Toxic Game (GhostWalkers 15)

Later, as the day had lengthened, her voice had become drowsy, and he’d found those huskier notes sexy. She’d slid deeper into the bed, lying beside him so that her scent enveloped him. Although his body had reacted, he’d found it soothing, even comforting, to have her lying so close. He’d wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. They’d fallen asleep like that. He had never trusted a woman—or anyone, for that matter—to sleep close to him, let alone in the same bed. And yet, already, he was completely relaxed with her. He couldn’t imagine being without her, and now, if they survived, it was a very real possibility.

“I have to find the Williams brothers, Orucov and also Montgomery.”

She didn’t. Every cop in the world would be looking for them, but he understood. She’d started out hunting them and she wasn’t about to hand that task over to someone else. She would go after them. He would have done the same.

“Of course you have to find them, Shylah.” He concentrated on taking enough blood of his own to satisfy Trap. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” He glanced up and caught the relief on her face. “Do you think I don’t know who you are? You have to find them. I’m the same way. We started this. Let’s end it together.”

“You’d go with me?”

“Yes. And my team will want to help as well. We’re very good at what we do.” He flashed her a grin. “You’ll have your chance to boss Joe around since you’ll be lead.”

A faint smile curved her lower lip and emphasized the bow of her mouth. It was all he could do not to lean down and kiss her.

“I’m not about to antagonize that man any more than I already have.” The look on her face was too mischievous to be believable. “Of course, if I ended up back with you in the swamp, he’d probably find a way to retaliate.”

He liked that she hadn’t shut down his plea. Blood is ready, Joe. Anything else Trap wants?

Shylah’s gaze jumped to his face. “You’re talking to him telepathically.”

“Joe’s a strong telepath. He can build bridges for those not as strong. I’m telling him we’ve got the blood ready for him and asking if he needs anything else.”

Report on any symptoms developing.

Draden had inspected Shylah’s rash and lymph nodes. She’d looked for the same on him. By necessity, it had been a semi-intimate inspection. His hands had moved over her body, trying to be impersonal, trying to remember he was a doctor, but he registered everything about her on a very personal level. She was so soft. Inviting. Tempting. His.

There’d been nothing clinical about it when she’d inspected him. Her hands had lingered on him. Stroked caresses over his skin, forgetting to find the nodes he had told her how to look for. She’d been tempted as well. He saw it on her face, felt it in her touch. The examinations had taken much longer than necessary because they were paying more attention to learning each other’s bodies than searching for telltale symptoms of the virus.

I’ll send him the report via email.

Coming to the door.

“Joe’s coming in.”

Shylah immediately stepped to the side of the door so that when it opened, she couldn’t be seen. She had her Glock out and pressed against her thigh, all business, backing him up as Draden went to the door to give Joe the blood. He liked her efficiency. He worked well with the GhostWalkers, as a member of that team, but having Shylah as a partner was eye-opening. She seemed to anticipate every possibility as he did, and she took steps to protect him more fiercely than any person ever had.

He opened the door and Joe was already there, wearing the hazmat suit. Draden handed him the carrier with the blood.

“Your woman is a tigress, Draden,” Joe greeted. “You just remember that if you ever get out of line.”

Draden grinned him. “She is, isn’t she?”

“She have a gun pointed at me?”

“She was born with a gun in her hand, so my guess? Yeah. It’s probably aimed right in the middle of your forehead.”

Joe shook his head. “I can’t wait to meet her officially. Trap is being closemouthed, but you know him. He’s showing some signs of excitement. He hasn’t slept and won’t eat. Cayenne usually keeps him from being so insane during these times, but she’s gone. Everyone wants to get her back just to keep him under control.”

“Is she really all right?” Draden liked Cayenne. He especially liked her for his friend. Trap was a good man. He did forget to eat and would go far too long without sleep when he was onto something in the laboratory. He grew surlier and more edgy with every passing hour. Cayenne had a way of taking all that away but still letting him stay on track.

