Maybe. Maybe not. But he wasn't saying no outright, so there was still some degree of hope left.
"Jack, I can't continue like this. I won't."
"You know the choice, Riley. It's us or the military."
So much for hope. I stared at him for a moment, mouth drier than the Simpson Desert. "Is that a threat?"
He returned my stare, his green eyes showing little in the way of compassion. Not giving in, not giving up. "No. I'm merely stating your options. They haven't changed. They will never change." He paused. "The military has been keeping an eye on you."
I clenched my fists and battled to remain calm - battled not to show the fear clawing away at my insides. Which was useless, given that he was a vampire and would sense it regardless. He couldn't help it when my pulse was racing at a million miles an hour.
"You can't make me do either," I said, an edge creeping into my voice was that was part fury, part fear. "I'll fight you, I'll fight the Directorate, I'll even fight the entire Australian military if I have to."
"Riley," he said softly. "You may be a strong telepath, but so am I, and so is Director Hunter."
"And so is Quinn," I retorted. "Do not think I'll be alone in any battle." Because if he tried anything like that, he'd not only lose me, but Quinn, Rhoan, and Dia, as well.
And he knew it. The frustrated anger that just about fried my skin said as much.
"What about a compromise?" I said, desperately battling the urge to cross my fingers. To pray to the gods I didn't believe in.
"What kind of compromise?"
"You have specialist consultants on the books. Dia's one. Why can't I be another?"
"Meaning," he said slowly, "you'd be willing to come to murder scenes whenever required, to talk to souls?"
"Yes." I wouldn't like it, but I'd do it if it meant not having to risk life and limb every single day of my life as a guardian.
He studied me for a moment, as if judging my seriousness, then said, "That is a risk in itself. We both know that."
Yes, talking to souls was a risk. They could drain me to the point that I might not be strong enough to get back from their realms. But the key here was finding a solution that suited us both - and offsetting a greater risk for a smaller one was one of those.
"It's the lesser of two evils, Jack, and it gives us both something we want." And it gave me the chance of an almost normal life. It gave me the ability to raise Liander and my babies and be a steady, regular influence in their lives.
He studied me for several more - very long - minutes, then a small smile touched his lips. "I knew this was coming. Especially given you've found your own replacement."
Hope bubbled through me, but I stamped down on it. Hard. I knew fate well enough not to trust her so easily.
"Is that a yes?"
"It's more an 'I could live with a deal like that.'" He hesitated and studied me grimly. "Which is not to say that Director Hunter will."
"But you'll support the idea in principle?"
"Riley, I am many things, but I am not stupid. And I do not want to destroy what is left of the daytime division." He smiled grimly, then added, "Nor do I wish to go to war with a man who was the finest cazador the council ever produced."
I let go a whoop they would surely have heard in Sydney, then leapt forward, throwing myself into Jack's arms. He caught me with a grunt, but his laughter ran all around me.
"Don't get your hopes too high. As I said, it'll still have to go before Director Hunter for final approval."
"I know, I know." But if Jack approved it, that was three-quarters of the battle. The Directorate might be his sister's, but the guardian division was his.
"Then untangle your arms from around my neck and go help your brother clean up the house. Consider it your last official duty as a guardian." He hesitated, green eyes suddenly serious. "Unless, of course, you want official status when you confront the bastard who kidnapped you."
I stepped back, my joy suddenly tempered. "We're going to do it on Jenson lands. Pack law will apply."
He half nodded. "It still won't hurt to have the Directorate behind you. After all, he kidnapped Evin and his mate, kidnapped and mind-washed you, and damn near killed Quinn. His death is slated. So, if you like, that can be your last official task."
"And it doesn't matter which way I choose to apply it?"
"I don't give a damn, as long as the bastard dies."
"He will. He has to."
Jack nodded. "Then go help your brother, and I'll get the paperwork started. For both things."
"Thanks, Jack. You're the best."
I leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and damned if he didn't blush. "Just go, and let me get some work done."
I grinned and all but bounced out of the van.
One more thing to attend to, and then my life was finally mine.
If I survived the encounter with Blake, that was.
Chapter 16
As eager as we all were to confront Blake, getting rid of him wasn't simply a matter of walking onto Jenson pack land and challenging him. We had to stop his whole damn family, because Blake was simply one poisonous head on the Medusa. Cut him off, and another would grow in his place.
And whoever replaced him would probably be even more hell-bent on revenge.
To end the cycle, we needed to bring down the whole lot of them. Maybe then those who didn't quite fit into the Jenson pack ideal could live free of tyranny and fear.
So we spent precious time tracking down every one of his siblings and his get. Where possible, Jack sent out vampires to read their minds and gather information. It quickly became apparent that the Jenson pack's change of fortune hadn't come from good management but rather blackmail, robbery, and even murder. And as I'd suspected some time ago, Henry Bottchelli - the man who'd hired the red Mazda driver to follow me - was one of Blake's aliases. He had several others, as did Tyson and most of his sons.
We worked practically nonstop. We gathered our evidence, we stuck our fingers into their bank accounts, and we raided their computer systems, and slowly but surely we got ready to snatch the whole damn lot of them.
When Jack wanted vengeance, he went all out. And with the force of the Directorate behind him, it was a pretty awesome sight to behold.
In the end, it took us nearly three days to get to the Northern Territory. Quinn's plane landed in Alice Springs at four forty-five, and by five, the three of us and our one bag had cleared security and we were heading out into the car park.
The air was clean and warm, and it smelled like home. I inhaled deeply, loving the crispness of it, the way the flavors and the scents suddenly seemed all that much sharper.
It would be nice to come back here occasionally. Maybe once Blake had been dealt with, we could. After all, we now had a reason. We now had family.
