Murder Game (GhostWalkers 7)

He wanted to argue with her. The longer she waited, the harder it might be for her, and if she didn't call, her mother would become more upset and probably ask more questions, but her hurt was too raw, too painful, and he let it go. He'd force the issue another time for her sake, but not now, not when she was so pale and her eyes looked like two bruises. He crossed the room and took the seat at the opposite end of the couch, reaching for her bare foot and pulling it into his lap so he could begin a gentle massage.

"Are you up to giving me details about the puppet master and Hawk? I've been compiling notes and we have quite a bit already." He worked his fingers along her heel and up into her ankle and calf. "Once we finish that, I think I can find the others just by identifying the ones we already have."

Tansy's face stilled; her gaze jumped to his face, and any semblance of a smile was gone.

"No. We're not done until I handle every piece and gather as many clues as I can. We have to be certain who these men are. We can't take a chance of identifying the wrong person, or leaving one of them out there to kill more people."

"I'll find them," he said, his voice confident.

Her eyes flashed silvery violet, and she drew her leg back toward her, trying to get her foot back. His fingers tightened around her ankle, holding her in place. Tansy shoved her hair over her shoulder and glared at Kadan. "My leg is injured, not my brain. Quit treating me like I'm about to break in half."

He appeared unmoved, other than lifting an eyebrow. "Maybe I'm the one about to break in half. The last thing I need is for some freak to be trying to play mind games with you." While one hand held her tight, the other began to massage her foot again.

Her glare deepened into a scowl. "This isn't about you. We're supposed to be finding killers, remember? If I can handle it, then so can you."

His hands stilled on her foot, his eyes darkening like a thundercloud. "You're feeling very sure of yourself now that you think I can't--or won't--retaliate."

Her heart jumped. She had been sure of him, of the way he was treating her like a porcelain doll. A ghost of a smile teased her mouth before she could stop it. She liked this side of him, all ferocious and ready to pounce. "You won't."

He leaned forward, hand spanning her throat. "Maybe not this minute, but your hip will heal soon and then you aren't going to be so lucky."

She turned her face into his palm, scraping at it with her teeth and then pressing a kiss in the exact center. "I'll be lucky. Whatever you do, I think I'll end up enjoying it."

Her voice sank into his groin, hardening his shaft so that his jeans were suddenly far too tight. Worse, she was right. What was he going to do to her? He'd never strike her, and if he tried anything like turning her over his knee, it wouldn't be a punishment, not the way his body went hard the moment he touched her. He couldn't even say he'd withhold sex--he'd never last.

Heat slid into his brain at his next thought, and he shared it with her. I'll spend all night just bringing you close and never letting you get off.

She blushed, just the way he'd known she would, the color creeping up her neck into her face. She looked slightly shocked, a little too innocent, and very much as if she believed he might actually resort to his threat. "You're so wrong, Kadan." She couldn't wipe the goofy smile off her face, and that would just encourage his perverse behavior. You're probably very capable of using sex to control me, and worse, you'd probably enjoy yourself while you were at it.

I'd say the probability was extremely high.

Why that would make every nerve ending in her body come alive, she didn't know. "You're so wrong," she repeated, shaking her head. "Seriously, Kadan. You have to understand me. There's something in me that can't let this go now, not until it's done. I've always been like that. My mind won't leave it alone."

"It's getting too dangerous."

"It was always dangerous. You know that. You knew it when you came looking for me and when you offered to let me out of this entire mess. Nothing's changed since then."

"Everything's changed." His jaw tightened. "I . . ." The damn word wouldn't come out, but his heart hurt, gripped in a vise. Everything had changed. Before he'd had nothing to lose; now he had everything to lose, and everything was sitting right beside him on the couch.

"Kadan." Her voice went soft, silky, sliding over him like the touch of her fingers. "Life is a risk. You know that better than anyone. You have to be who you are, a warrior, a man who risks everything to serve others. I have to keep doing what I do. I chose this path and I'm on it now. I can't be less than who I am any more than you can."

