Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers 9)

"Where's Mack?" he demanded.

"Didn't Paul just tell you to rest?" Javier asked, one eyebrow raised.

"The hell with that. What's going on, Javier? Half the team is missing, and don't tell me they're out on a mission somewhere."

Javier shrugged and swaggered into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. "Mack will be here in a few minutes. He wasn't that far behind us. You got yourself a good woman. She admits she learned to be secretive, yet she's obviously disclosing information to us in an effort to show good faith. That takes a great deal of courage."

Kane glanced up at the admiration in Javier's voice. Javier rarely showed inner thoughts or allowed real emotion to surface.

"You should see her in action," Kane said, "No hesitation, Javier. None. She gets the job done."

"I can see that in her. I put a knife to her throat, Kane. When she was cutting you open on the helicopter. One moment we've pulled you aboard, blood all over the place, and the next she's on her knees, slicing into your belly. It scared the holy hell out of me. I thought she was hacking you up, she was that fast. I put my blade against her neck, tight enough to cut the skin, and she never so much as flinched. I swear she didn't even bat an eyelash. She just kept working fast. Your blood was all over her, and she was shouting orders to all of us. In the end we just did what she said. She's one cool customer."

"I should beat you to a bloody pulp for threatening her," Kane said, "but it wouldn't do a bit of good. You'd do the same thing again."

"I've never seen anything like that, Kane," Javier answered seriously, leaning back against the sink, coffee mug in hand. "Seriously, she moved so fast, no wasted effort, cut right into you in front of us, no hesitation, not even when I threatened her. She's a very unusual woman--and dangerous."

Kane's gaze flicked over Javier. "You admire her."

"Damn right. She reminds me a little of Rhianna."

Javier rarely mentioned Rhianna Bonds. She'd grown up with them on the streets of Chicago, the only other girl in their "family."

"Does she?" Kane wasn't altogether certain he was happy Javier thought that. Although he never admitted it, Javier was obviously crazy about Rhianna in a weird, possessive kind of way. Kane didn't want Javier looking at Rose that way.

Javier nodded. "Rhianna doesn't seem to have a fear factor, other than when it comes to me, where Rose battles fear, but they both are very dangerous."

"And you like dangerous women."

Javier shrugged. "They're intriguing to me. That edge you come up against. She might kiss you or stick a knife in you. You never know what you're waking up to."

Kane burst out laughing. "Well, she did shove a gun in my gut," he admitted. "She was very serious about it too. That's when I ditched my locator."

"Mack was pissed about that, Kane. It was just as well you nearly died, because he would have killed you himself." Javier took a slow sip of coffee, obviously savoring the blend, before scrutinizing Kane over the steaming mug. "You scared us all, bro."

Kane heard the sincerity in Javier's voice. The man rarely showed emotion; although all of them knew he felt it deeply, he just buried it equally as deep.

They both turned as a cursory knock on the door preceded a flashing alarm as Mack shoved the door open before the alarm had time to deactivate. Mack cursed and paused long enough to punch in the code again.

"Damn thing. Jaimie has to speed that up," he groused. "Can't even keep up with me." His gaze ran over Kane, clearly assessing his condition. There was a shadow of worry in his eyes and few more worry lines etched into his face Kane hadn't remembered seeing. "You're finally on your feet. That woman is fucking overprotective of you." His voice was gruff, almost hoarse, both accusing and shaken at the same time.

Kane grinned at him. "I could get used to it."

"Well, don't. You ever scare the shit out of me like that again, and I'll put a bullet in you myself. We clear on that?"

"Yeah, Top, I get it."

"Good. We've got that settled. Is Paul looking after the baby?" Mack pointed to the coffeepot.

Javier obligingly poured him a cup of coffee.

"He's in the other room with Rose, who most likely heard the alarm and covered you with a gun. She's a little edgy like that."

Mack threw himself into a chair and pressed his fingers to his eyes. "She'll need it. Damn cartel is a little pissed off at her, Kane."

Kane took the blow stoically, but for a moment the blood thundered in his ears. He sank down into a chair, feeling a little weak in the knees. "It isn't enough Whitney is after her? Tell me what's going on, Mack."

The infamous Lopez family was notorious for their bloody sieges and brutal retaliation. They'd virtually declared war on their own government, targeting policemen and their families, wiping them out, decapitating them and leaving their bodies in plain sight for all to see. They had begun going after the politicians recently, ambushing the cars carrying them, killing their military escorts, and carrying out their brutal death threats. Bombs were frequent, blowing up police stations and cars on the roadways.

"Diego Jimenez made a deal with Whitney," Kane explained. "Whitney supplied Jimenez with guns and ammunition and probably money in order for him to fight the former president. That made Jimenez very unpopular with all of the cartels, but the Lopez family in particular. Apparently they targeted Jimenez's family, and when he found himself dying of cancer and Whitney was willing to do anything to get Rose back, he found a way, he thought, to get the cartel off his family's back."

Kane raked his fingers through his hair and huffed out his breath, a sure sign for those who knew him that he was angry. "Rose nursed the old man through his dying days, but he sold her out to the cartel, trading her life

for his sons'. He told the cartel where she was and what she was worth to Whitney. They know her identity, and they know she was involved in the deaths of the cartel members sent to acquire her. Damn Jimenez. If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself."

The sound of soft, feminine laughter whispered inside his head. He glanced up and met Rose's laughing eyes. His stomach did its famous flip, and his body stirred to attention. It took a moment to realize her laughter was for him alone and the intimacy of the moment shook him.

She pushed herself off the wall. "It was a natural conclusion, Kane. I knew they'd blame me. They had my name and they lost at a lot of their men. They seek vengeance as a rule; it's how they keep everyone afraid of them. They have to blame someone for all those deaths, and I'm all they've got. It was a war zone out there. There's no trace of any of you. Whitney's men probably cleaned up their bodies, so what's left as an explanation? They have to find me and get their answers." She shrugged her shoulders. "You would have figured it out if you hadn't been unconscious and recovering for so long."

"You might have told me," Mack pointed out.

She stood still for a moment, her dark eyes searching his face. "Yes. I should have. I'm sorry for that. I knew it wasn't just going to go away, and by being with you all, it would put you in jeopardy as well. I should have said something."

Mack nodded, accepting her apology. "Jaimie is very good at hearing threats in chatter. She monitors everything, and about three weeks ago, we realized the head of the Lopez cartel had reached out to one of the gangs affiliated with them here in the States, and your name came up."

"And yet you didn't mention this to me."

Mack's expression didn't change as he briefly nodded. "That's true. Perhaps I should have said something."

Kane looked from one to the other. "Are we at war?"

Mack flashed him a grin. "Not me." He held up his hands in surrender. "She saved your life, bro. I owe her for that. And she gave me the most amazing nephew in the world. So permanent truce. Although, you know, I expect her to marry your ass. I had Jaimie do the preliminary paperwork."

Rose went a little pale while Mack looked wholly pleased with himself.

Kane grinned at Rose. "Get used to it, sweetheart. He bosses all of us. I guess you'll have to marry my ass. Boss man says so."