"how about the complete files on the missing kids?" talin's tone was harsh. "the ones you gave max are doctored."

santos couldn't hide his surprise this time. "you don't simply remember everything, do you, talin? you rearrange the pieces until you find a pattern. i forgot that aspect of your abilities."

"answer the question. can you get her the files or are you even more useless than you appear?"

the other man's eyes turned assassin cold. "careful, mr. bennett. i'm not the easy prey you think i am."

"i think you're a wolf in corporate clothing but as far as the search goes, you haven't given us shit. either front up or get out of it."

"these are our kids." santos's voice held a raw protectiveness clay hadn't expected. "everything we do is to keep them safe."

"then give me the files," talin pleaded. "you said it yourself - i see patterns. maybe i'll see something that'll help us find the children."

the shine director didn't say anything for several minutes. "i'll have hard copies couriered to darkriver's chinatown hq by tomorrow morning. destroy them after you memorize them." he pushed back his chair. "i have a flight to catch."

clay rose. "we'll call you if we find anything."

"i'll give you what i can." his sophisticated mask slipped to display the ruthless interior. "there are those who want to go softly, but i'm not having any more children die on my watch." he seemed about to say something else but then glanced at talin. "read the files without the blinders of knowledge. let's see what patterns you find."

dev waited until he was in his soundproofed rental car before making the call. "you underestimated them."

"we can't risk - "

"yes, we can." his hand threatened to crush the phone. "children are dying."

"we need to know if darkriver is secure enough to entrust with this information."

"who are you afraid will find out?" he was an inch away from throwing the phone through the windshield. "they already know. that's why they're taking our children!"

talin was irritated and tired by the time they parked the tank in its hiding place next to the lair. she had wanted to visit max, but clay had nixed that idea on the grounds that they could lead danger to max and vice versa. instead, he'd made a call on a secure line and been told that max was unconscious but stable.

frustrated by her own inability to protect those she cared for, she struck out. "i can't believe dev's hiding things that might help us find jon!"

"he did give us one crucial piece of information," clay said, his hand on her lower back as they walked toward the lair. "the psy."

she shook off his hold. her skin reacted to his touch in ways she found disturbing - because, her bold statement to faith aside, she wasn't sure what the hell she wanted. only that she couldn't lose clay. "we have no proof of a psy link. max is a good cop - he'd have found it if it existed."

clay pulled open the door and used the newly installed voice activation system to turn on the lights. "what the hell is it with you and max? he's fine - i've been injured worse and survived," he muttered after she entered. "what, you have the hots for the guy?"

her heart stuttered at hearing he'd been that badly hurt, but she hid it. "you're making me crazy!" swiveling, she headed toward the ladder. "i just happen to think he's a nice, trustworthy, considerate guy. you know, i could do a lot worse!"

clay snorted and followed her up the ladder. "nice. trustworthy. considerate," he mimicked. "makes him sound about as exciting as shoe leather."

"maybe i don't want exciting," she said through gritted teeth, wondering how they had ended up in this conversation. turning, she faced him. "maybe i want normal."

"normal?" his tone was edgy, dangerous.

for the first time in days, she felt a hint of wariness. clay was tired and annoyed, too. she probably shouldn't push him. the woman who had flinched at his first touches wouldn't have. somewhat to her surprise, talin found she was no longer that woman. "normal," she repeated. "i want a nice, human boyfriend who doesn't have any kinky hang-ups like licking."

clay took a step toward her. "kinky?"

she took a step back. "uh-huh."

"human?"

"definitely human. no claws. no growling. no sharp teeth." she made her tone so firm, she almost believed herself. "normal. ordinary." things she had never been. "white picket fence."

clay's eyes darkened to near black and he stopped his stalking advance. "really?"

"really." she forced it out. "i'm tired of being on the outside."

clay's instincts flared awake. "what aren't you telling me, baby?"

"nothing." she looked up, then back. "i need to get to bed."

