Street Game
Page 12
“Do your thing, Jaimie,” Kane suggested. “Tell us where they all are. Everyone you can detect.”
Her brows drew together. It was a gift they all wished they had, to be able to detect the enemy’s exact position. She was never certain exactly how she did it, her mind just expanded and she felt the energy, dark, sometimes malevolent, but always strong. They all wanted to know how she did it, but there was no real explanation.
They thought she was stubborn, and maybe she’d become stubborn, sick of what they wanted from her.
She closed her eyes, inhaled to clear her mind and let go, seeking outside of herself to find those hunting her. She felt the ocean first, the surge of power that connected with her almost immediately, heightening her senses and expanding her range. She felt the two men moving around the corner of her warehouse, staying low as they carefully examined the building for weaknesses in security.
She felt their heartbeats, the adrenaline in their systems. She felt the breath moving through their bodies. Anger. Fear. Puzzlement. She could almost read their thoughts, but the body chemistry was enough to know they were enemies. She forced herself past them to encompass the street and buildings running alongside her warehouse.
A man huddled on the steps of the building to the right of her. His mind was a haze, a blur of no thinking, just shivering. He was cold and wanted more alcohol, but was oblivious to anyone else. Up the street a group of a four partied together. Drugs raced through their systems, not adrenaline. She examined the rooftops. She knew Gideon was up there somewhere along with the one they called Superman, yet she couldn’t find either of them.
She opened her eyes and looked at Mack. “I don’t know how long I’ve been under surveillance. He has to be a GhostWalker. I can’t detect Gideon either.”
“But you can detect both of us?” Mack asked.
She nodded. “And the two outside moving around the first floor, looking for a way in.”
“But not Gideon or the other man?”
She shook her head. “That’s never happened before, Mack. Not once. Not in all the times I trained. What’s different about Gideon?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want you saying anything. We’ll need to protect that information. Don’t document it,” Mack cautioned.
She crawled away from the window to the center of the room where her furniture was. “Because you know they’d dissect him to see if they could make you all that way.”
“The mysterious ‘they’ again,” Mack said. “You use ‘they’ and ‘you’ a lot. You’re a GhostWalker too, Jaimie. You gave your consent just like the rest of us. And not everyone in the program is corrupt.”
She sank into a chair across from Kane. “I know that, Mack. I just despise the entire mess. Whitney’s given some people cancer. He’s hurt them in order to see if he could speed the healing process. He’s so far out of control and someone knows it.
More than one someone, yet they protect him. They want his research and we’re all expendable to protect it. And we have foreign governments wanting one of us to dissect so they can build the same kind of soldier. Do you think any of us are going to have a life if we don’t get out now?”
Kane slipped his gun back beneath his sleeping bag, knowing Jaimie hated the weapon. “We’re going to be fine as long as we stick together, Jaimie.”
Her eyes met his. There was despair there. She was too intelligent to be reassured like a child and they both knew it. She had logged in hundreds of hours going over Whitney’s experiment. It read like a horror story. Her temples throbbed with pain, an aftermath of using psychic ability. It helped with Mack and Kane in the room, but still, the pain made her stomach lurch.
She didn’t want to think about all the children Whitney had conducted his experiments on. The adults had been bad enough, but she knew there had been children involved. The man was still out there, on the loose, condoned and aided by a group of power-hungry men who believed themselves above the law. The men in GhostWalker Team Three were all members of her family. No, they weren’t bound by blood, but they’d chosen years ago to band together and make it through life together.
Now they were all in jeopardy.
“I can’t save them,” she said aloud, and then was horrified that she’d spoken without thinking.
She could no longer trust either Mack or Kane. They had embraced their new bodies and minds and they believed they could make a huge difference. They were honorable men and they fought for what they believed. She was no longer part of that circle. No matter how familiar, no matter how much she loved them, she had to remember she wasn’t part of what they were doing and if orders came down regarding her—both men would follow those orders.