“She is. Apparently she’s had very little pregnancy sickness. She doesn’t show at all. I wasn’t too happy when I found out she was pregnant, especially when I found out how far along she was. She didn’t say a thing, not even to the other women. Nonny would never give up a confidence. She actually went on two missions with us in her condition. I’m not sure how Trap got her first, to stay behind, and then to leave with Pepper and the girls, but he managed it. Now we’re all paying for it.”

“Sorry about that,” Draden said, half genuinely sympathetic.

Joe shook his head. “Fight hard, Draden. And you’re finished going after these MSS bastards. The Kopassus are planning to take them down. You’ve done your part, now rest and let your body fight this thing.”

“Does Trap really think it’s possible?”

Joe hesitated.

“It’s easier to know the truth, Joe,” Draden said. “We have to be prepared. If I go down and Shylah’s left, she has to have a plan and vice versa.”

“Trap plays things close to his chest. He and Wyatt have been working night and day. They barely eat. They don’t talk unless they’re barking orders to one of us. I’m staying close to you with a couple of the others, so communication with them is not in person. Gino’s taking the brunt of their craziness. Malichai and Diego are backing me.”

Draden could hear the caution in Joe’s voice. Their eyes met in understanding. Joe, Malichai and Diego were staying in the vicinity to protect Draden and Shylah just in case someone in the government decided they were too big of a threat and decided to kill them.

“If we’re cleared, Shylah will continue hunting Whitney’s three scientists and Montgomery. I would like to accompany her and also ask that our team help us in any way they can lend support.”

“I expected as much. Given her penchant for pointing weapons at innocent substitutes, I figured she’d want the chance to go after the real thing.”

Shylah’s soft laughter slid into Draden’s mind. Warm, like honey, filling him up when he hadn’t known he was empty. He had never been known for his sense of humor, but being around her, that mischievous amusement had managed to feed that side of him. He smiled a lot more and, to his shock, laughed with her.

Draden talked for a few more minutes with Joe and then watched him leave. He could feel the soldiers who had surrounded the clearing, but he couldn’t spot them. That made him uneasy. He didn’t trust them. They weren’t part of his unit and they could get trigger-happy. He wouldn’t blame them. Many had families. If they had seen the effects of the virus, they would be terrified of it being unleashed on their population. They had to be nervous. He just hoped that those guarding the area had nerves of steel.

Shylah leaned against the wall, her eyes dancing when he came back inside. “Your commanding officer has a sense of humor.”

Draden nodded. It was impossible to resist her when she was in this mood. “He says we’re done going after the MSS.”

“I heard, but I’m not convinced he’s right. Did you notice each time they hunted us, their circle has been cast wider? Tonight, they very well could make it to the ranger’s cabin.”

“They’d have to go through the line of soldiers between us.”

“The soldiers I’ve observed are more concerned with keeping us confined than paying attention to anything coming at us.”

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That much was probably true. Again, he couldn’t blame the soldiers, but it made for an opening the enemy could slip through.

“Call Whitney, sweetheart. We may as well get this over with. Once he’s on, just hand me the phone and then, no matter what I say, stay quiet. And, babe, expect me to lie.”

She had her cell out and she glanced up at him and gave him a faint smile. He could see she was stressed. She didn’t want any contact with Whitney at all. He was the boogeyman. He’d held absolute authority over her for her entire life. Defying him was difficult. It said a lot that Shylah was willing to die—that she would choose a horrific death rather than go back to him.

She handed him the phone and then paced as far from him as the little room would allow. Draden put the phone on speaker.

“Peony?” Whitney’s voice was gruffer than Draden remembered.

“Not Peony, Whitney. Draden Freeman here. We don’t have a lot of time and I need answers to some questions. I’m in the remote lab. Peony has been infected with the virus. The fact that she has tiger DNA that has merged with human DNA has changed the structure of the cell, so the virus had a difficult time adhering to the cell. It takes longer to infect her, but the virus is taking hold. She’s going to die, Whitney. Trap needs to know her genetic makeup. All of it. You can’t leave anything out because we don’t have time.”

“Are you certain she’s been infected?”

“Absolutely. I’m here with her, looking right at her.”