Lethal Game (GhostWalkers 16)

“Every time. That made him very happy and very angry at the same time.”

“Whitney decided he wanted you for his breeding program?”

“I’m certain it was Starks’s idea until Whitney found out about my ability to heal. Prior to that, Starks was very insistent. He began telling me Whitney was going to pair us. He’d whisper it to me when we were training. I completed every mission Whitney sent me on, but it didn’t matter how good I was in the field, Starks had Whitney’s ear and he thought it would be a fitting revenge. Then I healed that cut and the girl told on me. So, I knew I had no choice but to escape. And I did it right out from under Starks’s nose too.”

“All right, baby.” Malichai sighed. They were definitely in trouble. “Starks is going to be an enemy who will never stop until he’s dead. I think you know that. When I knew him, he always had to have his petty revenge against the smallest perceived infraction, I can imagine how he would feel about you besting him over and over.”

“I had no choice, Malichai.”

Her lashes lifted and she gave him that blue-eyed look that tore at his heart. He couldn’t imagine thinking he had her and then losing her. Starks would be insane with the need to find her, especially if Whitney really had paired them.

“I’m well aware of that, Amaryllis. Do you know if Whitney paired you?”

She made a face. “He tried. It didn’t work. I was so repulsed by Starks after what he’d done to Douglas, no amount of pheromones was going to work. Whitney found that fascinating, but that was one more strike against me as far as Starks was concerned.”

“Sometimes Whitney only paired the man so that he was obsessed. Do you know if he included Starks or was it just on your side?”

“Starks was so fixated on me that I don’t think Whitney really needed to do it on his side, but I’m positive he did anyway. Starks was crazy.”

She gave her assessment matter-of-factly, but Malichai could see the little telltale nervous gestures. She was afraid of Starks, and he knew she should be. The man was capable of anything, and his ego was enormous. He was arrogant and felt superior to everyone. Malichai couldn’t imagine how he would get along with Whitney, who was a megalomaniac in his opinion, yet he’d managed for years. How?

“Babe, tell me about the relationship between Whitney and Starks. You said he became Whitney’s head guard. I imagine he traveled with Whitney as well.”

She nodded. “They would often leave, which was a relief for everyone. No one knew who was worse, Whitney or Starks.”

“Did you observe them together?”

“All the time. Whitney rarely went anywhere without Starks.”

“Did Starks defer to Whitney? Was he subservient in any way?”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. He never appeared to be like some of the other guards. His head was always up. He was alert. He took the job seriously and acted as if he thought Whitney was worth guarding. That in itself was extremely rare. I can’t see Starks putting his life on the line for anyone, yet he clearly would have for Whitney.”

Malichai knew Starks wasn’t a team player. He would never have helped out a fellow GhostWalker. He’d been cut from the program for psychological reasons. Whitney had been the one to cut him. And yet he’d ended up working for Whitney, as had many others Whitney had deemed unfit to be GhostWalkers.

“He’s going to keep looking for you, Amaryllis. Once we get married and we’re back home, you’ll have to be prepared for Starks to make his try for you.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. He could see she was worried. “I know he will, Malichai. I’ve been careful here. I told Marie that an ex-boyfriend was stalking me and I had to be careful and she helped me as much as she could to hide who I was. I made up my last name and date of birth because I wasn’t certain when I was born. My paperwork wasn’t that good, that’s why I was so afraid when I knew the police would look closely at it. I’m sure Marie thought when Tag came in that he was the one after me.”

“You don’t have to worry about your paperwork now. That’s been taken care of. Because we’re getting married and you’re coming home with me, and you’re a GhostWalker, you’ll be valued as an asset by the government and protected at all times.”

“Great. I’m an asset.”

His smile was slow in coming because he was so worried about Starks being after her, but it found its way all the same. “You’re definitely an asset. At least to me. The government might think you are as well. No matter what, they have to protect you. No foreign government can get their hands on you. You’re really a national secret.”