She wasn't mercenary. It wasn't the worth of the stones or even the stones themselves. It was the fact that they seemed to keep Dane from involving her in games that were too messy to consider allowing Leo to catch them in. She was a sucker for the games herself, but she did have a bit of caution. Dane had none.
To say Mercury was upset over the payment was putting things mildly. There were still tiny, rumbling growls echoing in his throat. And those tiny sparks of blue hadn't completely left his eyes.
Feral displacement was a phenomenon that Breeds couldn't control, though, and he had all the signs of it, but it was firmly under control. Dane still had his heart in his chest, and Rye still had his head on his shoulders. Ria was contenting herself with that even though she suspected Dane might have lost more blood than was wise.
"Look at her, Rye." His tone was amused despite the pain in it. "I'm surprised she didn't pull her jeweler's glass out."
She turned to face him, her insides still shaking, the knowledge of how close Dane had actually come to dying horrified her.
"You have a trip scheduled to Asia next week," she told him. "I expect natural pearls when you return."
He gave her a hooded look and glanced at the velvet bag. "I just paid you a fortune."
"Two fortunes aren't enough for what you put me through tonight," she snapped, feeling the tears clog her throat again. "You've lost your mind, Dane." She couldn't control the accent that slipped into her voice either, and she knew every man in the room could smell her pain and her fear.
Dane grimaced at that, his gaze sliding to where Mercury attempted to place her behind him once again.
"I'd say you've slipped the path a bit yourself, love," he drawled. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you've mated a feral?"
"There's no mating." Mercury snarled the denial, and Ria thought her heart was going to break.
Hell, he could have just remained silent.
Dane stared between them, his golden brown eyes thoughtful for long moments.
"My mistake," he finally said slowly as he glanced to Rye. "She can't do anything the easy way, can she?"
Rye laid his head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling while Dane settled into the corner and stared back at the other Breeds in the room. Especially his brothers.
"Don't start," she warned him as she slid around Mercury once again, certain Dane was going to begin baiting Callan and Jonas. "This has gone too far."
Dane shrugged. "Very well. You called for extraction. Pack your bags and I'll have the limo sent from the private airfield we landed at. Rye and I hiked in. I doubt you want to take that path out, though. We'll have you safe and sound in your own bed within hours. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Her lonely, cold bed. Without Mercury's hard, warm body.
She turned back to the others, her gaze moving over Callan and Jonas's suspicious, savage expressions. They weren't pleased, and they knew something was going on.
"It's gone too far," she told Dane.
He stared back at her coolly. "You're going to get your heart broke, love. You know what that does to you. Makes Leo damned growly. And Elizabeth will try to fuss over you. You know how you hate that."
His voice was gentle, a reminder of how easily she could be hurt, and a warning. The warning came a second before Mercury's arms surrounded her, warm and strong, and he pulled her close against his chest.
His head lowered, his lips at her ear. "You're not leaving." He nipped the shell of her ear after growling the demand against it.
Ria's gaze remained locked with Dane's, and she knew he saw what she was trying to hide even from herself.
"We have to finish this, Dane." She let her hands grip Mercury's wrists, aware of the suspicion directed on her now. "It can't go any further."
Mercury tensed behind her; Callan and Jonas watched her with hard, implacable expressions.
"Well then, I guess that's that." He relaxed farther back into the couch, a mocking smile crossing his lips. "If I don't make it out of here alive, be sure to tell the Leo I did him proud," he chuckled.
Ria shook her head and turned to Callan. "Pride Leader Lyons, it is my sincerest regret to inform you that I wasn't sent here in any way to track expenditures by Sanctuary from the Vanderale support funds. As always, those have been given by the Leo, your father, and they have no strings attached."
Callan rose slowly to his feet, power humming through him, his amber eyes brightening, glowing as animalistic anger began to surge inside him.
"What the hell have you two been doing in my f**king home?" He glared between them.