Moon Sworn

“Because I’m Directorate. I don’t just work there. I’m a guardian.”

“What?” His expression was incredulous. “You can’t be. You’re a werewolf.”

“Exactly what I said,” Evin murmured.

“I’m a dhampire—werewolf and vampire. I work in the daytime division in Melbourne.”

“But how—”

“Long story,” I cut in. “And it’s really not important right now. The point is, if Directorate staff suddenly disappear, an alert goes out to all divisions.”

“And if some cop in a godforsaken town suddenly starts asking for information about someone who matches the description of that missing personnel,” Harris said heavily, “all hell should break loose.”

“And it hasn’t. Which to my way of thinking means the request never went through.”

“Unless they’re just a slack outfit over in Perth. I sent the information to them about the murders, and I haven’t had a response back from those, either.” He took a sip of coffee then added, “And according to you, these types of murders would have been red-flagged as a priority.”

“They should have been.” So why had no one contacted Harris? That’s what I couldn’t understand. I took another drink of coffee, then added, “It might be a good idea to actually phone them again.”

“You mean, right now?”

“Why not? We have a dangerous vamp who’s connected to an organization that’s hiring out killers for revenge purposes. The Perth staff don’t know I’m here or that I’m Directorate, so they should be getting their butts out here ASAP.”

“True.”

He reached sideways, pressing the speaker button on the phone before punching in a series of numbers. The phone began to ring, the sound echoing across the brief silence.

But before it could be answered, the line went dead.

“What the fuck?” Harris picked up the receiver and pressed several buttons, then glanced at me. “Nothing. It’s as dead as a doornail.”

Evin rose and walked across to another desk. “So’s this one.” He put the receiver back down. “Christ, you don’t think Denny and his friends would be stupid enough to try to attack us?”

“Intelligence was never his strong suit, but even Denny and his friends aren’t that stupid.” Harris glanced at me. At that moment, the lights went out.

“Down, get down,” I hissed, dropping out of the chair and hitting the floor on hands and knees. My coffee went flying, spilling across the carpet as the cup rolled even farther away from my fingertips.

Then I felt it.

An energy, a presence, that sang to my heart, wrapping me in warmth and passion and making me feel safer than I’d felt since I’d woken in the desert.

I couldn’t recall his name, but I knew him. Loved him.

I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door. It opened, revealing only the darkness of the night. But he was there, hidden in the shadows, and I launched myself at him.

The darkness wrapped me in a hug that was fierce and joyous, pressing me against a body that was so very real.

“Thank God,” he whispered, his cheek pressing against mine as he hugged me ferociously. “I really thought I’d lost you for a while there.”

“You almost did.” As the shadows hiding his body began to dissipate, I kissed him, with every ounce of the love and relief that was surging through me.

Only to be practically torn out of his arms and into the arms of another. A man who wore the masculine version of my face and who was the other half of me. The brother that Evin wasn’t.

“Oh, thank Christ,” he said, his hug every bit as fierce as my vampire’s. “I was going crazy with worry.”

“I take it,” Harris drawled from behind us, “that you know both of these men and that I should drop my weapon.”

“If you don’t,” another voice said from the very back of the room, “you might just get shot yourself.”

I twisted out of my brother’s grip and saw another vampire standing in the cell block doorway. I knew his face, knew he was my boss, and was both relieved and surprised to see him here. But I couldn’t damn well name him, and that was frustrating.

He was holding a laser aimed straight at Harris, and the whine of the weapon firing up indicated he was very close to pressing the trigger.

“Everyone, relax. Harris is the cop here, and Evin is a friend. They’re both on our side.”

The whine of the laser shut down. Rich green eyes met mine. “What the hell is going on here, Riley?”

Riley. The name fit. It felt right. Riley Jenson. That was my name. I wanted to dance with the joy of finally knowing me.

But right now, there were more important things to concentrate on. Celebrations could happen later, when the mess surrounding me and Evin had been cleaned up.

“A truckload of shit is what’s been happening,” I replied. “But the first thing you need to know is the fact that there’s whole chunks of my memories missing. I know who you all are, but I can’t for the life of me remember your names. In fact, until a moment ago, I couldn’t even remember my own name.”

“What?” my brother said.

“It’s all part of the plot,” Evin said. He was sitting on the edge of the desk, his stance suggesting he was ready to fight. He wasn’t about to trust the three men in my life—and I couldn’t entirely blame him. Not with the dark and dangerous look my brother was flinging his way.

Evin added, “According to her driver’s license, she’s Hanna London. I’m her brother, Evin. We were supposed to be here for a week.”

“So you’re part of it?” My twin stepped forward, anger practically oozing from every pore. He wanted someone to blame—someone to take his frustration out on—very badly indeed.

I grabbed his arm. “Not willingly. And would you mind introducing yourselves? I can’t exactly do it.”

He glanced at me. “I’m Rhoan, that’s Jack over near the door, and Quinn is the brooding presence behind us.”

I looked over my shoulder and gave him a smile. And noticed for the first time the fading scar down the side of his face. I reached out and touched it gently. Saw again the truck hitting the black car, that car rolling over and over, and shivered inwardly. He was lucky to be alive. I guess we both were.

He caught my fingers and kissed them gently. “Do you know why your memories are so sketchy? Was it the accident, or was it deliberate?”

“Deliberate.”

He touched my temple with his free hand and power washed around me, warm and familiar. “I can feel the imprint of another. We might be able to undo it.”

“Good. But not right now.” I turned around and looked at Jack. “We’ve had two murders here in Dunedan, both revenge killings very similar to the one I was investigating in Melbourne. This time, Harris and I managed to capture the killer and the helicopter pilot who was coming to pick him up.”

Jack shook his head. “Even kidnapped, you still manage to find yourself in the middle of a murder investigation.”

“Even when she was repeatedly told to keep her nose out of it,” Harris murmured, humor touching his lips as his gaze met mine.

“Ah, well.” Jack walked across the room and helped himself to some coffee. “I’ve been her boss for years and, let me tell you, getting her to obey orders is impossible.”

“But in this case, it was a good thing.” I leaned back against Quinn. His warmth and his smell soaked through my pores, filling a void I hadn’t even been aware of until now. “Because it was the similarities of the murders here to the ones I’d been investigating in Melbourne that began triggering memories.”

“Probably because whoever was doing the memory rearranging didn’t know enough about your life to make it stick.”

With the back of my head resting against Quinn’s chest, his voice seemed to rumble right through me. It was a wonderful sensation.