Predatory Game (45 page)

“Damn it, Saber. This isn’t the time to get pissed off. I wasn’t talking about us.”

“Yes, you were. You think I’m going to just let that go, Jesse? Brian is after Patsy for no other reason than because Whitney paired them? Patsy is beautiful, far more so than I am. She’s sophisticated and educated and most men would kill to have her. She isn’t anything at all like me. If you don’t think Brian could be attracted to her for herself, then no way in hell did you fall in love with me on your own.”

He raked a hand through his hair, wanting to shake her. She was exhausted. He could see it on her face. And hurt. He could see that in her eyes. But the truth was, she was looking for a way out because she was afraid—of him, of Whitney, of being involved in a family, of being part of the community of GhostWalkers.

“You’ve always got one foot out the door, Saber. No matter how much I tell you I love you or that I want you, no matter how many times I tell you that you’re my world and I’d give up everything for you, it isn’t going to matter if you don’t feel it too. I can’t make you want to stay. And I’m not holding you against your will, as much as I’d like to.”

He threw the keys back on the table. “Do you think I’m proud of the fact that we didn’t use birth control? Do you think a man like me ever—
ever
—forgets something that important? I wanted you pregnant. I wanted you to have my child growing inside of you because you wouldn’t leave me. You’d need me to take care of you and the baby. I hate that I did that. That I even thought that. That’s as much of a trap as Whitney had you in. If you stay with me, it has to be because you love me and want to be with me.”

“It’s so easy for you, Jess. You have it all. The parents. Patsy. Your friends. Everyone respects you. I come from nothing. I don’t even have a name or a birthday. I can do all the things Patsy can do because I was educated for the purpose of fitting into any society to kill. That was my main goal for everything I ever learned.”

He spread out his hands. “But that isn’t who you are. You’ve lived here going on a year, Saber, and I can tell you, I have more of a killer instinct than you. Brian knew that or he wouldn’t have blown his cover. He’d still be here watching us, informing Whitney and seeing my sister. But you wouldn’t kill Les.”

“I would have killed Chaleen. When I thought she was a threat to you…”

“But you didn’t. And that’s the point. It isn’t in your nature. I see you. Who you are. Who you can be. For once in your life stop running from yourself and have the courage to take what you want. I’m right here. In front of you.”

Saber sank into a chair and rested her head in the crook of her arm on the table. “I’m so tired, Jesse, I can’t think anymore. Go see Patsy and make sure she’s fine and I’ll sleep for a while, and when you come back we can talk.”

His breath caught in his throat. Something was very wrong. Saber didn’t get tired—not like this. He should have noticed the moment they were alone together. He rolled his chair closer to her and put his hand on her forehead. She wasn’t running a fever and that could only mean she was feeling repercussions from trying to heal the damaged nerves and muscle in his legs. It wouldn’t be unusual for a GhostWalker to have problems after using psychic ability. Many had brain bleeds and other major physical problems. He should have considered that.

“Come on, baby, let’s get you to bed. I’ll call Eric to come over and check you out, just in case.”

“No, I don’t want that man near me, and I’m just exhausted. I can hardly function, let alone think. Please just go see Patsy, you won’t worry so much if you do. I’ll be fine here.” She let him pull her out of the chair and onto his lap. She nuzzled his neck. “Tell me about your legs. So much has been going on I haven’t had a chance to ask you if you think I helped.”

“I think you saved my legs for me, baby. I spent the evening while you were working swimming and relearning how to use my legs. It’s interesting. I know how to walk, but I actually have to remember, think each step through. But I only fell a few times.” There was excitement in his voice.

He pushed the wheelchair through the house toward his bedroom. “I’m resting my legs right now. Eric said not to be stupid and overdo, even though I really want to go running.” He kissed the top of her head. “Go running. Did you hear that, Saber? It’s possible that I’ll be running in a few days and
you
did that.
You
. You’re a fucking miracle, babe. My own personal angel.”

She sighed softly and murmured something he couldn’t catch, her small body relaxing into his.