As if reading her mind, Mack sank into the chair beside hers and reached out to take her hand. “We’re here in San Francisco hunting this shipment of weapons and the men who are going to buy them. It’s our one chance to get at the Doomsday unit.
They happen to be in the same neighborhood you’re living in. Whatever that means.
However it happened. Someone is threatening you. Let’s just call a truce until we remove the threat and I have my terrorists in custody.”
“You don’t take them into custody, Mack,” she pointed out. “You assassinate them.”
“I do whatever it takes. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive, Jaimie.
Whatever is going on here is not of my making. You wanted out. I was hoping you would get out and make a life for yourself.”
He had hoped she’d come back to him and tell him she was missing him every single minute of every single day—that she couldn’t breathe without him. That hadn’t happened. It didn’t look like it was going to happen anytime soon.
“We’re a family,” Kane added. “We’d never leave you until we knew the threat to you was past. So we’ll be moving in here for a long while. We’ve already gotten permission. The boys are setting up their rooms; we’ll be here with you. You’ll be safe.”
“What does Sergeant Major want in return? He doesn’t do anything for free.”
“That’s for us to worry about,” Mack said. “Not you. Let’s just enjoy whatever time we have together while we figure all this out. I missed you, Jaimie.” There was an ache in his voice. An unexpected lump in his throat. She had no idea. He’d felt shattered. Fractured. And he’d had no idea how much he needed her or depended on her until she was gone.
There was resentment in him. Stubbornness. She’d left him. Walked out.
Whatever her reasons, however stupid he’d been, she’d left him. For a moment it took all his discipline not to yank her out of the chair and shake her into seeing sense.
They were meant for each other. He’d thought—hoped—that when he saw her again, the impact she had on him would lessen, but it was worse than ever. He craved her like some terrible addiction. He wanted the adoration back, that look of absolute love in her eyes. He wanted her soft body streaking fire through his. He wanted the sound of her laughter and her trust. More than anything he wanted that back.
Jaimie pushed both hands through her hair. Living with Mack again. She doubted she could survive it. But what else could she do? She wasn’t stupid. Someone had sent GhostWalkers after her and that meant Whitney was probably on to her and she was in danger. If he knew the evidence she’d been compiling against him, he’d never let her live. And she was tracing his connections, getting closer to his supporters. They would be even more dangerous than Whitney. He was obscure. A ghost. But his backers had political lives. They were powerful men with lots to lose and they’d never let her expose their crimes to the world.
She’d known when she started researching and documenting that she was entering a dangerous game, but she had always known she had to find a way to protect her family. She loved them and she wasn’t going to see them thrown to the wolves. No one was going to set them up to be killed by sending them on a bogus mission. She’d make certain of that.
“Can’t you stay in one of the places around here, Mack? I’m used to being on my own and you’re bossy.”
Kane made a sound in his throat that was cut off when Mack shot him a warning look. “I’m not in the least bit bossy. I know how to keep you alive, and you tend to trust everyone.”
She scowled at him. “I do not. Do you see what I’m talking about? I’ve been in business for two years, Mack. I haven’t needed you to tell me who I can work for.”
“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have benefited from my experience.”
A slow smile curved her mouth. “Now you’re just teasing.”
“I’m glad you remember what teasing is.”
She deserved that, she knew. Mack and Kane were the two people she loved most in the world and she hadn’t exactly been hospitable. She’d accused Kane outright of betrayal, and there was still a certainty that he had known the address was wrong. He had been close to the one new man when they’d come into her home, the one they weren’t certain of, and it had been Kane who had blocked his weapon, almost before Mack had identified her.
“Okay, fine. But you’re getting your own beds. I mean it. I’m not sharing my bed.”
“Who wants that tiny little thing?” Mack scoffed. “We’ll get manly furniture tomorrow.”
The two poking around are leaving, Top. I have the feeling they’ll be back, Gideon reported. But they’re going to do a little investigating. Superman has slipped away.
Did he see you? Mack asked.
