Lightning Game (GhostWalkers 17)

That was true. Strangers never went unnoticed. Rubin was a little shocked that Jonquille hadn’t been spotted. That was part of the reason he had been so certain she was every bit as good as Diego in the woods. If she wasn’t, someone would have known she was using the Campo cabin, and they would have left signs for Rubin and Diego to warn them.

“Maybe the best plan would be to see the patients ahead of time while we decide where we’re going to meet this team, Diego,” Rubin said. “If we see the patients, that gives us the freedom to leave and lead them away from here. We don’t want any civilians to get hurt. They can’t take anyone hostage that way.”

“Or we could skip seeing patients altogether,” Diego suggested. “Head back to Louisiana and call in members of the team to meet up with us to escort us in.”

“I’m not skipping seeing my patients if I have the time,” Rubin said. “There aren’t that many and they count on me. We’re early. I can get started tomorrow morning. Jonquille, have you seen these men in action?”

“Not the men. Just the weapons. They’re pretty badass. Scary badass. A couple of the weapons could tear up the mountain.”

“What would a lightning strike hitting precisely on the weapon do to it?”

She sighed. “Don’t start. I told you I can’t direct lightning bolts.”

“You can’t. I can,” Rubin admitted.

Her gaze jumped to his. “You can? How? That’s impossible.” But her voice didn’t sound as if she believed it was impossible. She was interested—even excited, but trying not to be. “Whitney really did pair us, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“If Whitney really paired you,” Diego said, “then this team of terrorists or whoever they are aren’t the only ones who are going to be coming after you. Whitney likes to test his pairs. He’s done it every single time. He has to know you’ve gone to the conferences on using lightning as a weapon, Jonquille. Even if he can’t put a virus or a tracker in you, he would know that’s your only hope. In order to be a match for Rubin, you have to be equally intelligent, which means you’d seek out answers. You’d go to those conferences. He’d have someone watching. He most likely even knows about this terrorist cell hunting Rubin.”

Jonquille scowled. “So much for being intelligent. I should have thought of that. All I was thinking about was trying to figure out how to live with other human beings and use my ability to heal. He knew I could heal, but not to what extent. He thought of that as a smaller gift. He didn’t know what a burning compulsion it can be. He did let me go to med school because he thought I would be an asset to the women soldiers he’d trained. He liked the idea. I excelled and he liked that even more. Of course he didn’t let on to me, but one of the other girls, Flame, would hack into his files and read his notes on us. He’d encrypt them, but she got really good at reading them.”

“Flame.” Rubin repeated the name.

“Iris. He called her Iris. We called her Flame. She was always in trouble. He gave her cancer. He told her it was for the good of mankind.” There was bitterness in Jonquille’s voice now. “Flame was defiant, and Whitney hated her for it.”

“She’s alive. She’s married to Wyatt Fontenot’s older brother. Everyone calls him Gator. Gator’s a member of Team One. He’s crazy about that woman. Lily worked on her cancer and has hopefully put it in remission for good. You’ll get a chance to see her when we’re free and clear from all this.”

Like before, when Rubin talked of the other girls, Jonquille instantly shut down. She was clearly willing to risk herself, but not any of the others.

“You have to trust someone eventually, honey,” he said.

“That’s not so easy. I don’t know you. Either of you. Diego would prefer to shoot me and get it over with. I don’t know exactly what you want from me yet.”

“Diego has always been bloodthirsty,” Rubin acknowledged. “He can’t help himself. He pretends it’s to protect me.”

“It is to protect you,” Diego defended.

“You just like to show off the fact that you have skills with your rifle.” Rubin turned his attention to Jonquille. “There’s a lot of competition on the teams. A lot of really good shots. Diego is used to being the best, and all of a sudden he’s got several as good …”

“Not as good,” Diego corrected. “They might be in the ballpark, but they aren’t as good.”

“As good,” Rubin continued. “And he wants to practice all the time. If he has live targets, he thinks he’ll do even better.”

Jonquille laughed. “You two. You’re both insane. I don’t believe Diego just shoots people indiscriminately, as much as he would have liked to have gotten rid of me.”