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Chapter 1

When life hits you in the gut, it’s always a sucker punch You never see it co your little worries andquiet plans, and the next you’re rolled into a ball, trying to hug yourself against the pain, frantic and reeling, youron our door I paused with ht Today was Christ in the snoith the an’s surveillance expert texted him, and now here I stood, six hours later,under a heavy jacket, in front of the warehouse that served as ly news, and nobody would like as going to happen next With everything that had happened, we had agreed not to exchange gifts this year Not only had I missed Christmas Eve, but I was about to deliver one hell of a terrible present

Thewas not to panic If I panicked, my sisters and my cousins would panic too And ical solution to our crisis I’d e to the airport, during the flight on the private jet, and through the helicopter ride fro pad four blocks away But now allover

I took a deep breath Around me the street was busy Not as busy as it had been a few days ago, when I was helping Cornelius Harrison, an aniency, find out who an’s views on security were rather draconian He was in love with me, and had decided that ht two square miles of industrial real estate around our warehouse and turned it into his own private military base

Everyone wore civilian clothes, but they weren’t fooling anyone Rogan’s people had all gone through armed forces in one way or another, and they didn’t wander or stroll They oal in mind They kept their clothes clean, their hair short, and they called Rogan Major When wesound ca’s neck gripped me I heard the crunch his bones made as I twisted his head to the side In o, and panic drownedNari’s killer had been an ugly and brutal mess, and at the end I watched Olivia Charles, the woman who had murdered her, be eaten alive by a swar his wife I relived her death in ht

I didn’t want to walk back into the world I justI just wanted a little bit more time

I made myself look in the direction of the sound An ex-soldier was co an enorrizzly bear on a very thin leash The bear wore a harness that read Sergeant Teddy

The ex-soldier stretched his left ar to slide the bones back in place Another dry crunch, sending a fresh jolt of alarh me Probably an old injury

The bear stopped and looked at me

"Be polite," the soldier told him "Don’t worry He just wants to say hi"

"I don’t mind" I stepped closer to the bear The massive beast leaned over to me and smelled eant Teddy The bear made a low short noise

"He says you can"

I reached over and carefully petted the big shaggy neck

"What’s his story?"

"Soic bears and use them in combat," the ex-soldier said "Problem is, once you make someone smart, they becoeant Teddy is a pacifist The leash is just for show so people don’t freak out Major bought hi in a war shouldn’t be forced on those who are morally opposed to it, human or bear"

"But you’re still here," I told the bear

He snorted and looked at me with chocolate-brown eyes

"We offered him a very nice private property up in Alaska," the ex-soldier said "But he doesn’t like it He says he gets bored He s out with us, eats cereal that’s bad for him, and watches cartoons on Saturdays And le Book"

I waited for the fa, but none ca out the sun, and put his shaggy front paws around ed hirizzly dropped down and proceeded on his walk, his leash dangling on the ground

I looked at the ex-soldier