Phantom Game (GhostWalkers 18)

Camellia moved closer to Jonas, right under his shoulder, tucking her front against his side like she belonged there. She gave the visitors a small smile, the one that didn’t reach her wary eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.” Her voice was whisper soft, her tone just as leery as the look in her eyes.

Are they your friends or enemies, Jonas? I don’t know how I’m supposed to act.

She went with Jonas to the lounge again and sank down beside him, her thigh tight against his, keeping her gaze from Briony by concentrating on Logan. Jonas was so tuned to her, he felt the connection flowing from his veins to hers, a deep purple lighting up like sparks along the edges of the flow. He wasn’t certain what that meant, but he knew it was all about her mood.

He caught flickers of trepidation. The verge of anger, carefully controlled. He caught glimpses of pink surfacing in the midst of the purple as it flowed through their veins and spread through the neural pathways and cells throughout their bodies. That bright pink was all Camellia. The heart and soul of her in spite of trepidation and anger. He kept possession of her hand, his thumb rubbing soothingly along her inner wrist.

“What can we do for you, Logan?” Jonas decided he might as well get right to the point. Keeping the conversation centered on the commander of Team Two and acting as if he thought their visit was official business would make it just a little harder for them to make their request.

Logan glanced briefly at Jack, then back to Camellia. “Tansy told Briony what your woman did for Kaden. Both Jack and I talked to Kaden. I will say, Camellia, Kaden was reluctant to speak about it and wasn’t happy with his wife for calling Briony. He said what happened was a private thing between the two of you, and until you gave him permission to talk to me, he didn’t feel he had the right to confirm or deny anything Tansy said. In fact, she was in deep shit for saying anything at all.”

A long silence followed Logan’s statement. Jonas lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not certain what you want. That doesn’t tell us anything other than Tansy is a damn gossip. First she disrespects Camellia and then she has the balls to gossip about her.”

Briony lifted her head. “Don’t, Jonas. Tansy’s trying to save my sister’s life.” She looked directly at Camellia with tears swimming in her eyes. “I know something terrible happened between you and Marigold. She told me even if you could help her, you wouldn’t come. That what she did was unforgivable. Maybe it is. Maybe whatever she did was so terrible no one could forgive her. But she has two beautiful sons and a husband who need her. I need her. I’m begging you, no matter what she did to you, if you can help her, please do it.”

Jonas kept his gaze fixed on Logan. “You know this is bullshit, right? That you let them come here and put Camellia in this position. It’s blackmail any way you look at it. Emotional blackmail. If she doesn’t go with you, she’ll look like the worst person on the face of the earth. If she does and can’t help Mari any more than the doctors and specialists you’ve brought in to try haven’t been able to do, you can accuse her of not really trying because she’s holding a grudge. Nice setup. But it isn’t going to work because I’m not allowing you to trap her like that.”

His fury was rising to such a point that the starship neurons were reversing and edging with a darker purple, spreading like a virus through his veins to hers.

“Fucking Tansy doesn’t know anything about Camellia. You all can talk to Ryland if you want information.”

Jonas. Don’t be upset.

Camellia’s presence in his mind was like fresh air moving through him, blowing away some of his fury. Those chemicals of dark purple running in the opposite direction along with the electrical charges sparking along the long arms coming off the neurons calmed somewhat from the flow of a single vein of reddish pink.

From somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled and another answered. Logan raised an eyebrow. “Friends of yours, Jonas?”

“Actually,” Camellia answered before Jonas could, “they’re my friends.”

Jack Norton leaned toward her, but he kept his wary gaze fixed on Jonas. “Briony may have stated her plea entirely wrong, Jonas, but do you really believe we came here with the intention of setting your woman up? You know me. You know Logan. Do you honestly believe we would do something like that?” His voice was pitched low. Very calm. “I’m not a man who goes around explaining myself, but I understand the need to protect your woman.”