Conspiracy Game

by Christine Feehan

  She sat very still, just absorbing the affection in that simple motion. It should have made her feel like a child, but even Jack's persistent orders had nothing to do with thinking she was a child. "I'd like dinner out," she ventured.

  Jack groaned. "Don't help him, Briony. It won't just be dinner. He'll want to go listen to music. Every time, every single time I'm dumb enough to agree to dinner, we end up at the Last Saloon listening to his country music. He flirts all night and I sit there watching his back."

  "I'm trying to get him to work on his social skills," Ken explained. "And the music is awesome. You do like country music, don't you, Briony?"

  "Yes."

  "And you do agree Jack needs a little work on his social skills," Ken prompted.

  "He flirts just fine," Briony said.

  "Jack? Flirts?" Ken looked shocked. "If he does, he's only flirted with you. The ladies sashay up to him, and he gives them that deadpan look, and they scurry away. It's embarrassing."

  "Really?" She glanced at Jack.

  "You're not taking Briony to the bar," Jack decreed. "Some drunken idiot cowboy is going to take one look at her and decide he's going to dance with her, and I'll have to bury his body out in the forest."

  "Or you could just dance with me yourself and not have to kill anyone," Briony suggested. "It might be easier."

  "Dance?"

  "You do know how to dance, don't you?"

  "You'd distract me," Jack said.

  "From what?"

  "I watch Ken's back. Now I've got two of you to look after."

  "How about this," Briony suggested. "Ken can dance and we'll both watch out for him. And don't worry, Ken--if one of the ladies starts groping you on the dance floor, I'll be all over it in a heartbeat. But then, Ken can watch out for us while we dance. Ken, you could do that, couldn't you?"

  "It's a deal, as long as you let the ladies grope me."

  Jack threw his hands into the air. "So this is how it's going to be. You're going to double team me, aren't you?"

  Ken and Briony exchanged a grin and nodded, unrepentant.

  CHAPTER 13

  "Briony, look at the monitor," Dr. Casey instructed. "Jack, do you see what I'm looking at."

  "Two hearts," Jack said.

  Briony went still, the color draining from her face. She reached for Jack's hand for strength. It wasn't possible. She'd never considered having one child--let alone two. She was beginning to think she was in the middle of a nightmare and just needed to pinch herself very hard to wake up.

  Jack bent close to her, close enough that his lips brushed her ear, but his words were in her head, not spoken aloud. Don't panic on me, baby. We'll get through this. His fingers tightened around hers.

  Briony swung her head around slowly and stared at the small screen. There was a black cone and a lot of swishing and not much of anything that she could see. "No way. Don't even joke like that, you two. I almost had a heart attack."

  The doctor pointed and made a small circle first over one spot and then over another. "You're definitely carrying twins."

  What's wrong, Jack? I can feel Briony from here. She's very upset.

  Don't go shooting the doctor. He just told her we were having twins, and she's not prepared for the news.

  She's very distressed.

  I'm aware, Ken. I'll deal with it.

  Jack brushed the hair back from Briony's face. Small beads of sweat dotted her brow, and her skin was clammy, so pale it was nearly translucent. One hand fluttered to her throat.

  "Jack. No." She shook her head, her gaze desperately clinging to his. "I've never held a baby in my life, let alone changed diapers. I don't know the first thing about babies." What if they cry and I freak out and throw up everywhere? I can't be with anyone when they're upset. A baby can't control that. I thought with one, I could, you know, take a breather every now and then, but not with two. Jack, I can't do two.

  The doctor held on to his smile, looking cheerful. "I know it's a bit of a shock, but many women have twins and do just fine. Everything looks good. You should be able to carry without any problems. We'll want to keep a close eye on you."

  Briony nearly crushed Jack's fingers. "Are you absolutely certain? Two babies?"

  "Yes. I heard two heartbeats, and you can clearly see them on the sonogram. If you'd like more clarity, the hospital has a newer model and you could have it confirmed on their machine. I can set up the appointment."

