he'd basically done that anyway, which only emphasized the point that this wolf had very little fear of guardians or of the directorate. which meant he was either very dangerous or very stupid, and i suspected it wasn't the latter.

this is a guardian case, kye. which means i have to warn you to keep you nose out of it.

warning heard.

and ignored, if his tone was anything to go by.

a soft scraping filled the brief silence. i frowned down at the ground i still couldn't see, wondering what the witch was doing.

shit, kye said. the blackness is fading and lifting.

he was right, because the ground was suddenly visible-and distant enough that old fears had me stepping back from the edge. the curtain was lifting from the concrete up, and if we didn't do something very quickly, it would leave us altogether exposed.

it wasn't the witch that worried me. it was those hounds.

i stepped forward, wrapped my arms around kye, and pulled him close. he tensed instantly, and the warm amusement that had been flowing between us fled faster than water down a drain.

now is not a good time for this sort of thing.

amusement bubbled through me. so, it was okay for the bounty hunter to pull me close, but heaven forbid that i do the same. don't worry, wolf, i'm not trying to jump your bones. if i was, you'd know about it.

so what the hell are you trying to do?

he was still as stiff as a board, and yet despite his obvious displeasure with my sudden action, there were parts of him that were totally enjoying the experience.

which was a relief, because at least it meant i hadn't entirely lost my touch in the weeks i'd been with quinn.

i'm half vampire, remember? i can cloak us in darkness.

patrin never mentioned that aspect.

patrin knows squat about what rhoan and i are really capable of.

oh, i think he's got an inkling after what you did to him.

he relaxed a little, his arms going around my waist and his body pressing harder against mine. as the fading blackness began to expose the walkway we were standing on, i extended the shadows and wrapped them around kye. it took more effort than i thought it would, and a tiny ache began in the back of my left eye.

but that was nothing against the desire that rushed through me. desire that wasn't only fueled by the delicious heat of him or the hardness of his erection pressed so invitingly against my groin, but by the danger we were in.

i closed my eyes, trying to ignore the needs of my body, trying to concentrate on what was going on below us. there was little in the way of sound, even with the black wall all but gone. yet the witch was still there. i could sense her presence.

i shifted a little, and felt the movement ripple across the shadows that were hiding us. pain stabbed through my brain, briefly cutting through the haze of desire throbbing across my body.

i shuddered, wishing i could rub my temples to ease the ache behind my eyes, but not daring to move again. on the concrete below, the two hellhounds were consuming the remains of the zombie. the witch herself was nowhere in sight, but a pentagram i hadn't noticed before had been destroyed, its outline smudged and the candles tipped over.

then the crow squawked. i looked up and saw it sitting on the gantry again. the hellhounds had all but consumed the zombie, and all that remained was the splash of blood where his bits had fallen.

the bird squawked again and launched off the platform, flying so close it was all i could do not to duck. then she and the dogs were gone, and silence fell.

i blew out a breath then stepped back, and gratefully released the shadows. the pressure behind my eyes eased almost instantly, but the distance i'd put between kye and myself didn't do a whole lot to ease the pounding of my heart or the heat of need racing through my veins.

even with the black wall gone, it was still darker than hell in this section of the old factory. but kye's amber eyes were very visible, glowing with a heat that was all desire, all need. all power.

and i wanted that power. wanted to feel all that heat and hardness wrapped around me again. wanted to feel it in me.

but that wasn't an option. i was a guardian, and i had to at least try and act like it-even if it went against my more hedonistic nature.

"what can you tell me about that woman?" i said, perhaps a little more sharply than i should have. i didn't want to want this man, but it seemed my wolf soul was having none of that.

"she's a witch and a shifter."

his low, husky tones sent desire skittering down my spine. i loved being a werewolf, but it could sometimes be a real pain in the ass. i mean, i had a good man waiting for me. i didn't need this attraction, and i certainly didn't need another man in my life.

or in my bed, for that matter. been there, done that, and i'd ended up seriously burned.

"so has she got a name? an address?"

"she has," he said. "but i don't know them yet."

then he grabbed me, crushing me close, his mouth finding mine almost savagely.

and oh, his lips tasted so good. i might not want to want him, but i couldn't find the strength to push him away, either. not when the hunger to taste him was this bad.

i wrapped my arms around his neck as the kiss became an urgent, hungry thing, fueled by the need that burned through us both. we were so close i could feel the ripple of muscles across his chest as he breathed and the gun strapped under his arm. so close that every rapid intake of breath filled my lungs with the scent of him and it was all i could do to not tear off his clothes and take him there and then.

i wanted to.

but somewhere deep inside, a sliver of control remained. and no matter how bad the rest of me ached, that sliver would not let go. not here, not on a walkway barely a foot wide. not when i still had a killer to catch.

kye, stop.

the demand sounded weak, even to me. the mind might have good intentions, but the body had other ideas.

his hand slid up my spine, the ring on his finger snagging against my top. there was a brief, sharp pain as something pierced my skin.

sorry, riley.

kye, i mean it. stop.

but the hunger of his kiss didn't abate and annoyance swirled. i broke away from his lips, but didn't move back, my breathing harsh as i stared into the flame of his eyes. "how did you track the woman here?"

"followed her scent."

his breath teased my lips as he spoke and sent my hormones on another merry dance. the swirl of anger grew stronger. not just at him, but at myself. i might be a werewolf and the moon heat might be rising, but damn it, surely i had better control than this!

"she's a bird." i snapped. "her scent would be dispersed by the air long before it got to a wolfs nose."

"i didn't mean her physical scent. i meant her magical one."

