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“I thought that, too, until last night,” I said. “I couldn’t pinpoint who the second scent belonged to because of the air-conditioning, but he or she was watching me and Sal from the moment we arrived until the moment we left.”
“Meaning someone suspects you are not who you say you are.”
“Or they suspect I might be behind the break-ins at both Deseo and that military base.”
Jonas frowned. “Why would they suspect that? You’re not even wearing the same form, and the olfactory senses of a vampire are, as far
as I’m aware, even duller than a human’s. They smell life and blood but little else. Even if that weren’t so, there is no way they could have reported your scent to anyone here in Central.”
“Except for the fact that they’re obviously working with someone here in Central.”
His gaze narrowed. “What makes you so certain of that?”
I hesitated. I needed to be very careful about what I said and what I didn’t. He was already suspicious that I was keeping information back; I didn’t need it exploding into full-blown certainty. “The fact that, when I appeared in the military bunker, one of the vamps called me ‘mistress’ and asked if I needed any help. He obviously mistook me for someone else—someone who looks very similar to the form I was wearing last night. I suspect it was the only reason they didn’t immediately attack.”
He swore softly. “You should have mentioned this to Nuri earlier.”
“I didn’t remember earlier,” I snapped back. “And what does it matter anyway? You can simply telepath the information across to her now, anyway.”
“That I can.” His smile was grim. Cold. “What else have you failed to mention?”
“Ranger, it might be wise to remember I’m not working for you and Nuri.” My voice was surprisingly soft given the anger surging within me. “I’m only doing this because I want to help those children, so don’t take that tone with me or, by Rhea, I’ll walk away and leave you milling around in uselessness.”
“And the mouse will rise, and woe betide those who oppose her,” he murmured.
I blinked. “What?”
He shrugged. “It’s a line from an old fairy tale. I’m surprised you haven’t heard it before.”
“Mom was human and didn’t do shifter fairy tales.” And our handlers and educators certainly hadn’t. It had proven problematic more than once.
He gave me another of those cool smiles. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, finding whoever is interacting with the vampires won’t be easy, as I suspect they might be a shifter of some kind.”
“My type of shifter, or yours? And why would you suspect that? The vampires certainly couldn’t have told you.”
“Because I’m not the only body shifter in Central. Sal’s one, and so is whoever shares his scent.”
The autocook pinged softly. I opened the unit and took out the plate. The omelet not only looked fresh, but smelled divine. I ferreted around until I found a knife and fork, then moved across to the small table. All the while, Jonas watched me.
Eventually, he said, “Do you believe Sal is involved with this other person?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they smell the same.” I ate some of the omelet and then met his gaze. “I did a reading on him last night.”
His eyebrows rose. “Meaning?”
I hesitated. “Nuri’s a seeker herself, so you’re obviously aware what we can and can’t do.”
He simply nodded, his arms crossed and expression giving little away.
“Well, some of us are capable of going deeper than merely reading surface thoughts and emotions. We can delve into past memories and gain insight on all that that person might have seen and done.” I hesitated. “But it can only be done during sex.”
“In that case, remind me never to have sex with you.”
My smile was as cold as his voice. “I don’t think there’s any danger of that, ranger.”
“No.”
