"Nikita?" Mercy's mouth dropped open. "No."
"What better way to leave a mark?"
"Flaming idiots!" she yelled, igniting without warning. "Whoever the fuck is driving this operation needs to have their head examined, preferably after it's been ripped off! No way would anyone be this much of an imbecile!"
To Mercy's surprise, Riley chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss against her parted lips. "God, my mom would've loved you."
Her heart almost stopped. "Riley?"
"She was a lieutenant," he told her, his voice husky. "So was my dad. They died defending the pack."
She turned to wrap her arms around him. "They were protectors."
"Yeah." He nuzzled into her neck, as if soaking in her scent. "My dad, he was the strongest man I ever knew, but he used to turn to putty in Mom's hands."
"That sounds like the perfect mating."
He chuckled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Damn straight." Kissing his neck, and smiling at his responsive shiver, she hugged him extra tight. "I think your mom and dad would've been so proud of the man you've become. If I ever have a son," she whispered, "I want him to be like you."
He shuddered. "We'll figure it out, kitty cat. Somehow."
She was about to respond when her cell phone rang.
A tenseness filled his body. It was gone an instant later. "Answer it," he said. "You're a sentinel."
The leopard batted at him with playful humor. "Damn, but you're trying to be good, Kincaid."
"Glad you noticed."
His hands settled around her hips as she dug out her phone. "Hello?"
"This is Bo. Lucas told me to call you directly if I found anything."
It was a vote of confidence from her alpha and she appreciated it. "What have you got?" She slapped a hand on Riley's chest when he started to growl, having heard Bowen because of the way they were pasted together.
"I think I know why they're building bombs."
She dug her claws into Riley this time, shooting him a "hush" look. He winced and toned it down; however, she could all but feel his need to tear Bowen's throat out with his bare hands. "How good is your intel?"
"Good but not foolproof. The chairman's been known to shut others out of the loop."
"Who's the target?"
"Not target. Targets." And then he told her the names.
Mercy closed the phone and stared at Riley. "Someone is that much of an imbecile. I don't believe it."
"If he's right and they succeed, it'll plunge the world into wholesale war." Riley was already pulling out his cell. "I'll call Faith."
Mercy nodded and pressed the quickcode for Sascha. "Pick up, Sascha. Pick up."
Sascha closed the cell phone and swallowed. It rang in her hand moments later. "Lucas?"
"Sascha, I can feel you hurting. What is it?"
And that quickly, her terror was buried under a flood of love. "I need to get hold of Nikita." She relayed what Mercy had told her.