Match or not, however, it felt as if Valentin took up all the room in the elevator, his big body brushing against hers. Heat and earth and warmth, that was Valentin. Silver told herself to step away, but they were already at the correct floor, and the doors were opening to reveal a neatly carpeted hallway.
Jai Shivani's apartment was at the very end.
Valentin had Erik push the doorbell, while nudging Silver out of the way of the security camera that allowed the inhabitant of the apartment to see who was standing at his door. The touch was gentle, very un-bearlike if you didn't understand that bears could be tender with those they loved.
The bear, who stayed out of sight of the camera with Silver, loved her deeply.
"Yes?" The clipped query came through the intercom.
"Oh, hi. I'm, er, your neighbor from downstairs." Erik sounded appropriately hesitant. "Could we speak?"
A telling pause. Followed by, "About what?"
"My wife and I were hoping to talk you into selling your place."
"It's not for sale."
"Just listen to my offer."
The camera swiveled without warning, focusing on Valentin and Silver.
"Why has your scent become pungent with fear sweat?" Valentin rumbled. "We simply wish to talk."
"Get out or I'm calling security." This time the tremor in Shivani's voice was unmistakable.
Valentin turned to her and Erik when Jai Shivani hung up. "I asked nicely."
"You did," their human observer said. "Verified. I even got it on tape." He held up his phone.
Smile dangerous, Valentin slammed his body into the door. It crumpled like tin. Two seconds after that, he was inside the apartment.
Silver made her way more sedately through the wrecked door--quite confident of Valentin's ability to lock down their target and Pavel's to blind security. Erik entered behind her. "You're both scarier than me," he said. "I'll just observe like I'm meant to."
Silver arrived in time to see a man with light brown skin and dark eyes, his rounded belly pushing at the buttons of his blue shirt and his hair caught back in a tail, put up his hands. His phone lay smashed in a corner. Valentin's clawed hand was around his throat. "Don't hurt me," Jai Shivani whimpered, perspiration dotting his brow. "I haven't done anything."
"This should be easy to clear up, then," Silver said with her iciest smile. "I'll do a telepathic scan."
Erik didn't interrupt, the human member of her team well aware of Silver's ethical lines.
Jai Shivani didn't have that advantage. All the blood drained from his face, his skin going a sickly pasty shade. "Silver Mercant." It came out strangled.
Ignoring him, Silver spoke to Valentin. "Should I rip his mind apart, find out if he knows anythi--"
"No, please." Shaking, Shivani swallowed and shifted his attention desperately to Valentin. "Please, you're not like her. Don't let her rape my mind."
Valentin flexed the hand he had around the man's throat. "Talk." Eyes aglow, voice a bearish growl. "You know about what."
Jai Shivani was no hardened criminal. He crumpled.
When he next opened his mouth, it was to unleash a river of words. "I was following instructions, that's all. I was told to get into your apartment"--his eyes cutting to Silver--"on a particular day. I had to put something from a sealed packet into the weird food jars all Psy use."
"Why were you confident you could get in?" Silver asked.
"I"--a rapid swallow--"I wasn't. Just got lucky with a power cut." Chest heaving, he held up his hands palms out. "That's it, that's all I know."
Silver glanced at the organizer she'd brought in with her. "He's lying. I'll take the truth from his mind--the depth of the scan will, unfortunately, leave him a vegetable."
Valentin shot her a scowling look. "But I wanted to play with him a little."
"Wait! Wait!" The would-be poisoner turned to the only human in the room. "You're like me. Help me."
Folding his arms, Erik leaned against the nearest wall. "I've never poisoned anyone in my life, so nope, I'm no sniveling coward."
Denied his final hope of mercy, Jai Shivani began to babble out every piece of information he had. He confirmed the power cut had been manipulated and, of his own volition, told them it was Akshay Patel who'd given him the order to doctor Silver's food.
He also had proof of the latter.
"I recorded our conversation," Shivani blubbered. "I trust Akshay like a brother normally, and we vacation together at least once every year, but he's gotten secretive over the past few months--I wanted to cover myself in case he was into something shifty."
