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“and I’m almost one hundred percent certain they’ll identify you as the man who ordered the attack.”
    My hand shot out and wrapped about her throat. She was in the air a second later, her feet dangling above the ground. I squeezed but nothing peeled the smile from her thin lips.
    “That won’t happen if you’re dead, Shaw.”
    “But it will, Triggaltheron.” I glanced over to see Grace fiddling with the teleport ring they all wore. “You can’t stop all of us. Put her down.”
    “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t be happier with her dead?” I asked the girl.
    Grace grinned, her face brightening for an instant before the mask of neutrality returned. “It doesn’t matter what I want. Let her go or all of this lands on your head.”
    I growled and tossed Shaw to the ground. “I should have killed you in God’s prison.”
    She nodded. “You should have but the opportunity has passed.” Shaw got to her feet and dusted herself off. “You’ll never have it again.”
    I flipped her off, turned and started to walk away but Shaw called to me, her words stopping me in my tracks.
    “We’re not done here, Trigg,” she said. “Not if you want to protect Abigail.”
    I spun on her. “What the fuck did you say about my daughter, Shaw?” My power welled until it throbbed within my veins, tendrils spilling from my pores like furious worms.
    “You misunderstand, Trigg.” Shaw raised her hands in mock surrender. “I seek only to ensure your daughter’s continued safety. The Covenant chatter is that she’s holed up with your cousin Scarlett and DRAC’s enforcer.” She grinned, enjoying the surprise rippling across my face. “Such a lovely couple those two make.” The threat wasn’t lost on me. The DSI knew where Scarlett had taken Abigail. Either I backed off or Shaw would go after my daughter.
    My first thought was to let loose and kill as many of the bastards as I could before any of them slipped away but cold, hard, and utterly fucking annoying reason intruded. All it would take was for one of the DSI goons to get away and I could guarantee an army of operatives would be going after my kid until they’d succeeded in their mission. That fear was exactly why I’d come to Pitkin in the first place, to keep her out of harm’s way. Abby didn’t need to be a part of my life. Nothing good ever came from it. This was a perfect example of that.
    “What the hell do you want, Shaw?”
    A serpentine smile slithered across her lips. “Since you asked so nicely, I could use your assistance with something.”
    “I’m sorry but no one, not even me, is capable of pulling that stick out of your ass.”
    “Then it’s a good thing that’s not what I need from you, isn’t it?” Shaw stepped toward me once more, confidence restored. “This location is not the only facility maintained by us and I suspect it won’t be the only one attacked.”
    “God damn it, Shaw. You have got to be kidding me.” The realization that more cities might be nuked in order to free people from secret DSI prisons made my stomach churn worse than it had when I’d seen the bodies spread about Pitkin. “You would let how many people die just to point the finger at me?”
    “As many as it takes to get you to cooperate,” she answered.
    I knew it to be true and let out a tired groan. “Where are you going with all this?”
    “I need soldiers, Trigg. Soldiers who can stand up to a supernatural attack and win out. You and your friends at DRAC just happen to fit that description.”
    “You’ve got your own army,” I said, motioning to her goon squad, “or something resembling one. What do you need us for?”
    “My people are untrained and lack the raw power possessed by your organization. I am uncertain they are up to the task without experienced backup. Together, however, we can stop the assault and ensure the plot ends then and there. Wouldn’t that be novel?”
    “You know exactly who is involved in this, don’t you?”
    She