Lethal Game (GhostWalkers 16)

She burst out laughing, the sound filling the room and pushing some of the sour notes from his knotted belly.

“I’ll make certain I won’t look like I’m trading up, so you won’t have to go to all that trouble. Finding places for buried bodies is getting difficult these days.”

“Thanks for that show of solidarity.”

“Anything for you, honey.” She whipped her little half shirt off and reached for her tee with deliberate slowness. Her firm breasts were high, calling to him immediately. She smirked as she pulled the T-shirt over her head, covering temptation.

“I can see that.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

She laughed again. “I’ll just check the kitchen while you call in that healer.”

“You’re not checking the kitchen without backup,” he said stubbornly.

“You just pointed out that I’m a GhostWalker. Do you always need backup? And it’s my kitchen. I know every tiny inch of this house.”

He’d hit her in her pride. “Fine, babe.” He waved her toward the door. “I’ll call Rubin in and you be back here in fifteen.” He made a show of looking at his watch. Trap, Amaryllis is heading to the kitchen and then to look around and make certain everything’s tucked in tight. Can you shadow her? Not let her see you?

No problem. If not me, Cayenne will.

Malichai tried not to wince. Amaryllis had been right. Trap wasn’t worried in the least about Cayenne’s pregnancy. As far as he was concerned, it was a natural part of the cycle of life. Women had been giving birth since the dawn of time. He was one of those men who thought she should give birth, cut the cord herself, put the baby in a sling and hoe an entire field. Malichai couldn’t afford the time to tell him differently, not right then. And Cayenne was a warrior through and through. Also, she could make herself incredibly small and crawl across a ceiling without being seen.

Going to call Rubin in tonight. I have a bad feeling about my leg.

Instantly Trap’s attention was captured and Malichai knew there was no way Trap would be shadowing Amaryllis.

Bad feeling? About your leg? I’ll come right up.

I want Amaryllis safe.

Trap stopped answering immediately, as was his way. Malichai cursed under his breath. He shouldn’t have said anything at all. Rubin was a very strong psychic. He could bridge a telepathic gap even for those with little or no telepathic ability. Still, it was Ezekiel Malichai reached for. His older brother had always been the one they turned to when things weren’t good. He needed Ezekiel there. He needed his brother just to be in the room with him.

Zeke, need you to ask Rubin to slip in and take a look at my leg.

Silence stretched for so long, at first Malichai didn’t think they’d connected. Then his brother’s voice slipped into his mind and with it, worry. You mean right now, tonight? Are you all right?

Just want his opinion, nothing big. Have any of you examined Cayenne? Do you know when she’s supposed to give birth? Deliberately, he changed the subject.

Cayenne had slowly managed to invade their hearts. She was a fierce warrior and she went her own way. She knew little about life outside the cage she’d been raised in, but she was learning, mostly about Trap’s world, his wants and needs. But she loved Nonny, Pepper and the five little girls who were Wyatt and Pepper’s.

Do you honestly think Cayenne is going to let us examine her that way? She’d probably throw a web around us and hang us upside down for a while from a tree. Trap’s been her doc.

Malichai groaned and repositioned his leg. It shouldn’t be hurting the way it was. It alarmed him how much it hurt. If the bone was broken and not set, he could see having that ripping, persistent pain, but it wasn’t broken. Something was happening that was bigger than anyone understood.

Both Rubin and Amaryllis had just spent hours working on it after Mills had kicked the shit out of it. They’d done a very meticulous psychic healing, closing every fracture, knitting them back together. His leg had been kicked, so sure, it was going to hurt. Mills was a big man. He might have delivered a kick strong enough to break the bone, but Malichai doubted it. Something was happening internally and whatever it was, that nagging alarm in his gut told him the consequences to him were going to be very bad.

Trap slipped inside. He looked around. “Your woman wasn’t in the kitchen.”

“She wanted to look around the place. I sometimes get these weird feelings, like I’m hearing whispers of conspiracy. I like to take a last walk through the halls just to see if I can get a better handle on whether or not I’m going crazy.”

“What’s the general consensus?” Trap crossed the room and flipped back the blanket covering Malichai’s leg.