Shadow Game (35 page)

Sickened, Ryland watched as the box began to make its way across the room, inch by slow inch. The closer the box moved toward Lily, the more control the child seemed to have. The box steadied, spun around, began to travel back.

Just that fast, the child was through. She slammed both hands to her temples, crying out in pain. The box dropped like a stone from its position near the ceiling. The crate hit Lily's leg, driving through flesh, tearing through muscle, pulverizing bone. Lily screamed hysterically as blood erupted and pooled around her. The wooden box splintered apart on impact, spilling weights onto the floor.

Rosa leapt past Dr. Whitney, reaching both hands to Lily's leg, clamping down hard and yelling instructions to her boss. The man stood in total shock, the color drained from his face, his eyes on the little girl writhing in pain.

"Dr. Whitney, help me!" Rosa barked the order, going from trembling shy girl to assertive woman in a crisis. "You did this with your meddling in God's ways. Now you have to fix it! Do as I say."

Lily's hand went to her throat, a protective gesture. "That's why Rosa would never talk about my leg. She always believed the things I could do were unnatural and should never be talked about. More than once she told me to make certain I never do anything 'unnatural' or God would punish me." Involuntarily she rubbed her aching leg.

Ryland couldn't watch anymore. He stood up abruptly and turned it off. "I don't see why you would want any of these tapes, Lily. What good are they to us?"

That drew her gaze as he knew it would. She looked shocked, her eyes haunted. Troubled. "The tapes provide us with information we can compare against the data on you and the men. If any of the exercises were left off or not done on a daily basis, we can teach the men to do them. The entire point here is to allow all of you to rejoin society at some level. Hopefully as fully functioning people."

His gaze went to her hands. Her slender fingers twisted together, a certain sign of agitation. All of his men were doing their best to avoid any use of psychic talents, particularly telepathy, unless it was strictly necessary. Cowlings might be able to find them using the surge in energy if he happened to be close enough.

Lily had shields she had developed over the years and it was automatic on her part to use them. The house with its thick soundproof walls and setting away from the close proximity of others was a sanctuary to them, a respite from the noise of the world. They all were catching up on rest and diligently practicing the mental exercises Lily had given them. Just meeting her and knowing she was in the world had lifted all of their spirits. She was an example to them, a GhostWalker who functioned in society. The men knew it could be done and that she was willing to help them.

Ryland had not tried to penetrate Lily's shields once in the house. If her emotions spilled over to him when he made love to her, he accepted it gratefully and returned the heightened feelings to her. He wanted to touch her, to feel what she was feeling, to share her pain. It was bone deep, a sorrow he had no words of comfort to ease.

Ryland had watched Peter Whitney's face, studied his stunned expression as he stared down at the shattered child lying helplessly on the floor. That had been the defining moment—when Dr. Peter Whitney had realized the little girl was a human being. Lily's pain was too raw for him not to notice.

"Lily." Ryland reached out to her.

She stepped away from him quickly, holding up her hand to prevent him touching her. There was no way to explain to him how humiliating that scene had been for her. She hadn't been a child at all. She had been the lab rat Ryland had named himself the first time they met. "I can't, Ryland. I hope you understand."

He edged closer without seeming to move at all. "No, honey." He shook his head. "I don't understand. You aren't alone anymore and you don't have to feel sorrow or pain by yourself. That's what I'm here for." His fingers settled loosely around her wrist, a bracelet that tightened and tugged until her stiff body was brought up against his. "I can't make it go away, Lily. You have the right to grieve for that child. But I saw her suffering too. I saw a child who should have been loved and protected, exploited instead, and it sickened me that a man could do such a thing."

She averted her face quickly but Ryland caught her chin. "I also saw that man open his eyes and see for the first time that he was wrong. It meant something. That accident was the catalyst that turned his life around. I saw it on his face. When you're strong enough you can look again and you'll see what I saw. It was a terrible thing, Lily, but in the end, you made Peter Whitney into a humanitarian. Without you, without that accident, he would never have given to charities and worked to bring about change for the better. He wouldn't have even noticed the world needed those things."