Naw. I just became part of the wall. Never moved.
We’re going to get some sleep. Thanks, Gideon. Be careful. And don’t trust anyone not our own.
Okay, Mom. Gideon laughed softly in his ear.
Mack sighed. Trying to keep them all in line was difficult. “We can turn in. The threat’s over.”
“Lucky us,” Jaimie muttered.
CHAPTER 5
Morning light filtered through the windows when a loud blast shattered the peace of sleep. Kane and Mack leapt to their feet, both reaching for their weapons, or at least both tried to. Kane nearly crashed to the floor, whirling around a little wildly, gun in his fist.
“What the hell?” Kane demanded, wiggling free and crawling across the floor to the window.
Jaimie dragged the blanket over her head with a groan. This was not the start to the day she had anticipated. “It’s the doorbell. It’s probably Joe.”
“Doorbell? That’s some kind of fog horn. Are you kidding, Jaimie?” Kane and Mack exchanged one long disgusted look. The noise was louder the second time, more insistent.
“Joe?” Mack shook his head. “Lean out the window, Kane. See if you can’t get a clear shot at him.”
Alarmed, Jaimie sat up, pulling the blankets to her chin. “You can’t shoot him.”
“Why not?” Kane asked.
He looked wild enough to really do it, his hair spilling all over the place, his clothes disheveled, his eyes fierce.
“Because I forbid it, that’s why.” Jaimie tried to be stern, but the two looked as if they might have been drinking all night, disheveled and heavy-lidded, making her want to smile. Sleeping on the couch hadn’t been as much fun as Kane thought it might be. There was some satisfaction in that since they’d taken over her house. She’d forgotten how crazy they could get, feeding off each other, until she never knew exactly how far either of them would really go.
The doorbell let out another long blast. “That’s it.” Mack scowled fiercely. “Shoot him, Kane. I’ll take the blame and let her yell at me. It’s worth it.”
“You got it.” Kane, looking like a panther, stalked along the bank of windows to one of the long, tall windows overlooking the street where the front door was.
Her brows drew together. It was a gift they all wished they had, to be able to detect the enemy’s exact position. She was never certain exactly how she did it, her mind just expanded and she felt the energy, dark, sometimes malevolent, but always strong. They all wanted to know how she did it, but there was no real explanation.
They thought she was stubborn, and maybe she’d become stubborn, sick of what they wanted from her.
She closed her eyes, inhaled to clear her mind and let go, seeking outside of herself to find those hunting her. She felt the ocean first, the surge of power that connected with her almost immediately, heightening her senses and expanding her range. She felt the two men moving around the corner of her warehouse, staying low as they carefully examined the building for weaknesses in security.
She felt their heartbeats, the adrenaline in their systems. She felt the breath moving through their bodies. Anger. Fear. Puzzlement. She could almost read their thoughts, but the body chemistry was enough to know they were enemies. She forced herself past them to encompass the street and buildings running alongside her warehouse.
A man huddled on the steps of the building to the right of her. His mind was a haze, a blur of no thinking, just shivering. He was cold and wanted more alcohol, but was oblivious to anyone else. Up the street a group of a four partied together. Drugs raced through their systems, not adrenaline. She examined the rooftops. She knew Gideon was up there somewhere along with the one they called Superman, yet she couldn’t find either of them.
She opened her eyes and looked at Mack. “I don’t know how long I’ve been under surveillance. He has to be a GhostWalker. I can’t detect Gideon either.”
“But you can detect both of us?” Mack asked.
She nodded. “And the two outside moving around the first floor, looking for a way in.”
“But not Gideon or the other man?”
She shook her head. “That’s never happened before, Mack. Not once. Not in all the times I trained. What’s different about Gideon?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want you saying anything. We’ll need to protect that information. Don’t document it,” Mack cautioned.
She crawled away from the window to the center of the room where her furniture was. “Because you know they’d dissect him to see if they could make you all that way.”
