Lover's Bite. Maggie Shayne

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СКАЧАТЬ said than done, but he did manage to roll over and get off her bed and onto his feet. He reminded himself of his reason for being there, and the fact that the others were probably waiting for him in the van and might send someone looking for him at any moment. Okay, then. He slid the DVD into one of her bags and exited the room, making sure the door locked behind him.

      He stiffened his spine, hoped his yearning didn’t show on his face, and then thought, so what if it did? He wanted her, that was all. It was physical. Sexual. Lustual, if that was a word. And if it wasn’t, it should be, because it described to a T what he felt for the luscious, lovely Topaz-formerly-known-as-Tanya DuFrane, daughter of a movie star.

      A dead movie star.

      He headed along the hall to the exit, crossed the parking lot and joined the others in the van, climbing in through the already open side door and giving the interior a quick visual sweep. The back row of seats held Vixen and Seth, sitting so close together you could have fit a lumberjack on either side of them, but instead only Ilyana sat there. In the front seat, Reaper sat on the passenger side, Roxy behind the wheel, just like always. The middle row was host to Briar, who sat there with the same brooding, inwardly focused expression she’d been wearing since they pried Gregor’s shock collar off her neck. Prior to that she’d been wild, fighting them every step of the way, hissing and scratching at every opportunity like a feral cat. She’d been dangerous, untrustworthy and probably bad right to her soul. And frankly, he had preferred that to this…this shell.

      He supposed she would snap out of it sooner or later. And he would lay odds they would all be wishing her back to this state of silent brooding once she did.

      Beside Briar sat the object of his desire. Topaz. He met her eyes briefly, just to remind her that she felt it, too—this longing, this hunger—that she felt it and he knew it, and she knew he knew it. No use tiptoeing around the facts.

      Finally he lowered himself onto the seat between the two women.

      “About time,” Topaz muttered.

      Briar said nothing. She’d had very little to say since they’d rescued her from Gregor, who’d been torturing her the same way she’d personally helped him to torture Vixen. Reversal of fortune, big-time. It tended to mix a girl up, he bet.

      Her eyes were haunted.

      He couldn’t help but chuck her under the chin just a little. “Don’t look so glum, wildcat. Gregor had us both fooled.”

      She lifted her black eyes to his, but they never locked on. “He never fooled you,” she said. Her voice was dull. A monotone that echoed from lack of emotion, the way an empty room echoed from lack of furniture. “You knew what he was the whole time. You were just playing him.”

      He shrugged. “Well, I’ve been around longer than you have. You live and learn, you know.” Then, uncomfortable with the turmoil swirling just beneath the surface of her eyes, he shifted his focus to Reaper. “What’s up? We throwing in the towel?”

      “Only temporarily. Until I get a handle on where Gregor has headed, there’s no point in us all staying together.”

      “Nor any particular point,” Seth cut in, leaning forward in the rear seat, “in us splitting up.” He looked around the van. “Is there?”

      Just as the others were muttering in agreement, Reaper said, “There is, actually. I, um…I believe I’m being followed.”

      Jack gasped louder than any of them. Hell. Probably overkill. Topaz cut him a narrow-eyed look, but he pretended not to notice. “By whom?” he demanded.

      “I don’t know for sure, but they seem awfully familiar to me.”

      “You think they’re spooks?” Seth asked.

      “No one says ‘spooks’ anymore, kid.” Reaper swallowed hard, then nodded. “But yeah. I think they’re Agency. They can be dangerous, and there’s no point in all of us being at risk.”

      Roxy smacked the steering wheel. “Right. You’ll just send us on our merry way while you take the heat alone,” she snapped. “And if you get your ass killed, then no great loss.”

      He glanced her way, and his eyes softened. “Rox, I’m not gonna get my ass killed. I’ll drop out of sight for a while. Lay low until the heat’s off. And it’ll be a hell of a lot easier for me to do that without a half dozen soldiers, no matter how loyal, marching along behind me. Don’t you think?”

      She sighed—probably, Jack thought, in frustration that she couldn’t argue with his logic.

      “So you’re not going to continue tracking Gregor?” The question came from Ilyana, who sat close behind Jack.

      “Oh, I’m going to. Just quietly and discreetly. I might lie low for a few days before I put forth too much effort, though, just to try to shake these agents off my tail.”

      Everyone looked at him, Ilyana, waiting, as if she didn’t think he was finished. He hesitated, then went on. “Look, Gregor admitted he was working for the CIA. His rogue activities had a purpose. He and his gang have been murdering and feeding on the innocent with the full knowledge, approval and support of the Agency, all just to lure me in. Everyone knew I was the one the vampires would send to shut him down, to take him out.”

      “Because you were an assassin when you worked for them,” Ilyana said, her voice soft. “Before you became a vampire.”

      “Yes. And because they’re aware I’ve continued in that role, when necessary, ever since,” Reaper told her. “Gregor was supposed to capture me and hand me over to my former employers. But he got greedy, decided to try to drain me and take my power instead, then kill me.”

      Jack nodded. “I picked up on that much before I switched teams,” he said. “Gregor developed a real lust for killing, for taking whatever he wants without remorse or repercussions. And he’s been gathering money along the way. You feed on the wealthy, you tend to make a profit in the process. He’s been raking it in, pillaging, really. And I think he’s drunk on his power. All he wants is more.”

      “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Reaper quoted softly.

      “What do you think the CIA intends to do with you, if they ever do get you back?” Jack asked him. “What the hell do they want with you now that you’re a vamp?”

      “I was the best assassin they ever trained, Jack. Imagine how much better I’d be now that I’m a vampire. And they’ve already mucked up my mind to the point that they can control me by dropping a single word. You’ve seen the results of that.”

      “They probably think of you as a valuable secret weapon,” Roxy whispered.

      Jack lowered his head, unable to look any of them in the eye for a moment.

      “They’ll stop at nothing to get me back,” Reaper said. “And that includes kidnapping or even torturing any one of you. I can’t have that on my conscience. I’d have to turn myself in if that happened. So do me a favor and take off, so I won’t have to.”

      That, too, was impossible to argue with, Jack realized. Reaper was good.

      “I’m willing to go off on my own,” Ilyana said softly. “But I intend to continue the search for Gregor. If you like, I can contact СКАЧАТЬ