"Then why did he do it again?" Lily burst out, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Why would he even think about it? He put you in cages, Ryland. He treated you with even less respect than he gave those children. Men who served their country. Men who go out and take chances to keep others safe. Men who track down murderers. He stuck you in cages and didn't protect you when he should have. Why would he ever allow any of you to leave the safety of the laboratories and your anchors, knowing you had no natural barriers left and you hadn't constructed new ones? How could he do that?"

"Maybe he had no choice, Lily. You saw him as all-powerful. His money and his reputation certainly gave him far more license than others have, but he was in bed with some pretty powerful people."

"Phillip Thornton is a troll. He's a moneymaker, that's why Dad backed him for the presidency of the company, but he's a wimp, Ryland. He's always been politically correct, seen with the right people, saying the right things. He would never go against my father. Never. He would be afraid to."

"He hated your father. He was afraid of him, Lily. Thornton came into the laboratory while we were working on some tests and interrupted us. Your father was furious and ordered him out immediately. I was standing across the room, but the wave of hatred and malevolence was shocking to me. It didn't show on Thornton's face. He simply apologized, smiled, and went out, but his eyes were flat and hard and focused on your father. If I had to guess that one man wanted your father dead, he would be my guess. Did he stand to gain anything?"

"Of course he did." Lily slipped out of the warmth of Ryland's arms and paced across the room, restless energy feeding her quick grace. "My father's vote counted for a lot. If he and Thornton had a falling out over something and Dad wanted him gone, he could make it happen. In any case I know Phillip is tight with Higgens. Between my father and me we hold the lion's share of stock in the company. Dad's influence counted a great deal among the stockholders."

"Do you inherit the stocks?"

"I inherit everything, but without his body, it will be complicated. The house is mine and has been for years. Dad gave it to me on my twenty-first birthday. I have a huge trust fund. Fortunately, my name is on everything Dad owned, all his companies, everything, so I can sign the necessary papers to keep things going. We took a few hits in the market when he disappeared but I authorized a publicist to work on shoring up our image of being solid and it seems to have worked. What about Colonel Higgens? He's my guess. He hated my father too."

Ryland shook his head. "No, with Higgens, it isn't personal. He's cold-blooded. I could see him getting rid of someone in his way, but it wouldn't matter any more to him than squashing a spider."

Lily pressed her hands to her head. "I think I need to start all those exercises again, Ryland. My head hurts."

Ryland led her to the couch and urged her to sit. His hands went to her shoulders in a gentle massage. "You're under a tremendous strain, Lily. It's only natural that you'd have headaches." He searched for something to take her mind off of her father. "It feels like we're all back in school, learning what we should have months ago. Everyone is complaining about your latest exercise. You should see Jonas controlling the pencil and blocking noises while Kyle does the chicken dance around the room."

Lily burst out laughing just as he knew she would. "I think we should record Kyle doing the chicken dance so we can blackmail him later on. And tell Jonas he's a baby. The pencil is just the beginning. He's going to be controlling much larger items, blocking noises while Kyle flaps his wings and carries on a telepathic conversation."

"We're going to have a rebellion."

"Men really are babies. I was doing that kind of thing at five. If you don't have a sufficient barrier how do any of you think you'll survive if you're caught and held in an enemy camp? Even working together on a mission, if you went in and Gator was separated from his anchor he would have to be able to function on his own." Lily reached back and caught at Ryland's hands, holding them tight. "If we fix this thing with the military and all of you are reinstated with no charges, you know Jeff Hollister will always have a weakness on his right side. And that's if we work hard with all the physical therapy Adams will recommend."

"I figured as much, Lily. I think he was afraid of it, too."

"It doesn't mean anyone will notice, but he will, and I doubt they'll allow him to function as a member of your team if they keep you all together."

"Kaden is a civilian. He joined to be in the antiterrorist unit only, called up when needed after training. He's a police detective and a darned good one. Probably because his intuition is a real psychic talent. It will be interesting to see if he's able to increase his arrest record and find the perps even faster. He was always remarkable. We went through training together years ago and have remained friends ever since."

"Did you know any of the others before this?"

