Conspiracy Game (GhostWalkers, #4)(52)

“You may not have the luxury of waiting for an answer,” Kadan said and signaled the waiter over. “I don’t think these people are going to wait while you call your friends. If I can find you, they can find you.” He looked at the bandages on both Tyrel and Briony, his gaze jumping to her swollen, black and blue face. “Again.”

Briony smiled at the waiter and took between her palms the cup of coffee he placed in front of her, her mind racing with the things Kadan had said. There was no way she could trust her baby to a stranger, but she did have a choice. She stared into the black liquid, her stomach fluttering with fear. Could she do it? Was she strong enough?

“Where are you staying, Mr. Montague? We’ll talk it over and let you know what we’ve decided to do. I have to think about this.”

Kadan sighed. “Read the file. Whitney is a monster, and if he gets his hands on you—or the baby—your life is not going to be worth much. At this time we have no idea where he is, so there wouldn’t be a rescue team showing up to bail you out. Come back to the States with me. If you’re worried, your brothers are welcome. At least stay until the baby is born. You’re enhanced; you’ve had a great education. We can teach you survival skills, maybe enough to protect you and the baby.”

Survival skills. Don’t open the door. Stand to the side of it. Walk on my left side. Go up to the roof, not into the alley. The words played over and over in her head. Who better to learn from than the master?

“Why haven’t you gone to Mr. Norton and told him all of this?” Briony asked. “There must be more than one of you. Did you send someone to warn him?”

Kadan watched her with his unsettling direct stare. “Norton disappears, and when he doesn’t want to be found—no one finds him.”

Briony poured cream into her coffee and stirred it. “He’s missing? Then you did try to find him.”

“One of his team members was with us when we discovered this information. We left it to him to decide whether or not to try to contact Jack and tell him.”

Seth took the cream from Briony, dumping it into his coffee as he glanced at Kadan, a challenge in his eyes. “If they killed Tony thinking he’s the father, wouldn’t they go after this Norton character on the off chance he is?”

Briony glanced up when Jebediah groaned. He covered his eyes with one hand and whispered in her ear. “The thought of you having two partners is more than I can take.”

“They might go after Jack. They have a lot of intel. Whitney had a high-security clearance. He has access to files on Jack that few people have. In my opinion, he won’t go near Jack unless he has no other choice. He would be stirring up a hornet’s nest.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Seth demanded. “Why would he kill Tony and not Jack?”

Kadan sat back in his chair. “Tony was an easy target. Jack’s not. Whitney has only so many men. We had a run-in with him recently and he lost a few. If he sent a team in after Jack, few of them, if any, would make it back alive. Jack isn’t alone up there. He’s got Ken with him, and his twin is every bit as lethal as he is. They’re an unstoppable team. They’ve worked together for years and each knows exactly what the other is going to do at any given moment. Whitney would have to be insane—or desperate—to go after Jack Norton—especially on his home turf.”

Briony looked at her brother, despair in her gaze. Resolve. She blinked away tears, and Jebediah swallowed hard, reaching for her hand.

“Briony’s right, Mr. Montague. We appreciate the warning and the information, but we need to talk this over as a family. Give us a few minutes.”

Kadan nodded. “I could use food. I’ll order while you all talk. Anything I can get for you?” He scooped up the file and put it in his briefcase.

Jebediah wanted breakfast, and the others followed suit. They waited for Kadan to go into the café.

“He wasn’t fooled,” Briony said. “He knows we’re going to leave. That’s why he took the file.”

“We are?” Seth asked.

“Ruben’s back with the car,” Jebediah said grimly. “Let’s go.”





CHAPTER 9





Briony stared out the window at the wild scenery as they climbed higher and higher up the mountain in the Montana wilderness. At times the road seemed more of a faint, pitted track, overgrown with shrubs and grasses. The more she learned about Jack Norton, the more she could see him in this wild environment. He was a throwback to earlier times, a man who made his own rules and was as dangerous as the predatory animals surrounding him. He could disappear anytime he wanted and survive quite well off the land. She doubted anyone could find him, and that’s why she needed him. He could teach her those same skills and protect her while she was learning them.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t want her. Liability. The word echoed through her mind. She pressed her hands over her stomach, her mouth tightening with determination. Too bad for Jack. She was not only arriving on his doorstep, she was bringing a kid. Granted, it wasn’t born yet, but he was going to have to live with it. She couldn’t see him turning them away once she told him their child was in danger.

Her fingers curled around the window as she leaned out to look down to the valley floor. They were on the right track. She felt him, the same way she’d felt his presence long before she’d ever laid eyes on him. He was closer than she’d anticipated, and she tasted fear in her mouth. Her heartbeat accelerated, and slowly, involuntarily, her fingers curled around the window jamb until her knuckles turned white. She felt the heightened danger with each mile they traveled.