Lethal Game (GhostWalkers 16)

“A healer can turn that around in a matter of hours.”

She was aware of that, but she also had never dealt with anything this enormous before. “It’s Malichai,” she whispered.

There was another silence. “He’s my brother,” Ezekiel said back.

For that one small moment of silence between them, she felt they touched each other across the distance. They connected. They understood what it was to love Malichai Fortunes.

“I’ll call back very quickly. And we’ll have a plane in the air immediately.”

The relief was so tremendous, again the ridiculous, useless tears threatened. They didn’t fall because she was trained not to let them, but she felt them burning behind her eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispered, but he was already gone.

She put the phone down beside Malichai and then put her head on his chest just for a moment because she needed to take a breath. To think. To try to stop the fear pounding through her brain.

“I didn’t tell you how I feel about you, Malichai. You’re always so wonderfully direct. You had the courage to tell me you were a GhostWalker and that you knew I was one of Whitney’s orphans . . .”

“GhostWalker,” he murmured without opening his eyes. His hand landed on the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair again. “You’re a GhostWalker.”

The words weren’t entirely distinct, but he said them like he meant them. A declaration he wanted her to understand. To him it made a difference and it did to her as well. She wasn’t just a frightened little girl no one wanted. She was a GhostWalker. They might have flaws, but they had unbelievable enhancements and they had formed family units and were fiercely loyal to one another.

“Yes, honey, that I was a GhostWalker like you. You had the courage to tell me you loved me . . .”

“I do love you. So much, baby. Can’t think of a life without you.”

Her heart beat so hard at what she was going to say. At what she was going to do. That leap of faith she’d never taken in her life. She closed her eyes tight, squeezing them shut like a little child, inside, holding herself still, while her blood pounded wildly through her veins.

“I love you when I’ve never loved anyone else like this. With everything in me, so much it truly terrifies me.” She lifted her head inches off his chest and found herself looking into his glittering golden eyes.7Those eyes of his. Malichai Fortunes had the most unusual, beautiful golden eyes. They could be amber, or whiskey colored, or like now, a glittering gold that shone through the dark like a cat’s predatory eyes. They focused wholly on her. Instead of feeling frightened by his nonblinking stare, she returned it steadily.

“You don’t have to say that to me, Amaryllis.”

His voice was low, burning with passion or fever, she couldn’t decide which. Only that he was so ill and yet all he thought of was her. Never himself. Malichai was the most unselfish person in the world. She wanted to be like him. She wanted to be a woman who deserved to be his partner.

“I know I don’t, Malichai.” She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye, gathering her courage. He was courageous in everything he did. Everything he said. “I told you I loved you because I do. Absolutely I do. Every minute I spend in your company, I find I love you more.”

A slow smile curved his mouth and he lay back against the pillows. “I knew you’d fall for me, woman. It’s the way I wash dishes, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I can’t lie about that.” His eyes were already closing, scaring her. She wanted him talking to her, staying alert.

The phone rang again. She snatched it up the moment she saw it was from Ezekiel. He didn’t bother with a greeting. “Can you map out the cracks? That will help. You look at them now and draw them out? That will help show him what you’re seeing. He’s getting there as fast as possible. We’ll be on a plane in about fifteen minutes and I’ll be bringing a psychic surgeon with us.”

Relief swept through her so that her legs shook so much she had to sink completely down onto the bed beside Malichai. “Yes, I can do that.” She had no idea if she could, but she’d try. She was fairly good at drawing.

Ezekiel ended the call just as abruptly as he’d started it. She was beginning to see a pattern and was glad she wasn’t a woman who took offense easily. Amaryllis sat on the bed, pushed the sheet from Malichai’s leg and wrapped both hands around his calf. It was very hot to the touch. She could feel his muscles so defined and developed beneath the skin, but that didn’t stop the deterioration of the bone beneath.