"Nico. Kaden and Nico and I met up in boot camp and ended up in Special Forces training together too."

Lily shivered. "Nicolas is a bit scary, Ryland."

"He's a good man. You can't be in his business and not have it get to you. That's one of the reasons he agreed to come on board this project."

"Can you see him as a civilian?"

Ryland shrugged. "Nico is the epitome of a GhostWalker. He can disappear and never be found if that's what he wants to do."

"But he won't leave the rest of you."

"Not unless we got caught and then he'd go into hiding until he could break us out. He's loyal, Lily, and if you're his friend he'll go to the wall for you."

"He would have killed you had you been the one to give the order pulling the anchors. I saw his eyes, Ryland."

"I wouldn't have expected less of him, Lily," he replied quietly. "Somebody was killing our men."

She stood up in that quick, graceful way she had, completely unconscious of making his heart turn somersaults. "You live in a different world, don't you?" This time it was Lily who reached for his hand.

Ryland leaned into her, his body brushing up against hers. "I'm squarely in your world, Lily, and so are the others. Ghost-Walkers have no choice but to stick together."

Lily's sudden smile lit her face, drew attention to her enormous eyes. "Did Nico come up with that name?"

"You're beginning to know the men." Ryland was pleased.

"I'm beginning to know you." She rubbed her hand along his jaw. "You have a way of always making me feel better. I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but if I forget to tell you, I'm grateful you came into my life."

He kissed the palm of her hand. She didn't know Ryland Miller yet, but she would. Lily was his other half. He knew it with his heart and soul, with every breath he took. He didn't know the future, but he did know wherever it took them, they would be together. And more than likely the other men would be around. His men.

Lily caught his faint grin and her eyebrow went up. "What?"

"Just thinking about the kids."

"What kids?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"The ones upstairs.

Fifteen

JEFF Hollister was smuggled back into the house the day of the fund-raiser. Lily spent most of her time working with the men, ensuring they did their mental exercises. She could tell she wouldn't be able to hold them much longer. They were men of action and hiding; even though the training they were doing was necessary, it didn't sit well with them. They groused, albeit good-naturedly, each time she raised the noise level and gave them multiple tasks to do.

"The lot of you are babies," she teased, looking around Hollister's bedroom where they all tended to congregate. She loved the way they all stuck together, never leaving their fallen comrade alone.

"You're a slave driver, Lily," Sam said.

She couldn't look at Ryland. She had spent the last two nights waking up in his arms in the middle of the night, crying like a baby. Even in the dark, when they were alone, she hadn't worked up the courage to tell him what she would be doing. She blurted it out in front of the others, hoping he wouldn't go ballistic on her.

"I can't remember whether I mentioned it or not, but I have to go out this evening and I'm already running late." She glanced at her watch for effect, trying to appear casual. "I still have to dress. I'm giving a speech at a fundraiser for Donovans."

There was instant silence. All the men seemed to hitch forward, staring at her as if she had just announced she was pregnant. They looked from her to Ryland. He didn't disappoint them.

"What the hell do you mean, you're going to some fundraiser? You've lost your mind, Lily." Ryland's voice was very low, clipped between clenched teeth.

Lily felt her heart jump. She would have preferred him raising his voice to her. The sudden tension in the room added to her nervousness.

Ryland took a step toward her. "Thornton is involved up to his eyebrows in this mess. He can't get to you in this house, so he's luring you out into the open. If you don't start taking your safety seriously, Lily, I'm going to have to do something about it."

Lily patted Jeff Hollister's shoulder before straightening up and turning to look at Ryland. She tried to appear unaffected by his anger, but she was shrinking against the bed like a coward. "I think you've been cooped up too long with Arly. Believe me, I wouldn't dare not be aware of safety, he'd draw and quarter me." She smoothed back Jeff's hair, hoping to change the subject. It bothered her that her hand trembled and Ryland's dark eyes noted it. "Are you doing those exercises I gave you? I know you're still weak, Jeff, but they're so important. If you can build your mental shield, you can stand being out in public and around other people for longer periods of time. It's no different than pumping up your body by lifting weights."