Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur Page B

cursed him, but turned around and crossed my arms. Tension coiled through every muscle as I readied for action, readied to fight. Fight who, I had no idea, because Dia herself was offering no threat. No physical threat, anyway. “Why do you think I’m this Riley?”
    “I touched your hand last night. It told me many secrets.” She smiled. “You can drop the pretense. I know the truth.”
    How, when she hadn’t actually read my mind? Did that mean her gift was some form of precognition that came online whenever she touched someone? “So why not mention something, then?”
    “Because I had to make sure I was right, that I didn’t have the wrong name.”
    Meaning not all her predictions came true? That admission had to be first in the world of psychics. “And this is important because?”
    “Because Riley Jenson is the only person known to have either escaped or frustrated Deshon Starr’s plans.”
    Her words did little to ease the tension running through my limbs, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I could sense or smell no one else in the house, I might have run. Yes, I wanted an end to the madness, but that wasn’t going to happen when I was standing here, far away from Starr.
    “Ask her what she wants,” Jack said.
    If he’d been standing next to me rather than jabbering in my ear, I would have been tempted to kick him, boss or not. There were more important worries—like how much she might have told Starr, and whether or not Rhoan was in danger of discovery.
    “And what have you done with this knowledge?”
    “Not gone to my would-be master, you can be sure of that.” Her voice was dry, but there was something in the way her blind eyes flashed that had me believing her.
    Which might just mean I was nothing more than a fool, and easily taken in by a bit of sincerity combined with contempt and anger.
    “And why
wouldn’t
you do that? He killed Misha for attempting to double-cross him. He’d do the same to you without a second thought.”
    “I know. But things cannot remain the way they are.”
    “What things?”
    She gave me a cool smile. “Before we go into details, I need to know if the Directorate would be willing to deal.”
    “Yes,” Jack and I said together. He added in my ear, “Depending, of course, on what she wants.”
    She raised a pale eyebrow. “You don’t need to speak to your boss first?”
    “I don’t have to. I can hear him in my head.” I was tempted to add, “and no, I’m not mad,” but restrained the impulse. A, because she’d “seen” me in action last night, and B, because I actually think insanity had a lot to do with my current situation. After all, no one sane would willingly step into hell’s den with the intent of fucking his lieutenants for information, no matter how pissed off and in need of revenge they were.
    “Telepathy.” She nodded. “A handy tool for those in your line of work, though I’m surprised they haven’t taught you more control.”
    “We would have if we’d known it was needed.” Jack’s voice was sarcastic. “But someone forgot to mention an apparent increase in power since our last lesson.”
    I ignored him. Anything I said was only going to count against me, anyway. “What sort of deal would you like to broker?”
    She smiled and waved a hand to the sofa. “Please, come and sit down.”
    “I’m fine, thanks.” Flight-or-fight mode was far easier standing up.
    She raised her eyebrows again. “I sense distrust.”
    “That’s because there is.”
    “Honest. I like that.”
    “And I’d like for you to quit fucking around and just get to the point.”
    She crossed one elegant leg over the other, and clasped her hands around her knees. “Okay. I want immunity from everything I have done on behalf of Starr.”
    “That depends greatly on what she wants to give us in return,” Jack said.
    “And?” I asked, sensing there was more to Dia’s list of demands.
    “He cannot know that I am helping you. Which means I will never