Ruthless Game (31 page)

“I think we started off on the wrong foot,” Eric said, leaning toward Rose. “I’m not always the most social person. I’ve been told many times I should be a little less abrupt in my approach with people. I’m working on that.”

He sounded stiff, and Kane felt a little sorry for him. Eric was an intelligent man—an acknowledged genius in his field if the medical journals were anything to go by—but he had a one-track, very focused mind, as most researchers did. It had to be difficult for such a proud man to work with GhostWalkers, men superior physically and psychically, but without his acute, focused brain. Kane also knew it would be extremely mortifying to have to apologize for anything.

I caught him trying to steal Sebastian’s blood after I told him no.

Rose lifted her chin. “I have trust issues, so I guess we’re both to blame.”

There was nothing grudging in her voice. He felt pride in her blossom, spreading warmth through his body. Rose had no problems meeting someone halfway, and she sounded sincere, but after what she’d revealed, he knew she wasn’t about to let Eric near their son without constant supervision. He brought her hand to his mouth and nibbled.

Have you suddenly developed an oral fixation?

He glanced at her, startled. She was teasing him with company around. It felt—intimate. He grinned at her and bit down on her finger.
Yes.

Jaimie returned with the coffee, handing him a cup and then giving Eric one. “I made you tea, Rose. You seemed to prefer that to coffee.”

Rose nodded. “Thank you.”

Jaimie returned with the two cups of tea. “I added milk because I saw you used milk the last time, but if it isn’t enough . . .” “This is fine.”

“This is fine.”

Rose smiled up at her, and Kane could tell it was genuine. He felt his belly settle. He hadn’t even realized he’d been tense until that moment. He wanted Rose happy, and he wanted her to like and accept his family.

Eric took a sip of his coffee as Jaimie settled into a chair. “Where’s Mack?”

Jaimie shrugged. “He’s off doing Mack things,” she replied with a sweet smile.

Kane frowned and glanced between her and Rose. Something had definitely happened while he was recovering. Jaimie had been enigmatic in her answer, something she would never have done had Kane asked the question. Which also raised the question: just what was Mack doing? He felt a little like Rip Van Winkle, waking up and having no clue what was going on.

Eric sighed. “I really don’t have a lot of time. Kane, I have to at least examine the baby before I go, to make certain he’s healthy.”

Rose shook her head. “I believe you examined him yesterday. Do you think his condition has changed between yesterday and today? He’s asleep, and I’m not waking him up to be poked and prodded again.”

A flash of anger crossed Eric’s face. He threw his hands into the air. “I can see you’re not going to be reasonable.” Abruptly he stood up, disgust on his face. “I’ll come back when you’ve talked some sense into her, Kane.”

He turned and stalked out, slamming the door behind him.

“That went well,” Kane said and took another drink of fortifying coffee. He looked from one woman to the other. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Not really,” Jaimie said and winked at him.

Both women burst out laughing.

Kane glared at them. “I see how it’s going to be around here. You two are planning on sticking together.”

Jaimie shrugged. “Obviously we’re outnumbered. We have no choice.”

“Tell me anyway. And where’s Mack?”

“Mack is scouting around the neighborhood, looking for anything that might threaten his nephew. He’s gone all protective. A freighter came in yesterday, and all sorts of unsavory characters have been frequenting the bars and shops around here. You know Mack. He and Javier are out gathering information.”

Kane’s warning system went off. Jaimie was being casual for Rose’s benefit. Her sapphire eyes met his steadily, conveying her worry. His heart constricted. Things had certainly changed in his life. He would have felt an adrenaline rush at the first sign of danger. Even an eagerness to go meet it, but now he had so much to lose. Rose. Sebastian. He wanted to wrap them up and keep them safe forever.

“You’re not going to be ready for action for another couple of weeks, soldier,” Rose said.

He had to grin at her. Damn. Nothing got by the woman. “So how bad is the threat, and how credible is it?”

Jaimie threw Rose an apologetic look. “I didn’t want you to worry, Rose. You’ve been through so much.”

Rose shrugged. “This is my life, Jaimie. I chose to come here. Kane and I have Sebastian, and we know they’re going to keep coming at us to get to him. I’m prepared mentally for that. You don’t have to try to protect me.”

Jaimie nodded. “Whitney knows Rose is here.”

