Deadly Game (GhostWalkers 5)

To avoid his glacier-cold eyes, Mari bent down to pull the jacket from the tech. "Yes. I knew you wouldn't be happy." And he'd be even less happy knowing she was supposed to get away from him and meet them as soon as possible.

"Just because my men are risking their lives to get the women out? Your sisters knew they were going to be there, with bullets flying and a helicopter waiting, and they went over the fence and scattered into the woods." He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "Are you planning to do the same thing?"

She avoided his eyes. What was she planning? She was going to see Briony. She was going to try with Ken. "I'm planning on going out with you, fighting for all I'm worth and gaining freedom. You know that word that is supposed to represent the American way? Freedom, Ken. We wanted the freedom to make our own decisions."

"They're psychic, most without anchors, the same as you are. How are they--or you-going to survive without aid? And do you really think Whitney is just going to let them go? He'll send every soldier he has to get them back. We could have protected them."

"And exchanged one prison for another?"

His heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. "Is that what you think you're doing, Mari?"

Their eyes met. He counted his heartbeats. She had talked with her sisters about taking off on her own. He had handed her his soul, and she was thinking of walking away from him. And why not? Life with him would be a form of prison. He couldn't deny it--not even to himself. He would want to run her life, wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her hidden from the world and any danger it might present. She desperately wanted, needed--and deserved--freedom.

Ken swallowed everything he wanted to say and took the jacket from her, shrugging into it. The coat was too small, and pulled across his arms and back, but it would do getting down the corridor. With explosives going off every few minutes, he doubted Whitney was staring into the security cameras. Ken had taken a great deal of time setting the charges for maximum chaotic effect.

Mari caught his arm before he opened the tool room door again. "I don't think I'm exchanging prisons, Ken. I'm just afraid. Terrified, in fact. I don't have a clue what to expect outside this facility. I feel as if I'm going AWOL. I need to find out who and what I am and if I can even live with the rest of the world."

She didn't add before I can be in a relationship, but he heard the echo of the words in his heart. Maybe he heard them in her head. And a relationship with him would not be of her choosing, once she was out in the real world where normal men, with maybe a penchant for romance and gentleness, were available to her.

Ken. Jack's voice intruded, sharp with command. All hell is breaking loose up here. Can you get to the first level? Logan and Neil are making their way to you. I'm backing them up, but if I don't see your ass in the next few minutes, I'm breaking protocol and coming to get you. Get moving now. There was urgency in Jack's voice.

Ken knew his brother would too. Jack would place his own life and anyone else's in danger to get Ken out of trouble, just as Ken would do for him. I'm on my way. We're on the second level trying to make our way up to the first. Give me a few minutes.

You might not have a few minutes. Oh shit! There was a moment of complete concentration.

Ken recognized the blank, emotionless will of iron in his brother that meant he was sending a bullet into someone. He waited, knowing something bad had happened.

One of the security guards guiding the senator to the plane just shot him in the head. Violet took the son of a bitch out and pulled her husband into the plane, but it doesn't look good. We can't tell the bad guys from the good guys, Ken. You've got to get out of there and make it to the helicopter. They're pouring out of that building like bees.

Roger that. Ken cracked open the door enough to peer into the hall. Mostly techs ran for the stairs. A few security guards and soldiers pushed through the corridor trying to see the individuals, which told him Whitney hadn't given up hope of finding them.

Anyone spot Whitney?

You and I both know he's got himself a tunnel or two. He's not going to get trapped here. He's probably halfway to his next lair. He pushes a button on a computer and his data is sent to other computers and he abandons this lab.

Ken pulled Mari close. "Stay close to me. Walk directly to the stairs. Keep the gun in your pocket and ready to use. Don't look up toward the cameras, just walk with the flow of the other techs."

"They'll recognize me. They don't have women techs here. Whitney thought it too much of a distraction."

"Your hair isn't that long. You can pull the jacket up around your neck. We've got to go now, Mari. And if I say run, take off and don't look back."

