Ruthless Game

by Christine Feehan

  He'll be down for a while. Jaimie's going to take care of him until we can get a nurse we can trust. We could use Rhianna right about now.

  Javier straightened to allow them to get past him.

  Sebastian stared solemnly at the man and then suddenly smiled, leaning toward him. The move was unexpected and strong enough that Rose had to catch him with a little gasp. Her heart jumped. There was no doubt her son wanted Javier to hold him. She had to console herself with the fact that Sebastian had already shown he could sense and recognize an enemy.

  She swallowed hard and made her first attempt at accepting Kane's family as her own. Sebastian wants you to hold him.

  Javier's smile flickered for a moment in his eyes and then faded away. He held out his arms for the child. Top, have Gideon give it a try. I can't spot anything, and I want to hold my nephew. It's time we got acquainted.

  As if testing her, Javier cuddled the baby close and, moving in his silent, fluid way, turned his back and strode out of Rose's sight behind the tent. Rose's pulse thundered in her ears, and she literally had to twist her hands together to hold herself in place beside Kane.

  Kane dropped his arm around her shoulders and moved her closer beneath his broad shoulder. He bent his head, turning his body partially, shielding her from the stairs. He brushed a kiss along her hair. "Javier's taking Sebastian away from what we believe is Whitney's camera or some sort of monitoring device." The words were barely audible.

  She let her breath out and turned her face toward his, needing to kiss him, uncaring if any of them saw her. She was grateful he was the kind of man who read and cared about her feelings. He nearly lifted her off her feet, his larger frame completely shielding her, reminding her of when he had gotten her pregnant. He had not only destroyed Whitney's cameras and recorders, but he had kept his much larger body positioned over hers to protect her from the guard's prying eyes.

  It was silly, really, to think that she needed a white knight, but he made her feel protected, cherished even. There was something to be said for a man who was so willing to offer a woman his own body to use as her armor and shield. She slipped her arms around his neck and clung, unashamed, allowing herself a moment of weakness. It was difficult to trust her son to anyone out of her sight, let alone the most dangerous of all the team members.

  He keeps smiling at me.

  The moment Javier spoke inside her mind, she felt herself settle, the wild churning in her stomach subsiding. There was awe, maybe even a hint of joy in the tone.

  He's so little I thought I might crush him, but he's strong, isn't he?

  She recognized an uncle's pride, and something hard inside her broke open. Javier was a man dedicated to his team and his country--but everyone else was an enemy. She could hear in his voice that Sebastian was family and always would be.

  Rose blinked rapidly and tightened her arms around Kane's neck for courage. She made herself laugh softly in her mind. He's very strong. He pushes up off the floor already. Sometimes when he's kicking, I have to duck very fast, because he's got quite the kick.

  Javier's laughter slipped into her mind. Kane urged her forward, and she moved toward the hospital tent. She knew it was impossible for someone like her--someone with her background--to trust the people around her, but they were soldiers, and they knew their jobs. They worked well together, knew one another. They were offering her the opportunity to have everything she'd ever wanted--a family--and to be able to serve her country as part of an elite unit. She spent nearly every waking minute of her life training to be what these people were--a GhostWalker--and she wanted the chance to use her skills again.

  She smelled bleach and blood as she skirted the makeshift hospital. Is Brian going to be able to recover fully?

  Kane had to have been holding a bridge to allow the others to communicate telepathically with her, because once again, it was Mack who answered.

  Yes. It will take some time. We were fortunate that we'd already arranged to have surgical equipment here. The "hospital" was going to be set up in the second building up the block, but we haven't fully renovated it yet. We've only set up security.

  Gideon winked at her as he slipped by, taking Javier's place at the stairs. If something is here, Top, I'll find it, he said with confidence.

  Gideon's eyesight is enhanced, Kane explained. He can see things we can't, and if Javier didn't find anything, then Gideon's our last hope.

  You swept for bugs? Rose asked.

