of the creatures here."

That surprised him. "How?"

My smile was cold. "Let's just say I've had firsthand experience with Starr's objectives."

Some of the tension seemed to run from his shoulders. "Then you know of the labs."

"Yes."

"And you would also know that Starr gathers live samples for his DNA experiments."

"Yes."

He nodded, seemingly pleased. "Then you would not be surprised to discover that many of those behind us are not lab-born, but those collected as specimens."

I glanced at the creatures behind him again. "How did you all get here?"

His smile was grim. "The good thing about spirit lizards is that, aside from gender differences, we all look alike. We had hoped that replacing the lab-born and coming here would provide an easier escape. We were wrong."

My gaze returned to him. "And could you tell us the location of the labs?"

He shrugged. "The building we were kept in had no windows, and we were drugged before we were taken from that place. None of us have any idea where we were or how we got here - though I will say it didn't seem as if we were out for very long."

Not very long could have been ten minutes or ten hours. It all depended on your point of view. And surely if the labs were only ten minutes away, the Directorate would have noticed. They'd been watching the place for ages. "Then what are you offering in exchange for our help?"

"Whatever it is in my power to do."

Which really wasn't telling me much as I had no idea what he could and couldn't do. I studied his featureless face for a second, then said, "If you are able to move around this place so freely, why haven't you done something to release your people?"

"Because we are booby-trapped."

I raised my eyebrows. "Booby-trapped?"

He stepped forward and held out his arm. "Feel."

I ran my fingers up his arm as directed. His flesh was cold and clammy, not unlike that of a frog. I repressed a tremor of revulsion and stopped my exploration when I hit something small and hard near his armpit. "What is it?"

"A bomb powerful enough to blow away half my body."

"Nasty." I let my hand drop and stepped back. I wasn't comfortable standing so close to him, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was just an itchy feeling that while this man might be telling the truth as far as what he wanted, he was about as trustworthy as a rattlesnake. That if he thought it would further his aims, his bid to freedom, he'd kill me quicker than I could blink. Or report me to Starr. "Have you all got one of those?"

"Only those of us he considers leaders."

"Why not just cut it out?"

"Because unless the main unit is destroyed, removing it will trigger the device. We discovered this the hard way."

I tried to ignore the image of splattered spirit lizard, and asked, "And the detonator? Where is it kept?"

"I'm not sure, but it would have to be in either Starr's rooms or the main security room. It needs to be destroyed before we can flee."

"Have you tried to get into either place?"

"I cannot."

"Why not?"