"I'm not leaving you."

"I'll be right behind you. I'm not a hero, honey. I'm not about to let Whitney hook me up to some machine for the rest of my life."

She caught the front of his jacket. "I may have been afraid and even hesitating, but I plan on going with you. See that you're right behind me. I mean it, Ken, because I'll go back for you." Doubts of the future aside, she'd never leave Ken to Whitney's mercy.

"You sound like my brother, and I'm warning you, Mari, you do anything stupid like that and I'm going to put you over my knee."

She rolled her eyes. "I've been caned, Ken. The threat of a spanking doesn't scare me much."

He gave her a little shove. "Get moving. Keep moving."

She was going with him. He had a reprieve. He had no idea how he was going to keep her, but at least she wasn't going to go over the fence and strike out on her own. The women had been planning an escape for some time, and even though Ken and his team had been there offering protection, they hadn't taken a chance on deviating from their plan. They believed in one another and no one else. Even Violet was out of their circle. It worried Ken. If the women turned on Mari for choosing to stay with him, would she eventually resent him?

He shoved all thoughts from his head and went into warrior mode the moment he stepped out of the tool closet. He dropped back several paces to better protect Mari as she pushed her way through the hall. She gave herself fighting room, he noted with approval, and she moved with confidence, but kept her face averted from the cameras. She had a woman's walk, her hips swaying, and he saw two of the soldiers react as she passed. The men were standing in a doorway, searching faces as the techs went by.

Before either man could speak into his radio, Ken shot them. He used a kill shot, taking them down fast and hard, a one-two attack that had both men sinking to the floor almost before the shots registered with the fleeing crowd. He kept moving, hiding the gun with his body, reacting with the others, nearly running.

A bullet whined past his ear and hit a tech close to him, driving the man into the wall. Blood sprayed and the tech screamed, clamping his hand on his shoulder. Immediately everyone ran, knocking into one another, pushing and shoving as they raced for the stairs.

Ken lost sight of Mari as he crouched low, letting the crowd hide him, while he searched for the enemy. A barrage of bullets swept low through the running mass, knocking people off their feet so that they sprawled on the floor and others trampled them. Blood ran down the corridor. Ken slipped back into the shadow of a doorway and fired rapidly at the lights, plunging the hall into darkness. Instantly he went up the wall, climbing like a spider until he gained the beams running along the ceiling support.

Ken! Mari sounded slightly panicked.

I'm alive. Get the hell out. Jack will cover you. You can trust Neil and Logan. They'll get you to the helicopter.

I'm not going without you.

Bullets swept the entire area where he'd been, the enemy systematically sweeping low and going high, ruthlessly cutting down anyone who ran into the kill zone. Ken fired at the flash, concentrating a tight four-point target where the heart should be.

Mari, I swear, I'll kick your stubborn little ass if you don't do what I say. Go!

He dropped to the floor and lay flat, waiting for a return, but there was only the sound of t

he dying and the frightened cries of the techs wanting out but unable to gather the courage to move again. He took a careful look around, using his enhanced night vision. A man was down several feet to his left, gun still in hand, a pool of blood spreading under him. Ken leapt up and sprinted for the stairs, leaping over fallen men, ignoring their cries for help.

He jumped halfway up the stairs, ran up the rest, and burst out into the first-level hallway.

Down! Down!

Mari's frantic cry had him diving for the floor, rolling as close to a doorway as possible while his gun was out and tracking. A barrage of bullets kept him rolling, the sound deafening in the narrow confines of the corridor. He managed to crawl into an open door and scramble up the side of the wall to position his body directly over the door. The jacket tore as his muscles bulged, holding his weight spread-eagled across the entryway. He could see where a bullet had pierced the material, leaving a hole through the fabric.

They're coming in. Standard two-man drill. Watch yourself. There was fear in her voice.

You all right, honey? He was calm, soothing. This was what he lived for. She may as well know it. He'd been born a warrior, and anyone stupid enough to come after him simply had a death wish.

