Full Moon Rising

Something has gone wrong.

Obviously. He hesitated, then added. They’ll be here, of that I have no doubt. I just don’t think we can afford to sit around and wait for them

Not when Talon plans to use you as a punching bag for his latest batch of clones.

Shifting my right foot, I began turning and twisting and tugging at the chain, until the skin around my ankle was raw and pain burned up my leg. The ring in the wall began to move, the small puffs of dust providing hope

It came away suddenly, the chain lashing out across the carpet, then snapping back like a pissed-off snake

I started on the ring holding my other leg captive and was slick with sweat and trembling by the time it came loose. I edged the chains behind my legs just in case Talon came back in, then started work on the chains pinning my arms together

Maybe it was the fact that the ring was higher and I was able to hang more weight off it, but that one came out quicker. Even so, my wrists were red and raw

I’m free. Still wearing chains, but free. I rattled past the long control panel and began going through the drawers of the desk

Great. Now comes the more difficult part—finding me.

Unfortunately, Talon has not been considerate enough to leave floor plans lying about.

Quinn’s amusement shimmered through my mind, momentarily dulling the ache in my wrists and ankles. I’ll have a word with him when I meet him

The third drawer down was locked. I forced it open, and found several keys. The fourth key opened the locks around my wrists, the seventh the ones around my ankles. I had no idea what the rest opened, but I wasn’t about to leave them behind

I puddled the chains under the desk and walked back to the control panel. Any idea where you are?

No. There are no signs and no movement whatsoever.

I scanned the many screens and eventually found what looked like pictures from security cams. I pressed a button, and the picture jumped to a different setting. I kept pressing. The first person I found was Talon. He was in a lab, peering into a microscope, and just the way he stood suggested he was far from happy. And that made me extremely happy

I moved on, eventually finding what looked to be a series of crisscrossed red lights. Those lasers bars… are they red and on all four sides?

Yes.

Then I think I’ve found where you are. I glanced at the top of the screen. Sublevel three. All I have to do now is find how to get there

Be careful.

No… really? And here I was all set to go running down the halls.

His laughter reminded me of a summer breeze—so warm and rich. Anyone would think you did this for a living

My clothes were nowhere to be found, so I walked over to what looked like a cupboard. Inside, there were several leather jackets and Talon-sized pants, as well as a white lab coat. I put on the coat, rolled up the sleeves, then undid my hair to retrieve the finger laser. The knives I left where they were

On my way. Hopefully

I opened the door and peered out. The corridor was long and curved around to the right. I glanced up. Two security cams, one just above me, another right on the curve

Shoot them out.

I do that and it’ll raise the alarm.

The mere act of walking out could do that. You have no idea who’s watching.

I slipped the laser onto my fingers, adjusted the trigger, then raised my hand and fired. Black glass shattered, falling to the floor as softly as snow. I did the same to the second camera, then listened for any sound that might indicate the alarm had been raised

Nothing

I edged out. The silence was eerie, the air cold. Shivering, wishing I had more than a thin coat on, I edged down the corridor

As I moved around the corner, a slight hum filled the silence. I froze. Sweat trickled down my back, and my finger trembled against the laser’s trigger. The humming stopped. I let loose the breath I’d been holding, but in that instant, footsteps echoed, coming down the hall toward me

I swore under my breath and looked around quickly. No doors and nowhere to go but back to that room. I might not have gotten far, but I wasn’t about to retreat. I sniffed the air. Pine and coffee. Not Talon, then

Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the wall and walked down the hall, the rap of my bootheels as loud as the beat of my heart. His scent got sharper, and a second later I saw him—a small brown man clutching a clipboard and wearing a furtive expression

He stopped when he saw me. “Who the hell are you?”

“Research.” I continued walking toward him

His frown increased. “What division?”

“This one.” I popped the buttons on my lab coat and flashed him

The clipboard dropped to the floor and his jaw just about did the same. That’s when I hit him. His head snapped back and he hit the floor with a crack that made me wince. I dragged him to the side and checked that he still had a pulse

He did. I grabbed the pass from around his neck, wrapped the coat around me as best I could, picked up the clipboard, and continued on. Elevator doors came into view. So too did another camera

I kept my head down and kept on walking. The doors slid open. I walked in, pressed sublevel three, then stepped back and waited

And waited

Heart thumping, fingers trembling, I pressed the button a second time

Still nothing

Then I saw the keycard slot beside the panel. Cursing under my breath, I swiped the stolen pass through the slot and the elevator doors slid closed

I flopped back against the wall and took several deep breaths. Until I saw the camera. The whole place was worse than the damn Directorate for spying on people. But I didn’t move, hoping my disheveled and sweaty state would have any watchers thinking I was nothing more than another of Talon’s floozies. Which I guess I was

The lift stopped at sublevel three and the doors opened. I peered out. Darkness crisscrossed by red lines greeted me. I switched to infrared and scanned the room. Heat fluttered down the far end of the room. There was nothing—or no one—else near

Hurry, Quinn said

“Like I’m not,” I muttered, and heard the distant ring of amusement, felt it wash through my mind as sweetly as a kiss

It seemed to take forever to weave through the web of lasers. Hurrying wasn’t a priority when the slightest wrong move could result in body parts being sliced off

Eventually, I reached his cell, and the sheer relief of seeing him again had me shaking. I retrieved the keys from the pocket of the coat, found one that looked right, and slid it into the lock. The lasers withdrew, and Quinn was free

He didn’t move, just studied me in a detached sort of way. Though I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in the safety and warmth of his arms, it was a risk I couldn’t take. The fever was knife-edged

“And if we meet Talon?”

He was reading my thoughts better than I was his. But then, he’d had more practice. I shrugged. “I’ll deal with it.”

He nodded, accepting my answer though we both knew there was only one way to deal with the heat that