Jess slowed his pace. She had fallen asleep in his lap. Even with his astonishing news, she had crashed—big time. His mouth went dry. He wasn’t a man to feel panic, but he wanted to call Lily and ask her if it was normal for Saber to have this reaction. Unfortunately Lily wasn’t available to him. Ryland and she had gone underground with the baby being born. A boy, Daniel Ryland Miller. Jess was certain he would see them up in the mountains when they bought land in the same vicinity.

A thin red streak flashed across the room right in front of him and Jess slammed the chair to a halt and dove for the floor, taking Saber with him. They landed hard, Saber beneath him as half a dozen tiny red beams hit the wall.

“Shit. Shit. We’re under attack. Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?” He stayed low, trying to get a look at her and move them at the same time.

“I’m fine.” Her voice was utterly calm. “But I’m really getting sick of this. Let’s take them out for good this time, Jesse. This is our home.”

“Crawl forward, toward the exercise room. I’ve got things stashed in there we’ll need.”

She didn’t ask questions, but scooted, more on her belly than hands and knees, going fast as the first canister of gas blew through the window and exploded. She closed her eyes and held her breath. She knew her way around the house without sight and she went unerringly, Jess right behind her. She could feel his body skimming over the top of hers as they moved, Jess crawling with her, his body shielding hers.

Her arms and legs felt like lead, but now she was beginning to lose her temper.
Is your office secure?

They can eventually get it open, but when they try to blow it, and they will, they’ll get a few nasty surprises. It will also trigger a meltdown in the hard drive. Everything will be wiped clean.

They don’t know you can use your legs. You can use them, can’t you?
That was her biggest anxiety. If Jess needed a wheelchair, they were in for trouble.

I might not be fast, but I can use them. Keep going, baby, it’s getting bad in here.

He all but pushed her through the door to the exercise room and slammed it shut. They stayed low to the floor, taking in deep breaths of clean air. Saber crawled over to the cabinet holding the towels, grabbed a couple, and shoved them into the crack.

“What am I looking for?”

“Move the cabinet out,” Jess instructed. “There’ll be a keypad. Code in ‘red flag.’ Count ten seconds and code in 997342. That will get the door open.”

Saber punched in the codes as quickly as she could. Tracers were zinging through the kitchen and living room, and the thunk of the canisters of gas could be clearly heard as they hit the floors or walls.

“I need the laptop. Hurry. I can lock this room down. They’re going to try to kill us, Saber. Have you ever been in a combat situation?”

“I trained with weapons, but without an anchor I have a bad reaction. I’m an expert marksman, though, and I’m very good with a knife.”

“You can’t hesitate, Saber. You’re going to have to shoot to kill. And stay right by me so we can do this.”

She had the steel door built into the wall behind the towel cabinet open. There was an arsenal there as well as gas masks and the latest in body armor. She pushed the laptop into his hands and turned back to the weapons.

Jess flipped the top open and powered up the laptop.

“This room was built specifically for this purpose.”

She sent him a quick glare over her shoulder. “Nice that you told me. What other secrets do you have?”

“Okay, I’ve got it up and running. Am locking it down.”

Coverings slid into place over the windows, thick steel to prevent the gas canisters and attackers from entering.

“Bullets aren’t going to penetrate the walls and doors. The coverings won’t stop them, but it will slow them down until our team shows up.”

“What else does that thing do?” She began pulling weapons and ammunition out and tossing them to him.

Saber shoved guns and knives into her waistband, taped one to her ankle and another to her wrist. She threw him a vest and donned one herself and then added the gas masks to their growing pile.

“I need the small suitcase. Hurry, Saber.”

She dragged it off the shelf and gave it to him. “I hate to ask.”

He flashed a quick grin. “I’ve tapped into the security monitors and you can see them. I count six. They’re coming in.”

“We’re overloaded.” She traveled light and all the weapons were a bit much. Still, she strapped them on and went back to him.

He began pulling materials from the suitcase.

Saber stared at the contents and then at him. “A bomb? You’re going to make a bomb?”

“It’s mostly already made. I just have to arm it.” He positioned the claymore mine in the middle of the door and ran a thin trip wire to the door handle and signaled her to the other side of the room. “They’ll be coming into the house in another minute. They know we’re inside and they’ve got us surrounded. They’ll try to blow the door, and the claymore will take out anyone on the other side.”

