Page 31 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Then he remembered where she’d worked at the last camp.

“Do you still work out of the developmental block?” Not that he had a clue as to what went on in there.

Roslyn smiled. “Yup. Why d’you ask?”

“I’m trying to check the records of a particular inmate, to see if she’s going to be… involved in anything.” It was a pretty vague explanation, and Milo prayed Roslyn didn’t get suspicious.

“She?” Roslyn’s eyes sparkled. “Ooh, Captain Keppler. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for an inmate.”

He laughed, because that was what she’d expect of him.

Roslyn tapped the keyboard. “Name?”

“Guzek, Jana. Otter shifter.”

Roslyn’s fingers stopped their dance. “Then I don’t need to look her up. We have a plan for all the species like her—otters, beavers….”

“Really?”

She nodded. “We’re developing different methods of warfare.”

That last word sent ice edging its way through his veins. “Oh? I didn’t think they could be of much use.”

“Far from it. An otter could have explosives strapped to them and be sent into locations to blow them up.”

Holy fuck.

“But wouldn’t that also kill the otter?”

Roslyn chuckled. “And your point is?”

For the first time, Milo saw what lay beneath the surface, and his skin crawled.

“But you’re right,” she continued. “We wouldn’t want to lose a valuable commodity. We could have the otter go in, shift, drop the payload, then shift again to escape.” She shrugged. “We simply have to accept that the odds of an exploding otter are pretty high.” Her eyes gleamed. “Now, aren’t you glad you’renotfalling for her? Because that sounds like a relationship doomed from the start.”

It sounded that way to Milo too.

It wasn’t until he’d left the block and was halfway across the compound that the thought came to him, leaving him reeling.

If one mate dies, what happens to the other two?

Chapter Seven

SETH DROPPEDonto his bed, every ounce of energy wrung from him. He closed his eyes, waiting for the numbing blanket of sleep to settle on him and take him away from all this.

I wish it could take me to Aric and—

Damn, he really wanted to know their mate’s name.

“Seth?”

Jake’s voice came as a shock, until he remembered.

They moved him in here yesterday.Seth still wondered about that.Why, after all this time of keeping us apart?To paraphrase a line from a favorite movie, the Gerans didn’t take a dump without a plan. For all he knew, they could have Seth’s bed wired for sound, unseen cameras focused on them right this second.

I’m getting paranoid.Little wonder, he was so freaking tired.

“Go away, Jake. I’m exhausted.” Then he realized how rude that sounded. Seth opened his eyes to find Jake kneeling beside his bed. “I’m sorry, but that was the longest session yet, and I’m so far beyond tired, it’s ridiculous. They’vereallyhad me jumping through hoops today.”

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