Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

I opened the lab door and saw what he meant. The three adults - two men and one female - had obviously decided to put the darkness to good use, because they had a little menage a trois happening. The expression on the woman's face said she was enjoying every minute, and why wouldn't she? Having every need attended to so thoroughly by several willing men was bliss - though for me, personally, the whole bum entry thing just didn't work.

I looked past them and saw the small room at the end.

Inside the solitary small crib was a tiny child whose aura was so bright it forced me to blink.

Hurry, Riley. Our time is almost up.

I hurried. But only to the doorway. Starr was sick enough to set up some sort of trap to protect his hostage on the off chance that the power went off.

I couldn't see anything out of place. I stuck an arm through the doorway, and nothing happened. No alarms, no bombs, no traps. I walked over to the cot.

The child inside was the image of her mother - white on white - except for her eyes. They were the most amazing shade of violet I'd ever seen. And not only that, the kid seemed aware. Like she knew why I was there, and what I intended.

There were no wires attached to the little girl, but given Dia said her daughter had been booby-trapped, I wasn't about to pick her up until I was very sure it was safe.

I gently felt her limbs and little body, trying to see if there was anything implanted, then did the same to the area surrounding the cot. It wasn't until I looked underneath that I saw the sensors.

I looked in Quinn's direction. He was looking at me rather than the free floor show, which was a little surprising given his earlier flirtation with voyeurism.

It looks like the cot is rigged with explosives or something. Can you search their minds and find out where the kill switch is?

There had to be one, simply because Dia was allowed to cuddle her child once a week.

Light switch near the door is the trip. He paused. Lucky you didn't just lift her up - it's powered by the backup gen, same as the security doors.

It figured. Once I'd flicked the switch, I wrapped the child in her blanket and lifted her up. She didn't say anything, didn't do anything, not even wriggle or whimper at being picked up by a sweaty, bloody stranger. She just looked at me with those amazing eyes of hers.

Seeing too much, as her mother felt too much.

A shiver ran through me. Maybe Starr wasn't just keeping this child for ransom reasons. Maybe he also wanted to know what was going on inside her head. Because something definitely was.

Jack wants me to blow this lab if possible.

I've instructed one of the lovers to reset the switch as we leave, Quinn said. The cot will blow instantly, and it'll give us cover and time to escape.

And Starr might just think someone got careless.

Perhaps.

Quinn sounded doubtful, and I can't say I blamed him. I cradled the little girl close and walked back to Quinn. The threesome on the floor where reaching the heights, their moans becoming louder and louder.

People come to investigate the noise. Shadow the child. He turned and led the way back out.

I drew the darkness over the child's body and followed Quinn out the door. Several people had gathered at the end of the corridor, sniggering and talking. Even as we passed them, they began to creep forward. At least with their attention on the threesome doing the horizontal tango, they were less inclined to notice us. Not that Quinn would have allowed them to, anyway.

A point he proceeded to prove by spinning open the old door and ushering me through. Not one of those in the hall turned to look, even though some were very close. When the door had closed again, I asked, How are we going to get back through the chameleons?

We run like hell.

No, really.

Really.

Fuck. Chameleons were fast. I knew that, he knew that. Outrunning them hadn't been an option the first time I'd crossed paths with these creatures, and I doubted it would be now.

As we reached the door, an explosion shook the air and the walls. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and alarms began to sound. Quinn ignored it all and gripped the door handle, his fingers a flame against the cool metal. Ready?

No. I cradled the baby a little closer, shielding her as much as possible, then reluctantly nodded.