Tempting Evil (14 page)

Only I didn’t actually think he was a part-breed, or even a clone like Talon, nor did I think he was a lab-born crossbreed. I think he was something else entirely—and someone I had been warned about. A human who, while still a fetus, had undergone several procedures that involved cross-planting DNA from shifters and weres to enhance reflexes and senses. According to Misha, the experiments started by Starr’s predecessor had finally been successful, but one of the side effects was an overdeveloped sex drive and an aura to match. And given Starr’s lieutenants were apparently the end result of such experiments, I was betting
this
man was one of them. There was too much authority in his expression, and in the way he stood, for him to be just another guard.

If it
was
Leo Moss, I had to tread carefully. Misha had warned that Moss and his counterpart, Alden Merle, weren’t exactly chummy with sanity, and the last thing I wanted was to get in their bad books straightaway. But by the same token I didn’t want to seem too submissive, if only because the unattainable often held the interest longer than the easily gained. I needed to hold their interest until either Rhoan or I got Libraska’s location. Killing Starr and tearing down his cartel would be useless otherwise. Someone else would just step into the breach and keep producing nightmares.

The stranger walked toward me. I resisted the urge to step away. The nearer he got, the more my skin burned, and it wasn’t just the intensity of his aura. There was madness in his eyes, in the very feel of him—as if his spirit, his soul, was infected with death and decay.

I licked my dry lips, saw his gaze follow the movement. Saw the flame of desire burn darker in his gaze. It was almost hypnotic, and it took a lot of effort to pull my gaze away, to look down.

Which is when I saw the fine down of hair covering his skin. It was silky, shiny, more like a small cat’s than the coarser texture of a lion’s coat. My fingers itched with the need to feel it, but I had to wonder if the hair covered
all
his bits. I wasn’t into fuzzies when it came to
that
.

He stopped within arm’s length. I crossed mine, feigning indifference when every inch of my skin trembled with desire and every sense was urging me to turn and run from this foul thing. “So who are you when you’re home?”

A smile twisted his lush lips, but it held a hint of arrogance that provided a whole lot of reinforcement to my resistance of his aura. I might be a wolf and technically easy, but no one should ever think they could have me without at least a little effort involved.

“I’m the man you’ll be spending the night with.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought—even if that was what I was sent here to do. “Really? And why is that?”

“Because I want you.”

“So? I can pick and choose who I wish to be with, and I see no reason to do so now when I haven’t seen the other goods on offer.” I let my gaze run down his length. If he wanted me now, it wasn’t actually showing through his pants. But then, I fooled around with a stallion, so everyone was small in comparison.

“Have you read the small print on the contract?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Because if you had read it, you’d know it states that while it is mandatory the winner spends the night with Starr’s lieutenants, said lieutenants can also choose to spend the night with someone other than the winner, and he or she will comply.”

And Jack had said it was a standard contract. I’d like to see what he termed a nonstandard contract. “I think you people are making these things up as you go along.”

He produced that arrogant smile again. “Then I shall have another copy of the contract delivered to you. I suggest you read it more thoroughly.” He looked me up and down again, and again I reacted with the intensity of a bitch in heat. If he’d have dropped me to the ground and screwed me senseless right there and then, I wouldn’t have cared. Kade might have, but not me.

Of course, my reaction afterward would be an entirely different matter. And one that would involve many showers and much soap.

But Moss didn’t push the matter, just stepped back. The blast of his aura and lust abated, allowing me to breathe properly again.

“I shall have you brought to my rooms after dinner.”

“Joy.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Sassy. I like that.”

“I couldn’t give a damn what you like.”

“Oh, you will. You surely will.” He gave me a nod, then moved on, quickly disappearing into the trees.

I took a deep, relieved breath, then glanced around as Kade approached. “Wait here. I’m going to follow him.”

“That’s danger—”

“Is it usual for Moss to be roaming at this hour of the day?”

“Not that I know—”

“Then we need to know what he is up to.”

I turned and walked into the trees. Moss’s scent hung in the air, though it wasn’t actually a smell as much as a teasing touch of heat, desire, and foulness. Now that I thought about it, the man didn’t actually
have
a scent. Maybe it had been bred out of him.

I padded through the shadows, keeping close enough to follow his non-scent, to hear the soft crunch of leaves under his shoes. I was naked, my steps lighter, so hopefully I wasn’t making enough noise for him to hear me. But given his senses were supposedly heightened, I had to be extra careful.

