just finished a call with a firm specializing in high-tech intrusion detection systems when the phone rang. The ID was exquisitely familiar. She answered by switching the clear screen of her computer to comm mode. "Riley?"
His response was audio only, with a little icon that told her he was on a cell phone. "Mercy, you still in the city?"
The sound of his voice crawled inside, touched the cat . . . and wasn't immediately clawed away. "Yeah, what's up?"
"We got a tip that something odd was going on in one of the new warehouses they're building along the Embarcadero," he said, referring to the long stretch of road that ran around the eastern edge of the bay. "Near the Bay Bridge."
Excitement sparked. "I'll be there - "
"No rush. I went in with a small team, checked things out. They - "
Mercy tried to counsel patience and failed. "You what? This is our op, Riley. Not yours. You knew I was in the city, that I could've been there in minutes, but you still didn't call until after you'd gone in?"
He didn't bother to lie to her, to make up something about using their resources wisely or some other crap like that. He just said, "I made the decision. Deal with it."
Deal with it? Fine. "What did you find?" she asked, hand curled into a fist so tight, she could see tendons push up white under skin.
"This particular warehouse is almost complete and the foreman says no workers have been inside for two weeks. But someone was here and very recently," he said, sounding a little guarded at her apparent calm.
Good, she thought. "Alliance?"
"From the human scents and the fact that we found some bomb-making apparatus, I'm saying it's a good bet."
"Damn." She tapped her fingers on the desk. "They're actually going to do this, blow something up in our territory."
"I fucking hope not. If they do, it's war."
Mercy took a moment to think. "Maybe the target has nothing to do with us - could be they're here to eliminate Bowen's group."
"With a bomb?" Riley's disbelief was obvious. "It'd be easier to shoot them in some dark alley. They blow something up, it's about getting everyone's attention. Right this second," he continued, "their motivation matters less than finding them. From all the evidence, they're staying on the move, but we've got a scent now."
"I'll get some leopards on it, too." She was already making a mental list of those in the city or close by with the necessary tracking skills. "I'm on my way."
She kept her anger contained on the drive over, and said nothing when she first saw Riley in the warehouse. Instead, she confirmed his findings, then set Aaron, Jamie, Barker, and Kit to tracking. "Kit, I want you paired with Barker."
Kit opened his mouth to complain but she shut him up with a look. "I know you're a good tracker, but you're still in training. Seriously, boy, do not give me any shit today."
Kit blinked. He carried the scent of a future alpha, and one day soon, he'd be able to overpower her in a fight - but she'd be his senior until he became alpha. And not only did Kit know that, he knew how to deal with dominant females, having grown up with Rina for a sister. "Someone made you mad today," he murmured, hands up. "Glad it wasn't me. Is Barker here already?"
"Should be outside. Check in with me by phone every fifteen minutes."
"Will do." Nodding, the young soldier headed out.
The warehouse was clear of everyone but Mercy, Riley, and the scene processing people ten minutes later. Leaving the scientific types, Mercy headed out to her car, Riley by her side. "I've got one question for you," she said as they walked, "what was the tip?"
"That there was a lot of late-night traffic in and out of a warehouse that was meant to be off-limits to anyone but the construction crew."
"That's it?"
"One of the soldiers patrolling this area thought she smelled something dangerous - probably caught a whiff of the chemicals. Rats came through with the same info two minutes later."
Mercy knew he'd received that data directly because he was in charge of city security at the relevant time. "So you knew you were going into danger." She put her thumb to the car door to unlock it.
"It was a possibility." His eyes were calm when he looked at her, but the hand he closed over her door when she slid it open and back,