“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?”
“I know what this zoo is,” I said. “I know the origins of many of the creatures here.”
That surprised him. “How?”
My smile was cold. “Let’s just say I’ve had firsthand experience with Starr’s objectives.”Some of the tension seemed to run from his shoulders. “Then you know of the labs.”
“Yes.”
“And you would also know that Starr gathers live samples for his DNA experiments.”
“Yes.”
He nodded, seemingly pleased. “Then you would not be surprised to discover that many of those behind us are not lab-born, but those collected as specimens.”
I glanced at the creatures behind him again. “How did you all get here?”
His smile was grim. “The good thing about spirit lizards is that, aside from gender differences, we all look alike. We had hoped that replacing the lab-born and coming here would provide an easier escape. We were wrong.”
My gaze returned to him. “And could you tell us the location of the labs?”
He shrugged. “The building we were kept in had no windows, and we were drugged before we were taken from that place. None of us have any idea where we were or how we got here—though I will say it didn’t seem as if we were out for very long.”
Not very long could have been ten minutes or ten hours. It all depended on your point of view. And surely if the labs were only ten minutes away, the Directorate would have noticed. They’d been watching the place for ages. “Then what are you offering in exchange for our help?”
“Whatever it is in my power to do.”
Which really wasn’t telling me much, as I had no idea what he could and couldn’t do. I studied his featureless face for a second, then said, “If you are able to move around this place so freely, why haven’t you done something to release your people?”
“Because we are booby-trapped.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Booby-trapped?”
He stepped forward and held out his arm. “Feel.”
I ran my fingers up his arm as directed. His flesh was cold and clammy, not unlike that of a frog. I repressed a tremor of revulsion and stopped my exploration when I hit something small and hard near his armpit. “What is it?”
“A bomb powerful enough to blow away half my body.”
“Nasty.” I let my hand drop and stepped back. I wasn’t comfortable standing so close to him, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was just an itchy feeling that while this man might be telling the truth as far as what he wanted, he was about as trustworthy as a rattlesnake. That if he thought it would further his aims, his bid to freedom, he’d kill me quicker than I could blink. Or report me to Starr. “Have you all got one of those?”
“Only those of us he considers leaders.”
“Why not just cut it out?”
“Because unless the main unit is destroyed, removing it will trigger the device. We discovered this the hard way.”
I tried to ignore the image of splattered spirit lizard, and asked, “And the detonator? Where is it kept?”
“I’m not sure, but it would have to be in either Starr’s rooms or the main security room. It needs to be destroyed before we can flee.”
“Have you tried to get into either place?”
“I cannot.”
“Why not?”
“I have access to Merle’s and Moss’s rooms and the upper levels. They would kill me instantly if they saw me anywhere else.”
The main security room was in the upper level. But maybe Starr figured a spirit lizard heading there could only be up to no good. After all, if he trusted them, he wouldn’t have booby-trapped them. “They’ll kill me, too, if I go anywhere near either place.”
He smiled. “But you have an invite to brunch tomorrow. That takes you deeper into his hole than I have ever been allowed.”
“You know,” Jack said into my ear, “the aim of an update is to actually report everything that has happened since the last update. What is it about that concept you cannot understand?”
I restrained my grin, and said to Iktar, “How about a trade?”
“Trade?”
“I’ll try and get the detonator, if you try and snatch the keys Merle has for the elevator.”
He considered me for a moment, then nodded. “It will be a risk, but I will try.”
“Good. What does the detonator look like?”
“Like the controller of a game machine, with more buttons.” His thin mouth twisted. “So he can kill us off one by one or all at once.”
My gaze went back to the listening shadows. “What of the lab-born amongst you?”
“What of them?”
“They’re programmed with a different kind of bomb, aren’t they?”
Again surprise flitted through his eyes. “You know more than I realized. And yes, they are. But no one can do anything about the triggers in their DNA. They would rather die free, if that is to be their fate, than penned.”
“And the other nightmares penned here?”
“They are not my problem.”
Charity, thy name is Iktar. Not that I could blame him for looking after himself and his people before everyone else.
“Do we have a deal?” he said. “Will your people help mine escape this place?”
“If he upholds his end of the deal, we’ll see his people relocated,” Jack said. “I make no such promises about the lab-born amongst them.”
“Deal,” I said, and held out a hand.
Iktar looked at it, then back at me, and smiled grimly. “I will shake your hand, but know that if you and your people do not hold to your word, I will kill you.”
My grin was nasty. “And if I get the slightest whiff of a double-cross, believe that I will kill every fucking one of you.”
“That’s my girl,” Jack said approvingly.
I wished I could tell him to shove it, but with Iktar close that wasn’t an option. “When do you want to meet again?”
“Given Merle was interrupted during his time with you, he will undoubtedly claim you again. I will signal you when I have the keys.”
“It may take me a while to get the detonator.” If indeed I could actually find it.
“That I understand.”
I nodded and backed away, not turning my back to him until I was well down the hill. He looked a little amused at the precaution, but I didn’t give a damn. Better safe than sorry, and I wasn’t trusting that creature for an instant.
“Are you really going to let his people go?” I asked, when I was well out of earshot of the zoo.“If he and his people prove to be no threat to society, yes. Do you trust him?”
“I think he’s telling the truth as far as what he wants, but no, I don’t trust him.”
“Then be careful when dealing with him.”
“Well, duh, wouldn’t have thought of that.”
He snorted. Not a nice sound in my ear. “Anything else I should know?”
“I want you to check a couple of people for me.” I gave him Nerida’s and Berna’s full names. “Something about them just feels off.”
“I’ll let you know what we find.”
“Is Rhoan in yet? I know new guards arrived this evening, but I’m not sure if he was one of them.”