The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Guardian 6)

He hadn't - at least, not that I could smell, anyway. Which mightn't have meant anything considering how little I'd caught his scent the first time.

Brunswick was only a ten-minute drive from Glenroy, but by the time I found parking and got to the restaurant, I was a good twenty minutes late. I couldn't see Dia sitting in her usual spot on one of the outside tables, but as I neared the door, little Risa came bounding out of the restaurant and flung herself at my legs.

"'iley!" she yelled, wrapping her tiny arms around my left leg and hanging on with the grip of a boa. "Coke!"

I laughed and picked her up, ignoring the twinge in my shoulder as I spun her around lightly before holding her close. She smelled of soap and powder and warmth, and made me wish again for a child of my own.

"Hey, monkey," I said. "What does your mommy say about you getting Coke?"

Her amazingly bright, violet eyes twinkled with mischief. "Mommy said yes!"

I grinned as I entered the cafe. Dia was in the far corner, sitting in a booth near the large play area the owners had provided for the kids. She was, as usual, both immaculate and stunning. Her hair was a pure whitish-silver that shone with an almost unnatural brilliance, and when combined with the luminous blue of her eyes and the white business suit she wore, she was hard to miss.

Of course, the blue of her eyes wasn't natural, same as her silver hair. Her true hair color was a mix of silver and brown, and her eyes were also naturally brown, ringed by blue.

Dia wasn't only a psychic, but a clone with Helki shapeshifting genes who was able to subtly alter her appearance as easily as I could become a wolf. The silver and blue suited her psychic business better - and enabled her to use her true form when she didn't want to be noticed. Little Risa had obviously picked up her father's coloring, although Dia never talked about him nor was there mention of him on Risa's birth certificate.

Few would have guessed Dia was blind. The sight she did have came through the presence of a creature known as a Fravardin - an unseen guardian spirit who'd been assigned protection duties by her clone brother, Misha. They'd failed in their duty to protect him, but only after a bloody battle that had taken many of their lives. After his death, they'd honored his wishes and continued to protect Dia. When she was outside the house, one of the Fravardin kept close - and by linking lightly to the creature's mind, Dia was able to move with a serenity and grace that denied her handicap. I had no idea where the creature was right now, but given she was looking directly at me, it had to be somewhere close.

"Mommy didn't say yes," she said dryly. "But Riley rarely takes notice of a no, anyway."

"It's only once a week." I slid into the U-shaped booth then placed Risa on the seat beside me. The little girl clambered to her feet and ran around the booth, white pigtails flying as she threw her arms around Dia's neck.

"Love Mommy," she said.

"That child has the world worked out already," I said, swallowing a laugh. "She's going to do just fine when she grows up."

"Oh, yeah." Dia picked her daughter up and swung her over the table. "Go play until the drinks get here."

Risa ran off happily. Dia shook her head, amusement and love evident in her expression. "I've already ordered the coffee and cake. What's the problem?"

"I need to know about the Toorak Trollops."

She lifted a pale eyebrow. "How have the Trollops come under Directorate scrutiny? They're basically harmless."

"Yeah, but someone is bumping them off and stealing their identities to kill their lovers."

The amusement fell from her features. "God, there's been nothing along the gossip lines suggesting anything like that."

"We've managed to keep the press relatively quiet." They were still concentrating on the dead politician, and I think Jack was hoping to keep it that way. "What can you tell me about them?"

She wrinkled her nose. "They're actually not very nice people."

"Not nice how?"

"It's their attitude. Not only do they treat men as dumb playthings, but they go into relationships simply to see how much they can get out of it. It's become something of a game between them."

I smiled a thanks at the waitress as she brought over three plates of thick banana cake, then said, "I take it you mean gifts and money?"

"But also position. They try to outdo each other when it comes to bed partners."

"So a politician would be prized more than a shoe store owner?"

"Depends on who the politician and the shoe store owner are, but yes." She paused, looking at me steadily for a moment. "So the murder of Gerard James was not political, as the press have been saying?"

"Nope. Bad choice of a bed partner, we think."

She picked up a spoon and scooped up a piece of banana cake, munching on it for several seconds before saying, "I know both Cherry Barnes and Alana Burns were going out with him. Can't say I'd be sorry to see either of them dead and gone."