Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

I hated that, too.

Iktar stood, arms crossed, near the main gates. The light above the gates caressed him, making his skin glow blue-black and his eyes eerily luminescent. His cock was nowhere in sight.

Thankfully.

I stopped just beyond the pool of light. "Isn't this a little dangerous? They have cameras monitoring the zoo surrounds, don't they?"

He nodded. "And laser sensors. But whenever Moss and Merle take women, I am given time to come here."

My gaze went past him, and for the first time I noticed shadows in the shadows. More spirit lizards, and of both sexes. "For relief?"

"Yes." He smiled. "As you saw, I am incompatible with human flesh."

"And why would they give you time? You are nothing more than a weapon - a tool to be used - to them."

He smiled, but anger surged in his eyes. He hated captivity. Hated what he was doing and who he was forced to serve. This was no lab-born creature. He was something more. Something far more.

"They value my skills in protecting them when they are otherwise occupied," he answered steadily, voice devoid of the fury so evident in his eyes.

"So why does Moss use you to 'ready' his women?"

"Moss enjoys the taste of fear. I am not his only weapon to draw out such an emotion."

Meaning I had to be thankful Merle had stolen my "services." He might be a boring lover, but at least boring was survivable. While I didn't mind being tied or the occasional bit of spanking, if Moss had tried anything much nastier, I might have been tempted to knock his lights out. And that pretty much would have been the end for me and the mission.

"Those monitoring the cameras might think it a little suspicious that you're meeting me here, though."

"They would, if the camera was working. It isn't."

I raised my eyebrow. "Convenient."

"They are knocked out regularly. It is only a small inconvenience to Starr's people in the long term, but it does give us the means of a little revenge."

Meaning the guards - and the regularity with which they went missing. I shifted my stance and resisted the urge to demand such attacks stop immediately. Rhoan might be acting the part of a guard, but he was also a guardian, the best we had besides Gautier. If he could take on five vampires at the same time, he could handle these nightmares - at least long enough to get the hell away from them.

"What do you want of me, then?"

"I want to make a deal with whoever it is you're working for."

"Depends on what he's offering and what he wants," Jack said.

"What makes you think I'm working for someone?" I asked.

Iktar smiled. "Most women quail when presented with the sight of my genitals. You got ready to fight. That speaks of training. Whether military or something else, I don't care."

"I'm not military."

He shrugged. "As long as your people are willing to deal, it doesn't matter."

"So what do you want and what are you offering in return?"

"What I want is all my people out of here."

My gaze moved to the shadowy forms merged with the darkness. "Your people?"

He studied me for a moment, his featureless face expressionless, yet dark eyes somehow managing to be judgmental.

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