Now there was a thought. And it was less likely to get me in deep shit with Jack. "Uncover what he isn't, you mean?"

He nodded, and walked across the cut-open window. His short red hair barely stirred in the cool breeze as he stared out into the night. Given his expression—or rather, the chilled lack of it—those creatures wouldn't want to attack a second time.

"If Kade is a builder, there'll be trade certificates, business registrations, stuff like that. And you should be able to find other pointers, like birth certificates and school reports, to confirm he is who he says he is."

"And if he isn't who he says he is, I'll beat the damn information out of him." Hey, I had to take my frustrations over fate and the shit she was shoveling my way out on someone.

Rhoan's sudden smile lifted the coldness from his eyes. "Or you could tease him, then withhold sexual privileges. That'll get the information out of him right quick."

I smiled. "Ah, but that'll be punishing myself, as well."

"There's plenty of wolves out there who'd be more than willing to cure that particular affliction."

"Not to mention a particular vampire who'd be more than willing," I muttered without thinking.

"Is that why he's still here?" Rhoan asked. "Because he's finally realized he let a good thing go?"

I snorted. "It's not the only reason, no. I'm never the only reason he's down in Melbourne."

My voice held an edge, and he frowned at me. "I thought we'd sorted all this out?"

I blew out a breath. I really should learn to shut my mouth. "We did. But I sort of offered him a compromise."

He shook his head. "That's not wise."

I shoved the com-unit in the bag and cushioned it with more clothes and a couple of pairs of shoes. "I know, I know. But if he could learn to deal with me having other partners, then I can't see the harm in it."

"The harm in it is that he won't ever change, no matter what he says."

Maybe. And maybe he deserved the chance to prove otherwise. "It's all a moot point until he says yea or nay to the compromise, anyway."

"So when did you make this deal?"

"Up on Macedon."

"And why were you up on Macedon?"

Oh God, I hadn't told him yet. I took a deep breath, and slowly released it.

"What aren't you telling me?" he said, more forcefully this time. We might not share the telepathy of twins, but in many ways, we didn't need it.

"That appointment I had was for the fertility specialist."

He was silent for a long moment. "And?"

"I'm temporarily fertile."

It wasn't the answer he'd been expecting and his shock rippled through the air. "What?"

"I can't risk it, Rhoan. Not with the ARC 1-23 running through my system."

"Ah, Jesus." He swept a hand through his bristly hair, then strode toward me. After wrapping his arms around me, he squeezed tight and said softly, "I'm sorry, sis."

I could barely even nod, he was holding me so tight.

"Misha knows, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

"That's why he wants this meeting, then."

"Yes." Because he wanted to use me, and reproduce with me, just like everyone damn else seemed to.

Everyone except Kade, who just wanted to have a good time, and Quinn who wanted me to be his, and only his. Only he didn't want the wolf, just the woman, and he couldn't have one without the other.

"I know how much you want a child, but you can't do it."

"I know." I pulled back. "I'm protected against pregnancy. Only Quinn knows that."

"I can imagine how he took it." Rhoan grimaced.

"Yeah, he did mention something along the lines of whoring myself for the sake of the Directorate."

"He may be a very old vampire, but he was still once human. And they just can't get their minds around sex being something that should be shared and celebrated. Which is why—"

"Don't," I interrupted, "lecture me on the subject any more, bro. I've offered him a deal and I intend to stick to it."

"I still don't think it's a good idea, but I'll shut up on the matter." He kissed my forehead. "Let's get out of here, before those blue suckers decide to pay a second visit."

I glanced toward the lasered window. "You don't really think they'd attack again so soon, do you?"

"Probably not, but these people have a tendency to do the unexpected."

Like causing a car crash and snatching me for breeding purposes just when we'd all begun to think I was safe. Dammit, why were they after me? What was so goddamn important about my genes that they were so determined to have me? And why not Rhoan, who carried the same genes?

"Sol can keep this?" I raised the small laser he'd given me earlier.

"Yeah. Jack will have a coronary, as they're guardian-only weapons, but right now, I don't give a shit." He grabbed the bag from my shoulder. "It's got a stun setting, if you'd prefer to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Already noted, bro."

He smiled. "Keep behind me, and wrap the shadows around you."

I did, and we made it down the stairs without mishap. Quinn was little more than a deeper shade of night, but I would have known he was there even if I wasn't using infrared. His rich scent warmed the night air.

"There's several cameras currently trained on us," he commented, opening the front passenger door for me. "I'm not sure if they're infrared, but I'll be dumping this vehicle as soon as possible."

"Good." Rhoan glanced at me. "Be careful."

He meant with Quinn. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You too."

He waited until I'd climbed in, then handed me the bag. "If there's any trouble, call."

"I'll keep her safe," Quinn said.

"You'd better." Rhoan stepped back, and Quinn slammed the door shut. Five seconds later, my brother had gone back inside and we were under way.

"Where are we headed?" I asked, after a few minutes.

"After we dump the car? I'm open to suggestions. Neither my place nor yours would be safe right now, and hotel registers can be checked too easily."

And even signing in under a false name wouldn't be safe, as there wouldn't be many people checking in at this hour of the night.

I rubbed my forehead wearily. There was an ache behind my eyes, my head was beginning to pound, and I desperately needed some sleep. But more than that, I needed some sort of sanity back into my life.

My gaze went to the softly lit ship that was crossing the bay, heading toward the open ocean. Right now, I felt like that ship—gliding through the darkness, heading for ever more treacherous waters.

But that ship at least knew its final destination. I had no idea.

"Riley?"

Sighing, I said, "Let's find somewhere I can use the com-unit safely. I need to check a few things."

His gaze swept me, a heat I felt rather than saw. "Like what?"

It was so tempting to snap out something along the lines of "that's none of your damn business," but that'd be churlish and he didn't deserve any more of that. "Like, who the hell Kade really is."

"So you fucked—" He stopped abruptly.

"Yes," I stated, wavering between annoyance that he'd started to repeat the same old line, and amusement that he'd actually stopped it mid-sentence. A small improvement was better than nothing, I supposed. "I fucked him without doing a background check. And don't you dare try and tell me you check the background of every woman you bed."

"No." He paused. "I apologize."

"Oh, I bet that hurt."

He gave me his vampire look and simply said, "What has made you suspicious of him?"

"The fact that he's still here, helping us."

"Ah, so it's not suspicion as such, but curiosity." He glanced at me. "You know what curiosity did to the cat."

"Yep. And it so won't stop me."

"Nothing seems to stop you."

Given I wasn't entirely sure how to take that statement, I simply said, "Where are we going to dump the car?"