  Mack nodded. They had moved around the tent now, out of sight of the stairwell. "Found several in your living quarters and two up here where Eric planted them while his physical therapist was doing his best to kill Kane by overdoing it. Jaimie's checked their every movement with all the surveillance tapes frame by frame. We're confident we were able to find them all."

  Rose was listening, but her gaze had jumped to Javier, sitting in a rocking chair, Sebastian in his arms. The man had a big grin on his face.

  "Thank you, all of you, for getting Sebastian back," she said simply. Emotion was nearly overwhelming, welling up so fast it was impossible to hold it in check. "You all risked your lives for us . . ."

  "You're family," Javier dismissed her stammering thanks with a wave of his hand. "You'd do the same."

  The confidence in his voice warmed her. "Nevertheless, I wouldn't have survived if Whitney had managed to get his hands on Sebastian."

  Kane threaded his fingers through hers and brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth. "Yes, you would have, Rose. We would have gone after him."

  "And we'd never stop until we had him," Mack confirmed.

  "The thing I don't understand," Javier said, inhaling the baby's scent, "is why Whitney thinks we would stop. He knows us, or he should know us."

  "He can't know our bond," Mack said.

  "Javier has a point, Mack," Kane agreed, "He knows us as individuals."

  "Which is why he had you assigned to the compound, Kane," Rose said. "He read all about you, what you were like, and he knew you would appeal to me."

  "Then he has to know if he took you from me, I would never stop looking for you unless I was dead."

  "And then we'd continue," Mack added. "I think there's a part of him that likes to see if we'll win. Like playing a game, only with human beings for game pieces. He sets up a battlefield and throws the players onto the board and amuses himself watching what will happen."

  "That's pretty sick," Javier said. He smiled at the baby, his tone softening. "And Whitney thinks I'm a psychopath." The baby wrapped his fingers around Javier's index finger as if in response. "For future reference, a psychopath is considered very bad."

  Rose glanced at him. Javier had sounded hurt, yet when she looked at him, he was bending his head to kiss the baby's fingers.

  "Actually," she said, "that's exactly the type of grand experiment Whitney would enjoy. It probably doesn't even matter all that much which side wins as long as he can observe and document . . ." She trailed off. "He had to have been here in San Francisco when they tried to take Sebastian. He would have been close enough to observe. He would never plan something so elaborate with so many different ways for his team to escape with us without watching it all play out."

  Mack and Kane exchanged a long look. "Why the hell didn't we figure that out ourselves?" Kane lowered his voice.

  Javier beckoned Rose. His face had lost all expression, his eyes once more going flat and cold. Sebastian stared up at his face, immediately ceased gurgling happily, and looked carefully around the room with so much awareness in his eyes that Rose shivered as she took him. She glanced at Kane, worried. The baby was only a couple of months old, and already he was picking up his cues from the adults around him, recognizing danger far before he should.

  What kind of a childhood is he going to have? There was despair in her voice and fear creeping under her skin. There's no way for our son to have any kind of normal life, is there?

  Kane stroked a single caress over her hair and then reached out to tak
e the baby. He'll be safe, happy, and prepared, Rose. It's up to us to make a new normal for him.

  He recognized the difference in Javier and is already alert to the changes in all of us. She wanted to cry for them all. She didn't want that for her son. She wanted her little boy free to play and laugh with others, not living the kind of life she had--already training for a life of warfare by the time she was able to walk.

  "This is our life," Kane said aloud. "This is his life. He'll have a playground, and he'll have a happy childhood. He'll just know from early on that, like us, like his family, he's different, and he has to live differently. That doesn't mean worse, Rose, it means different."

  Nodding, she swallowed the terrible choking lump in her throat, blinking fast to get rid of the shine of tears in front of the other team members.

  Javier touched Sebastian's head with a gentle hand. "He'll be safe, Rose--and very loved. We'll see to his needs, all of us. We'll help provide everything he needs. You tell us, and it's yours."

