Free Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh Page B

kept telling herself that, maybe her traitorous body would actually notice and shut up with its demands.
    The older woman gave her a sour look. “Damn shame. What, you like them prettier?” A snort. “In my day, we liked men who looked like men.”
    Mercy had no chance to reply, finding the door shut in her face. Everyone was a critic today. And coming on top of Riley’s “chicken” taunt, it didn’t put her in the best of moods. But the tech answered then and she gave him the info. He promised to get back to her the second they had anything.
    Riley was waiting for her by the curb, explaining how the old lady knew what he looked like. “Get anything?”
    The woman’s words in her mind, she ran her eyes over him as she shared the intel. He definitely looked like a man, she thought, all hard and solid and rough. Strength, there was incredible strength in Riley. Which made the gentleness of his hold as he’d gotten that thorn out of her foot all the more extraordinary.
    She knew what he’d been up to with those cracks of his. Damn wolf had been looking after her. And he’d done it right. Even now, the leopard didn’t know quite what to make of it, so she concentrated on the hunt. “It’s a good lead.”
    “There’s something wrong with this,” Riley muttered, rubbing at a jaw that already bore the faint shadow of afternoon stubble. “That chip tells us this was an elite Alliance force, but why would they leave the evidence behind if they’re so organized? And being so careless with the van?”
    “You thinking the chip could be a plant?”
    He looked down the street, as if seeing what had happened the night before. “I had a call from Lucas while you were talking with your informant—Nash’s professor says he’s being courted by several Psy firms.”
    Mercy blinked. “Psy are very, very insular. Especially with R & D. Why would they want a changeling?”
    “A gifted changeling. Nash’s apparently a genius in nanotech. And we both know the Council is missing two of its top technical scientists.”
    Mercy blew out a breath between her teeth. “The Implant Protocol crashed and burned with Ashaya’s broadcasts.” That protocol had been meant to turn the individuals of the PsyNet into a true hive mind, interconnected and seamless.
    “Yeah, but what if someone’s got the idea to keep it on the back burner for the future?” He shrugged. “It’s a theory.”
    “But if you’re right, either the Psy took Nash and pinned the blame on the Human Alliance, or—”
    “The Alliance took him and did a sloppy job.”
    Mercy rubbed her forehead. “Or we could be screwing ourselves up by making this too complicated.”
    “I guess we’ll find out when we find Nash.”
    She jerked up her head, hearing a very dangerous thread in his voice. “Hey, cut that out. We’re in a human neighborhood.”
    The eyes that looked at her weren’t brown anymore. “And this is wolf territory.”
    “Leopard and wolf.” She refused to back down under that predatory gaze, though it chilled her to the soul. She’d never seen Riley lose it like that. And so rapidly. “What flipped your lid?”
    “If Nash is hurt, Willow’s going to blame herself for not being able to help her brother.”
    Oh. “He won’t be—he’s a predatory changeling. We’re not easy to kill.” She made her voice as arrogant as she could. “Now, pull yourself out of that slobbering mess of self-pity and get with the program. This isn’t about you.”
    Riley stared at her with those cold wolf eyes, a rich amber that held pure menace. “One day,” he said calmly, “your mouth is going to get you into more trouble than you can handle.”

CHAPTER 10
    Mercy felt a whisper of relief brush across her face. She was confident she could hold off Riley in a real fight long enough for help to arrive, but if he truly went wolf on her, there was a high chance he’d kill her. Unless she cheated. Which, in a fight to the death, she absolutely would.