Which meant there were probably even more that hadn’t yet filtered down through the grapevine.
“Oh, and this broke a few minutes ago—they found a human male stabbed to death in an alley in Tahoe. Looks like random violence, but it’s the second murder in that area in less than a week. First one was that woman in the shallow grave.”
Mercy nodded, wondering if there was any connection between the two killings. Might be time for Dorian to hack into an Enforcement database. “Thanks, Herb.”
“Cut it out.” Turning, he grabbed her in a full hug, squeezing tight, his forehead lined with a heavy scowl. “Take it back.”
“Puh-leeze. I can flip you in one second flat.”
“And how will you explain the bruises to Mom?”
“Tattletale.” She fought not to smile.
His eyes narrowed, but she saw the cat’s laughter. “Take it back.”
“Or what?” When he bared his teeth in a mock growl and squeezed her even tighter, she blew out a breath. “Fine. I’m sorry. Happy?”
He let her go with a grin that had caught her heart from the moment her mom had first laid him in her arms. “I’m still telling. You know how mad Mom gets when anyone makes fun of our names, Mélisande.”
About to respond, she caught another scent entering the garage. “I’ve got company. Talk to you later.”
Sage’s lip curled in disdain. “Wolf.”
“We have an alliance.” She parroted Lucas. “Now, shoo, baby brother.”
“Nice try but I know you can’t stand this one.” He bent to pick up his gear, missing her guilty expression. “Dinner tonight? Bas just got back from New York, and Grey’s got the night off.”
Mercy nodded, her skin tight with expectation. “Text me the details.” But her attention was on the wolf who’d stroked her into wild ecstasy only yesterday. Her lower body clenched and she all but bit through her tongue to force down the rising wave of arousal. She so did not want Sage picking up on that little bit of info.
Her brother said a civilized hello to Riley as they passed. Riley responded with a nod, then jerked his head toward the exit. She went—no way did she want an electronic audience to their conversation.
“Can’t stay away from me?” she asked when they were safely on the grass verge outside the building. Set in an industrial/ professional area, foot traffic was light, the grass neatly trimmed. It appeared they were alone.
Riley glanced up at the building behind them. “I can feel them watching me.”
“Yep. So don’t try anything funny.” It came out an invitation.
His eyes went dark with a kind of knowledge that made her internal furnace go straight from hot to explosive. “I was passing by, thought you might be interested in some stuff we didn’t discuss on the phone earlier.”
“Passing by?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I went to visit those kids from the burger place, check they were okay.”
Something melted in her heart. “I called them today.”
“Yeah, they said.” He held the eye contact, all calm and solid and practical . . . except for the blazing heat in that gaze. “Your cat wouldn’t leave it alone either, would it?”
“Nope.” It was an integral part of them—that need to protect. “They seem to be doing good. That girl Jen, she’s a smart cookie.”
“She wants to be you when she grows up.”
Mercy grinned. “I forgot to tell you something else—we’re being stonewalled on what exactly Nash is studying.”
“Give the kid a few days,” Riley said. “He might change his mind after he thinks it over.”
“Especially since we only need enough information toprotect him properly.” She made a note on her datapad to have Ashaya follow up with Nash—the lynx might respond better to a fellow scientist. “So, what did you want to discuss?”
Riley’s mouth became bracketed by white lines. “Judd got confirmation that someone pushed that shooter to do what he did, some kind of a mental suggestion buried deep in his psyche.”