Deadly Game (GhostWalkers, #5)(49)

“This is bullshit, Jack,” Ken warned. Anger swirled close to the surface, threatening to break through the icy calm he presented to the others in the room. If you’re spoiling for a fight, I’ll oblige, but not here, not around the women, he added.

Are you listening to either Lily or yourself? You hardly ever sleep. You have nightmares all the time. You pace half the night.

So do you.

Not anymore. Briony is there now.

Yeah, Jack, thanks for the vision. I don’t want to hear any more. Leave me the hell alone.

Beside him, Mari stirred, her hand sliding across the bed until she found his arm.

You okay? Cuz I’m a little sore here. I feel like someone beat the holy hell out of my chest, but if you need backup, I’m all over it.

Her voice was soft and carried a tinge of humor and even more determination. His heart did that curious overheating-and-melting-into-a-puddle thing he was beginning to recognize only Mari managed to induce in him.

Shh, honey. Go back to sleep. Everything is fine.

Was I asleep? I thought I was dead, but then I thought maybe you needed me so I came back to you. Her thoughts were completely unguarded, entirely open to him when she reached out to make the connection. I think you need me, Ken. I’ve never actually thought about being needed, or having a home.

Did she sound wistful? Ken only knew he wished they were alone together. Go to sleep, Mari. I’ll be right here.

Don’t beat the crap out of your brother. My sister wouldn’t like it, and then I’d have to stick up for you and we’d get into a big thing and it would all turn ugly.

The tension eased in his belly and shoulders. The pounding around his temples lessened. We wouldn’t want that. I’ll let it go this time, but he’s being a bit of a bastard. Jack can be like that sometimes.

He was looking down at her face, and even though her eyes were closed, she smiled, her full, sexy lips curving into a smile that made him want to kiss her.

Jack can be a bastard sometimes? Who would ever have thought? He isn’t at all like you, now, is he?

Maybe, he conceded. He slid his hand up her arm to her shoulder, caressed her neck, and tunneled his fingers into her hair. “We’re disturbing Mari. She needs to rest.” It was a good excuse to shut his brother up.

Lily stood up immediately and once again checked Mari’s heart and pulse. “She’ll be fine. She does need rest. We can go into the other room and let her be.”

“We’ll have to lock her down,” Logan reminded. “She nearly escaped.”

Ken shot him a warning glare. “I’ll stay here with her. She’s not going anywhere.”

“Actually she’s going to be very weak. GhostWalkers have a tremendous capacity to heal, but their bodies can only take so many traumas.”

Ken tried not to wince at the word. He knew what Jack was trying to say, but if he took a chance and kept Mari, and he was like his father, she would be the one to suffer.

Lily led the others out of the room, leaving Ken alone with her. He knew he should go to. She was temptation and he was weak, but he couldn’t bring himself to give her up quite so soon—and she was safe from him in her weakened state, he was fairly certain.





CHAPTER 9




“So, you’re all set to beat up the world for me,” Ken whispered, stretching out beside Marigold. He turned toward her, scooping her close to him with one arm, trapping her leg with his thigh.

“Mmm.” Her voice was drowsy. “Of course. It’s the least I can do. After all, you did save my life when your brother was going to shoot me with that gun of his. He needs help, you know. He can’t just go around offing people he doesn’t like.”

Ken smiled, for the first time in a long time feeling it was genuine. “I’ve been telling him that for years.” He found the drowsy note in her voice unreasonably sexy.

“What did they do to me?”

“A little torture. We tried extracting names, but you held firm.” He watched her face, and sure enough, he was rewarded with that same brief, intriguing smile.

“Good for me. I would have sung like a bird if you’d tried to make me eat peas.” She gave a little shudder and opened her eyes, blinking up at him. “That’s how all the interrogators get information from me.”

“I’ve made a note and we’ll go that route next time.” He wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to his body heat. “You scared the hell out of me, Mari. That was close. Way too close.”

She shifted toward him, wincing a little. “I think the Zenith did the job healing gunshot wounds and broken bones, but I feel like a truck ran over me.”

He ran the pads of his fingers down her face in a small caress. “You’ll feel better in a couple of days. You need lots of sleep.”

Mari’s lips tightened and her dark eyes went somber. “You know they’ll come for me, Ken. Everyone, including Lily, is in danger with me here.”

“We know. We’re taking precautions.”

“They’d better be darn good precautions. Don’t underestimate them.”

“We won’t,” he assured.

She liked having him lying beside her. “I’ve never lived anywhere but the compound. I’ve never been away from it except when they sent me on a mission, and we were always closely supervised. I’ve been on a lot of missions, and actually it was a relief to go somewhere and get away from there. Funny how this feels so different to me when it should feel the same. It’s a research facility, isn’t it?”