  Jack pressed his free hand into Briony's shoulder in warning. "That won't be necessary." We don't need more of a paper trail than necessary. Let's just stick with Dr. Casey as long as possible. "It's a shock, that's all, but a welcome one, isn't it, baby?"

  She swallowed the fear crushing her and hung on to his tender tone. If only he really loved her that much--wanted her that much. A woman could put up with a lot to have a man love her so much. How could he fake that look? That caressing tone? He actually sounded happy about the babies. She wished she had Jack's strength.

  The doctor casually wiped the smears of gel from her stomach. Jack pulled down her shirt. "Thanks, Doc. We'll go celebrate. Do you have a nutrition expert who can give us advice on what she should or shouldn't eat?"

  "Ask the receptionist for our comprehensive tip sheet and don't forget to take your prenatals," Dr. Casey advised. "Any more questions?"

  Briony shook her head. The man had already said a mouthful.

  "Is there any reason why we can't make love?" Jack asked.

  Briony bit back a squeak of shock. Her gaze jumped to his face, but he was looking at the doctor.

  "I'd like to know what we can and can't do," Jack added.

  Briony closed her eyes. Just the thought of Jack touching her was enough to get her wet, make her body go into hormone overload. What was he thinking, bringing that up when they already had so many problems avoiding it. She should have influenced the doctor to say they couldn't have sex, but no, he was going into great detail and Jack was just soaking it up. She lifted her hand limply as the doctor left.

  "What were you thinking?" she hissed.

  "I'm taking precautions. If you're with me, Briony, it's going to happen. We both know it, and we need the answers. I don't want to take a chance on hurting you or the babies."

  She let Jack help her into a sitting position. She wasn't going to go there. Not now, not when there were other, much larger problems. Babies. "What are we going to do? One baby I might be able to take care of, but two of them? Do you have any idea what this means?" She couldn't disappear with two babies. It would be nearly impossible to protect two children from Dr. Whitney. "Can you see me running with a front and back pack, fighting enhanced soldiers off? This is getting worse and worse."

  Jack's jaw tightened. "What do you want to do? The doctor said you're eleven weeks along. What's the cutoff time?"

  Her breath caught in her throat, and both hands covered her stomach protectively. "For what? I'm not having an abortion, Jack. I might not be able to take care of my children myself, but I'll be damned if I'll have an abortion. They feel a part of me already. No." She shook her head. "No way."

  "We'll take care of them together the old-fashioned way, by ourselves."

  "Jack, you've never seen me around people without you there to buffer me from all the emotion."

  "I watched you perform. I didn't protect you then because I wanted to see and feel what your life was like."

  She shook her head. "You did protect me. Not all the way, but it wasn't nearly as bad as usual. You weren't even aware of it. I'm just so afraid that if the babies get sick, or are upset..." She looked up at him. "What if I can't take care of them?"

  "You performed night after night because you loved your family that much, Briony, why would you think you'd do any less for your children?"

  She couldn't pull her gaze from his. He was so certain, not in the least ruffled by the news. She was impacting his life in ways she hadn't expected, and he was the one handling it, not her. "Okay. You're right. We'll just
do whatever has to be done--one day at a time."

  Jack's fingers circled the nape of her neck. "We can do this." He flashed a small grin. It faded quickly, but fascinated Briony all the same. There was no softening of his hard, weathered features; rather, his eyes went from dark to light. Her stomach somersaulted in response, proving she was still way too susceptible to him. "And we always have Ken to do diaper duty."

  "Aren't you worried about Whitney's men finding us?"

  "They'll either come for you or they won't, baby. We can't stop living our lives because Whitney may find out where you are."

  Jack didn't leave the room as she got back into her jeans; in fact he didn't even avert his eyes. "You're incredibly beautiful, you know that?"

  "No, I'm not, but it's nice of you to say so." She tried not to blush as she zipped up her jeans. It seemed natural to have Jack in the room with her, and it added another layer of intimacy between them.

  "You are, and I have good taste in women and underwear." He bent to brush a kiss against the corner of her mouth. "Ken's on the roof of the building next door. Maybe we should sneak out back and make our getaway."

