“You’re afraid he’ll hurt me?” She couldn’t imagine that, and didn’t want to hear it.
“On the contrary.” He looked at her as though surprised by the question. “I believe Mercury would destroy himself before he ever risked harming you. I believe it’s merely coincidence that the hormone showed up in the mating tests. An error perhaps on Ely’s part. The tests aren’t infallible and aren’t always right. But her opinion carries quite a bit of weight with the Ruling Cabinet. If she suggests Mercury be placed back on the drug therapy, then he’ll have one of two choices. Submit to it, or leave Sanctuary.”
“They wouldn’t order him to do such a thing.”
Jonas stood slowly to his feet. “Ely has begun the paperwork to have it presented before the Ruling Cabinet. How it’s handled will depend a lot upon you.”
“Me?” And now she watched him suspiciously.
“Get him back in that cabin, Ria. Get him back on your protective detail. Unless I can prove Mercury isn’t going to start ripping hearts out and heads off at the spur of the moment, then we’re all screwed. The Breed community is fighting to keep public opinion on its side. It would take very little to turn the tide of approval at present, and the Ruling Cabinet knows this. If I can’t prove this is something he can control, then they could unintentionally destroy a damned good enforcer, and a hell of a Breed.”
“You’re manipulating me.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and stared back at him in disgust. “I know you, Jonas. You and Dane are so similar it’s terrifying.”
He grimaced and shot her a look that would have withered a weaker personality.
“Insulting me will get you nowhere,” he stated as he moved to his feet. “Do as you please. I’ve merely informed you of the situation, just as Mercury knows it stands.”
He stood up then, surprising her as he moved to the other side of the door a second before it opened.
And there was Mercury. His gaze was flat, his face expressionless as he stepped into the room. He wasn’t wearing his enforcer uniform; instead he wore jeans, a black T-shirt and boots. He looked dangerous, exotic and less than pleased to find Jonas there.
“Warning her?” Mercury questioned him with an edge of sarcasm as he stepped into the room.
“Merely apprising her of the reason why she’ll be receiving orders from the Ruling Cabinet to submit to the lab for testing later.” Jonas shrugged as though unconcerned.
“You’re not serious.” Her lips curled in disgust. “I do believe I made my opinion on that clear Saturday. There will be no testing done.” There it was, that damned hint of an accent.
She was infuriated that they would even consider making it an order. And offended on Mercury’s part that they would dare to make such a move.
“They can shove their orders,” she informed him before turning to Mercury. “And you took your damned good time showing up, didn’t you? Do you have any idea how chatty that insane Breed Shiloh is that they’ve assigned to me?”
She jerked several files from the pile and stomped back to her desk, casting both men an impatient glance.
“I believe that’s my cue to leave.” Jonas’s lips twitched as he glanced at Mercury. “You’re still on detail and your mission status hasn’t changed.” He nodded in her direction. “She’s your primary concern unless you wish to be relieved.”
Mercury’s arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve been ordered back to the labs as well. I refused.”
Evidently that meant something because Jonas grimaced at the knowledge. He finally nodded. “Continue refusing.”
Mercury grunted. “I don’t need your permission, Director.”
Jonas let a smile tip his lips then, his gaze flicking back to Ria. “I’ll leave you to your job then,” he told them both. “I’ll be here for a few more days yet. If there are any problems I expect to be informed.”
“I’m sure you’ll hear the bones breaking if it’s needed.” Mercury shrugged.
“And you’re out of uniform,” Jonas growled as though finally realizing that.
Mercury’s expression hardened further, his jaw twitching as tension seemed to thicken and fill the room dangerously. “I don’t need the uniform to do my job.”
No, he didn’t; he appeared more dangerous, more exciting, with all those weapons strapped over his body while denim hugged his legs.
But Jonas’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s the uniform, Merc?”
Mercury grinned. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “I was informed my rank has been revoked until I submit to those tests. Don’t worry, Jonas. I made my opinion of that clear.”
“By doing what?” Jonas’s voice was icy now.
“Ask Callan.” He shrugged, moving into the room and glancing at the camera, still covered by Ria’s sweater, before turning back to Jonas. “I’m sure he’s waiting on you.”
He took the easy chair in the corner, sat down and lifted one of the magazines lying on the table beside it. As though he wasn’t raging inside, as though fury wasn’t eating him alive.
Ria could see it, feel the danger in the air, and so could Jonas.
“Did you break any bones Mercury?” he finally sighed.
“Nope. All bones are intact and in working order,” he retorted.
The muscle at Jonas’s jaw flinched. “What about other enforcers’ bones?”
“All intact and in working order.” Mercury flipped open the magazine.
“Then what did you do?”
Mercury settled back in the chair comfortably, crossed one ankle over the opposite knee and focused his gaze on the magazine. “I think they’re still trying to figure out exactly how to repair my shoulder weapon.”
That was when Ria realized what was missing. The unique gun, rather like a mini-Uzi, that the Breed Enforcers carried. Vanderale had donated the weapons to the Breeds and limited the sale of them anywhere else. They were powerful, deadly, and Mercury wasn’t wearing his.
Breeds, you had to love them, Ria thought as Jonas’s expression turned as deadly as Mercury’s. His silver eyes flashed, his entire body tensed. They could look more savage in their anger than the animals they were created from.
“I’ll talk with you before you leave this evening,” he stated, his voice cold. “Contact me before doing so.”
“Sure.” Mercury flipped the page of the magazine, his gaze still focused inside it. “I’ll do that, Jonas.”
Ria stayed silent. She was certain a snarl was pulling at Jonas’s lips as he stalked from the room and slammed the door behind him.
Mercury moved then, reach over and flipped the lock on the door, before going back to the magazine, remaining silent, almost thoughtful, as he read.
Ria lowered her gaze to his well-worn reading material, an auto engineering magazine that was quite popular, even in Johannesburg, with some of the top designers who worked in the production departments at Vanderale.
Mercury might well have been reading it, but the tension rising in the room was so stifling that when the phone rang beside her, she jerked and barely held back a gasp before reaching for the receiver on the land-based line.
“Yes?”
“Ms. Rodriquez, this is Austin, from the Security Control Center. Could you please remove the covering from the camera?”
The arrogance in that nasal little voice antagonized her with the first words out of his mouth.
Her lips flattened as she glanced at Mercury. He was staring at her from beneath his lashes, the look from those exotically tilted eyes both wickedly sexual and dangerous.
“That might be a little difficult,” she stated with a heavy emphasis on the false sweetness in her voice. “I’ll tell you what, Austin, why don’t you come down here and see if you can remove it yourself?”
She hung up the phone and glared at Mercury. “Stop the damned growling or you can sit outside. My day has been messed with enough.” And she went back to work. Concentration shot, nerves raw, but she was determined to find what Dane needed so she could leave Sanctuary and the man she knew would break her heart if given the chance.