You always had family, Quinn commented. It's just that it wasn't by birth and blood.
He was right, of course.
When you hang around on this Earth as long as I have, you get to know a thing or two. He smiled, but his dark eyes were serious. Whatever happens after today, Liander and I will always be here.
I know. And it warmed the places deep inside that had been cold and empty for so long.
A large black SUV pulled up. Evin and Lyndal climbed out. Evin smiled when he saw us, but then surprise crossed his features.
"No guns?"
"We don't need them," Rhoan said, his voice calm. Yet an undercurrent of violence and excitement rode through every word and motion. The switch to guardian mode hadn't been flicked yet, but he wasn't far from it.
"But the minute we enter pack land, he'll know," Lyndal commented softly. "He'll have shooters in place."
"Which is why," I said, opening the SUVs back door, "we asked you to rent this type of truck rather than just a car. You know all the locations of the border guards. You, Lyndal, and Quinn are going to go to each and every one of them and take them out as we stroll onto pack land."
His frown increased. "But we don't use SUVs to move from location to location. There's no need to, when a good run is the best way to get anywhere or to finish a shift. They'll know something is up the minute they spot it."
"Blake's still doing his surprise inspections, isn't he?" Rhoan asked, resting a hip on the side of the SUV and crossing his arms.
It wasn't really a question, because we'd already gleaned the answer from the minds of his family.
"Yeah, but - "
"But," I said, "a recent car accident mangled his leg, and even though he shifted to heal it, infection has set into the bone and he's recently undergone a series of operations to fix it. He's been ordered to keep off his leg as much as possible, in either wolf or human form."
Which is why he'd been limping when he'd confronted me at the truck accident. And why he'd looked so beaten up.
Lyndal stared at us. "How do you know all that, when even we didn't?"
"We're guardians," Rhoan said blithely. "We know all sorts of shit."
Evin raised an eyebrow, amusement warring with concern. "That doesn't alter the fact that the minute we get close enough, they'll know we're not Blake and warn the pack."
"Which is where this comes in," Quinn said, and raised the bag he was carrying. "It's a jammer. The minute I switch it on, all phones and radios will cease to work. And as we drive up, they will see Blake, not us."
Evin stared at him. "You can do that?"
"Easily."
"Wow." He swallowed. Obviously, no one had ever told him just how powerful old vampires could be.
"Besides," I added, "Rhoan and I walking onto the pack land will catch their attention and give you time. Blake won't order us to be shot immediately. He'll want the whole pack to witness our defeat."
"But - "
"It'll be fine. We'll be fine. And you and Lyndal will be safe - Quinn will make sure of it." I glanced at my watch. We were cutting it fine. Jack had his end of the whole show - arresting all various siblings and offspring who weren't currently on pack land - set to go at six, and it'd take us nearly an hour to get onto Jenson lands.
"Now stop worrying, get in the car, and get us there."
"I'm not worried about me and Lyndal," he said, but climbed into the car and started it up.
It was a quiet journey out. I sat in the back between Lyndal and Quinn, with Quinn's arm draped loosely around my shoulders and his fingers gently caressing my arm. It was comforting, that touch, and yet it gave me strength.
I'd spent most of my life avoiding the confrontation I was now driving toward, and it was damned good to know that I wasn't doing it alone.
Was I scared?
Hell, yeah.
I'd seen wolf fights. I was well aware of how bloody they could get. How deadly. And while I had faith in both my fighting skills and Rhoan's, I wasn't trusting fate. I wasn't blithely walking in there thinking everything would go our way.
We would both get hurt doing this, I knew that.
But deep inside me, there also burned a hunger to be done with it.
This was the last step in washing my hands of my old life. From now on, I could focus on me, Quinn, Rhoan and Liander, and the pack and the life we were creating for ourselves.
And more than anything else, that's what drove me past the fear.
The flat red landscape soon gave way to red outcrops of rocks and the soaring hills that filled pack land. The twisting anxiety in my stomach grew the closer we got, and by the time Evin pulled over to the side of the road, I really thought I was going to be sick.
"This is it," Evin said, looking back at me through the rearview mirror. "We're five minutes away from our border. We need to cut inland here if we're to get to the first outpost."
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Then let's do this."
Quinn opened the back door and climbed out. The evening air swirled around me, thick with the rawness of nature. I took another deep, steadying breath, then climbed out.
"Good luck," he whispered, his arms going around my waist as he gently kissed me. "I won't tell you to be careful because, given what's about to happen, that's a pretty useless sentiment. But do try to not get too slashed up. The full moon is in a couple of days, and we have a sunset wedding."
"I have no intention of either missing our wedding or being too messed up to enjoy our first night as a mated couple." I kissed him again. "Although you do realize that, since I'll be a wolf once the moon rises, it's not going to be the usual human type of night."
He smiled and ran a finger lightly down my cheek. "We have the rest of our lives to celebrate sexually. That night will be a celebration of an event I never thought would happen."
"Riley," Rhoan said softly behind me.
I kissed Quinn quickly one more time, then spun around and looked back at Evin. "Quinn will tell you when it's safe to approach the compound."
He nodded. "I'll see you then."
I glanced at Lyndal, who was looking decidedly nervous, then caught Rhoan's hand and walked away without looking back. When we crossed the invisible line that marked the beginnings of pack land, something within me stirred - an eagerness, a hunger that, until now, had remained in the background.
The wolf within me wanted this.
Wanted it bad.
We let go of each other and broke into a run. We didn't run at top speed, simply because we actually wanted to be spotted. Blake needed to know we were coming - and give the all clear - before Quinn, Evin, and Lyndal got to the scouts and put them out of action.