  She laughed and took his outstretched hand. "I still can't believe we're going to have twins. Do you have any idea how large I'm going to get? You won't be able to push me through the door."

  It took a few minutes to get out of the doctor's office. Jack made certain they had another appointment and that he picked up the tip sheet on nutrition. Briony was fairly sure she was going to be sorry she allowed him to get his hands on it.

  Ken joined them at the Jeep. "Congratulations, you two. When you decide to do something, you really go all the way, don't you?" He stowed his innocent-looking case containing the sniper rifle in a well under the seat floor before locking the vehicle.

  "Keep it up and I'm going to kick you in the shins," Briony warned.

  "Stay between us, Briony," Jack cautioned as they started down the street to the restaurant Ken insisted had the best food.

  The twins walked with easy, fluid strides, eyes restless, gaze constantly moving--up over the buildings, examining the shrubbery, watching the people. Briony should have been nervous, but she was too excited. She didn't walk down streets in the middle of a town, have dinner in a restaurant, or go listen to music in a bar in the evening. This was a luxury--a gift from Jack. She felt no pain at all, just a wonderful sense of freedom. She smiled at a couple walking toward them, and joy blossomed when they smiled back. She didn't read anything terrible, such as that the man was having an affair, or the wife wanted out of the marriage, or that they'd just lost a child. She could take them at face value--a happy couple walking on the same sidewalk.

  Jack glanced down at her face. Briony was beaming, and he could feel the change in her with every step they took. The air was cool and crisp, a light breeze with night beginning to fall. She was nearly dancing, the elation coming off her in waves.

  "Don't you love this?" She looked up at him, flashing a smile. "I love this."

  "What?" He tried not to be distracted by her excitement, but something about her jubilation was catching. He was happy just walking down the damn street with her. She fit right beneath his shoulder, her head brushing against his arm as he walked with her and he felt--whole.

  He glanced at Ken. Why the hell does a woman complete a family?

  Ken shrugged and exchanged a small smile with him. I don't know, but let's keep her. She's mellowed you out, and I didn't think that was possible.

  I've always been mellow.

  Ken snorted aloud, drawing Briony's attention. He reached past her head and opened the door of the restaurant. "My brother is living a life of total illusion. He thinks he's mellow."

  "He does?" Briony's eyebrow shot up as she tilted her head to look up at Jack. "You do?"

  "We want that table," Ken indicated a table near the exit door, up against the wall facing the front.

  "We have a nicer table over here," the hostess said, "in the section that's open." She stared at the scars on Ken's face and neck and glanced briefly at Jack, then quickly averted her eyes.

  Briony took a step to place herself between Ken and the hostess, bristling with indignation that the woman would stare with such naked horror at Ken's wounds. Jack's fingers settled around her arm--gently, but firmly--preventing her from moving out from between them.

  "That table," Ken said with another engaging smile, stepping in front of Jack, who didn't move, didn't speak, but suddenly appeared menacing.

  The hostess took the bill Ken slipped her and led them to the table without further complaint. Ken waited until they were seated and had water and fresh baked bread before he pinned his brother with a steely gaze. "There's no need to intimidate anyone, Jack. You be nice."

  "You have to bribe them to get your way," Jack pointed out. "I'm never out any money."

  Ken shook his head. "Cretin."

  Briony rolled her eyes. "Are you two like this all the time?"

  "Yes," Ken confirmed. "I'm trying to integrate him into society, but he's resistant. Without me, Jack would be some old mountain man with a bad attitude, chasing people around with his bowie knife."

  "I don't much care for society--and I'd use a gun."

  "Were you always in the military--I mean, before Whitney?" Briony asked.

  "Went in as soon as we were old enough," Ken replied. "It got us off the streets and we had a knack for it. Pain didn't mean much to either of us, and we're both right at home behind a weapon."

  "How did Whitney find you?"

