Free Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur Page B

trouble, I can call in the cavalry?”
    “You can call. No guarantee we’ll answer.”
    I snorted softly. I’d been with the Directorate long enough that I’d known the answer even before I asked the question. Jack wasn’t going to risk the entire mission on getting me out if things went ass up, simply because Rhoan and Kade would still be in there. And unless those two also got into trouble, we were on our own as far as the Directorate was concerned.
    “And with operative support like that, you wonder why I didn’t want to become a guardian.”
    He chuckled. “Darlin’, you might not have wanted to become one, but you’ll be a better one than your brother.”
    “You can play that tune all you like, but you’re not convincing me to sing along.” Which was almost a rote protest by now, but I couldn’t let Jack think he’d won my complete acceptance.
    “We’ll see.” He handed me a couple of folders. “Study Poppy’s profile, then look at the details Kade’s been able to provide about Starr’s estate.”
    I flipped through the second of the two folders. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot.”
    “Because Kade only has access to the outside areas. Still, you need to know security and boundary details, as well as profiles of those who work in those areas.”
    “Because you never know who I might have to seduce for the good of the cause,” I said dryly.
    He grinned again, and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Darlin’, you’re thinking so much like me it’s almost scary.”
    “The day I think like you is the day I’ll stand in front of a silver bullet.” I waved the two folders. “If you want me to study these, you need not only to feed me, but supply me with caffeine.”
    “The pizza and coffee is already ordered.” He glanced at his watch. “They should be here in ten minutes, and if you’re not studying by then, you get nothing.”
    “Bastard.”
    “Totally. Go read.”
    I did.
             
    T he air in the tram was rich with the overwhelming scent of humanity. I hung out near the back door, desperately trying to get some of the fresh air coming in from the cracks of the bifold doors. I hated trams at the best of times. They were far worse than trains—smaller, more crowded—and always managed to give me that “penned-in” feeling.
    I hitched the backpack into a more comfortable position on my shoulder, managing to hit the man standing beside me yet again. He swore, and I snarled right back. Poppy had attitude. Right now, in this stinking, humanity-soaked metal box on electric wheels, I was ready to give it.
    I glanced at the windows, studying the night-flooded street, and noted with some relief that we were nearing my stop. Butterflies stirred in my stomach, but I beat them down ruthlessly. I couldn’t afford butterflies, or fear, or anything else. For good or for bad, I was now on the path of no return. What might lie at the very end of that path, no one, not even me, was willing to guess. I could only hope it was a return to normal life.
    I flicked the small, skin-toned disk that had been slotted under the skin behind my left ear, and said softly, “Carlisle Street,” as I reached up to pull the cord. The buzzer sounded, letting the driver know someone wanted out at the next stop.
    “She’s near Luna Park.” Jack’s soft tone whispered out from the receiver that had been carefully placed into my right ear.
    The tram lurched to a stop and the door swished open. I all but fell out, then sucked in several gulps of air. God, even fume-filled, this air felt like heaven in comparison to the tram.
    “Your stray vamp on time?” I asked, as I headed up Carlisle Street toward the amusement park. Though the Government had made Luna Park a prostitute-free zone, many of them still plied their trade along the side street that ran the length of the park’s rear.
    “He’ll be there in ten.”
    “You sure?”
    “He wants to live, so yes.”
    I snorted softly. A vamp desperate to