I sneezed as I rolled upright. The creature twisted around and leapt toward me, its claws slashing at the air. I ducked and smacked at its head with the heel of my shoe. The stiletto scraped its brow and skidded backward, drawing blood from eye to neck, the scent sharp in the fume-filled air.
It roared and lashed out. Its claws caught my thigh again, tearing flesh even as the blow sent me staggering. The creature hit the concrete, then twisted and leapt again, its nastily sharp teeth all yellow and dangerous looking as they snapped and bit at the air, trying to get me. Trying to eat me.
I shivered, and faked another blow to its head, then spun and thumped the stiletto into its chest. The heel cut through hair and skin, embedding deep. No blue fires flickered out across its skin. Whatever this thing was, there was no vampire in the mix. No adversity to wood. Other than the fact it now had a shoe stuck in its flesh anyway.
And that obviously did hurt, because the creature howled in fury and launched itself at me yet again. I dropped and spun, then, as the creature's leap took it high above me, kicked it as hard as I could in the goolies. It had worked once before, and it worked again. The creature gave an odd sort of wheeze, then dropped to the concrete and didn't move.
I twisted around and shifted shape, which had the added benefit of stopping my wounds from bleeding as I bolted for the ramp on the other side of the car park. No shadows were moving down there, but I could see the red of body heat, one bending over the other. It was the orsini that was down, and relief ran through me.
I shifted back to human shape and slowed as I neared them. "You okay?"
Rhoan shook free of the shadows and nodded. "They're amazingly powerful animals, aren't they?"
"If you can actually define them as animals." I stared at the creature for a moment, then added, "You know, Misha promised to keep me safe from attacks like this."
Rhoan looked up at me, eyebrow raised. "When was that?"
"In the club, today."
"He probably wouldn't have had time to do anything about this particular attack. If he even knew about it."
"True." I supposed the real test would come in a day or so, once he'd had a chance to contact his boss and make his threats. Though if the man behind it all was so all-powerful, what could Misha possibly threaten him with that would make him listen? And why wouldn't he have used it to free himself?
The sound of an engine, accompanied by the squeal of tires, cut through the silence. I looked up. The van came screaming around the corner, with Quinn just in front of it, on foot and fully armed. His gaze met mine, the dark depths sending a shock of warm concern through me.
"You're hurt."
"Just scratches." I pointed to the creature near his feet. "That one isn't dead."
He aimed the laser and shot it. "And the one you're near?"
"Dead," Rhoan said, and pushed to his feet. "Let's get the hell out of here before any more of these things turn up."
The van skidded to a halt. We walked over and jumped in. Quinn slid the door shut and the van took off. Silence fell until we were out of the car park and into the rush hour traffic.
"You know," I said, to no one in particular, "I'm getting a little pissed off about all these attacks."
"They obviously think you're a threat to their operation," Kade commented.
"How, when I was unconscious most of the time in that place? Even when I did wake up, it was to escape with you. What could I have possibly seen that you didn't?"
"It might be simpler than that," Quinn stated. "Remember, your DNA is as good to them dead as alive. And you're a whole lot more controllable dead."
I grinned. "Ain't that the truth."
"Question is, how did they find her?" Kade said. "Either we've got a tail, or they're tracking us somehow."
"We checked for body bugs," Rhoan said. "We didn't find anything."
"But these people are stealing technology that isn't released on the street yet," Kade commented. "It could be they have something we don't know about."
"Well, there's a bit of information no one told the plebs," Rhoan commented dryly.
"All in good time," Jack said. "And that time is not in this van. We can still be picked up by listening devices, if they feel so inclined."
I shared an annoyed glance with Rhoan, then looked at Kade. "Misha had watchers. It's more than likely they reported my being with him back to their base. There was certainly enough time to arrange an attack while we were holed up in the private room."
"They couldn't have known we'd go to the car park."
"No, but it was a logical guess. Street parking is shit around the club, so the car park is the next best option."
"It just doesn't feel right," Quinn commented. "Those creatures weren't something that could be called up at a moment's notice. They knew you were going to be there beforehand."
I met his dark gaze. "It wasn't Misha."
"Are you sure of that?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Why is it important to you?"
"Because I'd hate for you to be killed before I made a decision one way or another."
"At the rate you seem to make your decisions, vampire, I'll be old and gray and undesirable."
He smiled, and it touched his eyes, warming the obsidian depths. Warming my soul. "Old and gray, maybe, but never undesirable."
Amusement twitched the corners of my mouth. "So you're telling me you don't mind a bit of granny?"
"Only a particular type of granny."
"You know." Rhoan said conversationally, "this talk is straying into territory I really don't want to think about."
"Particularly when most grannies don't look like Riley," Kade muttered, then shuddered "Old meat. Nothing worse."
I slapped his arm. "You'll be old meat one day, horseboy, so watch it."
His grin was sudden and cheeky, and sexy in a whole different way than Quinn's. "Yeah, but I'll be virile old horsemeat. There is a difference."
"I bet I could find a dozen grannies who would argue that point."
"And I'd be betting that those grannies ain't ever had a horse-shifter as a lover."
"He's such a humble person, isn't he?" Rhoan said dryly.
Kade's grin grew. "Why be humble when you've got nothing to be humble about?"
Rhoan's gaze shifted to me, and he raised an eyebrow in query. I grinned. "He has got a point."
"Damn." He contemplated Kade for a second, then added, "So, where do I find me a bit of gay horsemeat?"
Kade shrugged. "Don't ask me. I don't go looking for that sort of thing."
"Pity."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Please do."
There wasn't much that could really be added to that, so silence fell. I stared out the window, watching the office buildings and restaurants give way to residential streets, then country, and finally began to wonder where we were headed.
It was another half hour before we stopped, and by then, night had fallen. I climbed out of the van, sniffing the air as I looked around. The scent of eucalyptus vied with the aroma of rain on the breeze, but underneath it, the smell of death and earth.
My gaze found the dirt road that led up to vast iron doors. We were back at Genoveve.
"Why here?" I asked, as Jack came around the van.
"Because there's only one way in and out of this place, and it's heavily guarded with Directorate personnel I know for sure I can trust."
"And Headquarters isn't?"
"Gautier is due back tonight."
Gautier was only one man, and as much as I hated him, I doubt he'd be able to defeat the four of us. He was good, but not that good.
Jack headed toward the entrance, and, like good little sheep, we followed. Once the men at the door confirmed our identities, the laser gates lowered, the iron doors opened, and the four of us were allowed in.