As for the possibility that Silver’s poisoning had been masterminded by the Consortium, while Valentin would never ignore the risk that the detestable group might’ve gotten their claws into one of his people, he didn’t think there was any real likelihood of a traitor in the clan. StoneWater might be badly fractured, but that was within their own people, would never be exposed to outsiders by either party.

“Did you kidnap Kaleb’s aide?” Pavel asked as soon as Valentin entered the Cavern.

“Bozhe moi!” Yakov groaned, his eyes the same aqua green as his brother’s, his hair an identical mahogany, and his skin the exact same shade of brown caught between light and dark. Despite countless arguments over who was taller, they both stood at five feet eight inches, their bodies compact and strong. The only physical characteristic that differentiated them was their vision. “If you’d decided on her, you should’ve let us know and—”

“Hey!” Valentin rumbled in his chest to get their attention. “Did Stasya not tell you why Silver is here?”

“Of course I did,” his sister said, indignant. “They just don’t believe me.”

Pieter, the quietest and most introverted of them all, his hair an unusual mix of colors that echoed the hues of a glowing sunset, folded his arms. “Why would a woman who heads EmNet and has Kaleb Krychek for a boss need our help?”

A few of the teenagers skulked closer to the adult talk in the huge living room of Denhome, the natural ceiling of the Cavern at least a hundred feet above. The space glowed with daylight, thanks to a complex system of mirrors that redirected the beams of sunlight that speared into the Cavern via natural cracks in the mountain.

That light caught the teens’ nonchalant progress. Valentin glared at them until they hunched their shoulders and, scowling patented teenage scowls, went back to their studies in another part of the Cavern. That part happened to be next to a natural spring-fed pool, where the rain fell when it came in through the same cracks that brought them light. Sand swept out from the gleaming green clarity of the pool, the water shallow enough that even the cubs could play in it without fear.

Lush moss grew on the rocks around the pool, giving that part of the Cavern the feel of being a world within a world. The rest of it was more rocky, though with its own beauty. Veins of sparkling quartz ran through the entire area, while the wall where each of the cubs placed his or her palm print when they turned five was a riot of color.

What would Starlight think of this home he loved with all his heart and soul?

“Silver needs to be cut out of the line of fire for a short period,” he told those of his seconds who’d gathered here—three were out of Denhome on long-range patrol missions to ensure no one got ideas about encroaching on StoneWater territory. His bears might like to live on top of one another, but they needed a wide range to wander in.

Zahaan, Taji, and Inara would be back in two weeks. Until then, Valentin kept in touch with them via various comm points the clan had hidden throughout their lands. It was Pavel who’d brief the three after this meeting. “Silver’s grandmother knows no one can get to her here, and Silver’s agreed with her verdict.”

“Silver Mercant listens to her grandparents?” Nova whispered, eyes wide. “She’s like us?”

“Yes—and her babushka is as scary as ours, so don’t mess with her.”

“You talking to yourself, Valya?” Pavel asked slyly, his cheeks creased and his eyes glinting behind the clear lenses of the spectacles he insisted on wearing; the otherwise audacious bear was scared the readily available corrective surgery would damage his already less-than-perfect vision.

Everyone laughed; Valentin’s men and women were well aware of his fascination with Kaleb Krychek’s dangerous aide. It had been hard to miss after Valentin suddenly began volunteering to act as courier anytime documents needed to be delivered to Silver—or to Kaleb. Because, somehow, it was always far more convenient for him to drop them off with Silver rather than her boss.

“Don’t you all have work to do?” he grumbled.

Pavel raised a hand, clearly being an asshole. But Valentin happened to like this asshole. “What?”

“Teleporters.”

“Not a problem,” he told them. “Silver’s grandmother confirmed Silver has some type of shielding that means even the ones who lock on to faces won’t be able to find her.” It had been part of the final conversation they’d had in the hospital, before Ena left Silver in Valentin’s care.

“Huh.” Stasya purposely bumped Pieter’s shoulder, her height of six feet only an inch less than his.

Subtle, Valentin’s sister wasn’t. It had become obvious over the past month that she wanted to jump Pieter’s bones. Valentin pretended to be oblivious to both the bump and Pieter’s responding glance. A man did not need to know about his sisters’ intimate lives.

Ever.

“Not surprising, really,” Stasya added with a self-satisfied smile when Pieter didn’t break the physical contact. “She has to have picked up a few tricks working with Krychek all this time.”

“You want us to change the security settings?” Pavel asked, his shoulders pulling against the dark brown of his shirt when he thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’ve had the technical elements running at Defcon 5 since we haven’t had any major threat warnings.”

“Defcon 5?” Yakov—his own outfit a black tee that hugged his biceps, and dark green cargoes—made a face. “Really, Pasha? Have you been playing those American hologames again?”

Pavel made a rude gesture with his hand. “At least I don’t lose to ten-year-old ponies from Tajikistan.”

Yakov clutched at his chest. “Oh, how you wound me. To think I carried you on my back when we were children.”

Used to the twins hassling each other over nothing in particular, Valentin ignored their byplay to focus on the question. “Raise it up a notch,” he said. “I want to make dead sure no one can sneak in.”

It was an extra and probably unnecessary precaution. Their rugged terrain would, as always, act as their biggest line of defense. Long settled in this region, StoneWater hadn’t permitted civilization to advance much farther than a dirt track that they could destroy in a matter of minutes if it came to that.

The only other way to get to Denhome was to teleport in—or to hike in on foot. Good luck with the latter if you weren’t trained for uneven terrain set with all kinds of booby traps. Yakov hassled his brother about hologames, but the two of them came up with the best traps when they put their minds together, the hunt a game in itself.

“I’ll make that happen now,” Yakov said. “We’ve got more than a few dominants just lazing about in the sun. Time to kick their asses.”

“Hey,” Nova said, hands on her hips. “They earned that lazing about, and as the clan’s healer, I prescribed it.”

Yakov was too smart to sass Nova in a disrespectful fashion. Rather, he bowed from the waist. “I will kick their fat beary asses gently, my lady.”

“Pasha.” Valentin called their technical expert closer as the others began to disperse, Nova stomping beside Yakov to make sure he didn’t get too enthusiastic in his ass-kicking. “Anything?”

Chapter 8

THE OTHER MAN pushed up his glasses, his eyes a crystal-clear aqua green. Unfortunately, those pretty eyes had crap night vision. Pavel also couldn’t see two feet without his glasses. But his brain was a razor. He also had the same dominance as his brother. Leaving him in a lower position in the clan simply because he had imperfect sight would’ve been a recipe for trouble.