BRANDED BY FIRE

“Where do I put the wire?”


“Here.” The explosives expert completed the low-tech but stable bomb and handed it off to the third man. “You know what to do?”

The man nodded. “I’ll make sure no one sees me.”

“Hey,” the first man said. “Why are you here?”

For a minute, the other man was silent. Then he said, “One of them wanted something I knew. I wouldn’t give it to him. So he tore into my mind and took it.”

The word wasn’t used, but they all knew it—rape. The Psy had been getting away with it for far too long. Now they would pay. And if this attempt failed, the Alliance would rise again. And again. And again.

Because the Psy wouldn’t stop until they were forced to.





CHAPTER 32





Mercy was not amused to come home after a night shift in the city to find breakfast waiting for her. “Out,” she said to both the males on her porch. “And I’m not messing today.”

Eduardo raised his hands in surrender. “I’m heading home. This is good-bye.”

“Thank God for small mercies,” she said. “And you?”

Joaquin gave her an enigmatic smile. “Still no scent.”

“Suit yourself.” Grabbing a muffin, she walked into the cabin and shut the door. She heard Eduardo laugh and Joaquin curse, but she really wasn’t in the mood. Eating quickly, she showered and got ready to catch some shut-eye. When she looked out the window, it was to find the men gone, though they’d left the food behind in a thermal container. Reluctantly impressed by their refusal to give in, she stored the food in her kitchen, then crashed, planning to be up by one in the afternoon.

If she’d known what was going on in the woods not far from her house, her sleep might not have been as smooth.

*

Riley had come down to talk to Mercy and found Eduardo and Joaquin. This time, he wasn’t in a walking-away frame of mind. Stepping out behind the men as they left Mercy’s cabin, he waited for them to turn.

They did, faces predator-sharp. These two were sentinels, strong and well trained. But they didn’t have violent possessiveness running through their veins. “I thought she told you to get lost.”

It was Eduardo who answered. “Leopard females that dominant don’t take well to males who do exactly what they say. But you wouldn’t know that, wolf.”

“I know her far better than either of you ever will.” He watched their eyes, waiting for an aggressive move.

“She doesn’t carry your mark in her skin,” Joaquin said, and it was obvious from his tone that he wasn’t ready to leave the field.

“And I bet she hasn’t let you lay a hand on her.” Her knew Mercy. She was easy with skin privileges in the pack, but she zealously guarded her privacy outside it.

Joaquin smiled. “Her skin is soft, creamy.”

It was a taunt meant to make Riley’s wolf see red and it succeeded, but he was also a lieutenant honed in fire. He narrowed his eyes. “Me and you. Eduardo stays out of it.”

“Done.” Joaquin’s claws slid out. “I win, you walk away.”

“Never going to happen.” He released his own claws, slicing them through skin with the thoughtless ease of someone who’d grown up semishifting.

“Hold it,” Eduardo said, scowling. “What the fuck are you doing, Joaquin? We didn’t come here to mess up DarkRiver’s pact with the wolves.”

Riley waved him off. “I give you my word this won’t impact things politically.”

Eduardo raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Then go for it. I can’t wait to see how you explain this to Mercy.”

Riley was no longer thinking. Joaquin had moved a bare fraction of an inch, but Riley knew it was in preparation for a strike. He was proven right an instant later as the South American sentinel came at him in a rage of claws and speed. Joaquin was good, Riley thought, moving out of the way even as he used his own claws to shred the other man’s sides.

There was no blood, though Joaquin’s shirt was in tatters. The sentinel had twisted away in a fluid move no wolf would ever make. But a wolf could utilize that fluidity against his prey. He went as if to strike, Joaquin shifted left … and Riley struck up with his free hand.

“Fuck.” Joaquin hissed out a breath as his blood scented the air. “Lucky hit.”

Riley didn’t speak, watching. But he wasn’t quite fast enough to evade the kick that almost dislocated his shoulder. Moving with the kick, he grabbed Joaquin’s foot and twisted. Bones would’ve snapped in a human. But they weren’t human. The other man landed on his feet, but his balance was slightly off. Riley had damaged something.

Not allowing his opponent to regain control, he attacked, his driving possessiveness giving him an edge even Joaquin’s feline grace couldn’t counteract. Slamming his claws to within a breath of the leopard’s throat, he gritted out the words, “Be on the next plane out of here or I won’t stop next time.”

Joaquin’s aggression was a golden glow in his eyes. “You’re faster than you look.”