Slave to Sensation

She tried not to let her turbulent emotions filter through to the surface as she waited for the elevator. Nikita was her mother, the only mother she had. Her heart didn’t want to accept that she was involved in something as dirty as covering a murderer’s tracks.

A whisper of sound reached her ears the second before a heavy hand fell on her shoulder. If she hadn’t been warned, she might’ve jumped and given away the game. Sliding smoothly out from under that hand like any normal Psy, she turned to face Enrique. “Was there something further, sir?”

“I find you to be an… unusual young woman.” The Councilor’s gaze didn’t leave hers for a second.

At the word “unusual,” Sascha’s heart jumped into her throat. “I’m extremely ordinary, sir. As you know, my cardinal powers never developed.” She confessed the truth she hated because it might be the one thing that would get him uninterested in her.

“Perhaps I can help you develop them.” He smiled that cold, meaningless smile. “I’m sure Nikita would permit it.”

Sascha felt a hole opening up beneath her feet. “I’ve been tested many times.”

The elevator doors parted in a smooth swish at her back. Enrique glanced over her shoulder and took a small step back, his smile fading. “Latham.”

“Councilor.” The older Psy walked out and around Sascha. “I was told you’d be here.”

“If there’s nothing else, sir…?” Sascha stepped backward into the elevator.

“We’ll continue this later.” Enrique’s expression was bland but there was something piercing about the quality of his gaze.

She fought the urge to collapse as the doors closed, paranoid that every public space was monitored. The Councilor had detected something about her, something that had set him on her trail. He’d be relentless until he’d discovered exactly what it was that had set off his senses and then he’d show her no mercy. She’d seen his star on the PsyNet. There was no emotion there, no feeling, no flaw. Nothing but the coldest intelligence she’d ever glimpsed. He was the most perfect product of Silence.

Lucas didn’t head back to the safe house after dropping off Sascha. He had to give the appearance of normality. No one could suspect that the changelings were quietly preparing for possible war.

Leaving his car in the parking lot outside the DarkRiver building, he headed inside to see Zara. She had some things she wanted to talk to him about and he spent a good hour with her. Since she wasn’t leopard, she’d been kept out of the loop. They’d protect her if it came to that, but there was no reason to pull her into the mess. Not yet.

Because of that, she was continuing on with her designs, unaware the buildings might never be erected. On the other hand, if they averted disaster by finding Brenna alive, this deal could become vitally important.

Despite those thoughts, his mind was almost fully focused on Sascha. Just what was she planning? There’d been something very determined in her gaze as she’d stepped out of his car, and he wasn’t sure he’d liked the look of it. She was a stubborn female.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t breakable.

He knew she was going to put herself in danger and it infuriated him that he had no right to stop her. The beast in him growled, wanting those rights. The human half didn’t disagree. He’d had it with trying to be civilized. Sascha Duncan was about to be marked.

“Lucas?”

He looked up to find Clay at the door. Excusing himself from Zara, he walked with the sentinel until they were out of earshot. “What is it?”

“We might have a lead. One of the wolf juveniles broke the rules and went goofing off downtown-he’s swearing up and down that he smelled Brenna’s scent near a building.”

Lucas’s hackles rose. “Strong?” Surely the serial couldn’t be keeping Brenna in the city.

“No. Weak. Like it had come off someone who’d been near her.” He handed over the address to Lucas. “Since the building was a Psy one, the kid freaked out.”

Lucas somehow knew what the piece of paper was going to say. “The Duncan HQ.” Sascha was in there right now. His instincts screamed at him to go and get her out but he knew that drawing that kind of attention to her might get her killed. “Did he catch anything else?”

Clay shook his head.

Lucas looked at the piece of paper again. “If we combine the residents and the day staff, that building handles close to five hundred people daily. Add in the visitors and narrowing things down is going to be almost impossible.” To be so close without being close enough had to be killing the wolves. It was gnawing at him, and Brenna wasn’t part of his pack. “What did Hawke say?”

“His people are trying to get into the building’s mainframe-those Psy high-rises record the IDs of everyone who enters or exits.” The sentinel raised a brow. “Sascha could get that info without any problems.”

“No. She’d leave a wide-open trail leading back to her.” Lucas screwed up the piece of paper in his hand. “Anyone done a physical check?”