“That assumes he has no teleporters at his command, and I wouldn’t assume that.”
“There’s only been one report of a true teleporter, and our intel says he’s currently somewhere in South America—not attached to Ming,” Dev argued. “The others are Tks. Able to teleport, yes, but not as fast.”
“Fast enough.” His grandmother leaned forward, frown lines marking her forehead. “We need to discuss this with the woman. With your Katya.”
“No. I can’t risk—”
“Hush, Devraj.” A fond smile. “Do you really think you’re going to win this argument?”
He tried to scowl at her, but there was simply too much love in his heart for this woman. “I’m not putting you in danger. Katya tried to kill me,” he said bluntly. “It may be that she’s programmed to strike out at others close to me if she gets the chance.”
“That’s why I have a big, strong grandson to protect me.”
And that was how Dev found himself in the subbasement level, standing at one end of the table while the two women who meant most to him in the world looked across at each other. Physically, they couldn’t have been more different.
His nani was a tall woman with nut-brown skin and sparkling dark eyes. Katya was just barely of medium height, her skin almost translucent, though it had gained a little more color recently, her eyes a soft, wary hazel. His grandmother was tough, looked tough, her arms ropy with muscle. Katya in contrast, appeared soft . . . delicate.
An illusion.
The woman who’d walked through Sunshine, Alaska, without screaming was no weakling.
“So,” his grandmother said, “you’re the one who has my Devraj staying up nights.”
Katya didn’t turn to him, holding his grandmother’s gaze. “Actually,” she said, “I blame him for the sleepless nights.”
Nani laughed. “I like her, beta.” Reaching forward, she closed her hand around Katya’s. “You should meet Dev’s paternal great-grandfather, Matthew; he’s the one Dev gets the stubborn from. Old goat’s well over a hundred, but I haven’t yet seen him back down from a fight.”
Katya’s eyes widened. “Was he—”
A nod. “Yes, he was alive when Silence first came into effect. His parents, Zarina and David, were part of the original rebellion.”
Katya didn’t speak for almost a minute. “He would’ve been a contemporary of the very first children who were Silenced in the Net.”
“He remembers a cousin, said he saw him on the street years later, and it was as if the man’s soul had been wiped away.” The older woman shook her head. “Two different paths . . . though perhaps the paths are merging once again.” There was a troubled note in her voice. “But that’s not why we’re here—we’ve been discussing how to disable Ming long enough that you can get him to set you free.”
To her credit, Katya only blinked once. “We could render him unconscious, but that would defeat the purpose. If there is a key to unlock the shield, it has to be a telepathic one.”
“There’s also a high chance he could use the opportunity to kill you.” Nani’s tone was pragmatic.
Dev had already considered that. “Not if he knows that if she dies, he dies.”
“Which brings us back to the point of how to disable Ming.” Katya frowned.
And in that instant, Dev realized exactly what they had to do. Pacing from one end of the room to the other, he swept out a hand. “Leave that for now.” His every instinct rebelled against the plan his brain told him was the only possible answer. “We’ll need an exit strategy, too.”
“Make him meet you on your ground,” his grandmother suggested. “Turn him into the intruder—it’ll make it much easier for you to get away.”
“Getting him to come to us will be close to impossible,” Katya said. “He’s extremely security conscious.” When Dev didn’t reply, Katya looked up. And said, “Oh. You’ve already thought of the answer, haven’t you?”
He didn’t bother to lie. “Yes.”
“When were you going to tell me?”
“Never—I planned to come up with another way.” Thrusting his hand through his hair, he walked over to pull her up from her chair. “I don’t like the idea of using you as bait.”
“It’s the best shot we’ve got.” Cupping Dev’s cheek, she made him meet her gaze. “We’re doing this.”
“Then you’re damn well obeying every order I give you. Understood?” His voice was pure frost, protective rage barely contained.
“Yes.”
Dev’s grandmother sighed. “That’s not the way, beti. With men like my grandson, you have to be disagreeable on principle.”
Laughing at the amused advice, Katya reached out to take the other woman’s hand, feeling so at ease it was as if she’d known Kiran forever. She never got that far. Her spine twisted into an unnatural shape as agony spiked down her body. The last thing she heard was her own high-pitched scream.