Conspiracy Game (GhostWalkers, #4)(47)

Instead of laughing at her, Tyrel nodded his head. “That makes sense if you think about it, Bri. You can run faster than anyone I know and you’re far stronger than even Jebediah.”

Briony took a deep breath and moistened her lips. “I think I was an experiment—genetically engineered. I don’t think I was Whitney’s daughter at all, Tyrel.”

Tyrel sat back in the chair, regarding her with his serious gaze. Before Sparks had tried to kidnap her, any one of her other brothers would have laughed and accused her of watching too much sci-fi, but Tyrel always took everything she said seriously. “It never made sense to Mom that Whitney insisted on providing his doctor for you. It bothered her, especially as you got older. We traveled so much, and it was inconvenient to wait for Sparks to fly in to see you when we had a doctor traveling with us.”

“I detested going to Sparks.” Briony shivered and looked at her gauze-wrapped arm. “I think this was an accident. I honestly think Luther would have killed you, but I don’t believe they want me dead at all. I think I’m the baby carrier.”

“Are you going to tell me who the father is?”

Briony sighed. “Jebediah will kill me.” Even as she said it, she knew her oldest brother was close. She caught his scent and looked up. He lounged in the doorway, beefy arms folded across his chest.

He shrugged lightly. “More likely I’ll pound the guy into the ground. Who?”

“Jack Norton.” Even saying his name still hurt. She bowed her head, waiting for the firestorm to erupt around her.

There was a stunned silence. Jebediah looked as if someone had punched him. “He touched you? That son of a bitch put his hands on you? After we risked our lives for him?”

“Jebediah,” Tyrel cautioned. “It’s been a long day. She’s gone through enough.”

“Jack Norton?” Jebediah repeated, obviously dazed. He sank into another chair and put his head in his hands. “Briony, you have no idea what you’ve done.”

“I got pregnant, Jebediah,” Briony said, allowing exasperation to creep into her voice. “I’m not a teenager. I grew up a long time ago, and being pregnant isn’t the end of the world. If you don’t want me around, just say so.”

Jebediah’s head jerked up, shock showing on his face. “I’m not upset that you’re having a baby. Shocked maybe. Traumatized that my baby sister actually had sex, but nieces or nephews are fine with me. But Jack Norton… ” He broke off abruptly.

Briony sighed. “Does it really matter who the father is, Jeb? He isn’t ever going to be in the picture. He’s in the States, far away, we’re in Italy. What does it matter?”

“Oh, honey,” Jebediah assured her, “it matters. Jack Norton always matters. He’s totally unpredictable and he lives by an entirely different set of rules than the rest of us. Do you remember when I first saw him in your room and I was yelling at you for going out into the jungle by yourself?”

“Of course.”

“Do you remember the threat he made?”

“He said he was going to rip out your heart if you kept talking to me like that,” Briony said.

“That’s right. It wasn’t a threat, Bri. Jack would have done it.” He leaned forward. “I’m serious, honey. Jack Norton is a straight-up killer. He has a code and all that, but when push comes to shove, Jack’s going to be the one standing. There’s something different about him.”

Pain twisted her heart. “He’s like me.”

“He’s nothing like you,” Jebediah objected. “Where did you ever get an idea like that?”

“I thought you liked him.”

“You don’t like Jack Norton. You respect him. You might fear him—but you don’t like him. Jack’s someone you want on your side in a tight spot, but you’re never going to invite him home for dinner.”

“That’s strange, Jeb, because for the first time in my life, I was comfortable. I didn’t hurt at all when I was with him, not a single headache. I relaxed. I laughed. I enjoyed being with him.”

Jebediah exchanged a long look with Tyrel. Her tone had wavered, alerting both brothers that she was close to tears. “I’ve never known Jack to talk much and I sure have never seen him laugh. You must have brought out the best in him, Briony. Did I ever tell you that he saved my life once?”

“He did?” It didn’t make sense to her the way Jebediah felt about Jack, yet now, when she needed it the most, her brother had given her a gift and she was grateful. “You never mentioned it—and neither did he.”

“Jack would never say a word. We were running a rescue, going after two Rangers caught in enemy territory. The Rangers were supposed to hump it out to the extraction point but ended up right in the middle of a hornet’s nest.”

“Where were you?” Tyrel asked.

Jebediah shot him a quelling look. “Somewhere we weren’t supposed to be and would never admit to being, so it was imperative to get them out of there without anyone getting caught. We came in on the north side, wanting to be able to cover them. Jack lay up in some trees and waited, and I moved into position on the ground. We just needed to provide them with enough time to get into the ravine, where the team members had set up an ambush. The Rangers would go in, drawing the enemy after them, and the canyon was going to be blown all to hell. That would give us time to get back to our ride.”