“You’re crazy, you know that?” But she was beginning to feel safe with him. He was a soldier and very methodical. And he had planned for just such an attack. He was perfectly calm and very confident.

He flicked her a wicked smile. “You got it right, baby. I’m a GhostWalker and we were born crazy.”

Saber had the sudden urge to laugh. He really was crazy. “You like this, don’t you? They’re tearing up your house, and you’re stoked about it.”

“We’re moving anyway.” He indicated the wall around the swimming pool. “Get behind that. There’s a grate in the cement.”

Saber had looked at that grate hundreds of times, assuming it drained any water that splashed from the pool. “You have an escape route.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Doesn’t everybody?”

“I must be slipping. I didn’t suspect.” But she should have. Jess was no lamb. No Navy SEAL was. Add in the GhostWalker program and she should have been searching his house for his arsenal. “Is the house wired?”

“You’re making me proud, angel face. Hell yes, it’s wired. Pull the grate.” He indicated the monitor.

She could see shadowy figures moving through the smoke surrounding the house. Two tossed hooks over the upstairs balcony while others surrounded the house. They rushed, blowing open the doors and windows. Glass and wood sprayed into the air and shot across the interior of the rooms to slam into walls. The house shook ominously.

Saber ducked her head and Jess swept her behind him with one arm. “Stay close. The energy is going to be racing toward us and it’s going to get ugly.”

She planned on staying very close to him. His solid frame was comforting and his complete confidence inspired the same in her. The first rush of adrenaline was wearing off, leaving her more exhausted than ever, the psychic drain taking its toll. She rested her head against his broad back, and he reached over his shoulder to curl his arm around her neck, holding her to him while they both stared at the monitor. Saber held her breath.

Two men entered through the front door in standard two-man formation.

“They’re military,” Saber said. “Look at the way they’re moving.”

“I believe the late Colonel Higgens had a lot more to answer for than we gave him credit for. I think he was part of an espionage ring that reaches all the way to the White House.”

The two men separated, rifles at the ready, and began a cautious exploration of the living room. With the gas masks on, they looked like monsters as their shadowy figures moved through the swirling vapor.

“If they think you’ve uncovered evidence of that, they’ll want to kill you for certain, Jesse. They aren’t going to be taking prisoners.”

“I have that feeling.”

Jess watched as the two climbing the ropes made it onto the balcony. One pulled out a very large-looking knife while the other had a gun. They tried the door, and when it didn’t open, the one with the gun fired several shots. The two in the living room were too disciplined to react to the gunfire. They swept the room efficiently, quartering the area, checking thoroughly.

Jess kept his eyes fixed on them, so much so that Saber stopped watching the split screens showing every entry point and watched the living room. She felt the jump in Jess’s pulse, the slight tension in his body as the man sweeping to the left of the room approached the doorway to the kitchen. The soldier took a step, then a second one. She saw a light flash red on the strip along the bottom of the screen. The soldier stopped abruptly, staring down at his foot, and the very line of his body screamed horror. He said something to his partner, who backed up, looking wildly around him at the floor.

“Pressure switch. Now they know who they’re dealing with. Fucking amateurs want to play with me in my own house.”

Jess leaned his head back and kissed her. His mouth was hard and hot and commanding. She could feel the heat radiating from his skin and feel the rush of excitement flowing through his body.

A thousand butterfly wings brushed at her stomach and in spite of the situation they were in, her body reacted to his heat. “And all this time I thought you were so sweet.”

He laughed softly. “The wheelchair was my friend. If you had met me before I was in that chair, you would have run.” His eyes were locked on hers. Dark with the excitement of combat. Smoky with raw hunger. Sharp and piercing, revealing the true predator that lived in his skin.

She pressed a kiss to the back of his shoulder. “I would have run like a rabbit.”

Her gaze shifted back to the monitor, her heart picking up the acceleration of the soldier in the other room. She could taste his fear. She wasn’t made for this kind of combat. If she could have, she would have closed her eyes, but it was impossible to look away. The soldier shook, his rifle visibly trembling while his partner turned and ran from the living room to the stairs.