"where you can dream about your ordinary human boyfriend?" he advanced toward her once more, his shock that she might actually prefer a human male disappearing under the naked intensity of the emotions swirling in her eyes. "maybe you'll imagine yourself into a safe little fantasy world where bad things never happen?"

she held up her hands as he reached her. they hit his chest, palms flat. "what's wrong with that? at least humans don't go mad - protective and tell me i'm not - " she snapped her mouth shut, but he'd heard enough.

he lifted one of those slender feminine hands and pressed his lips to each fingertip in turn, aware of her racing heartbeat, her breakable bones, her trust in him. it was the last that ripped him to pieces. "human families can be as territorial."

she shook her head. "you predatory changelings take it to the next level. i feel as if i'm running a gauntlet."

it was an unexpected confession. the tally he'd come to know didn't spend much time feeling sorry for herself. but, he realized with a deep wave of excruciating tenderness, she'd had a lot of shocks in a single day. "you're mine. therefore you're perfect."

her lips twitched. "idiot."

"maybe." he nibbled at her fingers. "once accepted, you'll have the pack's strength at your back. we never leave one of ours to drown. never."

"i won't be accepted, clay," she whispered, shifting to lay her head against his chest, one hand still in his. "i feel like a dirty street urchin around the other women, my nose pressed to the window with you on the other side. i can't shift, i don't have psy powers."

the image broke his heart. "did the women say something to you?"

"forget it." she drew back. "i was having a 'woe is me' moment. i'm over it."

he knew better. "tally."

she pressed her lips together. he waited. she blew out a breath. "fine! i got interrogated about my intentions toward you."

he pulled her closer, holding her with his arms around her waist. "and what are your intentions?" he murmured, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. "are you planning to divest me of my virtue? i'll even ask nice."

her breasts rose against him as she drew in a deep breath. "be serious. they'll never accept me." she put her hands back on his chest, spreading out her fingers as if testing the strength of him. he liked it.

"some of us wanted to torture sascha at the start."

her fingers dug into him. he liked that even better. "what? why?" she asked.

"a psy serial killer had murdered dorian's sister. we thought sascha might have information. the pack was enraged and she became the target - dorian almost ripped out her throat. as for faith, the first time we met, i accused her of being part of a psychopathic race."

"i never would've guessed." her fingers straightened, petted absently - he wanted to purr. "how did sascha and faith become so much part of darkriver?"

"they've proven their loyalty."

"i have to do the same before they'll accept me." sighing, she braced her forehead against his chest. "is it okay for a human to bite people, too?"

he grinned, wondering if she even realized how easily she was cuddling into him. "go to bed, tally. you're tired and grumpy." he kissed the tip of her ear. the beast's hunger was a razor-sharp blade, but it had been soothed by this contact. not that it mattered. clay would not take tally until she was ready to come to him. he never again wanted to see fear of him in her eyes. it had damn near killed him the first time around.

she rubbed her face against him. "i might be, but you don't have to point it out." but she took his advice and broke away. "see you tomorrow morning?"

"bright and early." he waited until she was safely in her room before going downstairs and using the main communications panel to put through a call.

vaughn's face wore a scowl when he answered, his hair sleep-tangled. "what? something wrong?"

"i need to talk to faith."

the other sentinel's scowl deepened. "you got me out of bed because you want to talk to my mate? there are laws against that sort of thing." a slender hand touched his bare shoulder and then faith's face appeared on-screen beside vaughn.

"clay? what's the matter?"

"the matter is that i want you to leave talin be." tally could look after herself but that didn't mean she should have to. she'd spent too long doing exactly that. it was time for someone else to look after her.

concern instead of insult dawned in faith's eyes. "i'm your friend." she seemed to wrestle with her thoughts before adding, "i care."

"vaughn," clay growled.

vaughn pressed a kiss to his mate's temple. "come on, red. i'll explain the facts of life to you."

"wait - faith, you talked to the netmind recently?" the netmind was a neosentience that lived in the psynet - it was the net, to some extent - and it liked faith. it might prove the perfect source of information about any psy involvement in the kidnappings.