Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur

sting from my eyes. After a while, I got out and re-dressed, then headed into the kitchen to make myself another drink.
    And it was there, while I was nursing the steaming mug of coffee, that I finally let myself think about the way I’d attacked Quinn.
    I’d never had that sort of power before. Yeah, I rated extremely high in all the Directorate telepathic tests, but I’d never gotten anywhere near reading Quinn’s surface thoughts before, let alone busting through any of his shields.
    I had tonight, and with such power the force of it had blown him across the room.
    Had anger allowed me to tap the reserves Jack kept insisting I had, but had never used? Or was this the first sign that the drug Talon had given me was finally beginning to affect my system?
    I didn’t know.
    But I had a bad feeling I was going to find out, and all too soon.

Chapter 3
    H ey, Riley, you’re supposed to be waiting out in front of the building.”
    Rhoan’s cheerful voice rose out of the stillness, making me start. I glanced at the clock and realized that almost an hour had passed since Quinn had left.
    “Sorry,” I called, rinsing the mug under the tap as I tried to gather my composure.
    Why I bothered I have no idea. He wasn’t fooled any more than I would have been.
    “What’s wrong?” He stopped in the kitchen doorway, his cheerful expression fading quickly to one of concern. “Are you okay?”
    “Just dandy, bro.”
    He frowned, then pulled me into his arms. For several minutes he didn’t say anything, just held me. Comforted me.
    “Quinn raided my thoughts during sex,” I said eventually, my words muffled by his chest. “He knows we’re going after Starr.”
    Tension slipped through his muscles, quick and sharp. “Bastard.”
    “Exactly what I said. Several times.”
    “I hope you made him pay.”
    I sniffed. “Yeah, I did.” But who was going to be the real loser—him or me?
    “Good.” He released me and stepped back. “Have you warned Jack?”
    I shook my head. “There’s no need. Quinn’s going to the Directorate. He never got deep enough to discover we were going to Genoveve.”
    “But once he discovers Jack’s not at the Directorate, Genoveve is the first place he’ll check.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll ring Jack. You ready to go?”
    I nodded. There was nothing to pack, nothing to take, because from here on in, I was going to become someone else.
    “Then let’s get out of here, just in case he decides to come back for a little more raiding.”
    I nodded, then suddenly remembered Liander. “I just have to get one thing.”
    I dashed into my bedroom to get Liander’s birthday present, then we left. Once we’d gotten into Liander’s van and had merged into the flow of Saturday-morning traffic, Rhoan called Jack. I leaned over the front passenger seat and plonked the present onto it.
    “Hey, happy birthday, old man.”
    “Forty-nine is hardly old for a werewolf. And kindly remember that you’re going out with someone more than twelve hundred years old.”
    “Yeah well, that situation might have changed.” Though I’d forced a cheerful note into my voice, Liander didn’t appear any more fooled than my brother had been.
    He gave me a concerned glance. “Are you okay?”
    “Floating on happiness,” I said dryly. Then waved at the present. “You can open it when we get to Genoveve.”
    “Or you could tell me now and save me the suspense.”
    “I don’t think so.”
    He studied it for a second, then said, “It almost looks like a book.”
    It was—on the history of cinema effects. But I’d added a box of chocolates to fudge the shape a little. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
    “Bitch.”
    I grinned.
    “Do a U-turn,” Rhoan said, his hand momentarily over his cell phone. “Head for Chapel Street.”
    “Chapel Street?” I said, surprised. “What the hell is there, besides upmarket shops and trendy snobs?”
    He waved a hand for me to shut up, so I returned my