"Really?" Valentin's voice was rapidly becoming all bear. "You didn't get a clue when you were asked to break into an apartment and put an unknown substance in the food? I should kill you for terminal stupidity." A deadly pause. "Maybe you did something even worse that night. To the woman who got you into the building."
"I didn't take advantage of Monique, I swear!" Tears filled Shivani's eyes, his lower lip quivering. "I just put drugs in her drink to knock her out. Akshay gave me two pills to use, but I wanted to be sure they wouldn't hurt her if mixed with alcohol, so I got some over-the-counter stuff myself."
Fat tears rolled down his face. "I really like her, but they said I couldn't go back after that night. I had to pretend we were just work colleagues who'd had a fling"--his eyes shifted to Silver--"so I wouldn't be connected to the powder I put in your food."
Silver checked her organizer again without seeing anything. It was a prop to further cement her pitiless reputation. "That additive was a fast-acting poison. Which means you are an accessory to attempted murder."
Shivani fainted.
Valentin managed to catch the heavyset man, throwing him on the bed as if he weighed nothing. "I win. He fainted when I pressed in my claws."
"I think not. He fainted after I stated the depth of his culpability."
They both looked at Erik.
Throwing up his hands, the tall human backed off. "Hey, I am not getting in the middle of a lovers' quarrel." His grin was huge. "Though I am going to tell everyone I know that you have a scariness contest going on."
"You're an insult to judges everywhere." Valentin's grumble just made Erik's grin deepen. "Go make your report to Lily. Starlight, you already give him the code?"
"No, here it is." After doing that, Silver stepped over to stand next to Valentin, both of them looking down at Jai Shivani's passed-out form. "We are, however, now in a quandary--it's not to my advantage to have the news of my near-poisoning get out." Robots were meant to be invulnerable. "Also, we didn't exactly question him in a legal way. Calling Enforcement will be problematic."
Valentin rubbed his jaw, his skin unexpectedly smooth today. "I really want to tear off his head."
Silver stared at him, realizing the rough statement was dead serious. "Valentin."
"He nearly succeeded." His voice was as deep as a bass drum, his eyes pure bear. "I saw you collapse after that poison hit your bloodstream. I felt your body convulse."
Silver gripped his smooth jaw between her fingers, forced him to look at her and not Shivani. "But he didn't succeed. We don't punish attempted murder the same as murder. And we don't punish the pawns worse than the kingpins."
Valentin rumbled dangerously at her before finally giving a hard nod. "I'm not letting him get off scot-free," he said, his voice difficult to understand. "He hurt you."
"Agreed. But you know what I realized in this room today?"
"What?"
"That, because he has no psychic shields, I have the power to cause him terror with a simple bluff." Silver had never before understood humanity so clearly. "Imagine what that does to a person, how the fear must eat away at you, especially when some Psy do violate human minds. The human race has a very good reason for hating the Psy."
"No argument," Valentin said in that painfully deep voice. "But he didn't attack a Psy who'd raped his mind. He attacked you, a woman he'd never met, and who would never
touch a single thought in his head." Breath harsh, Valentin shook his head. "Human assholes don't get a free pass just because there are worse Psy assholes."
Blunt and angry he might be, but Silver knew he was also right. As humans weren't a homogenous entity, neither were the Psy. "Each individual makes their own choices."
"Damn right."
Releasing her hold on him when he pulled in his claws, she considered their options. "My family has the financial power to take much of what he values--and we'll also make it clear to him that any further such acts will mean being subject to changeling justice. I don't think he has the willpower or aptitude to defy us."
"I'm going to keep an eye on the piece of shit, too." Valentin's eyes were still deeply bear, but his voice was becoming less deep, more human. "In fact, I think he'll be moving into a building controlled by changelings so he can be closer to the bear business where he's about to start work." He took out his phone. "I'll arrange for someone to take charge of him for now."