"what?" maybe my mind was still a little fuzzy from covering us both in shadows, but i had no idea what he meant.

he shrugged. "i haven't the time to explain now."

and no intention of explaining later, either. "walk away from the case, kye. this is directorate business."

he hesitated, but his gaze was calculated, watchful. "and this job is for my friend. besides, this is my living. this is how i make my money and maintain my reputation. i won't let you take this kill away from me."

"well, that's just too bad, isn't-"

the words stopped as a cold sensation rolled over me, making my knees want to buckle and my stomach stir. i swallowed against a suddenly dry throat and met his gaze. remembered the brief flare of pain in my back. i thrust out a hand, twisting my fingers into his shirt and pulling him close.

"what have you done, you bastard?"

"what i had to do." his voice was so annoyingly calm and cool. if not for the heat still burning in his eyes, it would be hard to imagine we'd shared a mind-blowing kiss only moments before. "as i said, i can't let you stop me-and you were certainly planning to."

his arms went around me just as my knees gave way. i wanted to hit him, wanted to break away from his grip, but my muscles refused to obey me and my strength seemed to have slipped away.

"the effects of the drug won't last long," he added. "maybe an hour or so. you'll be safe up here."

"unless the witch comes back." the words were indistinct, slurred.

"she has no reason to. her pentagram and her creature have been destroyed. she'll start up again somewhere else."

"you are in so much trouble, buddy boy," i muttered.

he smiled and, despite the anger, i couldn't help noticing the way little laughter lines teased the corners of his eyes. a full smile would be knee-buckling.

"it won't be the first time," he said, as he lowered me onto the catwalk.

i tried to retain my grip on him, but i might as well have been a baby grabbing at an adult.

"see you later, riley," he said. his lips brushed my forehead, and then he was gone, his footsteps retreating along the metal walkway.

"bastard," i said, as the darkness closed in around me.

"riley?"

the voice was sharp and concerned. it was also very loud, spearing through the shadows of unconsciousness as fiercely as a foghorn.

i forced my eyes open, but for several seconds, nothing registered beyond the blackness and the cold metal that pressed into my side.

then memory came back and i sat up abruptly.

only to have my head just about explode in protest at the sudden movement.

"ow," i muttered, pressing fingers to my temples and massaging lightly. it didn't do a lot to help the fierce ache behind my eyes.

"damn it, riley, answer me!"

jack's voice reverberated through my head, shooting pain through my brain and making my eyes water.

i flicked my ear, switching the com-link fully on, then said, "i'm here, jack. no need to shout."

"no need to shout? we've damn well been trying to contact you for the last fifteen minutes."

i rubbed a hand across gritty eyes, then glanced at my watch. it was nearly three. i'd been out for a good half hour. "why have you been trying to contact me?"

"because according to the tracker you've been stationary for forty minutes, and given that you're never still for that long, sal figured something was wrong."

"sal was right." she'd taken over as jack's chief assistant when i'd reluctantly become a guardian two years ago. she was damn good at her job and had saved the lives of a couple of guardians through her quick response to signs of trouble. it was good to know she had my back as well, despite our somewhat antagonistic relationship.

"what happened?" jack asked.

"long story, but i was basically knocked out."

"who by? and what happened to the zombie?"

i pushed up onto my feet. the warehouse walls seemed to spin around me and i had to grab at the railing to keep upright. the sensation abated quickly enough, but it left a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"the zombie is defunct. eaten by hellhounds. there was a witch controlling it, but she took the form of a crow and flew off."

"so that's why there's never any evidence of a second party at the murder scenes. we were looking on the ground rather than up higher."

"yeah. i didn't get much of a look at her, but i'd recognize her voice if i heard it again."

he grunted. it wasn't a happy sounding grunt, either. "so what happened?"

"kye murphy."

"who's he?"

"a gun for hire. our paths crossed a year ago, when he was playing bodyguard to the son of our pack's alpha."

"the one you and rhoan beat up?"

surprise ran through me, and it took me a moment to reluctantly admit, "maybe."

he laughed. "don't sound so shocked. there isn't much that goes on in this place that i don't know about."

something i'd better remember in the future if i was planning any other little side excursions on directorate time. i walked left along the railing until i found the tiny excuse for a ladder, then slowly-carefully-began to climb down. when my feet finally hit the concrete, some of the tension that had been riding me eased. i might be able to fly, but my fear of heights had never entirely vanished. i doubted it ever would.

"look, cole and his team are just about there-"

"you sent cole after me?" i couldn't help the surprise in my voice. "why send a cleanup team rather than a guardian?"

"they were the closest to your position, and cole and his men can fight, trust me on that." his voice was dry. "he might as well check the zombie remains while he's there. at least we can confirm whether our killer was raised or not."

"there's not much more than blood here, boss. i'm afraid the hellhounds ate nearly everything else."

"what, even the bones and skull?"

"yep." i walked toward the swing doors. "was my being stationary the only reason you were trying to contact me?"

even as i asked the question, i had my fingers crossed for the correct answer. after my near miss with kye, i really needed to get home to my vampire.

"no. there's a disturbance at a house i want you to investigate, but it can wait until the morning. i'll send you the address."

relief swam through me. morning might almost be here, but at least i could catch a few hours alone with quinn before i had to leave again. that'd be enough to take the edge off the hunger. "what's so special about this disturbance that we're investigating it?"

"he's an old friend of mine."

"how old a friend?"

"we were turned together."

which made him a very old friend indeed, considering jack had been turned over 860 years ago. i blew out a breath, then said, "i can drive over there tonight, if you'd prefer."