Still, thieves couldn't afford to be choosy.

I retraced my steps to the bathroom. After running the water to ensure it was hot, I jumped in the shower and cleaned myself up, feeling a hundred percent better once I had. I dried myself, then wrapped the towel around me, and returned to the kitchen.

"How do you like your coffee?" Kade said as I walked in.

"Hot, preferably."

His gaze skated down me, and a luscious smile teased his lips. "You smell almost edible." He poured hot water into two mugs, then slid one across to me.

"So does that." I plonked down on the nearest stool and sniffed the coffee appreciably. "It looks like our unwitting hosts have been gone for a few days."

He nodded. "A fact backed up by the lack of perishables in the fridge."

I sipped at the coffee, then asked, "Is there a phone here?" It was the only thing I hadn't seen on my search.

"On the wall behind you." He studied me for a second, then added, "There's someone in your life you need to ring urgently?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Would it make a difference if there is?"

His expression tightened a little. "Of course it would."

"I thought stallions were into collecting harems?"

"Yeah, but unlike our animal counterparts, we draw the line at stealing other stallion's mares."

"Ah." I drank some coffee, letting him wonder for a little while. "So how many women have you got in your herd?"

"Four before I was captured."

"A nice even number."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't seemed shocked."

"Wolves tend to have several mates at any one time—at least until we find our soul mate."

"So at the moment?"

"I'm playing the field. But I've had up to five mates." Though not at the same time. Male wolves tended to get a little testy about sharing that way.

"And when you find your soul mate?"

"We're monogamous."

"Unlike us stallions."

It was a warning—a gentle one, but a warning all the same. A smile touched my lips. "When I take on a permanent mate, it'll be a man from my own race. I want to have babies one day." Though my vampire half might already have snatched that desire away from my grasp. Rhoan, my twin, had discovered two weeks ago he was infertile. I'd been undergoing similar tests, but whether I'd gotten the test results was anyone's guess, as I could remember going there, but not leaving, "So, the people you must ring are… ?"

"The pack-mate I live with, and my boss."

"Meaning you're sleeping with your boss?"

I choked on my coffee. "No," I said, when I could. "I work for the Directorate of Other Races. They tend to get a little concerned when one of their people disappears—even if it is a lowly paper pusher like myself."

"Then I'll go have a shower while you ring them." He walked out. I enjoyed the sight, then grabbed the phone and dialed Jack's work number. All I got was a computer voice telling me the number did not exist. His home number got the same result, as did my home number, so I tried their mobile phone numbers. Both were cither turned off or out of range.

That bad feeling reappeared, sitting like a lump in the pit of my stomach.

Kade came back in a few minutes later, as deliciously naked as before, but looking and smelling fresher.

"Nothing," I muttered, throwing the phone on the bench.

He frowned. "The phone's not working?"

"It's working, but the calls aren't going through."

"Then try again later. It's still very early."

Not for Jack. And not for Rhoan. He'd probably be in a state of panic by now, and I seriously doubted whether sleep would be on his agenda. "Why don't you try?" Kade reached for the phone and dialed a number. He listened for several minutes then pressed the end button. "Recorded message telling me it's the wrong number."

I nodded. "So who did you try ringing? One of your mares?"

"No. After all this time, they'd be with someone else."

"So who?"

"Are all wolves this nosy?"

I shrugged. "I like to know a little about the man I eventually intend to fuck."

Heat flared in the depths of his velvet eyes. "Eventually?"

I nodded. "Escape first, fun later."

"A plan I could live with."

"Good." Because as much as I was attracted, I wanted safety more. We might have found ourselves somewhere to have a bit of a breather, but I very much doubted we could stay here for long. The orsini looked like hunters, and I had a bad feeling they wouldn't be fooled by our little walk through the river. "So, who were you calling?"

He grinned. "My business partner."

"And your business is… ?"

He studied me for a moment, his dark gaze somewhat assessing, then said, "I'm a building contractor."

"Houses or offices?"

"Houses. Ever heard of J. K. Constructions?"

"Not a whisper."

"Not surprising, really. We're one of the smaller building contractors in South Australia."

The cold lump in my stomach got larger. "You're from Adelaide?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm from Victoria."

He stared at me for a moment, then closed his eyes. "Fuck."

"Yeah. And maybe that's the reason the phone wouldn't work." Because we were no longer in the same state, which meant I'd have to use the proper state code to get through to either Jack's phone or Rhoan's cell. Unlike many cell phone systems the world over, Australia's didn't automatically get shunted to voice mail if the caller was out of range.

I picked up the phone and dialed Jack's work number, this time adding Victoria's STD code. It barely rang once before it was answered.

"Parnell here."

I closed my eyes, never in my life more relieved to hear my boss's gruff tones. "Jack, it's Riley."

"Jesus, girl, where are you? We found your car—"

I cut him off. "I have no idea where I am, but I need you to come and get us."

"Us?" His voice was sharp.

"Yeah. Long story, but I'm here with a shifter by the name of Kade Williams. He helped me escape what I think was another gene research lab."

Jack's next few sentences were long, loud, and inventive.

Kade chuckled softly. "The man has a fine line in swearing."

"Where are you?" Jack eventually asked.

"That's the problem—I don't know. But we're not in Victoria or South Australia."

"I'll do a tr—"

"Riley? Are you all right?" Rhoan's warm tones replaced Jack's, and I closed my eyes at the hoarse tiredness in my brother's voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"So what happened? We found your car crashed into a tree. Blood was everywhere, and we'd thought the worse."

I couldn't remember the crash. Couldn't remember getting hurt. And I was mighty pissed that I'd crashed my car—I'd only had the damn thing a week.

"I'm fine," I repeated. "But I can't remember anything about the last eight days."

"Got it." lack said in the background. "They're in New South Wales."

"New South is a mighty big state," Rhoan grumbled. "Care to define it a bit more?"

"I'm working on it."

"So," Rhoan said to me, "did I hear you say you were there with a shifter?"

My gaze went to Kade's and I grinned. "You certainly did."

"And he's being good to you?"

"Oh, I intend to be very good to you," Kade murmured wickedly.

Oh lordy… Were all stallions this damn hot?

"He made me coffee," I said, "and that's a fine start."

"Uh-huh," Rhoan said. "Just remind him you've got a ferocious pack-mate who will stomp all over him if he so much as bends a fingernail."

Kade snorted softly, and I grinned. "He's quaking in his boots as we speak."

"Good." Rhoan hesitated. "So, did this place do anything to you?"

"I don't know. They were milking Kade and the other stallions, though."

Silence met this remark, and my smile grew.

"He's a horse-shifter?"

"Yes."

"Damn. You get all the luck."