Especially since the forest itself was quiet. There were no bird calls, no fluttering of wings, not even the irritating songs of insects. I hadn’t noticed it before, but then, I’d been wholly occupied with the prospect of satisfaction. Now, though, it struck me as odd. Eerily so.

We walked for a good ten minutes through the strange hush before I noticed the steps ahead had stopped. My heart just about leapt into my throat. God, had he heard me?

I paused in the shadow of a pine and listened intently. The only thing to be heard was the galloping of my heart. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, then slowly padded forward. The pines and gum trees seemed to close in, and the shadows thickened. Even the air seemed cooler, less welcoming.

His weird non-scent no longer rode the air, but the traces of Moss’s passing—the faint disturbance of leaves and twigs—provided a tangible trail. At least it did until it disappeared.

I stopped and looked around. No smell, no trail, nowhere he could have gone.

The damn man had just vanished into thin air.

Chapter 7

W
hich was impossible, of course. If Moss had shifted shape, become a bird, I would have heard the flap of wings. The forest was too still, too quiet, and the sound would have carried. And if he’d become something else there would have been a trail to follow. Hell, even a vampire couldn’t help leaving signs of his passing in the lush undergrowth of the forest floor. Not that a vampire could have disappeared like that in the middle of the day—unless, of course, he was some sort of day vampire, able to use the daylight to hide his form the same way a regular vampire can use the night and the shadows.

Even then, I should have been able to catch his non-scent on the still air.

So there had to be some other explanation. Like maybe a hidden entrance to underground hideouts. There hadn’t been one on either the plans Jack had given me or the ones Dia had drawn, but then, if Starr was so worried about security, he wouldn’t have advertised the fact that his foxhole had escape routes. Exits could become entrances to those with unsavory intent.

I let my gaze roam over the ground, but I couldn’t immediately see anything that screamed “hidden entrance.” Nor could I afford to waste time searching. Not now, in daylight. But it might be worth coming back tonight and checking it out more thoroughly. If I could escape Moss’s clutches at a decent hour, that was.

I turned and retraced my steps. When I was well clear of the spot where Moss had disappeared, I hit the com-link.

“I just met Leo Moss.”

“And?”

“He’s madly in lust with me. I’ll be spending tonight in his bed.” Or wherever else it was he liked to have sex. It wouldn’t be standard stuff, of that I was certain.

“Excellent. I wouldn’t try reading his mind tonight, though. Scout out the situation, give it time, and let him feel relaxed around you.”

“I wasn’t intending to do anything until Rhoan got here.” He was the experienced one, so everything I did I’d clear through him first. If that was possible. “Listen, has the Directorate got access to satellite scanning?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I followed Moss, and in the middle of the forest he simply disappeared. I’m thinking there might be a few tunnels under this joint.”

“Makes sense that Starr would have escape routes. And we do scan this area every six months to record changes, but maybe the tunnels are a recent addition. I’ll arrange for scanning in the next pass over.”

“Good, but I might check it out later tonight anyway.”

“Don’t do anything to jeopardize your position.”

“I’m not dumb.”

“No, just inexperienced.”

“This from the man who is constantly pushing me to be a guardian.”

“Which is why I don’t want to lose you just yet. Be careful, that’s all I’m saying.”

“I will. Talk to you later, boss.” I pressed the com-link and loped the rest of the way to the clearing where Kade waited. Where, after a little discussion on what had happened, we filled in the remainder of the time sating his needs and mine.

The old man came out as I rode up to the stables. Kade stopped, and I slid off his back.

“Good ride?” he asked, accepting the reins from me.

I nodded, and patted Kade’s sweaty shoulder. “This bad boy was horribly frisky. I think he needs to be ridden more often.”

Kade snorted and stamped a foot, and I barely restrained my grin.

“You’ll be back tomorrow, then?” the old guy asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll get security to notify us when you’re headed this way, so we can have him ready for you.”

“Thanks…have you got a name?”

“Tommy.”

He thrust out a hand and I shook it. His fingers were rough, textured by time, grime, and probably years of hard work. He didn’t seem the type to work for scum like Starr, which was an odd thing to think about someone I’d barely met. For all I knew, Tommy could be Starr’s uncle. “I’m Poppy. Thanks.”