  She looked around her at the circle of faces. They all nodded. Some of the tension eased. She couldn't help smiling. Even as they reassured her, they were sliding weapons into clothing, readying for battle. There seemed to be an armory on every floor, hidden of course, but well stocked with just about any weapon they might need. She knew they went armed everywhere outside the house, probably in it as well.

  "You good?" Kane asked.

  They were all looking at her, waiting for her answer. Not, she realized, to get it over with, but because they genuinely cared and were ready to do whatever it took to make her comfortable with their future. She took a deep breath, not wanting to disrespect them with an easy answer. Was she? Probably not yet, but she was beginning to believe. She could see the genuine affection they all gave to one another. More than that, she could see that the same intense loyalty that had drawn her to Kane was in each of them.

  "I will be," she said honestly. "I need to start training and feel as if I'm part of the entire unit. More than anything, that will make me feel part of everything."

  Top! I found it. I'm still searching around looking, because it's a tiny camera and I'm betting someone's watching, Gideon said triumphantly.

  Long or short range? Javier asked.

  Rose's heart began to pound. "It has to be Whitney watching. He wants to see the baby. What if Eric put a camera that small on our floor? He's visited several times. He could have easily done so."

  Kane took the baby and cuddled him close. "There's nothing for him to see right now, Rose. Sebastian's stronger than most babies at this age, but there is no way the camera can capture the intelligence and awareness we're seeing. Gideon can search our home. Eric wasn't allowed in our bedroom . . ."

  "Of course he was. He examined you daily while you were recovering," Rose pointed out. "He didn't get to examine Sebastian, but he was there."

  Gideon, I'm sending Javier. He's going to check the camera as subtly as possible for range, and then we're going to look for Whitney. You'll have to check Kane's entire home for possible cameras.

  Gideon groaned. This was a bitch to find.

  Now you know what you're looking for. Ethan, I'll need you on the roof, Mack instructed. Lucas, use the tunnel and come out on the other side of the street. Blend in. And Javier, whatever you do, don't kill anyone. We've already got a bloodstained SUV parked outside our warehouse. The last thing we need is more bodies to try to dispose of.

  Rose lifted her eyebrow at Kane. "Does he have to tell Javier not to kill anyone?"

  "Every damn time," Kane said. "It's just a precaution. Javier tends to take the easiest path, and if someone's in the way . . ." He shrugged.

  "I can't imagine that he's a hothead," Rose said. "He seems like he'd be cool under fire no matter what."

  "Ice water runs in his veins. He's not quite like everyone else, baby. But he stands. And he obeys Mack. Javier's a good man, just a little misunderstood at times." Kane shot a quick grin at Mack.

  Mack scowled at him. "Misunderstood my ass. I need to sit on that boy." He looked toward the stairwell, and even though the tent was in the way, he lowered his voice. "Jaimie heard Rhianna was back in the States. She sent word to come home, that Brian was down, and that you have a son."

  Kane's breath hissed out. "She what?"

  "She needs to come home, Kane," Mack said. "It's time. She's part of us, and Javier and Rhianna have just got to come to terms with whatever the hell is wrong."

  "He's still not talking?" Kane asked.

  Mack shook his head. "Not one word, but I'm not surprised. Javier has always been one to play things close to his chest, especially when it comes to Rhianna."

  Rose made a noise in her throat to remind them she was still there.

  "Sorry, sweetheart," Kane apologized right away. "We all grew up together. We formed a family and sort of had each other's back. There were only two girls, Rhianna and Jaimie. They were both quite a bit younger, and we were overprotective any way you looked at it. Rhee was different, her background far worse than the rest of us, with the exception of Javier. She didn't always feel comfortable, although she always stayed with us."

  "Javier put a lot of pressure on her, and eventually she rebelled. He sort of rode her all the time, little digs, you know," Mack said. "Very unlike him. He's the strong silent type, but he didn't like her around other men, and he got pretty ugly with a couple of guys. They had a fight a few months back, and she asked to be reassigned without telling any of us first. He's been a bear ever since."

  "So he doesn't think of her as his sister? Or he's an overprotective brother?" Rose asked.

