Tangle of Need (Psy-Changeling #11)(111)

“Please,” Miane said, taking a small step back, her feet encased in black leather-synth heels that made a clipping sound on the plascrete, “join me on my vessel. The stateroom is more than adequate for this meeting.”

A gracious offer meant to put them off their game, their wolves having a strong dislike for the motion of the sea. They could bear it, but it would fray tempers, reduce concentration.

“Thanks, but I’ll decline.” Hawke bared his teeth in a smile that was a silent warning. “If you prefer not to enter the warehouse, we can talk here.”

Miane considered it, one of her men whispering in her ear at a sub-vocal level. “Malachai says it will be easier to spy on us outdoors, use audio equipment to pick up our voices. The most secure place would be out at sea.”

Hawke just waited. He’d made his intentions clear, and now it was up to Miane to accept or walk away. After a tense pause and another muted discussion with the hard-eyed male named Malachai, the leader of the BlackSea Conclave inclined her head, and Riaz knew she’d decided to trust them this much at least. “Let’s proceed inside.”

Riaz left the doors open behind them. Intercepting a glance from Emani, he said, “We can use audio disrupters to make certain the conversation remains private,” and produced the small, round devices from a flat case in the back pocket of his jeans.

Emani checked the disrupters with a handheld scanner and nodded. Together, they set out and activated four of them, one in each corner of the warehouse. No one spoke until they’d returned to stand behind their respective alphas.

“We,” Miane said, “have been pleased with SnowDancer’s willingness to work with us on an agreement.”

Hawke watched her without blinking. “Let’s cut to the chase—the only remaining questions are whether we can work together on the ground, and the real reason why you’re suddenly so keen on an alliance.”

A slight widening of her eyes was the sole indication of Miane’s surprise. “Blunt.”

“We worked with you on the contract because it made sense with your people being so spread out,” Hawke said, “but that’s not who we are, and that’s not how we function. Better you know that now than be surprised by it later.”

A faint hint of warmth in the cold intelligence of Miane’s eyes. “Did you know that changeling sharks are so rare,” she said, “they’re considered a myth even by some of the changelings in BlackSea?”

Hawke’s responding smile was razor sharp. “I’m guessing you don’t believe the same.”

“As to that, I’ll keep my own counsel, but I will say I understand predators.”

“In that case, let’s talk.”





Chapter 54





HAVING BEEN ASSIGNED to a shift at the infirmary at the last minute, Adria lifted a questioning eyebrow at Elias when he joined her. “Last I checked,” she said, “we didn’t have any dangerous criminals in here.”

“They’re hoping to wake Alice Eldridge.” Elias kept his voice low. “Hawke wants extra security until Lara can get a read on her while she’s conscious—there’s no way to know what she was programmed to do before being put to sleep.”

Shifting slightly, Adria glanced into the patient room. While access to Alice was strictly controlled, Adria had seen the comatose woman in the aftermath of the battle, when she’d helped move Alice’s bed to the side to make room for injured SnowDancers. Alice lay as she had done then, ashen and motionless. Around her stood three women, each with a frown of concentration on her face, their voices overlapping as they talked over last-minute adjustments.

Lara, Adria knew and respected. Ashaya Aleine, too, was familiar after that dinner at Mercy and Riley’s, her tight curls pulled severely off her face into a neat bun, her blue-gray eyes startling against the rich brown of her skin. The third woman, with her soft curves, honey-toned skin, and cardinal eyes, was no one Adria had ever spoken to, but recognized nonetheless.

Sascha Duncan, mate to the DarkRiver alpha, an E-Psy.

Adria’s wolf wasn’t quite comfortable being around a woman who could sense its emotions—especially when those emotions were so painfully deep and complex. Living with Riaz, it was nothing like living with Martin. The man was dominant and pushy and arrogant enough to want his own way, but he was also perverse enough to be delighted with her when she snarled at him.

The thought made her lips twitch for a fleeting second, before darker emotions rose to the fore. In spite of the realization she’d had on the wildflower-strewn meadow in the mountains, a desperate kernel of self-preservation kept warning her to keep a piece of herself separate, apart. Not to hurt him … but because she wasn’t Riaz’s mate, never would be, their relationship unbalanced on the most fundamental level.

PERIPHERALLY aware of Eli and Adria in the doorway, Lara glanced at Ashaya. “Yes?”

The scientist nodded. “We’ve done as much as possible without injecting her.”

Conscious the M-Psy was profoundly concerned about the damage they might cause, Lara said, “If we do nothing, she’ll die. Her body is failing.”

Ashaya’s head snapped up from the panel at the end of the bed. “I told you to warn us if she went downhill. We could’ve moved faster.”