He took Kade inside, and I headed back to my room to clean up. Neither Berna nor Nerida were there, but my bag was sitting on my bed. A quick check revealed that my clothes and underclothes had disappeared, but all my toiletries remained. Grateful for small mercies, I headed into the bathroom to clean up. Surprise, surprise, there were cameras here, too. I couldn’t see any microphones, though. Maybe they figured not a lot of nasty talk could happen in a bathroom—which only went to prove the installers were men. All women know just how nasty bathroom conversation can get—especially when it
centered
on men. Though, given the man behind this whole weird show wasn’t exactly chummy with linear lines of thought, maybe he just didn’t care.

By the time I got back to the bedroom, Berna and Nerida were both there, the still-clothed bear-shifter prowling the room like a caged animal and the overall-clad fox-shifter lounging on her bed, reading Cleo. The cream overalls were extremely tight and left very little to the imagination, making me wonder why she bothered. Hell, her breasts were so tightly packed they were stretching the material to the max, making the pocket—and the gray and white hanky sticking out of it—stand out like, well, dogs’ balls. If she thought the overalls would draw less attention, she was seriously delirious.

Both of them were studiously ignoring me, so I returned the favor and headed over to my bed to open the window. Fresh air drifted in, touched by the coolness of the oncoming night. But aside from the snorting or stamping of horses and the occasional crunch of a guard’s footsteps, very little noise carried on the breeze. All the normal dusk sounds—like the warbling of magpies or even the singing of crickets—was nonexistent here, and that one fact sent chills up my spine. Anything that scared insects senseless was something to worry about, in my estimation.

At six forty-four, Berna reluctantly began to strip. She seemed big in her clothes, but she was positively huge out of them. And none of it was fat. She was just large in every conceivable way—huge shoulders, brawny arms, melon breasts, big hips, and chunky, muscular thighs and shins. She pretty much looked as if she could snap someone in two without effort between those legs of hers, which made me wonder about her earlier statement that she wasn’t a top wrestler. How could someone be built like that and
not
be one of the best?

It wasn’t a question I had the chance to ask, because she’d barely finished stripping when our escort showed up. He gave us all a once-over, nodded in what I presumed was approval, then motioned us to follow him.

Which, of course, we did. The remaining women who’d been on the bus were already in the hallway and being guided away, and amongst them were two women I didn’t recognize. Probably two of the three women who had remained from the last group.

We were escorted along until we’d reached one of the arena doors, which had been locked against my earlier explorations.

According to the plans, the arena was designed after the old Roman gladiatorial arenas, though on a far smaller scale. But as we walked into the room, I realized the plans gave no real indication of the sheer scale of the place. Not only did everything soar in this room, but everything seemed oversized, as if the whole intent was to make the room’s occupants seem small by comparison. Which was probably the effect someone as warped as Starr would want. The ceiling arched so high above us that without the spotlights it would have been shrouded in darkness, and the statues of naked men and women that lined the wall were at least double the standard sizing. The arena walls were high enough to prevent most shifters and weres from leaping out, though it wouldn’t have stopped winged shifters. The arena’s center was sand, but studded posts stood at either end, the wood chipped and stained. By what, I just didn’t want to know.

Tables and chairs lined three-quarters of the arena. A long table dominated the far end, the white tablecloths, gold settings, and grandiose, highly ornate chairs that looked like something out of the courts of kings. Starr’s seating area, obviously.

Though he and his entourage weren’t here yet, a lot of people were. There weren’t many women, meaning the whores probably didn’t rate an invite to this little shindig. Some of the men I knew from the files Jack had given me on known Starr associates, but there were many more I didn’t recognize. Just as well Rhoan was coming in with the camera—I had a feeling there were a lot of wanted people in this room.

Of course, with so many people already here, the babble of voices and reek of aftershave and humanity was almost overwhelming. But it was the underlying scent, the base rawness of death and despair that seemed to be leaching from the sand itself that had trepidation stirring.

This room wasn’t about fighting. Wasn’t about enjoying a spectacle. It was about control. About destruction.

Of hope. Of humanity.

I didn’t realize I’d stopped until Berna shoved me from behind.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she said, voice low and annoyed.

“You’re a bear-shifter—can’t you smell it?”

“Misery,” Nerida said softly, her sharp gaze briefly resting on mine. In the amber depths of her eyes, fear flickered. “This place is drenched in it.”

“Weres,” Berna said heavily, “are very strange people.”

