Phantom Game (GhostWalkers 18)

The taunting smile faded from Lydia’s face.

“And if you think you caused a break between the two teams, you didn’t,” Jonas added. “The moment Camellia questioned why we trusted them so much on one hand and on the other seemed distrustful, we all put our heads together and realized something was very wrong. Team Two never felt the break in trust, only Team One, so we knew immediately we had been compromised. We just had to figure out how. You were the logical choice.”

Ryland looked her up and down and then shook his head. “You are responsible for so many men dying, Lydia. And for what? Money. You wanted Abrams’s money. I hope it was worth it to you.”

She lifted her chin, looking defiant and not bothering to pretend she didn’t know what they were there for. “I don’t kill people, that’s your department.”

“You didn’t do the actual killing, but you’re the one who brokered the contract. You took it out for the money,” Ryland continued. “That makes you guilty as hell, Lydia. All those good men who died for absolutely no reason. Oliver wasn’t murdered. What you discovered and so quickly reported without investigating any further was a persistent nightmare one of the men had. He had discussed the nightmare with me and with Jonas. We brought in someone we thought could be trusted to help.”

Lydia raised her chin. “You can lie all you want, Ryland, but that was no nightmare. It was far too vivid.”

“Lydia,” Jonas said. “You know anatomy. You are very aware of the human body. Once you recorded what was said, did you actually listen to the recording again before you told Shaker and Tusker that I had murdered Oliver? I don’t believe you even listened to it twice.”

“Why would I want to relive the murder of my cousin? He was killed in a vile and brutal way. I never want to hear such a thing again. I left it to my older cousin to decide how he wanted to proceed.” She was defiant, her belligerence showing in every line of her body.

“It would be impossible for anyone to live through getting their arms ripped from their bodies, and yet in that nightmare, Jeff claimed he did. The blood loss would make it impossible, even for a GhostWalker enhanced by Whitney,” Ryland pointed out. “But as you’re going to insist on being right, I’m going to show you proof of what really happened.”

Jonas’s head jerked up. “Ryland.” That was the last thing he expected. He knew there was proof of his innocence, but that also meant proof of Oliver’s guilt. He didn’t want that. “I don’t give a damn what she believes about me.”

“She needs to know she’s responsible for the deaths of all those men—good men. If they had made their way here and killed women and children, she would have been responsible for those murders as well.”

Lydia lifted her chin again. “Children that would turn out like him.” She gestured at Jonas, sneering.

Ryland pointed to the large screen. “Body cameras are required when we go on missions. These are the actual recordings of what happened. There are multiple recording viewpoints because each man wears his own body cam.”

He didn’t wait for her reply, he simply started the recording. Jonas looked away. Thankfully, Ryland didn’t play any audio. The visual would be bad enough. He’d already relived this time with Camellia, he didn’t need to do it again. Jonas turned his back on the screen and pulled out his phone to text his woman.

What are you up to right now?

Working in the vegetable garden with Lily, Daniel and Azami.

I didn’t know Azami was here. When did she arrive?

Word went out that there was trouble coming, so she came home and brought her two brothers with her. They’re very intimidating.

I’m used to them, but I guess they could be. Jonas knew her. There was something she wasn’t telling him. What is it, honey?

Just speculation. Flame, Gator’s wife, said she believes Ivy isn’t dead. Both Marigold and I always had a feeling Whitney had deceived us. We got into the room, and even though there was so much blood, there was no body, and they didn’t have time to get rid of one. We knew all the places they would take her if she was dead. She wasn’t in any of them. Do you think he kept her alive somewhere else?

Jonas didn’t know how to answer that. He didn’t want to give her false hope. On the other hand, that was exactly the kind of thing Whitney would do.

Lydia began sobbing. “Turn it off. I don’t want to see any more.”

“Too bad, Lydia. We all had to not only see it, we had to experience it. Jonas had to endure it. That was Oliver, his best friend. You turned this into another nightmare for all of us.” Ryland was relentless as only Ryland could be when it came to protecting his team.