Phantom Game (GhostWalkers 18)

Camellia pushed everything out of her mind but the terrible penetrating wound in Kyle’s shoulder. The blood supply to the upper extremities was carried in the subclavian artery, which began near the heart and traveled under the clavicle bone. From there, it branched off into several smaller vessels and then continued on as the axillary artery.

Gorman had either known exactly what he was doing when he brought that spear down so hard on Kyle, or he’d been incredibly lucky when Kyle had rolled. The spear had gone down through the shoulder and come out the armpit. The tip was buried at least an inch deep in the soil. The moment she saw the blade had gone through his armpit Camellia knew, just as Kyle did, that the situation was bad.

She followed the path of the blade as it went through skin and muscle, through veins and finally, the axillary artery. She bit the side of her bottom lip hard. She’d never tried such a difficult task from a distance.

* * *

Get on it, Jonas said. You can do it. He knew Camellia could.

Jonas had complete faith in Camellia. She had brought them all together with the underground network, extending the communication to Jeff and Kyle. Right now, he would have to block her out of his mind because the things he would have to do to protect his brother GhostWalkers were the things that might be abhorrent to her. He would have to call on those traits that Whitney enhanced him with in order for all of them to survive. He understood that Shaker was far more dangerous than any of them had realized.

Shaker had penetrated Team One. He had undermined their trust in one another by using the spy Abrams had instilled in their midst. It had taken time for Jonas to work out how Shaker had managed to do it, but Camellia had given him the idea. Shaker’s voice had become more beguiling over time. It was a slow influencer, but he’d had a couple of years to plan his revenge, and he had taken full advantage of every minute.

Shaker was using his voice now, trying to stop Jeff from rushing to Kyle’s aid. Trying to persuade Kyle to pull the spear from his body. Trying to get Camellia to stand up and walk to him. The one thing he wasn’t doing was working on getting Jonas to show himself. Shaker and his brother Tusker had something very special planned for the man they were certain had murdered their brother Oliver.

Pops had nearly reached Kyle, his head moving from side to side, held down low, eyes fixed on him. He was walking on hands and feet, body held low off the ground. He swayed from side to side as he walked. Like a lizard. A giant lizard.

He’s venomous, a Komodo dragon, Jeff, Jonas warned. He’s going for Kyle’s head. You can’t afford to let him sink his teeth into either of you. Komodos have a powerful bite, and their venom will eventually make you bleed out.

Kyle can’t move, Jeff argued.

That’s why I’m here, Jonas said.

He was risking his relationship with Camellia, but she either could accept him as he was, or she couldn’t. He would never be free of what Whitney had done to him. He would always be that man—the one needing to protect those he considered family or too weak to protect themselves. That was part of who and what he was. It was one thing to talk about it, another to witness it.

Oliver’s brothers knew him—had known him for years—and yet they hadn’t reached out to him to ask him what had happened after their brother’s death. Not once. They’d joined the GhostWalker program after Oliver and Jonas. Oliver had tried to talk them out of it, but neither of his brothers listened to him. They were intrigued with his abilities and ignored the toll it took on his sanity.

Apparently, they had both managed, through Whitney, to wash out of the program so they could be hired as private security for Abrams. The less demanding schedules of private security forces had clearly left them plenty of time to plot their revenge when they decided Jonas and Team One were guilty of murdering Oliver. They’d changed their appearance just enough that Jonas wouldn’t recognize them immediately. Every step had been planned carefully, including the plan to murder the members of Team One and their families.

The fury welled up like a volcano and, with it, strength beyond any human. Shaker and Tusker had sacrificed good men. All those enhanced soldiers they’d sent in advance to kidnap Lily and Daniel, forcing Jonas and the others to kill them. The advance scouts Team Two would have to kill. Crawley and his team, whose only sin was being loyal to the wrong men. Angel, who had believed them so absolutely. Knowing that Gorman and Lewis and Angel were dead hadn’t stopped Shaker. He still wouldn’t stand down.