"Damn it, Tansy, you're asking me to risk your life. Your sanity. You didn't see yourself last night when I carried you bleeding to bed. You had a seizure and you couldn't even open your eyes or stand noise. If Nico hadn't been here, I have no idea what I would have done."

She waited a heartbeat, just looking at him. Once his eyes locked with hers, she leaned toward him. "I love you, Kadan. I'm not going anywhere. For the first time in my life, I've been able to touch someone without wearing gloves. I've been able to use my talent again when I thought I'd never be able to. Yes, immediately afterward, I'm having repercussions, but the exercises you've given me are working. I don't have the headaches constantly and I can sleep at night. To me, you're a miracle. You always will be. Tracking is important to me. I want to be able to do it when I need to, and I believe I can get to a place, with your help, where I can. Until we figure it out, of course we're going to run into some rough patches . . ." She paused when he made a derisive growling sound, but then continued. "I want to be able to help too, to give back and stop murders when no one else is able to do it."

"I don't like it."

"I know you don't. I don't like you putting your life on the line either, Kadan, but I understand why you need to do it, because I have the same drive."

He shook his head. "I don't have anything else. I could never make it in normal society. We both know that. You've seen inside of me. You recognize what I am. You, on the other hand, have a million other things you can do."

Tansy leaned back in her seat. "You know one has nothing to do with the other. You're arguing because you're afraid for me."

"And for me. I can't lose you."

"Then you'll just have to find a way to protect me. I believe in us. You brought me back so much faster this last time, and I was really far in. We're getting better and better at it. I think the stronger we are as a couple, the stronger a team we'll be when I track."

"I'm never going to win any arguments with you, am I?"

"Probably not, not when it's something that matters to me, but I won't argue with you often," she promised.

"This would work much better if you just did everything I said, Tansy."

She flashed him another smile. "It's going to work just fine."

"All right then." He managed to keep his face entirely blank, but his fingers sank deeper into her calf, massaging her muscle. "Let's get this done. In order for me to eliminate both teams successfully, as well as the puppet master, we have to have all the identities and try to get them all in the same day. As for the puppet master, he's going to be the most difficult, but I have an idea."

"Did someone go to the site of the snake's murder and hunt for a camera? That was a huge mistake on his part."

r /> "We're on it. Let's profile the last two, and if we get as much information as you did last night, I should be able to start hunting them as early as tomorrow. Lily and Flame are both researching for us, and I can put both of our GhostWalker teams on standby. They'll all help. Time will be everything."

"Do you want to go into the kitchen?"

"No. I'll bring the last two pieces in here. And your gloves. I'll get Nico's powder and your pills too." He set her leg carefully aside as he stood.

He needed to take a breath where she couldn't see that just the thought of her touching those game pieces made him break into a sweat. He had thought that he could control her, control the situations they were in, but he was finding having a partner meant giving up some of his control.

She sat in the same place, her chin on her drawn-up knee, looking too fragile to go after killers, but he knew she wasn't; she had a steel rod for a spine and more heart than most. When he handed her the gloves, she tangled her fingers with his.

"Kadan. Kiss me."

He didn't hesitate, leaning down to capture her mouth with his, loving her, tasting her fear, her belief in him. He cupped her chin and took his time, savoring her taste, knowing she needed him inside of her the same way he needed her. Then, because he couldn't resist, he opened a few buttons of the shirt she wore--his shirt--and leaned down to bathe the mark he'd made on her with his tongue before pressing kisses over it. He felt her shuddering breath, and something in him eased.

He carefully buttoned her up again. "Tell me what you're planning."

"I'll find him this time and try to observe, but at some point he'll spot me. I'm going to let him and see if he makes a mistake." She rested her forehead against his. "Hang in there with me. I know it will be hard, but just trust me. I'll need you."

He had to be honest. "I don't know if I can, but I'll try."

"This time, you hold the piece in your palm, be the table. I'll cover it with my hands and try to pick up impressions. If I have to, I'll touch the top of the piece and see what I get. That way, you can remove it the moment it's necessary."