“The mysterious ‘they’ again,” Mack said. “You use ‘they’ and ‘you’ a lot. You’re a GhostWalker too, Jaimie. You gave your consent just like the rest of us. And not everyone in the program is corrupt.”
She sank into a chair across from Kane. “I know that, Mack. I just despise the entire mess. Whitney’s given some people cancer. He’s hurt them in order to see if he could speed the healing process. He’s so far out of control and someone knows it.
More than one someone, yet they protect him. They want his research and we’re all expendable to protect it. And we have foreign governments wanting one of us to dissect so they can build the same kind of soldier. Do you think any of us are going to have a life if we don’t get out now?”
Kane slipped his gun back beneath his sleeping bag, knowing Jaimie hated the weapon. “We’re going to be fine as long as we stick together, Jaimie.”
Her eyes met his. There was despair there. She was too intelligent to be reassured like a child and they both knew it. She had logged in hundreds of hours going over Whitney’s experiment. It read like a horror story. Her temples throbbed with pain, an aftermath of using psychic ability. It helped with Mack and Kane in the room, but still, the pain made her stomach lurch.
She didn’t want to think about all the children Whitney had conducted his experiments on. The adults had been bad enough, but she knew there had been children involved. The man was still out there, on the loose, condoned and aided by a group of power-hungry men who believed themselves above the law. The men in GhostWalker Team Three were all members of her family. No, they weren’t bound by blood, but they’d chosen years ago to band together and make it through life together.
Now they were all in jeopardy.
“I can’t save them,” she said aloud, and then was horrified that she’d spoken without thinking.
She could no longer trust either Mack or Kane. They had embraced their new bodies and minds and they believed they could make a huge difference. They were honorable men and they fought for what they believed. She was no longer part of that circle. No matter how familiar, no matter how much she loved them, she had to remember she wasn’t part of what they were doing and if orders came down regarding her—both men would follow those orders.
As if reading her mind, Mack sank into the chair beside hers and reached out to take her hand. “We’re here in San Francisco hunting this shipment of weapons and the men who are going to buy them. It’s our one chance to get at the Doomsday unit.
They happen to be in the same neighborhood you’re living in. Whatever that means.
However it happened. Someone is threatening you. Let’s just call a truce until we remove the threat and I have my terrorists in custody.”
“You don’t take them into custody, Mack,” she pointed out. “You assassinate them.”
“I do whatever it takes. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive, Jaimie.
Whatever is going on here is not of my making. You wanted out. I was hoping you would get out and make a life for yourself.”
He had hoped she’d come back to him and tell him she was missing him every single minute of every single day—that she couldn’t breathe without him. That hadn’t happened. It didn’t look like it was going to happen anytime soon.
“We’re a family,” Kane added. “We’d never leave you until we knew the threat to you was past. So we’ll be moving in here for a long while. We’ve already gotten permission. The boys are setting up their rooms; we’ll be here with you. You’ll be safe.”
“What does Sergeant Major want in return? He doesn’t do anything for free.”
“That’s for us to worry about,” Mack said. “Not you. Let’s just enjoy whatever time we have together while we figure all this out. I missed you, Jaimie.” There was an ache in his voice. An unexpected lump in his throat. She had no idea. He’d felt shattered. Fractured. And he’d had no idea how much he needed her or depended on her until she was gone.
There was resentment in him. Stubbornness. She’d left him. Walked out.
Whatever her reasons, however stupid he’d been, she’d left him. For a moment it took all his discipline not to yank her out of the chair and shake her into seeing sense.
They were meant for each other. He’d thought—hoped—that when he saw her again, the impact she had on him would lessen, but it was worse than ever. He craved her like some terrible addiction. He wanted the adoration back, that look of absolute love in her eyes. He wanted her soft body streaking fire through his. He wanted the sound of her laughter and her trust. More than anything he wanted that back.
