I accepted the paper and unfolded it. It was a hand-drawn picture of a woman with a hawkish nose and thin lips. I looked up at Joe, surprised. “This is really good.”
He shrugged, like it meant nothing, but a quick flash of pleasure showed in his eyes. “I don't know anything else.”
“Then thank you for your help.” I turned around and handed the cash to Mike. “And thank you.”
He leisurely counted the cash, then pocketed it without commenting on the extra twenty-five I'd given him. “Pleasure doing business with you, Riley.”
“If you hear of anyone else being approached by a woman with fake blonde hair, you'll get back to me?” I handed him my card, and he pocketed it as easily as the money.
“If there's cash in it, sure.”
“You really do drive a hard bargain.”
“Hey, a kid has to live.”
I suspected this kid would do rather well in whatever profession he set his mind to. Heaven help the police if he decided the criminal life was his thing.
I made my way back to the waiting Kye. He fell in step beside me and we silently made our way out of the building. I stopped at his BMW and turned to look at him. His golden skin was as warm as the sunshine, and the dark red of his hair ran with brighter highlights. He was, in many respects, a golden man with cold, cold eyes—even if those amber depths burned with a desire equal to anything I might be feeling.
The moon might be on the other side of the world at the moment, but she had a hell of a lot to answer for.
“Last warning, Kye. Stay away from this case or I'll report your presence to the Directorate.”
His smile was dismissive. He might have heard me, but he wasn't believing me.
“Do you think this wig-wearing woman is the one we're after?”
“What did I just tell you?”
Amusement teased his lips. “Stay away. You didn't say don't discuss.”
“It's a very fine point, and not one I'm going to get into. Just get into the car and leave.”
His smile grew, even if it never entirely reached his eyes. “Answer me and I will.”
I blew out a frustrated breath—although the frustration wasn't due so much to his obstinacy as it was to my own giddy reaction to something as silly as a smile.“There's nothing to connect the wig-wearing woman with the woman who controlled the hellhounds and the zombie.”
“Other than the fact that one woman contacted the kid, and another woman killed her.”
“Joe said the woman who contacted the teenager had a deep, almost manly voice. The woman in the warehouse didn't.”
“Ever heard of voice modulators?”
“Of course I damn well have.” Hell, I'd used the horrible things. “I still don't think they're the same woman.”
“Why not? Because you don't want me investigating further?”
Well, yeah. “No. And it's nothing more than a hunch.”
He studied me for a moment, and there was something in his look that made me uncomfortable. Like he was trying to get inside my mind and pick it apart. Only he wasn't actually doing that. I would have felt the intrusion. Eventually, he said, “Do you often get these hunches?”
“Sometimes.”
“And do they often come true?”
“Sometimes.”
He smiled again. “You're not very forthcoming with information, are you?”
“You're a bounty-hunting killer who has been warned off the case. Why is it surprising that I'm not forthcoming with information?”
“I wasn't talking about the case.”
“And why would I want to provide personal information?” My voice was dry. “You and I have nothing in common.”
“Other than the fact we're both paid to kill, you mean?”
I crossed my arms and resisted the urge to point out that I at least was a legal killer. Being on one side or the other wasn't really his point. “Other than that, yes.”
“Well, we do seem to have this odd attraction flaring.”
“Kye, the full moon is only days away and we're both werewolves. Lust is natural—but I, for one, am not going to act on it.”
“I wouldn't bet on that.”
Neither would I, actually. “Get in the car and leave, or I'll make you.”
There was nothing pleasant or nice about his sudden smile. He considered me for a moment, then raised a hand, lightly brushing his fingertips down my cheek. It felt like I was being branded by fire and, deep inside, my wolf shivered. I wasn't entirely sure whether it was fear or anticipation.
“Don't ever threaten me, Riley,” he said quietly, his voice so silky soft, carrying no hint of threat and yet full of it all the same. “Because I will kill you if I have to. Nothing personal, of course. I'm just here to do my job.”
I stepped away from his touch, but I could still feel the heat of it on my skin. Part of me wanted to scrub it away, the other half wanted to exult in it.
