Psy & Changelings 11 - Tangle of Need

was warm from his touch, but his mind worked with ice-cold precision as he decided what was to be done with Henry.
Aden.
    The telepath’s reply was crystal clear.
Councilor.
    Kaleb will do. The Council is no longer in existence except in the minds of the populace.
    Kaleb.
    Henry will continue to be a problem if he lives. Do you have any issue with eliminating him?
Kaleb needed to know how much of the Arrows’ loyalty was his.
    No. His policies are not good for the Net.
    Kaleb rubbed his thumb over the shining surface of the star.
Then regard it as an authorized mission.
    Noted.
    Telepathic connection severed, Kaleb considered those who’d remain after Henry’s demise. Shoshanna, he didn’t waste time on. Henry’s “wife” had flaws that would make it easy to manipulate her. Nikita would leave Kaleb alone so long as he didn’t attempt to violate her territory—or harm her child and grandchild. The other Councilor hid it well, but Kaleb could glide through the Net without causing a single ripple. He saw everything. Nikita’s conditioning might be flawless, but she wasn’t Silent.
    Not in the way he was.
    Nikita’s protective instinct was her Achilles’ heel, but Kaleb had no reason to exploit it. Not as long as she didn’t attempt to get in his way. If she did…
    His eye fell on the star. He halted his movements. And knew he had his own weakness, one Nikita would never guess at, and so he still had the advantage in his dealings with her.
    As for Anthony, Kaleb didn’t think there would be any problems—he had no desire to encroach on NightStar lands or capture Anthony’s stable of F-Psy. No foreseer could stop him once he’d decided on a course of action.
    That left Ming and Tatiana. Both would have to die when it was time. There was no other viable option. Kaleb would not chance them coming at him from behind.
    The star sparked in the light from the lamp on his desk.
    Caught, he stared at the small charm, wondering what its owner would make of his thoughts of assassination. Soon, he would discover the answer. Because he’d just breached another layer of security, unearthed the oldest part of the trail. It was fragile and fragmented, but it was there.
    Soon.

Chapter 56
    RIAZ CALLED ADRIA to ask her to come along to the meeting with Bo and the liaison three days later and discovered that she was already in San Francisco with Indigo, Tarah, Evie, and another woman who had a familiar scent but looked nothing like she should—from her height, to the color of her hair and eyes, even the shape of her face, the latter apparently altered using high-tech gel pads Judd had procured from who knows where.
    As he pulled away after picking up Adria, the other four women waved at him from the café where they were eating large pieces of cake slathered in frosting. “How in hell did Sienna talk Hawke into letting her out of den territory?”
    Adria gave him an arch look. “I have no idea. Didn’t ask.” Scooping up a bite of the apple pie she’d had packed to go, she fed it to him. “However, she
may
possibly have pointed out that she’s an adult female with the right to make up her own mind.”
    He bit back a grin at her tone. “Yes, she
may
have done that, but Hawke is newly mated and there’s a high probability she’s in Ming’s crosshairs. Hawke might be intelligent, but he’s not that rational, not when it comes to Sienna.”
    Eating a bite of pie herself, Adria made a “hmming” sound in her throat. “You know, you’re right. Though, until you picked me up, she was with a lieutenant, a senior soldier, and a woman who thinks of her as another daughter. No one was going to get to her.”
    Riaz had to concede that point. Forget about Tarah being submissive—maternal wolves would fight to the death to protect their young.
    “Buuuuut,” Adria drawled, “five minutes before I left, I got a call from Simran and Inés. In the area. Shopping. Heard we were nearby, said they’d come join the group.” A narrow-eyed look, but her tone was admiring. “The man is devious.”
    Riaz chuckled. “Of course he is.” Brute strength alone did not the alpha of a pack make. “You think Sienna’s figured it out?”
    “From the little smile she got on her face when Simran called, yes. She wasn’t mad—I think she realizes exactly how hard this must be for Hawke.”
    Riaz’s wolf growled in disagreement. “If she did, she’d have stayed safe in our territory.”
    “And if she was the kind of woman