  Ken sprawled his legs out under the table, forcing Jack to turn sideways. Both watched the doors and windows and people, rather than looking directly at Briony. "We've always been telepathic; used it to communicate when we were kids. In fact, we were pretty damned strong and had never met anyone else like us. We trained in the SEALs program and served a few years, then we were asked to take a test for psychic abilities." He flashed her a brief grin. "We scored very high, and Whitney was drooling over us."

  "Both of you scored high?" She flashed a small, teasing grin at Jack.

  "I'm sure my score was higher," Ken said, breaking off a piece of bread and slathering butter on it.

  "Do both of you have the same abilities?"

  "Yep, right down to being anchors. And we seem to be enhanced the same as well," Ken added.

  "So if he's so interested in getting a baby out of Jack, why isn't he pushing a woman on you, Ken?"

  "That's a good question," Jack said. "Why didn't we ask that question, Ken? Why is it that Whitney went to all the trouble and expense of maneuvering Briony and I into the same place to see what would happen, but not you and whoever he's matched you up with."

  "Maybe there is no match," Ken said. And I'm not certain how I feel about that. I should be elated that he hasn't messed with me to that extent, but hell, I wouldn't mind a woman of my own, not after seeing you with Briony.

  The wistfulness in his brother's voice had Jack's gaze jumping to his face. Ken couldn't stop the brief flow of information, the fear that his appearance would stop any woman from wanting to be near him. Ken looked away quickly and stuffed another piece of bread in his mouth.

  "Or maybe he already has her," Briony ventured. "I'm betting that Luther was my secondary match and that's why he was really upset that I was pregnant. The thought that someone other than an enhanced soldier had taken his place was too much for him. He was really angry. I think Whitney had nearly given up on getting us together."

  "And he was counting on the fact that I'd walk if he did manage it," Jack added.

  "I don't like that idea, that some woman could still be held prisoner by Whitney," Ken said. "Jack, let's get ahold of Lily and her team and find out how much they know. If they have an idea where he is, we can do a little recon."

  "The problem that we're facing, Ken, is that we don't know who we can trust. Whitney always had contacts. Hell, he knew the president. If he's alive and pulling all the strings in this experiment, he isn'
t alone. We don't know who's behind any of this. Whitney may have the know-how and the money, but he's in solid with someone directing all this."

  Briony cleared her throat. "If Whitney really has contacts in the military, and there is some huge conspiracy going on, if they thought I was with you, wouldn't they send you out on a mission so I had nowhere to go?"

  The twins exchanged a long look.

  "Oh God." Her hand went to her throat. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

  Jack pulled her hand to his heart. "We were contacted late last week, but we're on leave. We were both injured and neither of us has a doc's okay to return to service, not that that ever stopped us before, but we said no." I said no because Ken needs far more recup time. Jack made sure his barriers were up against his twin to keep him from that private contact. "Both of us intend to extend our time with personal leave as well."

  "They can't make you go back?"

  "I think they counted on us never turning them down. We never have. And they figured the target would be too personal for us to resist. They want General Ekabela taken out," Jack said. "My guess is, the man knows too much and they need him dead."

  "In other words," Ken added, "he isn't useful to Whitney anymore."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  Jack raised her knuckles to his lips. "You were a bit upset, Briony, and you needed sleep last night, and in any case, we didn't think about why they would send us into the field, we go all the time." He shrugged. "I thought they offered it to us because of what Ekabela had done to us."

  "But that means they know I'm with you. How would they know?" She nearly jumped out of her skin as the waiter approached.

  Jack laid his hand on her arm. Gently. Just touching her. Warmth flowed into her mind, and almost at once she felt calmer, more able to breathe away fear. "Not necessarily. They may have wanted to make certain we were out of the country in case you did try to contact me."

  "It makes sense," Ken added.

  As the waiter hovered, Jack glanced up, eyes suddenly going from warm gray to ice steel. Briony buried her face in her menu to hide her expression.

  The waiter cleared his throat. "Are you ready to order, ma'am?"

  Jack drew out the paper on nutrition and began to study the menu, comparing items with the paper. "The chicken pasta looks good, Briony," he ventured. "And the vegetable salad."