“I don’t know,” I said, honestly enough. “I’m not sure it would be wise for either of us to tangle with the things that are carrying the virus.”
“Can the virus affect nonhumans? Rosen gave me the impression it was human only.”
I hesitated, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t already told him enough to get us both into trouble. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the saying went. Besides, he needed to know what he might be dealing with. “From the little I’ve been told, it very definitely affects humans and vampires. Some shifters seemed able to escape the virus as long as they shift immediately after being infected, but it’s too new for anyone to be certain. Until we know for sure, I don’t think you should be taking any unnecessary risks.”
“Oh, I don’t plan to when it comes to those things.” He frowned. “What about phoenixes?”
I shrugged. “I’m spirit, not flesh, so any virus or drug that does get into my system will be burned away when I resume my true form.”
“Handy trick.”
“And one that doesn’t stop me from getting hurt or dying before my time,” I said, voice dry. “A phoenix making it through a full hundred years of life is something of a rarity.”
“So how many lifetimes have—” He paused, listening intently for several seconds; then his gaze hit mine, sharp and intent. “Do you want to be found right now?”
Confusion swirled. “What?”
“There’s a helicopter on the way. It’s a fair bet that, given we’ve eluded your police tail, it’s someone looking for you. So, make your decision. Come with me and not be found until you wish to be, or stay here and return to the safety of your police followers.”
I stared at him, tossing between the insane need to know what was going on and the desire to stay safe.
“Decide, Emberly. We’re running out of time.”
What the hell? I thought, and fell on the side of insanity.
CHAPTER 6
We were deep in the trees by the time the helicopter clattered overhead. It swept over the meadow several times, then moved on, doing similar checks of nearby areas.
“You’re not going to be able to hide a red pickup in the trees for very long. Sooner or later, they will spot it.”
“I know.” He was outside, leaning against the roof of his branch-covered truck, his gaze on the skies. “And I don’t think we should evade them for long. I just wanted time to plan.”
“There’s no need to plan,” I said bluntly. “Our next step is obvious. We have to find and talk to this Marcus Radcliffe the third.”
He looked at me. The smile that teased his lips was decidedly sexy. “At the risk of repeating myself, where the hell have you been all my life?”
“Enjoying a peaceful life,” I said. “And given they’re probably trying to pinpoint us through our cell phones right now, shouldn’t we get moving?”
“Yep.” He jumped into the truck, started it up, then drove through the trees and out onto the road. Once there, he floored it. Within no time, we were back on the Calder Freeway cruising toward Melbourne.
“Okay, as I said earlier, Radcliffe is a hard man to get close to. He does, however, have two vices—gambling and women. He’s a regular at Crown’s VIP gaming lounges and always finishes the night with a lovely lady on his arm.”
“I am not going to be one of those lovely ladies. I don’t mind investigating bad guys, but I’m not going to bed them.”
“And I wouldn’t ask you to,” he said, his annoyed tone softened by the amusement teasing his lips. “Especially not before I’ve had a chance to do so.”
I smiled. “And here I was thinking that particular goal had gone out the window.”
His gaze came to mine, and the rawness of desire so evident in those green depths had me struggling to breathe. Pinpricks of sweat broke out across my skin and the flames within surged, eager to taste the heat of him, to draw it deep inside and savor its sweetness.
“Trust me,” he said softly. “That particular goal is stronger than ever.”
I resisted the urge to fan myself and pulled my gaze away from his as I tried to get my breathing under control.
“So how are we going to separate Radcliffe from his people?” I hesitated, and grinned as I added, “Or should that be, how am I going to separate him?”
“I suspect all you’ll need to do is wear something sexy and offer him a room number. It’s happened before, from what the croupiers have said.” He grimaced. “Of course, the problem with that is that we first have to get you away from your police tail.”
“Let me worry about that,” I said, knowing our biggest problem wouldn’t be me escaping a tail, but rather surviving the explosion of anger from the man who would undoubtedly be waiting when I returned home. “Let’s just concentrate on the finer details of ensnaring Radcliffe.”
Jackson pulled to a stop outside the Ascot Vale railway station and gave me a somewhat dubious look. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home?”
I shook my head. “I know Sam. He’ll drag you away, lock you up, and interrogate the shit out of you. And that won’t be at all conducive to our plans.”
“But he can’t legally retain me for too long, not without charging me.”
“The law doesn’t actually define what is a reasonable amount of time here in Victoria,” I said, “and, as I said, Sam’s not regular police. He’s part of some sort of special unit. I suspect the restraints on what they can and can’t do are somewhat lax.”
Especially given they were apparently killing the red plague people willy-nilly and had threatened to do the same to anyone who knew too much about them.
Jackson still didn’t look happy. I leaned across the seat and kissed him. It was meant to be just a short, friendly peck, but it turned into something a whole lot more fiery.
“Damn, woman,” he said, his breathing harsh on my lips. “We really need to find some time for ourselves.”
“Tonight.” I quickly opened the door and got out of the truck before the urge to do more than just kiss him became too hard to ignore.
He drove off fast—as if he, too, needed to get away before he gave in to what burned unsatisfied between us—and I made my way home.
Sam was waiting near the front doors. No surprise there.
“Just what the fuck did you think you were doing?” he all but exploded the minute I got close. “Losing our tail was bad enough, but then to take out the red cloak like that—”
“Are we going to do this in the middle of the street,” I interrupted calmly, “or would you at least like some privacy and a cup of coffee?”
“Privacy and coffee,” he growled, and headed for the front entrance.
I stepped in front of him and pressed one hand against his chest, stopping him. Once, his body heat would have flowed through my fingertips as sweetly as a kiss. Now, though, there was nothing. It was as if all his heat had been sucked away by whatever had happened to him in the last year.
“I told you before, I don’t want you near my apartment. Not any more than necessary.” I nodded toward the semi-vacant Portside. “We go over there, or we go back to your station.”
“Portside,” he snapped, then motioned sharply for me to lead the way.
He followed me across, and it was all I could do not to rub my arms against the fear creeping across my flesh. It wasn’t just the force of his anger; it was the intensity of the darkness within it. It felt like he was barely containing it.
And yet, once again, there was also a tiny sliver of emotion that wasn’t dark or cold, but rather one that spoke of concern. Or was I simply feeling that because I so desperately wanted it to be true?