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don’t tell anyone.”
    Ana turned and made for the door.
    “You’re welcome!” he called after her.
    She waved her hand over her shoulder. This was a start. In a few days, she would check out Anarchy and see if SE made an appearance. It was too soon now. They’d want him to start training first.
    Outside, she walked around the corner and gleamed to her newest hole in the wall across town. She’d lived that way for months, taking on a new address every few weeks. It didn’t have shit to do with being a spy, although that’s what she was. Actually, that’s all she was. Sure, it was to stay off the Order’s radar, but it was also to keep Toltec at arm’s length. She wasn’t about to send them a touchy-feely Hallmark card congratulating them on how well they were doing in the war. She didn’t really know how she felt about it and hadn’t in a long time. But what else was there?
    Once inside, she considered ordering out, but decided against it. She’d so had enough of paper containers and plastic forks. As she loped into the bedroom, she took off her leather jacket and removed her weapons, which she laid on the little nightstand. Then she slid her boots off and stretched out on the bed. For a moment her thoughts turned to her mate. When she closed her eyes, she could have sworn she could feel what it was like to lie entangled with him on the bed; the way his body ended where hers began, their muscles flexing, their breathing in total synch. Ana shoved the thought out of her mind and rolled over onto her side. Fuck him .
    SE closed the door to his room and followed Dimitri down the front hallway. They were both wearing workout clothes, his brand spanking new and courtesy of Geoffrey, of course. He actually felt a little nervous. His body was so much bigger and stronger now. It was a lot to get used to.
    He looked at the elegant ceiling. “Damn, Dimitri, this place is huge. How long has your family owned it?”
    “Since right after World War, I when my uncle relocated from Russia. He built it during the Gatsby era, during the twenties. Then it passed to my father. But it was vacant for a really long time in between. My father wasn’t sure he wanted to live in the States, but eventually, when things in Russia got bad enough, our family moved here.”
    “You grew up in this place?”
    “Part of the time. When my father died, I inherited it. I’ve never lived in it as an adult until recently. Twenty-five thousand square feet didn’t make any sense for just me. I have a condo in Midtown, but now there’s too much going on here to bother coming back and forth.”
    SE shook his head in disbelief. “Jesus. How many bedrooms?”
    “Nine in the main mansion, five in the compound below. Adriana, Richard, Troy, you, and I are upstairs. Reyn’s room is off the library downstairs, and X, Pax, and Diesel are in the compound.”
    “Why, are they grounded or some shit?”
    Dimitri laughed. “Pax and Diesel have been, let’s say, sowing their wild oats since the Transition, so they’ve got the place set up more as a man cave situation. And we needed X to be near the technology. Besides, I need Chuck D at three in the morning like I need a hole in my skull. It’s a good arrangement.”
    “Sowing their oats? Uh, shifters still mate for life, right? That didn’t change while I permaphased , did it?”
    Dimitri barked another laugh. “What can I say, my brother? New Breeds are a new species. You never know what to expect. In spite of how they may behave off duty, they’re both a hundred percent committed to the cause and totally disciplined in the field. Diesel’s actually a vet of the war in Iraq. He’s also our weapons man. Keeps the mansion locked up tight as a drum. He’ll get you suited up right.”
    “How many tours?”
    “In Iraq? Three.”
    “Jesus. How old is he?”
    “Twenty-eight, give or take.”
    “He’s in charge of security?”
    Dimitri nodded. “Well, I should say Diesel and X. Diesel dreams