Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) - Nalini Singh Page 0,79
window of his office, that office hidden high in a natural curve of the mountain that held the den. “Lucas’s cub all right?” His wolf growled, still enraged at the idea of anyone harming a child.
Hawke thrust a hand through his hair. “Yeah, bastards didn’t touch Naya. Lucas’s people are still turning over rocks, but an ocelot pack named SkyElm has come up in the investigation. Keep an ear to the ground for any intel about them.”
“Consider it done.” Unfortunately, Cooper had nothing new to report to Hawke on the Consortium situation. His alpha had asked him to investigate the shadowy group using his financial contacts, see if he could pick up any kind of a trail. “These particular cockroaches are very good at hiding,” he told Hawke. “Someone thought this through, locked down all the information.”
“Keep working on it. I’ll update you on anything that comes up on this end.”
Meeting ended, Cooper went looking for Judd—the other lieutenant had arrived in Cooper’s den midmorning, together with his mate, who happened to be close friends with a technician based in this den. The visit was so the women could catch up, but it also gave Judd and Cooper an opportunity to spend time together. They knew each other as all the lieutenants knew one another, but it was inevitable that they’d be closer to the lieutenants they worked with on a daily basis.
For Cooper, that was Jem, Kenji, and Tomás.
Still, his wolf liked Judd. So did the human side of Cooper. The other lieutenant had proven his loyalty to the pack—and his strong, intelligent mate looked at him with her heart in her eyes. A man who’d earned a SnowDancer woman’s admiration and respect? He was all right in Cooper’s book.
“Judd,” he said, spotting the other man on his way out of the den.
The former Arrow was dressed in what looked like workout gear. Of course, it was all black. Arrows never got over that, apparently.
“Got a minute?” Cooper asked.
“Several if you need them.” Brown eyes flecked with gold met Cooper’s. “I was just planning to try the new obstacle course your trainers put in. I hear it’s good.”
“Fiendish is a better description.” Cooper scowled. “Diabolical is another.”
“Excellent.”
Walking outside with his fellow lieutenant, Cooper led him in the direction of the course. “Pax Marshall, can you give me the full lowdown? He wants to talk business with us.”
“A previously little-known individual who suddenly rose to prominence in his family group,” Judd said. “Instinct tells me he was the power behind the throne before he took it over, at least for the final twelve months of his predecessor’s reign.”
Judd paused as Cooper caught an errant ball and threw it back to the kids playing nearby. “It’s rumored he engineered his father’s death in a car crash, but no proof. Could be propaganda he himself started—Psy both fear and admire callous expediency when it’s used in a smart fashion.”
Cooper rubbed at his jaw, his thumb brushing over the scar that marked his left cheek. “He’s young. Twenty-four, right?”
“Yes. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating him though.” Judd’s tone was a cool warning. “Aside from being extremely intelligent, he’s a Gradient 9 telepath.”
Cooper whistled, aware that the Psy Gradient went up to ten. Cardinals were all off the scale, but he’d heard it said that some of the most dangerous people in the Net were just below cardinal status. Judd was the perfect example.
“Pax hasn’t been directly linked to any violence,” the other man continued, “but that just means he’s very good at hiding his tracks.” A pause. “One thing I will say—even the squad can’t find any evidence that he’s ever been involved in the death of anyone I’d term an innocent.”
“A ruthless but fair man,” Cooper said. “Or a monster clever enough to conceal crimes that don’t add positively to his image.”
“Exactly.”
He grinned as Judd used his telekinesis to catch a pup in the midst of an uncontrolled fall and floated the wide-eyed youngster to the ground.
“Overall, Pax Marshall is a calculating operator,” Judd said, as if he’d done the rescue automatically, his mind on other matters. “My take? This is apt to be a legitimate business opportunity. He’s reaching out to SnowDancer because SnowDancer has a certain level of power in the post-Silence and post-Trinity world.”
“Yeah, figures.” It wasn’t only the pack’s own financial might that Pax Marshall would’ve considered, but also the influence they had on other groups. “You think he’s left Silence behind?”