I've got a knife. Idiot didn't do a righteous search. Signal when you're clear.

He ignored the anxiety in her voice, keeping his tone the same calm note. You'll know. How many guards have you got on you?

Two. I can take them out; just make sure you get your two. Mari's tone matched his now, calm and sure and filled with confidence.

The two soldiers emptied their guns into the door and walls of the room before slamming new clips in and kicking open what was left of the door. It splintered and broke from the hinges, and the two came into the room, back to back, spraying bullets in a semicircle to cover every inch of the room.

Now, Mari.

Ken leapt from the ceiling, palming his gun and shooting the closest soldier from midair. He landed in a crouch and shot the second one up close. He ripped the tech jacket off of him, though he disliked the white color for surfacing in the dark. You clear, baby? He peered around the corner.

One guard lay at Mari's feet, obviously dead. The other man fought with her for the knife. Ken saw the man's shoulder twist and he punched Mari twice, going for the throat. She managed to turn her body enough for him to miss his target, but the blows rocked her. She didn't drop the knife. Ken came up behind the guard and used his own knife, shoving the blade to the hilt into the man's kidney. He slammed the flat of his hand against the guard's head, driving him away and down, and reached out to pull Mari to him.

He did a quick appraisal, making certain she wasn't bleeding as they turned to jog down the hall. "They're going to hit us with everything they have," he said. "He isn't going to want you to get away."

"He won't kill me," Mari said with absolute confidence. "He thinks I controlled Sean and planted the suggestion that we'd had sex."

Ken shot her a glance even as he continued to scan the hall. It's too easy, Jack. He's up to something. "He figured that out?"

"Not much gets passed Whitney. He didn't let the guards kill Sean either. He told them not to, and that means he'll send Sean after me."

"I'm counting on it," Ken said, keeping his shields firmly in place. The last thing she needed to do was feel the raw violence swirling around in his brain. He wanted to take Sean apart one piece at a time and had every intention of doing so.

"But he'll do everything he can to kill you," Mari said. "I want to cover you. You lead and I'll drop back."

Ken pointed ahead of him. "We do it the way I've always done it. We have help waiting. Just head for the helicopter. We'll get you out." As he handed her more clips, he touched her mind, not wanting insubordination in the middle of what he knew was going to be a hell of a firefight.

Mari planned to give herself up if it came down to his life or her freedom--and she wanted freedom now that she'd had a taste of it. But she was determined he wouldn't be captured and tormented by Peter Whitney. The woman could tear out his heart if he was stupid enough to let her. Ken paused, keeping to the left of the door, holding her to him. His lips brushed the back of her head.

No matter what happens, Jack, swear to me, you tell the team we get her out. I don't care if you have to hit her over the head and take her out unconscious. She's not playing the heroine and saving my ass at the cost of hers.

Jack's amusement was soothing balm on a sore wound. Oh, you got it bad, bro. That woman has you tied up in knots. Get the hell out here and let's go. We're not leaving anyone behind.

Ken believed in few things, but he believed in his brother. He gave Mari the location of the helicopter. "Run. Let the team provide covering fire. You keep going and I'll be right on your heels."

We're coming out, he warned his team.

You've got enemies scattered in a loose semicircle, Jack warned. Mitch is trying for the bluff, but he isn't going to make it. There was a moment of silence and then a rifle shot. Oh darn, he slipped back and isn't moving.

Mari took off, sprinting with the blurring speed of an enhanced soldier, Ken keeping pace right behind her. She didn't run straight, but zigzagged, trying to find cover where there was little to find. Gunfire erupted all around them, but they kept running, Ken trusting Jack and the others to keep the enemy pinned.

Incoming.

Down, Mari, hit the ground. Ken leapt forward to tackle her, driving her down even as he warned her, sheltering her body with his. Angry bees stung his back and legs, but he sprawled over Mari, striving with his arms to cover her head and keep her safe from the small, deadly missiles the mini-bomb was ejecting.

