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 And I have the ransom note. I took the piece of plastic out of my pocket and handed it over. He read it silently
and shook his head.
 Why would the damn fool do something this stupid?
It was a rhetorical question, but I answered it anyway.  It was a ploy to get me out to the whaling station alone,
where dearest Denny intended to exact his revenge. Except they were expecting me to drive out there and, as it
turns out, I have an alternate shape a seagull. That ability allowed me to get there ahead of time and get the
jump on them. I disabled their trucks, rescued Evin, and we both got the hell out of there.
Harris raised an eyebrow.  Did Denny and his friends survive the encounter?
He didn t actually sound like he d mind if they hadn t.  Of course they did.
 Good. His tone wasn t convincing.  But I m not seeing the connection to Mike.
 When we were driving back, we saw West coming in the opposite direction. He was almost at the old whaling
station, and the only way he could have gotten there so fast would be by leaving soon after I did.
 Which means someone told him what was happening.
 Or he was watching my place, saw me leave, and maybe even saw one of Denny s friends go in to try to
retrieve the ransom note.
He digested this for a moment, then simply said,  No.
 Someone else someone other than Evin has been reporting back to the people behind all this. I can think of
no better person than a cop who is dissatisfied with where he is and what he is doing.
 Mike is a good cop. It was stubbornly said.
 I m not saying he isn t. I m just saying he s a cop who may have taken on a little outside work.
 I can t believe he d do something like that 
 You worked your way up through the ranks in Sydney. You know that being a cop isn t always black and
white, but mostly shades of gray. I m not saying Mike s gone bad, I m just saying he might be providing
information in return for something he wants a transfer out of here.
Hell, he d all but said that the first time I d met him. I took a sip of coffee and watched Harris s expression. Or,
rather, the lack of it. He was a hard man to read, and I had no idea whether he believed me or not. Even his
body language was giving nothing away.
I tried another angle.  Who sent the request for information about me to the Directorate?
He hesitated fractionally, then said,  Mike.
 And do you know for certain that he sent it?
 Why the hell wouldn t he send it?
 Because I m Directorate. I don t just work there. I m a guardian.
 What? His expression was incredulous.  You can t be. You re a werewolf.
 Exactly what I said, Evin murmured.
 I m a dhampire werewolf and vampire. I work in the daytime division in Melbourne.
 But how 
 Long story, I cut in.  And it s really not important right now. The point is, if Directorate staff suddenly
disappear, an alert goes out to all divisions.
 And if some cop in a godforsaken town suddenly starts asking for information about someone who matches the
description of that missing personnel, Harris said heavily,  all hell should break loose.
 And it hasn t. Which to my way of thinking means the request never went through.
 Unless they re just a slack outfit over in Perth. I sent the information to them about the murders, and I haven t
had a response back from those, either. He took a sip of coffee then added,  And according to you, these types
of murders would have been red-flagged as a priority.
 They should have been. So why had no one contacted Harris? That s what I couldn t understand. I took
another drink of coffee, then added,  It might be a good idea to actually phone them again.
 You mean, right now?
 Why not? We have a dangerous vamp who s connected to an organization that s hiring out killers for revenge
purposes. The Perth staff don t know I m here or that I m Directorate, so they should be getting their butts out
here ASAP.
 True.
He reached sideways, pressing the speaker button on the phone before punching in a series of numbers. The
phone began to ring, the sound echoing across the brief silence.
But before it could be answered, the line went dead.
 What the fuck? Harris picked up the receiver and pressed several buttons, then glanced at me.  Nothing. It s
as dead as a doornail.
Evin rose and walked across to another desk.  So s this one. He put the receiver back down.  Christ, you don t
think Denny and his friends would be stupid enough to try to attack us?
 Intelligence was never his strong suit, but even Denny and his friends aren t that stupid. Harris glanced at me.
At that moment, the lights went out.
 Down, get down, I hissed, dropping out of the chair and hitting the floor on hands and knees. My coffee went
flying, spilling across the carpet as the cup rolled even farther away from my fingertips.
Then I felt it.
An energy, a presence, that sang to my heart, wrapping me in warmth and passion and making me feel safer
than I d felt since I d woken in the desert.
I couldn t recall his name, but I knew him. Loved him.
I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door. It opened, revealing only the darkness of the night. But he was
there, hidden in the shadows, and I launched myself at him.
The darkness wrapped me in a hug that was fierce and joyous, pressing me against a body that was so very real.
 Thank God, he whispered, his cheek pressing against mine as he hugged me ferociously.  I really thought I d
lost you for a while there.
 You almost did. As the shadows hiding his body began to dissipate, I kissed him, with every ounce of the
love and relief that was surging through me.
Only to be practically torn out of his arms and into the arms of another. A man who wore the masculine version
of my face and who was the other half of me. The brother that Evin wasn t.
 Oh, thank Christ, he said, his hug every bit as fierce as my vampire s.  I was going crazy with worry.
 I take it, Harris drawled from behind us,  that you know both of these men and that I should drop my
weapon.
 If you don t, another voice said from the very back of the room,  you might just get shot yourself.
I twisted out of my brother s grip and saw another vampire standing in the cell block doorway. I knew his face,
knew he was my boss, and was both relieved and surprised to see him here. But I couldn t damn well name him,
and that was frustrating.
He was holding a laser aimed straight at Harris, and the whine of the weapon firing up indicated he was very
close to pressing the trigger.
 Everyone, relax. Harris is the cop here, and Evin is a friend. They re both on our side.
The whine of the laser shut down. Rich green eyes met mine.  What the hell is going on here, Riley?
Riley. The name fit. It felt right. Riley Jenson. That was my name. I wanted to dance with the joy of finally
knowing me.
But right now, there were more important things to concentrate on. Celebrations could happen later, when the
mess surrounding me and Evin had been cleaned up.
 A truckload of shit is what s been happening, I replied.  But the first thing you need to know is the fact that
there s whole chunks of my memories missing. I know who you all are, but I can t for the life of me remember
your names. In fact, until a moment ago, I couldn t even remember my own name.
 What? my brother said.
 It s all part of the plot, Evin said. He was sitting on the edge of the desk, his stance suggesting he was ready [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]