Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian #3)(47)

“I will do as you ask.”
“Good.” I glanced up, saw we were almost at the ground floor. “What is the toy room you mentioned earlier?”
“A torture room on the first level.”
Trust Starr to call a torture room a toy room. “What else is there?”
“An armory. Secure meeting rooms. Stuff like that.”
The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened. I headed left, but not directly toward the security area. There was ten minutes to kill before the power outage removed the threat of the cameras, so I pushed open the nearest exit door and walked out into the coolness of the gathering evening. The sun had moved behind the mountains and trees, and shadows hunted across the ground. The scent of eucalyptus filled the air, and kookaburras were beginning their evening laugh-fest. I walked across to the nearest gum tree and squatted down on my heels. Awareness tingled across my skin, and I glanced sideways to see a guard appear a few doors down. Meaning my earlier guess that we would be watched from now on had been spot-on.
I casually touched my ear, then plucked a long blade of grass and idly fiddled with it.
“Hey, Jack,” I said softly. “Any more news of Nerida and Berna?”
“And good fucking morning to you, too. Or evening, as the damn case is.”“This is the first chance I’ve had to report, so don’t pull the heavy on me.”
“It doesn’t take much to flick your ear and let me hear what is going on even if you can’t speak.”
“Which is impossible to do when you’re unconscious.”
He swore loud enough to make me wince, then added, “You’d better update me.”
I did. “You heard from Rhoan at all?”
“He touched the com-link briefly as he was going into the fight, but nothing since then.”
“Damn. Hope he’s okay.”
“He’s been in far worse situations. He’ll be fine.”
“But Starr is suspicious of us both, Jack. He’s got a watch on me, even now.” I flicked the blade of grass away and glanced sideways at the man in question. He was leaning, cross-armed, against the brick wall, his face raised as if he was studying something in the trees. The mere fact I’d sensed his presence when I hadn’t even heard him meant he was something other than human. Which possibly meant it wasn’t going to be easy to ditch him, but I had to try before I went anywhere near the security center.
“Then maybe we’d better pull you out.”
Pull me, not my brother or Kade. “I’m not going anywhere just yet.”
“Riley, if he does suspect, it’s far too dangerous for everyone—”
“I have things to do first.”
He swore again. “You can’t rescue that kid—”
“We made promises to people, Jack. I’m going to try and uphold them before I run. Besides, I’m not going to leave my brother alone in this mess.”
“He’s got far more experience than you to fall back on.”
He hadn’t seemed too damn worried about my inexperience when he’d sent me in here. “Experience won’t mean squat if he’s outnumbered. Which he is.”
Jack grunted. “At least tell me what you’re planning, then.”
I gave him a rough outline. He was silent for a few minutes, then said, “You know, it might be worth destroying the labs and security.”
“What? Why?”
“Starr may be suspicious of you, but I actually doubt he realizes that you’re working for the Directorate. Even if his suspicions are raised over you losing your guard, he won’t suspect you being behind the destruction of security and the lab. We both know only someone with vampire speed can manage to get to those two places in a short amount of time.”
“Agreed, but I’m still not seeing the point.”
“It’s a simple subterfuge to deflect his suspicions. Given the kitchen bombing that barely missed taking out Merle, he may suspect the cartels playing friendly are actually attempting a little double-cross.” 
“Which means I couldn’t actually leave, even if I wanted to.”
“Yes.”
“Then how do I get the baby out?”
“Women,” he muttered. “Look, bring the kid to the forest and I’ll call in an eagle-shifter to get her out. We’ll look after her until Dia is free. Okay?”
I grinned. I’d actually figured I’d have to argue a whole lot longer before Jack gave in. “Okay. And you know this means Dia will be in the Directorate’s debt, don’t you?”
“Oh, I’m counting on it.” His voice was dry. “Just remember, kiddo, that you can’t leave live evidence behind.”
My grin faded. “I know.”
I’d just avoided thinking about it, because it was just another step down that road, another twist in the chain Jack was wrapping around me. One kill, then two, and before I knew it, I’d be killing without thought, without regret. Or so he hoped.
“Good. Contact me when you’ve finished creating havoc.”
“Will do.”
I touched my ear to turn off the link, then rose and walked downwind. After a few minutes, the muskiness of something feline and male touched the air. The guard was following, but keeping his distance.
Good.
I walked along the outside of the building until I was at the far end of the house, close to the remains of the kitchen and well away from the security center. Then I stepped into the trees and the deeper shadows lurking within. The minute I found a path, I wrapped those shadows around my body and ran like hell around to the other side of the house. With vampire speed it only took seconds—but that was long enough to have disappeared from the guard’s sight. And the whispering wind would already be scattering my scent. All I had to hope now was that he didn’t go running back to Starr to report the loss. Though given the fear that madman induced, I figured no guard in his right mind would want to do that. But then, nothing was ever certain in this world, and fate seemed to be enjoying crapping all over me of late.
I stopped in the duskiness of several large trees and scanned the outside of the building. Lights shone in several windows, meaning the power was still on. I shifted my weight, suddenly anxious to get things moving. Tension crawled through my limbs, and an odd sense that something was wrong teased my mind. I had no idea what or why. Maybe it was just tension rising from the knowledge of what I was about to do. What I had to do, if we were all to keep undercover and keep safe.
I let my gaze rest on the metal doors that were the main entrance to central security. The floor plans indicated heavy fortification within that area, which included the substantial doors and a long corridor to traverse before reaching the control room.
And though it wasn’t mentioned on the plan, it made sense that the center would have its own power source if all else went down. But any auxiliary source would take time to get going. I just had to make sure my timing was right, or they would catch me on camera.
The lights suddenly went out right along the building. I waited, watching for several heartbeats, then, when the lights remained out, silently thanked Iktar and walked out of the trees. The camera above the doorway didn’t move, even though I was peripherally in the camera’s sensor range.
I rapped on the metal. The sound seemed to echo, but for several seconds, there was no reply.
Then a gruff voice said, “Yes?”
“I’ve been sent here to collect some reports.”
A small hatch in the middle of the door slid aside, and blue eyes stared out at me. “Lady, we just been hit by a power blackout. No one is coming in these doors until we have the generator up and running.”I shrugged casually. “Fine. I’ll just tell Mr. Merle you said I couldn’t have them.”
I turned to go and the guard swore softly. “Fine, fine. Just wait a moment.”
The hatch slammed closed, and after several seconds, the door opened enough for the armed guard to step through. He was a big man, all muscle and broad shoulders. I couldn’t tell what sort of gun he held, because while I’d been trained to use them, I didn’t really like them and, like any sane person, tended to avoid them whenever possible. Hence, I’d skipped all the theory stuff on makes and models.
And really, who fucking cared what brand or type it was when it was aimed at your face? Any gun was scary this close.
I slowly raised my arms and did my best at looking defenseless. Which wasn’t really hard, considering the gun and the fact I was naked. Actually, it was hard to look anything else but helpless when sans clothes.
He held the gun steady while he looked quickly around. In reality, I could have taken him out there and then, but that would have given warning to those inside.
When he was sure there was no one hiding in the bushes, he opened the door and motioned me inside. As I moved past him, I noted not only the thin strand of wire around his neck—a sure sign that he was shielded from psychic intrusion—but the knife at his side and the second gun strapped near his shins, barely visible through his tan trousers.
“Stop,” he growled, before I’d taken three steps beyond the door.
I did as he bid, lightly drawing in his scent while trying to “feel” him with my other senses. He actually smelled quite nice—a mix of sage and sharp spice. But I wasn’t getting anything along the sensory lines, which meant he was human. Anything else I would have recognized.