  Mack shrugged. "He doesn't act like a brother, but who knows with Javier. Rhianna is the only person in the world who can shake Javier up. He's arctic cool until she comes around, and then we can cut the tension with a knife."

  Top, he's across the street in the apartment building. I'm guessing second floor, but it could be the third floor. I can't pinpoint the room.

  Best guess, Javier, Mack said.

  Middle windows either floor. If I was Whitney, and I knew what Gideon and Ethan are capable of, I'd choose second story and my escape route would be the far fire escape away from this warehouse where neither has a shot.

  Jaimie, Marc will take over in there. I need you at the computer. Check the recent rentals on the building across the street, Mack ordered. Paul, go too, just in case I need Marc in the field.

  Immediately there was a flurry of activity as if Jaimie had called both Marc and Paul because Brian had taken a turn for the worse. Whitney would recognize the two of them as healers and believe something had gone wrong.

  Jaimie, the consummate actress, backed out of the tent in full view of the camera and then went around the corner, behind the tent, to her bank of computers.

  "I keep an alert on the real estate agency that handles that rental property. It flags all new tenants." She was all business, settling in front of her bank of computers, fingers flying over the keyboard.

  Rose was fascinated--actually a little awestruck--at the amount of information pouring over the various screens in front of Jaimie. There were ten large computer screens, and data flowed over each of them, coming in from various sources and agencies around the world. She was certain much of what she was looking at was data that was all at a security level far beyond hers. Her existence might be top security, but she obviously didn't have the kind of clearance Jaimie and the others had--not yet. More than ever she wanted to be an official member of the team.

  Jaimie glanced over her shoulder. "You are official, or you wouldn't be looking at this data. The word came through a little while ago. With everything going on, there was no opportunity to tell you." She flashed a mysterious grin. "Mack is officially your boss, poor girl."

  "Isn't he yours?"

  Jaimie tossed her head. "Not hardly. I'm an analyst, not a soldier." She winked. "He's really mean. Ask any of the men."

  "Jaimie," Mack made a growling noise in the back of his throat
. "I really need that information."

  "It's coming up now, Mr. Impatience. You have three on the second floor and two on the third. The Williams family moved into apartment 224, one of the windows facing directly toward us. A couple with two children. A Donald Martin is in apartment 225 right next to the family, and the third one is on the other side of the building, so I doubt he's your man. On the third floor, both apartments recently rented face our building. A Charles Laudry and Tisha Phillips in 334 and Seely Thompson . . ." She broke off, looking up at Mack.

  "What is it?"

  Jaimie shook her head. "An alias, definitely not Whitney. Rhianna uses that when she sends me personal email. It's always encrypted, a program I wrote especially for the two of us to use. No computer is going to break it easily."

  "So Rhee is already back," Kane said.

  Rose caught the relief on Kane's face and the affection in his voice, but she didn't ask questions. Mack was already relaying the information Jaimie had given him about the other tenants to his team.

  "We can't destroy the camera or take out the ones in your home, Rose," Mack said, "until we go after Whitney. This might be our best chance at him. Stay here with Sebastian, out of sight behind the tent."

  Rose nodded and looked up at Kane. She wanted to go, but she hadn't trained with them yet. She knew she'd only get in their way. "Good hunting."

  Use alternative ways to leave the building. If Whitney spots us leaving en masse, it will tip him off that we're on to him. Right now he's feeling very superior that we didn't find his camera. I'm heading into the tent as if to check on Brian. From there I'll leave out of his sight and meet you all outside. Stay to cover. Kane and Javier, take the second-floor rooms, and I'll take the third floor with Lucas. Gideon, can you see into the windows?

  Doing my best, Top. There's someone moving around in three of the apartments facing us from the third and second floors.

  Kane caught Rose's face between his hands and kissed her thoroughly right there in front of everyone. Her eyes went wide and shocked, and he grinned at her before brushing a kiss on top of Sebastian's head. "They may as well know I'm crazy about you," he whispered overly loud in her ear, watching her blush with rising satisfaction.