Lethal Game (GhostWalkers 16)

The moment he landed on his feet, even though he tried to protect his injured leg, Malichai felt the pain rush up from his calf to his thigh like a freight train. Bile rose, but he shoved it down, along with the blackness that edged his vision. He ran, shoving people out of his way, shouting at them to move fast, to get away from the building. He managed to make it inside without mowing anyone down.

Instincts had him turning toward the main support to his right, the main beam they’d all worried about. Ezekiel had already defused the bomb. Salsberry had looked so smug as she’d come out of the convention center, her face portraying her contempt and distaste for the people she was about to kill. She was definitely Callendine’s devoted fail-safe. She would have died for him. This wasn’t done for money or even because she believed so deeply in the cause, she’d done it for Callendine.

He found the newly planted bomb unerringly and his heart nearly stopped as he flung himself beside it. Shit, shit. This is bad. Get these people out. Zeke, she’s hooked the bombs together. I’m looking it over and she’s rewired them both— He broke off to study the wiring, refusing to look at the minutes counting down so fast. There was so little time and she’d done that deliberately, giving herself just enough time to walk away.

I’m on my way.

That was Zeke, and Malichai wanted him gone. Get out of here. All of you get out of here. Get these people out. God. God. There were so many. Too many. He could hear children crying. People screaming. The sounds of chaos. The SEAL teams speaking calmly, trying to bring order into a situation of pure madness.

He had to breathe. He had to get beyond the waves of sickness the excruciating pain in his leg sent up to his brain. He knew the bone was broken. Maybe even shattered into a million pieces, but what did it matter if all these people died? He had to be able to disarm this bomb fast. He’d always been good at this. One of the best. If he could get beyond his own personal discomfort, block the pain and just focus . . .Shylah was still on the other side of the building to aid the teams removing people through the back exits. Bellisia had stayed just in front to help get the people to leave as fast but as orderly as possible. She was small and she knew few would listen to her, but if she could help in any way, she was determined to do so. Ezekiel and Joe bridged the other GhostWalker team members telepathically, setting up the communication so they all knew what was going on simultaneously.

Major Roseland Salsberry had just condemned hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent men, women and children to death. She’d included the soldiers trying to stop the rogue unit, the GhostWalkers and SEALs, the men from the Navy base, the security men desperately trying to help get the innocent out. Bellisia wasn’t about to let her get away with it.

She could see the woman walking so casually while around her the crowd was running. Crying children were pushed to the ground while frantic parents tried to yank them up before they could be trampled over. Salsberry smiled as she surveyed the scene of utter chaos, as if she knew that was what would happen, and she was so happy it had.

Bellisia slipped up beside her, brushed close, close enough to deliver the bite that would end Salsberry’s life. It was easy enough to push the venom of the blue-ringed octopus into her system without her even feeling more than an insect sting for a second. The woman was too busy basking in the glory of her success to even notice. It was easy to match those careful, measured steps as they moved away from the crowd and in the opposite direction of the parking garage.

Already the venom was beginning to work. Whitney had made certain to amp up the amount of venom she released into the body of her victim so there was no way they could be saved. Salsberry was obviously feeling something in her hands and arms, most likely numbness or tingling, because she kept rubbing them.

“My name is Bellisia Fortunes,” she said softly as they walked together through the crowd. Deliberately, she spoke in a low tone so Salsberry would have to listen. “I don’t know if your security clearance is high enough or not, but there’s a program in the military known as the GhostWalkers.”

She saw by Salsberry’s face, that quick glance at her, that she had heard of them. The woman tried to speak, but nothing came out, her voice box was already affected by the poison. It was taking hold fast with the walking, moving it through her system very quickly. In another minute she would go down and there would be nothing anyone could do.