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Dev pushed through the door to another apartment well over an hour later He’d ht after he’d shown Katya to her room, but he’d been in no mood to talk to a traumatized child Not when he felt like an abuser hiht line That wasn’t coincidence Nani had been right - so her vulnerabilities designed to play on his deepest instincts He could deal with snivelingsleep, even with those ere driven by other hatreds But he had a big fucking blind spot when it ca that should’ve neutralized his response to the woman he’d locked into the twelfth-floor suite, but all it did was make hi up his head at the sound of Glen’s voice, he glanced toward the open doorway to the left "Kid in there?"

Glen gave a sain consciousness It’s more hoot guards on hith - it was the psychic plane that concerned him So’s here," Glen said "I realized we’d need another telepath to control this one"

Dev had already picked up the echo of Tag’s distinctive y One of the very few true telepaths in the ShadowNet, the other man had had a truly horrific childhood There were soone insane Dev didn’t think it had anything to do with h son of a bitch "The boy tell you anything else?"

Glen rubbed at his face, looking haggard in a way Dev had never seen hiht of experience threatened to crush hian, "is worse than s they kept him on blocked his psychic pathways, but they also stunted his develop on the depth of their genetic inheritance, s "Brain dae?" Doctors today could fix a hell of a lot, but even they couldn’t heal brain cells after they’d been fatally compromised

To his relief, Glen shook his head "No His intellect is fine - it’s his psychic development that’s been seriously i as he could’ve been?"

Again, Glen surprised hi says he’s cardinal level"

Dev sucked in a breath "That shouldn’t be possible" Cardinals were rare, so rare, though the populace could’ve been forgiven for thinking otherith the recent high-profile defections of two cardinals frohtStar were part of a very, very exclusive club Across the world, there were millions upon millions of Psy If there were even five thousand cardinals a that number, it would be more than Dev expected "He can’t have cardinal eyes" White stars on black, the eyes of the ly unique

"No - huenetic structure isdrops the shields he’s holding on Cruz, the boy’s poill hit you like a hurricane"

Dev ignored the obvious state s under Glen’s eyes seeht be of enes, so many recessive pairs" Glen shook his head "His psychic channels are blocked as long as he’s on the drugs, but take him off and they bloide open"

"Dah his hair, rapidly considering and discarding options "He’ll go insane if we don’t figure out a way to give hie of the drugs," Glen said, "even though I hate putting our children on anything"

"But?"

"But those drugs basically turn hilanced toward the doorway, compassion in every tired line of his face

"Does he understand what’s happened?"

"Tag hasn’t been able to draw him out - Cruz probably sees him as his jailer, so that’s notKatya’s turned back, her e else I need to know?" Shoving everything but Cruz to the back of his mind, he took off his suit jacket, then undid and re the top buttons on his shirt and rolling up his sleeves No use going into a child’s rooot no faure out - Aryan’s team tracked him on the ShadowNet"

"Why didn’t we pick hiotten needed the biofeedback provided by the ShadowNet - like so enetic structure "This is e constantly run those seht need help"

"Because no one could ’see’ him," Glen replied "Boy’s completely isolated"

That, Dev knew, should’ve been impossible Everyone had someone to whom they felt connected, even if that connection was an unhealthy one neither party would choose "Aw, hell" No wonder the kid was scared Making a decision, he rubbed at his jaw "Can Tag keep a hold on Cruz from outside the room?"

"Yes You want to be alone with him?"

At Dev’s nod, Glen went to the bedrooarea on silent feet, his eyes blazing with fury "I could strangle his grandparents"

Dev shook his head "Not if I got to shoot theht in as per protocol, he would’ve been taught to develop and protect his powers froe his sanity "I could be a while You okay to hold the shield?"