Jack swore in his head, the curses long and eloquent. Nails. They put nails in the damn thing. You look like a fuckin' porcupine. Can you run?

I have to. I can do it. Just don't let them throw one of those again. He hurt like a son of a bitch, but he wasn't about to get shot--or captured. He rose, his back and calf muscles screaming at him. Mari obviously felt the pain in his mind, because she kept trying to turn, to see him, but he pushed her firmly forward again.

He put the pain out of his mind. Compartmentalizing was a useful tool, and Ken and Jack had learned it early in life. He ran flat-out, the nails in his body not slowing him down. Several shooters--including Neil and Logan closing in on either side of them and dropping to one knee--systematically picked off the enemy.

Mari made it to the helicopter and caught Martin's hand, allowing him to jerk her inside. Ken leapt in and caught the rifle thrown at him, picking it out of the air with one hand, swinging it to his shoulder, and dropping to cover his brother as he came out of the foliage. He heard Mari's gasp as she saw the nails in his body, but his concentration was on the enemy and covering Jack's butt.

Jack came out into the open, firing steadily. Ken caught sight of a soldier tracking his twin and he squeezed the trigger. The man went down, and Ken immediately swept the area looking for others. One rose up right in front of Jack, shooting too fast. Ken saw Jack stagger.

Drop. Even as Ken gave the order, he pulled the trigger. Jack hit the ground and the soldier fell almost on top of him. How bad you hurt?

Just clipped me, took a little bit of muscle, but I'll live. Jack was already up and covering ground fast, looking just as lethal as ever in spite of the blood on his right arm.

Stop trying to look cool and get your ass in the helicopter. Everyone knows you're a tough guy. Ken kept the worry from his voice, covering his concern with their usual jokes.

I was hoping you'd come and carry me; I'm feeling a bit weak. Jack fired off another round, and a soldier using a boulder as a partial shield went down.

Ken tracked two of the enemy sighting on Jack and shot them both. Briony's going to be really pissed at you for coming home damaged.

I'm bringing her sister. She'll be treating me like a hero. Jack made it the last few feet and leapt inside. Martin and Neil followed suit.

"Go, g

o," Neil ordered, and all of them turned their attention to any ground fire coming their way.

Logan pressed Ken down and sat beside him. "Toss me the med kit." He pointed behind Mari's head.

She snagged it and threw it to him, her gaze still on the ground, watching. Once the rifle went to her shoulder, and she pulled the trigger.

"We're clear. No birds in the air."

She noted there was no relaxing. Neil and Martin took up positions to protect the helicopter as Logan began to pull the nails from Ken's back and calves. Most were shallow; there were one or two that looked deeper. Logan ripped Ken's shirt from his body, and she caught all of the men glancing at one another.

Mari dropped down beside Ken and put her hand on the back of his head. She leaned close to him, feeling protective, knowing he wouldn't show it, but he detested the others seeing the scars and the way his back looked like a giant grater had scraped over him, turning the skin haphazardly to cottage cheese. The front of his chest had the same thin pattern of scars as his face and neck. There was no way to block the line of vision all his team members had. She despised the looks on their faces.

Hey, baby, you doing all right? She wanted to ask out loud, for all of them to hear the concern for him in her voice, to hear what she felt for him, but she couldn't make herself that vulnerable. She asked it softly, intimately, in his mind, trying to join them together so he could feel she was with him.

His fingers tangled with hers. There was physical pain, but he could easily bear that. It was much, much more difficult to have his friends staring at him--seeing him--seeing the terrible destruction of his body. Mari ached for him, felt tears burning in her eyes and throat for him. He had been a handsome man with an astonishing face and physique, and Ekabela had taken great care to destroy him, inch by inch.

She bent closer, her lips feathering gently over his temple in an effort to distract him. Thanks for coming to get me. I really didn't want to stay there.

His fingers tightened around hers and he drew her hand to his mouth.

"What the hell's going on here?" Jack demanded. "I've been shot. Does anybody give a damn, or do I have to sit here and bleed to death while you all baby my brother?"