Kane reached down and rubbed the tattoo on Rose’s ankle. “We knew he’d track us here. We’re hoping you and Javier can do something about his little homing device.”

“We’ve got that covered already,” Jaimie said. “But Mack says no matter when we disrupted the satellite transmission, he would have known you would bring her back here. He just can’t track her movements anymore.”

“He won’t be happy about that.”

Jaimie shrugged. “It’s Whitney. He’s strange. He gets all excited when the GhostWalkers are able to outwit him or foil his little attempts to retrieve them. I think he pats himself on the back, and it just reinforces how clever and brilliant he is. We are, after all, his creations.”

Kane scowled at her. Jaimie held up her hand. “Hey. That’s a quote from one of his reports. I don’t hack into his computer often, but Flame found a way in, and she passed it on to me. We’re careful, but we monitor him. We just give him a lot of room. We’re lucky he doesn’t trust anyone, so he does all his own computer work. He’s just not as good as he thinks he is with security. He doesn’t keep up on the latest and greatest because his entire world has become DNA and psychic research.”

“So did your warning come from his computer?”

“He’s very anxious to get his hands on the baby. He sent his ‘representative’ to ‘acquire’ him. I kid you not. It’s right there on his computer. He was furious that Rose and the baby escaped him. He’s determined. Apparently he feels we’re far more vulnerable here. The stronghold in the

Wyoming mountains has become nearly impenetrable, and he doubts if he will be able to acquire the children kept there. Once again, he seemed pleased that the teams banding together had managed to not only keep themselves but their women and children safe from not only him, but all outside threats. Again, that’s pretty much a quote, Kane.”

“We’re doing the same thing here.”

“True, but we’re more exposed because we don’t have the ability at this time to clean things up as fast should there be an attack on us.”

“But we’re getting to that point,” Kane said hastily. “We’ve managed to purchase five of the seven buildings we need to secure the entire area. Rose, if you want to take Sebastian and go to the stronghold in Wyoming, I can arrange it. The teams settling there are excellent. This building is secure, but we haven’t set up for street surveillance ...”

Jaimie looked smug. “Bite your tongue, Kane. Javier and I have been working night and day. We’ve got the street covered down two full blocks, the roof on three of the buildings as well as this one, and the water side.”

“I’m fine with you,” Rose said. “I’ll help out here. I can work.”

“Mack’s got weapons and ammo stashed everywhere. We could take on an army. We’ve got a helipad on the roof of this building, and it’s got all the necessary permits. That’s how we managed to transport you directly here after your surgery,” Jaimie added.

“I knew that was in the works, but didn’t know it had come through.”

“Where is all the money coming from?” Rose demanded.

Jaimie glanced a little apprehensively at Kane. “Lily Whitney-Miller. She inherited billions, and she shares with all the GhostWalkers.”

Tell me.
It was a demand, nothing less. Rose was naturally suspicious of such generosity.

“She’s Dr. Whitney’s adopted daughter,” Kane explained. “He experimented on her as well. She was raised with quite a few of the girls.”

Jaimie leaned forward, staring into Rose’s eyes. “Do you remember her? She was with you in the beginning, when Whitney first took you all. You were in a big house, and he kept you in a dormitory. You were never allowed out of the laboratory.”

Rose nodded. “It’s impossible to forget that time. Lily was always like a mother to the rest of us. He treated her better, and she tried to get privileges for us.”

“She put aside money for each of the other women she was raised with as well. You’ve got that money, Rose,” Kane said. There was a hard knot in the pit of his stomach. Money could change things. She might decide to take the money and vanish.

Rose moistened her lips, her little pixie face very sober. “Do you trust her completely?”

“Yes,” Kane said. “She’s done too much for all of us to be anything but the real deal, Rose. She just had a baby. And Jack Norton and his woman had twins. They have three babies up there in the mountains. Sebastian isn’t the only child at risk.”

“Do you trust Eric completely?”

Kane almost nodded and then stopped himself. Did he trust the doctor the same way he trusted Lily? Eric was the official GhostWalker surgeon, and he always came through when needed. Why hesitate? What was the difference between Eric and Lily? Was he prejudiced simply because Eric wasn’t a GhostWalker and had no real idea of what they went through? Kane didn’t like the idea that he might in any way be prejudiced, but the truth was, there was a hesitation for whatever reason.