“No. It’s just that dogs of all kinds have noses designed to trap smells, and certain emotions are accompanied by strong scents. Fear, for example.” I glanced at her as our guide led us to a table near the wall and the stained post. “I would have thought a bear-shifter would know that, given your olfactory senses are as keen, if not keener, than a wolf’s.”

She shook her head. “That may be true, but we are attuned to physical scents and sounds more than emotional ones. The click of a gun being cocked one hundred feet away or the scent of a carcass two miles away, for instance. Emotions have no scent for us.”

“So this arena doesn’t worry you?”

“I’m being paid good money to fight in it.” Her gaze came to mine. “So are you.”

“I love a good fight as much as the next wolf, but this arena isn’t just about fighting.”

She raised an eyebrow. “If that turns out to be true, then maybe the three of us should plan a little bust-out.”

“With cameras on every corner? They’d catch us inside a minute.” Though if I wanted to get out of this place, I’d damn well find a way, cameras or not. “And I’d be careful where you said that, because they have voice monitors as well as cameras in this joint.”

She looked around as she sat down on the chair near the wall. “Really? Where?”

I nodded to the black dome above the table to our left. “That looks like a PTR-1043. It comes complete with sound and motion sensors.” I grinned at their surprised looks, and embellished the truth with a little lie. “Fucked a home security guy for a while. He liked to go on about his hardware.”

Nerida snorted. “As all men do.”

“I’m gathering that’s where you picked up the finer skills of a thief?” Berna asked.

I glanced at her. There was no animosity in her voice or on her features, yet I felt the wave of her disapproval all the same. “Yes.”

She harrumphed and didn’t add anything else, simply crossed her arms and stared out over the arena. Nerida looked at me for a few seconds longer, then said, “You don’t seem like a thief to me.”

That’s because I wasn’t, but if I was fooling Berna and everyone else, why wasn’t I fooling the fox-shifter? What was she picking up that the others weren’t? I forced a casual shrug. “And what does a thief look like?”

“Shifty. Desperate. You don’t.”

“Well, I’m not right now, am I?”

A set of trumpets blasted before she could answer, and an unseen announcer ordered us to rise. I ignored the speculation in Nerida’s eyes, pushing to my feet as I glanced over to the main table. Starr, his lieutenants, and their hangers-on were entering the room like royalty. And considering at least one of them was a queen, maybe that was appropriate.

Starr himself wasn’t the type of man who immediately drew the eye. He was on the small side, thin, with bristly brown hair and sallow-looking skin. Not that this was the real Starr—he’d been killed off some time ago and replaced by the shapeshifting son of the man who’d started the whole cloning nightmare. This Starr was flanked by his two lieutenants—Moss in front, Merle behind, both men naked from the waist up. Of the three, Merle was perhaps the most eye-catching. Not only did he have the build of an Adonis, but strong, almost feline features and the striped skin of a tiger. In any normal situation, I would have named him yummy and pounced. But knowing who he was, what he was, kind of killed desire.

Which wouldn’t matter a damn if he had an aura as powerful as Moss’s.

One of the accompanying guards pulled out the most ornate of the chairs. Starr didn’t immediately sit, instead leaning his hands on the table as he skimmed his gaze across the crowd. He seemed to pause when he came to our table, and though we were far enough away that I couldn’t even see the color of his eyes, a chill ran all the way down my spine. It was as if, in that brief moment, Starr sensed who I was.

I licked my lips, and clenched my hands against the sudden desire to run. This rush of fear was ridiculous. Starr
couldn’t
know my real identity. I’d be dead, or locked up in one of his freak pens, if he did. His gaze lingered for several rapid heartbeats, then he leaned sideways and made a comment to Moss. When he finally moved on to the remaining crowd, I sighed in relief. Not that it eased the tension curling through my limbs any, because I had a bad feeling I was going to get an introduction to that madman far sooner than I’d anticipated.

Once Starr had taken a seat, the rest of us were allowed to. Waiters immediately appeared, plunking plates of vegetables and meats on the table.

As we ate, a solitary man walked onto the arena. Spotlights followed his progress, shining across his hairless cranium but throwing the rest of his body into shadow. The babble of voices gave way to a weird mix of trepidation and excitement.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” His voice seemed to echo across the vast arena, and the clink of cutlery died. “Tonight you will bear witness to the price of foolishness.”