CARESSED BY ICE

“How are you planning to do that?” No overt suspicion, but the implication was there.

For a fleeting second, Judd considered calling attention to the insult, but then stifled the reaction as irrelevant. To the wolves, he was an enemy, not a fellow soldier. “I have no intention of rejoining the PsyNet—it would mean death for my family should the Council realize we weren’t executed when we walked into your territory. I can, however, blend in with the general populace and go freelance.”

“As what?”

He met those cold wolf eyes. “As a man who cleans up certain kinds of messes, what else?” A brutal choice but one that would serve to keep his abilities in check.

“I can’t let an assassin loose on the fucking public.” Hawke shoved a hand through hair almost identical to the silver-gold color of his pelt in wolf form.

Judd didn’t see the need to point out that he’d already been working for months without setting off alarms. The clients never saw him. He never met them. And he didn’t kill for them. Not yet. “No wet work,” he said. “I’d work in surveillance and protection in this state for the next three or four years.”

Until Sienna became capable of taking over some of what he did to keep the LaurenNet functional, he couldn’t go far. The familial Net linked him to his family and generated enough biofeedback to keep them all alive. No Psy could survive without that feedback. If he put distance between himself and the others, it would strain the already thin fabric of a network made up of only five minds, leaving more room for mistakes. “I won’t practice my profession in your territory.”

“What happens when Sienna grows up?” Hawke asked astutely.

“I’m considering mercenary work in the African states.” In the deepest, darkest jungles where changelings held sway and where there were no Psy, no one who might possibly recognize him. And no woman with sunshine in her smile. He crushed that thought with merciless reality—the day Brenna truly saw him, the day she discovered the things he had done, he would lose her smile anyway.

“There is another option.” Hawke’s eyes were predator-still, watchful. “You could work as a SnowDancer soldier. That would allow you to use your abilities, correct?”

“Enough to blow off the most dangerous steam.” The instant the words left his lips, Judd knew he should’ve lied. So why hadn’t he? He looked inward and found his shields solid. Yet something was making him behave in opposition to his own decision to leave the den. “However, it’s not a viable option in my case. None of you trust me—it would be a farce.”

“Trust has to be earned.”

“Most changelings hate the Psy. SnowDancers go a step further.” After having seen Enrique’s handiwork, Judd couldn’t argue with their reaction.

Hawke didn’t dispute his analysis. “You helped get Brenna out—that’s a good enough place to start. I want you doing soldier work.”

It was the one response he hadn’t factored into his plans. “I would have thought you’d throw a party at the thought of getting rid of me.”

“The alpha in me says you could come in very handy.”

Judd knew why Hawke wanted his abilities. It was the same reason the Psy Council had. A pet assassin was not something those in power wanted to lose. “If I decline?”

Hawke’s eyes gleamed. “Then I withdraw safe harbor for Walker.”

Only the adult. Not the children. It was more than the Council had offered and Judd had bathed in blood for them. “Fine.” He silenced the part of him that questioned his easy capitulation. Walker had no need of his protection—his brother could save himself. “But I want the same autonomy as the rest of your soldiers.” No more chains, no more cages.

“You have nothing to bargain with.”

“I have my skills.” It wasn’t a threat. Not yet.

A low growl emanated from Hawke’s throat, as if his beast had sensed the danger. But his voice, when it came, was calm. “Most men would’ve lost their temper by now. I sure as hell would’ve gone for the throat.”

“I’m not most men.” Sometimes, he wasn’t even sure he was human, not a monster. “Of course, if I want revenge, I’ll simply send Sienna your way.” His niece could make Hawke lose his cool faster than any other man or woman in the den. “She’s been in a particularly . . . interesting mood since you forced her to train with Indigo.”

Hawke’s face darkened. “Keep that damn brat away from me—she’s more trouble than a pack of rabid cats.” He reached behind himself for a map. “I need a man to keep an eye on some stuff in the eastern quadrant.”