Full Moon Rising

whether there was simply nothing to be found was anyone’s guess

We stayed in that sweating, gyrating mass for an hour before moving out. We continued at the table, in the shower, against the wall, on the stairs. Each time was hard and furious, and most of the time he took without giving. The wolf in me was having a damn fine time, but the woman was getting a little pissed

He finally led me back to the table, and I heaved a silent sigh of relief. I was bruised and aching and only partially satisfied, and knew it was intentional. He was making me pay for what he saw as a betrayal

I slid onto one of the benches and grabbed a beer off a passing waiter. I didn’t drink it immediately, instead pressing the icy bottle against my fevered forehead

Misha sat down on the opposite side. “Ask your questions.”

His silver eyes gave nothing away

“Tell me why you had a file bearing the name Genoveve Confectionary on your desk a year ago.”

“It was a company I was considering buying.” He raised a pale eyebrow. “You have a very good memory.”

“Exceptional, considering the circumstances.”

The smile that played across his lips was at odds with the ice of his gaze

“And did you?” I prompted, when he didn’t say anything

“No.”

“Who did?”

“Konane.”

“The same company who owns Moneisha?”

“Yes.”

I flipped the cap off the beer and took a long drink before asking, “So who is the owner of Konane?”

He smiled. “Try another question.”

His expression said he’d tell me. Eventually. I wondered how many hours’ “payment” he would exact before he did. “So what has chocolate and research got in common?”

“Maybe the owner was simply diversifying his portfolio.”

Something in the way he said that itched at my instincts. “You don’t believe that.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

He leaned back in his seat and studied me for a second, his expression both arrogant and amused. “Because the owner of Konane and I share similar interests, and have, in the past, been business partners.”

I forced a smile. “You never told me you were interested in chocolate.”

There was something cold and hard about his expression. I had the strangest feeling that this man, the man who had taken me so ruthlessly that night, was the real Misha. That the Misha I’d been allowed to see the previous twelve months was merely a means to an end. What that end was I had no idea, but had a bad feeling I’d better find out

I lowered my shields and reached out with my mind. I wasn’t surprised to hit a wall around his thoughts—but it wasn’t electronic. His shield was as natural as mine and just as strong

I took another drink of beer and tried to ignore the urge to leave. I had a job to do, and besides, the moon still burned through my blood

“It wasn’t the chocolate that caught our interest,” he said softly, “but the fact that Genoveve was supposedly built over the top of a military installation.”

Would the plans in Alan Brown’s office match the installation Genoveve was supposedly sitting on? Probably. “I’ve read about the World War II tunnels and arms caches they’ve uncovered in and around Melbourne, but never have I heard a whisper about anything bigger.”

“No one knew about those tunnels until they were excavated. All the plans were supposedly destroyed after the war and most of the tunnels concreted up.”

If the plans had been destroyed, how had Alan Brown gotten hold of them? And why hadn’t he destroyed them? I finished my beer and pushed the bottle away. “So why would you think there’s any truth to the rumor about what’s under Genoveve?”

“Because I talked to the man who found an entrance. As did the man who owned Konane.”

“So why does an old military installation hold such fascination to you and the owner of Konane?”

“Because the search for perfection sometimes takes roads the government does not approve of, and in such cases, it is best if the search is conducted in secret.”

Oh God… Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

He smiled. “I am not involved in Genoveve or the research being done on nonhuman cloning.”

“I only have your word on that, and right now, I’m not inclined to trust it.”

“I swear on the life of my mother, I have told no lies here tonight.”

No lies, but had he told the absolute truth? I had a feeling the answer was no. “So, you have absolutely nothing to do with cloning?”

Amusement momentarily danced in his eyes. “I am not involved, in any way, with the current cloning endeavors. If you want an honest opinion, I cannot see the sense in it. Until we fully understand all the intricacies of creation, cloning will always be an avenue of imperfect research.”

“You cannot understand something if you do not research it.”

“True. But right now, it is research that is simply throwing good money after bad. How many years has man being trying to clone himself? Where has it led? He can now create imperfect or sickly images of himself every fifty or so attempts.”

“The body-part farming came out of the cloning research, and that in itself is very profitable.”

He shrugged. “Only marginally. The government has a tight fist on marketing and research.”

But the black market was booming, and the government was having little luck stopping it. “So what research were you planning to conduct under Genoveve, and why didn’t you end up buying it?”

He smiled. “My companies, like many others, are seeking to unravel the secrets of a vampire’s long life. There is a fortune to be made with such knowledge.”

That was an understatement, given the human fixation with youth. “So, when you said Moneisha had been successful in pinpointing the cluster of genes that make a vampire a vampire, you were actually talking about your own research?”

“In part. I was trying to discover how much you suspected.”

“Why?”

He studied me for a moment, then said, “Because I was told to.”

I raised my eyebrows. I really couldn’t see Misha bowing to the rule of another, but then, what did I really know about him? “Who by?”

He merely smiled. I changed direction again

“Have you succeeded in pinpointing the vampire genes?”

“In part.”

I studied him for a moment. “Research like that doesn’t need to be conducted in a secret installation.”

“It does when your test subjects are unwilling participants.”

“You’re snatching vamps off the street?”

“No. I intended to, simply because the government’s recent regulations have made it tough to get enough skin and blood to conduct research. But I never bought Genoveve, simply because I was outbid. All my companies conform to regulations.”

Currently conform, he meant. But I had a suspicion they wouldn’t in the future. “You know Jack will check.”

He shrugged. “He will find nothing out of order.”

“And is the vampire research all that your companies do?”

He smiled. “No.”

“Then what?”

“My companies partner several others in drug research.”

What was the betting he had a finger in the pie that had made ARC1-23? “Does that mean you knew all about Talon trying to impregnate me?”