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steps to secure a similar position in Manhattan so that she could continue the job she enjoyed while being with the man she loved.
    Mal glanced down at the table to hide the spike of jealousy, and considered the position of the rook in relation to the bishop. “It can only help Phoenix Security to have someone in the DA’s office.”
    “Agreed,” Liam said, and then said nothing else.
    Mal closed his eyes, silently cursing. He loved Liam like a goddamn brother, but right then he just wanted to be alone. He opened his eyes and put his elbow on the table, then rested his chin on his fist. He studied the board and hoped that Liam would get the hint.
    Liam didn’t move.
    When the weight of the silence became too much, Mal looked up at him. “Something else?”
    “I don’t know. Is there?”
    Mal said nothing, just waited.
    “Dammit, Mal, you need to talk to me. You’ve been brooding for two days. Either wandering the streets off god knows where or sitting over this damn chessboard, half the time without an opponent.”
    “There’s always an opponent,” Mal said.
    “Jessica’s worried,” Liam said, referring to his own mate.
    At that, Mal bit back a smile. “Jessica?”
    “Fine. I’m worried, too. Tell me I don’t have reason to be.”
    Mal sighed, then combed his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been thinking about games,” he admitted, knowing that Liam would understand that he was thinking about Christina. Because when was Mal not thinking about Christina? “About strategies.”
    “Mal. Don’t do this to yourself.”
    “To myself?” A sudden fury burst through him, and he lashed out, sending chess pieces flying. “Do you think I want this pain? Dammit, Liam, not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. That I don’t crave the moment when I will see her again … even as I dread it.”
    Liam drew in a breath. “I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. But she’s back. She’s in New York.”
    Mal’s body turned to ice. Each time Christina was born into this world—humans would call it reincarnation—her physical form was different. As her mate, only Mal could sense her essence from afar. But the members of the brotherhood—all of them, including Jessica and the other immortal women—could sometimes catch a glimpse of the weapon hidden deep inside her if they were looking straight at her. Some, like Asher, could even feel the disturbance in the fabric of the universe when the power of the weapon rose up inside her.
    Mal clenched and unclenched his fists as he gathered himself. Thank god Asher had been out of the country last Thursday night. He’d been too far away to feel the ripples in the universe.
    But the question remained—what did Liam know? And how?
    “Did you hear me?” Liam asked. “She’s back.”
    “Are you sure?”
    In front of him, Liam’s face was harsh. “Dante saw her. He said it was just a flicker, so he could be wrong, but—”
    “He’s not,” Mal said flatly, as the cold settled into his bones. He turned his attention to the now empty chessboard.
    “Do you think it doesn’t destroy me, too? She was your mate, but she was my friend, my crew. But there’s no other way,” Liam said, accurately following Mal’s thoughts. “There is no other strategy, no trick we haven’t thought of.”
    He stood, and Mal could see the pain on his friend’s face, as potent as his own. “You have to kill her again, Mal. Because if you don’t, she’ll end up destroying us all.”
    “Do you think I don’t know that? Jesus, Liam, I think about it every goddamn day.”
    Liam tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he studied his friend. Mal silently cursed. Liam was not an idiot. And one of the reasons he was a damn good leader was because he saw what his crew—and what his partner—tried to hide.
    “You’ve seen her,” Liam said, as he rose out of the chair, as if the news had pushed him to his feet. “You’ve seen her, and you let it ride. Goddammit, Mal.” He