“I don’t know. He’s so intense about research. Maybe that creeps me out a little.”

“That’s all he’s really interested in,” Rose said. “I didn’t leave him alone with Sebastian. The doctor was so insistent about taking his blood, and I knew once it was out of here, at a laboratory, it would be vulnerable. Whitney would pay a fortunate for Sebastian’s blood. I told the doctor that, but it was obvious he didn’t care. Taking his blood from this house clearly wasn’t in Sebastian’s best interests, but for the doctor the research came first. I just don’t trust that, Kane.”

He nuzzled the top of her head. “I can understand, Rose. You’ve been an experiment your entire life. You don’t want that for Sebastian.”

“Exactly, but the doctor can’t see beyond what he might learn from studying Sebastian’s blood.” She sighed, her small teeth biting at her lower lip. “I know a doctor should examine him more fully just to make certain he really is as healthy as we believe, but it isn’t safe.”

“We happen to have just the man that will help you,” Jaimie said, glancing at Kane for permission.

Kane nodded in agreement. “I was going to suggest you meet him, sweetheart. His name is Paul. He joined our team recently, so I didn’t grow up with him as I did all the others, but he’s got an amazing talent when it comes to healing skills. I trust him.”

Rose swallowed hard, but she nodded. “If you’re certain, Kane. But his blood can’t leave our home.”

“It won’t have to,” Kane assured. “Paul doesn’t work like other doctors.”

“You can’t ever talk about him to anyone,” Jaimie cautioned. “If Eric comes back, you can’t tell him that Paul examined the baby.”

“We have to protect one another’s abilities. Whitney would take Sebastian apart to study him,” Kane said. “He would Paul as well. Do you understand?”

Rose jumped up and paced across the room. “You’ve had what? Five years, seven years, maybe ten years of experience with Whitney? I’ve had my entire life. You don’t need to tell me what he’s like. We all protected one another from him, and we learned very fast to keep our abilities hidden.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Kane soothed. “It’s just that Paul is ...” He broke off, unable to explain.

“Has a rare talent,” Jaimie supplied. “He’s sent out into the field a lot. Whitney would find a way. You’re part of our family now, Rose. Paul is family; that’s all we’re saying.”

Rose nodded. Kane could feel her agitation, although there was little expression on her face. The idea that anyone would study her son was abhorrent to her, but she was trying to be accepting. She knew Sebastian needed a doctor and that they would need help with him. The only thing he could figure to do to help ease her mind was to introduce his family to her, one member at a time.

“Who have you met so far?” He kept his voice gentle.

“One they call Gideon and, of course, Javier. Jaimie and Mack.” A faint smile touched her mouth, but failed to light her eyes. “They hover over you.”

“I’ll bet Mack did his fair share of swearing.”

“You must have heard him,” Jaimie said, astonished. “He’s been here every day. A few times you were awake.”

“I must have been doped up. I don’t remember much.” Other than Rose’s warm body snuggled next to his. He remembered her kisses, along his mouth and throat, her soft murmurs of reassurance. He remembered feeling safe because she was there. At times he’d woken to the sound of Sebastian crying, and he could pry his eyes open just enough to see her moving around the room, changing and then breast-feeding the baby, singing softly to him. He’d felt—complete.

Jaimie grinned at him. “You were doped up, all right. We’d get you to sit up and you’d just slide down again and go to sleep.”

Rose regarded him with troubled eyes. “You scared me. You nearly died, Kane.”

He was weak, although he didn’t want to acknowledge it. Bits and pieces of the last couple of weeks were coming back to him now. Jaimie crying. Mack gruff as hell, always a bad sign. Javier and Gideon standing over him. Always, Rose watching them all, one hand free, obviously ready to defend him.

“I’m sorry, honey, I won’t do it again.”

“Damn right you won’t,” Rose said, flashing him a fierce look.

His body hardened, a brutal punch of need. She was sexy as hell when she went all commando on him with her little pixie face, so fragile and beautiful. Her eyes too big and her hair all tousled as if they’d just spent hours between the sheets. He knew his gaze went all hungry and predatory by the way her face flushed. Her eyes met his steadily. A soft consent in them that shook him. She’d just had a baby and she’d made love with him; she had to be sore, but she was willing to give herself to him again because his body demanded her.