CARESSED BY ICE

“I think there might be more.” Kevin sounded broken, lost. “I’ll see if I can find out anything.”


Judd was no changeling but he understood why the hyena was so distraught. Hierarchy was important in changeling packs and that hierarchy relied on trust. What Parrish had done was obliterate Kevin’s system for understanding how the world worked. It was the same psychological trauma that had destroyed so many young children at the dawn of Silence. The transitional children—those under seven years of age at the time of the Protocol’s implementation—had been taught to devalue love, warmth, touch, everything that made them feel safe. More had died than survived.

“Don’t put yourself in danger,” Indigo told Kevin now. “With what you’ve given us, we can shut down this operation. How many in your pack?”

“A hundred but that includes the old and the very young.” He coughed a couple of times. “There’s about forty able-bodied. The Psy didn’t bother to talk to the others.”

“Not many.” She looked over Kevin’s head, toward Judd. “Can you handle it?” At Judd’s nod, Indigo returned her attention to Kevin. “How stable is your pack?”

“Good. If you take out Parrish, Mahal or Lou-Ann can step in.” His voice held acceptance of his leader’s impending death. “I don’t know if they’re in on it.”

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll figure it out.” Indigo raised an eyebrow at Judd. “Could be they’ve all been brainwashed.”

“It could.” However, he considered it unlikely, given the crude nature of the programming. The Council hadn’t spent too much time on this. “Who were the Psy who programmed you? Were they wearing uniforms?”

“No. Suits like the rest of them.” Kevin didn’t attempt to look over his shoulder. “I didn’t see anyone who seemed really important. Nothing stands out.”

Judd would have been surprised to hear otherwise. “Any names mentioned?”

“Not that I can—” The hyena paused. “Wait. I walked up on Parrish once while he was on the phone. He said he couldn’t change things without Duncan’s authorization.”





Brenna felt unexpectedly fresh the morning after her emotional breakdown. It was as if the tears had released something toxic that had been brewing inside of her, setting her free. Added to that, Judd had messaged her to let her know he hadn’t yet returned to the den. She grinned. The Man of Ice was learning.

Walking out of her apartment, she headed off to find Hawke. She had work to do—she hadn’t forgotten that Tim’s killer might be gunning for her and she wasn’t going to put a bull’s-eye on her back, but neither was she going to let that piece of scum dictate her movements.

Hawke raised an eyebrow when she hunted him down in one of the workout rooms. “That look spells trouble.” His entire upper body was drenched in sweat, but his breathing remained smooth. Healthy and muscled, he was quite beautiful in a very masculine way.

She was woman enough to appreciate him, but without wanting more. “I promised DarkRiver I’d help them hack into the Psy databases. Can you assign me an escort down to their headquarters?” Because she wasn’t a soldier and she couldn’t fight like one.

“They decided to set up special untraceable equipment for it.” He picked up a towel and wiped off his face. “Should be ready by tomorrow. You want to go help Sascha instead?”

Brenna shook her head. “She said she doesn’t need me till later. Right now, the deer are too traumatized to accept my presence.”

“Makes sense. I’ve got a meeting that way tomorrow—you can hitch a ride with me,” he said, slinging the towel around his neck. “I’ve already got SnowDancer guards sorted and DarkRiver has the whole place under watch, too.”

“Trusting the cats, Hawke?” she teased.

He snorted. “Like I said, I’ll have my own men there.”

Relieved he hadn’t stood in her way, she was about to head back to her room when Hawke’s phone beeped. Since it was closer to her—on the floor with the sweatshirt he’d stripped off during training—she picked it up and handed it to him. It wasn’t her intention to listen in, but he motioned for her to stay.

The conversation was short and ended with Hawke saying, “You’ve tracked down the pack?” A pause filled with the most lethal anger. “Then do it today. We don’t know what else they might have been programmed to do.”

“Do what?” Brenna asked after he’d hung up.

“Judd’s not going to get back till after dark,” he said instead of answering. “He asked me to keep an eye on you.”

She concentrated on the first part of his response. “What does he do for you, Hawke?” Her heart was a block of cold stone in her chest.

His face went dangerously neutral. “I don’t know if I like your tone of voice.” It was a reminder of who he was.