“You have no idea what I'm capable of, Kye. Don't ever think you'll come out on top in a fight with me.”
“Ah, but I have the advantage of knowing what you are. You have no idea what I truly am, and therein lies my advantage.”
And with that, he turned and walked around the front of the car and climbed in. The big car roared to life and within seconds he was gone.
Leaving me standing there wondering who was the bigger fool—him or me.
After a second, I grabbed my cell phone and called the Directorate as I walked to the car. Sal answered.
“Of course it would be you,” she said tartly. “It's nearly my quitting time.”
“I'd hate for you to be bored in your final few minutes, Sal,” I said cheerfully. “I need you to start a search for me.”
“Of course you do.” In the background I heard keys tapping. “Okay, who?”
“Kye Murphy. Werewolf, bodyguard, and gun for hire. Rhoan and I did a basic search on him a while ago, but I need a deep one. I want it all—gossip, secrets, family, the lot.”
“And why would you be needing all this?”
“Because he's turned up on a crime scene twice now, and each time he's gotten there before us. I want to know where, or how, he's getting his information.”
“You could always arrest his ass.”
“I have a bad feeling that would not be easy—and that's another reason why I need this information fast. He's hiding something, and I want to know what.”
“Sounds like you've got a thing for this bad boy,” she said dryly.
“All werewolves have a 'thing' for each other during the full moon phase, Sal. It's beside the point.”
She sniffed. “I'll initiate it, but it'll take a while to collect the information.”
“Let me know when it's there.”
“Will do.”
I hung up and climbed into my car, then headed home to write up my overdue reports. Neither Rhoan nor Liander were home when I got there, but I found a note on the fridge saying they'd gone out for dinner.
Which made my stomach rumble a reminder that it needed something more substantial than a burger. So once I'd typed up the report and sent it off to Jack, I grabbed my cell and rang Quinn.
“I was wondering when I was going to hear from you,” he said.
The sexy lilt in his voice made me want to sigh in pleasure. “I didn't want to disturb any vital business meetings.”
“All business meetings are vital, and they all drag on into boredom if there isn't a reason to take a break.” His voice was wry. “Am I going to see you tonight?”
“That depends on whether you intend to pay for dinner or not. I gave my last spare cash to a street kid and now I'm broke until payday.”
“And I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for you doing that. Only it probably won't make sense to the more logical of us.”
“That's a rather catty remark from someone who wants sex tonight.”
“Not when I'm paying for the dinner you obviously can't afford.”
“True. Apology accepted then.”
He laughed softly. “Shall I try and book a table at Wren's?”
Wren's was the latest “it” spot for all of Melbourne's high flyers and, as such, had a waiting list months long. Luckily for us, Quinn knew the owner and most times could get us squeezed in. We'd been there five times now, and I adored the food. Mainly because Wren's was rare in the world of fine dining—it actually served enough food to keep even a hungry werewolf happy.“If you get us a table, I'll love you forever.”
“If only you would,” he said, with another laugh. The sound washed across my senses as sweetly as a caress and made my body tingle with desire. “What time?”
I glanced at my watch. It was just after six-thirty now, and Wren's was in the heart of Toorak, which was always a hassle to get to.
“I can be there by seven-thirty.”
“You really are hungry.”
“And maybe not just for food,” I said cheekily. “I hope you're not wearing an expensive suit, vampire, because I fully intend to rip it off later.”
“Be my guest. It'll be worth the loss.”
I grinned. “See you in an hour.”
I hung up then walked into the bathroom, having a quick shower and drying my hair before heading for my bedroom. Wren's was posh, so I grabbed a form-fitting black skirt that was split up the left side, and a sexy black jacket for warmth. The jacket was short, barely skimming my waist, and the neckline plunged enough to show glimpses of my lacy red bra. I had matching panties, but I didn't put them on. There was something delicious about going without them. To complete the outfit, I chose four-inch red stilettos—the ones with the wood heels, of course. Mainly because Jack had a habit of calling me out to a job at the most awkward times, and the wooden stilettos had come in handy as a weapon more than once.