Jaimie pushed both hands through her hair. Living with Mack again. She doubted she could survive it. But what else could she do? She wasn’t stupid. Someone had sent GhostWalkers after her and that meant Whitney was probably on to her and she was in danger. If he knew the evidence she’d been compiling against him, he’d never let her live. And she was tracing his connections, getting closer to his supporters. They would be even more dangerous than Whitney. He was obscure. A ghost. But his backers had political lives. They were powerful men with lots to lose and they’d never let her expose their crimes to the world.
She’d known when she started researching and documenting that she was entering a dangerous game, but she had always known she had to find a way to protect her family. She loved them and she wasn’t going to see them thrown to the wolves. No one was going to set them up to be killed by sending them on a bogus mission. She’d make certain of that.
“Can’t you stay in one of the places around here, Mack? I’m used to being on my own and you’re bossy.”
Kane made a sound in his throat that was cut off when Mack shot him a warning look. “I’m not in the least bit bossy. I know how to keep you alive, and you tend to trust everyone.”
She scowled at him. “I do not. Do you see what I’m talking about? I’ve been in business for two years, Mack. I haven’t needed you to tell me who I can work for.”
“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have benefited from my experience.”
A slow smile curved her mouth. “Now you’re just teasing.”
“I’m glad you remember what teasing is.”
She deserved that, she knew. Mack and Kane were the two people she loved most in the world and she hadn’t exactly been hospitable. She’d accused Kane outright of betrayal, and there was still a certainty that he had known the address was wrong. He had been close to the one new man when they’d come into her home, the one they weren’t certain of, and it had been Kane who had blocked his weapon, almost before Mack had identified her.
“Okay, fine. But you’re getting your own beds. I mean it. I’m not sharing my bed.”
“Who wants that tiny little thing?” Mack scoffed. “We’ll get manly furniture tomorrow.”
The two poking around are leaving, Top. I have the feeling they’ll be back, Gideon reported. But they’re going to do a little investigating. Superman has slipped away.
Did he see you? Mack asked.
Naw. I just became part of the wall. Never moved.
We’re going to get some sleep. Thanks, Gideon. Be careful. And don’t trust anyone not our own.
Okay, Mom. Gideon laughed softly in his ear.
Mack sighed. Trying to keep them all in line was difficult. “We can turn in. The threat’s over.”
“Lucky us,” Jaimie muttered.
CHAPTER 5
Morning light filtered through the windows when a loud blast shattered the peace of sleep. Kane and Mack leapt to their feet, both reaching for their weapons, or at least both tried to. Kane nearly crashed to the floor, whirling around a little wildly, gun in his fist.
“What the hell?” Kane demanded, wiggling free and crawling across the floor to the window.
Jaimie dragged the blanket over her head with a groan. This was not the start to the day she had anticipated. “It’s the doorbell. It’s probably Joe.”
“Doorbell? That’s some kind of fog horn. Are you kidding, Jaimie?” Kane and Mack exchanged one long disgusted look. The noise was louder the second time, more insistent.
“Joe?” Mack shook his head. “Lean out the window, Kane. See if you can’t get a clear shot at him.”
Alarmed, Jaimie sat up, pulling the blankets to her chin. “You can’t shoot him.”
“Why not?” Kane asked.
He looked wild enough to really do it, his hair spilling all over the place, his clothes disheveled, his eyes fierce.
“Because I forbid it, that’s why.” Jaimie tried to be stern, but the two looked as if they might have been drinking all night, disheveled and heavy-lidded, making her want to smile. Sleeping on the couch hadn’t been as much fun as Kane thought it might be. There was some satisfaction in that since they’d taken over her house. She’d forgotten how crazy they could get, feeding off each other, until she never knew exactly how far either of them would really go.
The doorbell let out another long blast. “That’s it.” Mack scowled fiercely. “Shoot him, Kane. I’ll take the blame and let her yell at me. It’s worth it.”
“You got it.” Kane, looking like a panther, stalked along the bank of windows to one of the long, tall windows overlooking the street where the front door was.