Silver stayed silent, her hands at her sides, one holding the organizer, the other free. When Jai Shivani woke midcall, she calmly, coldly laid out his punishment. "You may, of course, attempt to fight our judgment," she said. "In which case, Alpha Nikolaev will take you into bear country and challenge you to fight for your life." That seemed a reasonable guess. "Do you think you'd win?"
The human male shook his head so hard it almost spun off. "I swear, I won't ever do anything else bad. I'll work hard, be law-abiding. I'll think good thoughts."
"Your thoughts are your own--no one will be scanning you," Silver said, because constant fear of violation was too cruel a sentence: human, Psy, or changeling, the mind should be inviolate.
Two StoneWater bears arrived minutes afterward. Both greeted Silver with smiles and said they hoped her work would let up enough that she could soon move back to Denhome.
Erik caught a ride with them when they left with Shivani.
Silver got into Valentin's vehicle instead. His primal anger vibrated against her skin.
"Akshay Patel," he said. "Where the fuck is that man based?"
"Mumbai, but he has a house in Milan and another one in New Caledonia. The Conglomerate also has offices worldwide." Silver had traced that data while they'd been in Shivani's apartment. "According to media reports, however, he is currently utilizing his main residence."
"Chert voz'mi!" His claws erupted again. "A tiger pack controls changeling access to Mumbai. They're pissy with everyone--damn Bengal tigers, always mad about something. I need Akshay in my territory."
"Having you tear off his head will hardly be conducive to getting him to divulge his motives and/or the names of any others involved."
Amber eyes flashed to hers as the deep bass of his anger filled the vehicle. "He can still talk if I tear off his arms."
Realizing she was attempting to have a rational conversation with a currently very irrational bear, Silver metaphorically threw up her hands. "Grandmother must be the one to have this meeting with Patel. You know it and so do I." It was the only way to achieve balance, to heal that schism inside Ena.
Valentin gritted his teeth so hard she could hear it, his biceps bulging as he squeezed the steering wheel. She expected an argument. What she got was, "Your grandmother can be as scary as fuck."
"So you agree?"
A nod.
"I need to talk to Lily first."
When she did, the other woman said, "Screw it. I'm not asking the board. You break Patel, and you find out if he's the reason why my brother is fighting for his life."
"I'll make sure we pass on any data," Silver promised. "Bowen?"
"His heart's failed." Lily's voice caught. "They've got him on a machine."
"There are mechanical hearts that function as well as organic hearts," Silver said. "If you need access to any cutting-edge medical intervention, call me. I'll make it happen. The world needs your brother."
"Thank you, Silver. I just . . . I need to wait a little longer. Bo wouldn't want intervention if all hope is lost."
After the difficult conversation with Lily, Silver contacted her grandmother telepathically, her range blinding. She'd gone up at least two Gradient points--to 9.5--since the operation. Either her audio telepathy had been utilizing part of her psychic "bandwidth," or the strength it had taken to contain the Tp-A had used far more energy than she'd realized.
Ena's telepathic voice was crystalline, her response to Silver's revelation simple. I'll take care of it.
Silver had the strong feeling she'd exchanged one dangerous predator for another. The one in the driver's seat was still rumbling in his chest, a furious mountain about to erupt. Ena sounded like ice in her head, but that ice cut like a blade.
Grandmother, she said, we must know not only if he has other associates, but also if he is the head of HAPMA or if it's connected to the Consortium.
I haven't suddenly turned senile, Silver.
And I've just talked Alpha Nikolaev out of ripping off Akshay Patel's head. You are sounding very much like him.
Valentin thinks like a predator. He fits well into our family.
Silver wondered how she'd ended up with an enraged bear on one side and an equally enraged--even if Silent--Psy on the other. Grandmother.
I will be circumspect, Ena said at last, but you must understand this man will not survive the interview. He tried to kill my granddaughter.
Silver wanted to reach out across the psychic void and hold her grandmother, tell her she was all right, that Akshay hadn't succeeded. A very un-Psy thought, but Silver's mind remained safely quiet. No audio from beyond the normal spectrum.
The final decision is yours, she said. But remember, Akshay Patel may have set in motion events far more dangerous than my attempted murder. Bowen Knight is currently on the verge of death, and there are major emergency incidents all over the globe where countless people are dying. I am not the only grandchild involved.
You are mine.
I am also the director of EmNet. Any lives lost because we didn't fully debrief Akshay Patel are on my head.
You take too much on your shoulders, Silver, was her grandmother's cool response. But rest assured, I will not make a final call until I have wrung him dry of all possible information.
You understand the critical need to get anything we can on the attempt to assassinate Bowen Knight?
Of course. We wouldn't have Akshay Patel without the Alliance's assistance.
Don't go alone, Silver ordered. He may be human, but he's ruthless and powerful.
I won't be going anywhere. I think the family's newest member will wish to offer his services to expedite this.
The connection severed.
"My grandmother is about to ask Kaleb to abduct Akshay Patel and put him in a cage she controls." Silver tapped a finger on her knee. "I believe I talked her out of torturing him to death, but I'm not certain."
The large predator in the driver's seat smiled. "I've always liked your grandmother."
Chapter 47
To kill to protect family is an act of honor and fidelity.
--Lord Deryn Mercant (circa 1514)
ENA HAD SURVIVED this long because she made it a point to know her enemies. So before she contacted Kaleb to organize a teleport for Akshay Patel, she did her research. What she uncovered was illuminating: Akshay Patel was forty-three and the head of his family group. That family group was a serious economic power. And, according to the records she discovered in what had once been Council-restricted files--not that it had ever stopped Ena--a large percentage of the Patel family had natural telepathic shields Psy couldn't breach.
Not an unexpected development. Powerful human family groups were rare because ordinary humans, the ones without shields, were vulnerable to Psy manipulation, their ideas stolen before they'd ever had a chance to truly bloom. While Ena would strip a mind bare to protect her family, she didn't believe in such underhanded methods to increase one's power or wealth--being a shadow power didn't mean being
without ethics.
Mercants had always understood that honor defined a family.
The Patels' strong genetic tendency toward mental shields went some way to explaining their rise in power, even during the time of the Psy Council, but that wasn't the only thing that marked them as different. They'd consistently displayed strategic thinking that left their competitors in the dust, a skill that had very clearly been passed on from the time of Akshay's great-grandfather.
The current head of the family was as smart as his predecessors. Akshay Patel also had a habit of supporting causes that were all about human advancement: scholarships, funding for scientists, grants. None of that was unusual. Many human companies did the same, believing the Psy and changelings had advantages enough.
What was unusual was that in the time since Akshay took over as CEO, the Patel Conglomerate had steadily cut ties with Psy businesses, in stark contrast to the vast majority of human businesses. Everyone wanted to get into the lucrative Psy market. The decision was especially surprising since the Patels were in an advantageous position in that they controlled energy to which certain Psy companies needed long-term access.
While Akshay Patel had maintained his family's wealth and business success by creating alternative sources of income, he'd also given up sure bets when they involved Psy. Each time a Psy contract came up for renewal, Akshay said no. That didn't speak of business tactics but a strong ideological viewpoint: Akshay Patel was anti-Psy.
Since the business news media had reported on a recent situation in which Patel had refused to do a deal with a changeling group, he was also turning anti-changeling. Most likely, he saw himself as neither.
No, to Akshay, he was pro-human.
Ena stood in the elegant gray of her living area, looking down into the crashing waves beneath the cliffs on which the architecturally designed house was perched. Her abode was all angular lines and glass, clean and functional, and yet it made a statement. That described Ena as well.
The only things that broke up the internal lines were the dark red roses that grew wild behind the house and that she cut and put in vases. At one point in the past, she'd considered why she did that and realized the answer was both simple and complex. Part of it was Arwen. She hadn't been this Ena until his birth. She'd been harder. These days, she wasn't soft . . . but she understood certain subtleties in life.