Mind Game (GhostWalkers, #2)(124)

They looked at one another and smiled in understanding. Lily held out her hand. Dahlia took it. “I’m so glad you’ve come. Ryland is wonderful. I love him so much, but I felt alone sometimes. You make that go away.”

“That’s exactly how I feel,” Dahlia admitted. “Is this where Dr. Whitney brought Jesse and the others when he experimented on them?”

Lily nodded. “He didn’t want Colonel Higgens to know about them. He suspected Higgens was trying to kill the GhostWalkers, and he wanted to make certain his experiment was carried on.”

“Basically,” Ryland said, “Dr. Whitney used my group as a decoy to keep Higgens from knowing about his other group. He worked here at this laboratory and the men used the tunnels to get in and out.”

“So if you all died,” Dahlia reached for Nicolas, “he’d still have someone to continue his research on.” She bit back the rest of her thoughts when she saw Lily’s face. “I’m sorry, I know you must have loved him.”

Lily leaned against Ryland for comfort. “I think of him as two men. The monster who did all this to us, and to the men, and the man who was my father.”

“Have you found his research on Calhoun and the others?” Nicolas asked.

Lily nodded. “A couple of days ago. I haven’t gone over it, but once I do, I should be able to find all the problems and start working up a program for them.” She turned to Dahlia. “Just as I will for you.”

Dahlia looked up at Nicolas—her rock, her anchor. The man that had provided a life and now a family for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her first real spontaneous demonstration of affection in front of others. “Thank you. Thank you for giving me back my life.”

He kissed her, uncaring that Ryland had a silly grin on his face and that Lily was looking too pleased with herself. “I love you, Dahlia Le Blanc. I always will.”

Her black, haunting gaze drifted over his face. “It’s a good thing, because I love you very much, Nicolas Trevane, and if you trifle with my feelings, you’re playing with fire. Literally.”





Turn the page for a sneak look at

Christine Feehan’s new Carpathian novel

DARK SECRET

coming in February 2005 from Jove





PROLOGUE


“Come on, Colby,” Ben Lassiter yelled, feeling like a fool running alongside the tractor. “You have to be reasonable. Get off that damn thing and listen to me for once in your life. You’re being stubborn!”

The ancient tractor bounced along in the gathering dusk, shooting up clouds of powdery dirt to spray over Ben’s immaculate sheriff’s uniform. Colby waited until he was totally out of breath and at a complete disadvantage before she stopped the tractor and sat staring moodily out over the field. Very slowly she pulled off her leather work gloves. “I’m getting tired of these visits, Ben. Just whose side are you on, anyway? You know me. You knew my father. These people don’t belong here and they certainly don’t have the right to try to force me to turn over my brother and sister to them.”

Ben swiped at the dirt covering him, gritting his teeth against his frustration. He took several deep breaths before he answered her. “I didn’t say it was right, Colby, but they have money and power. You can’t just ignore them. They aren’t going to go away. You have to talk to them or they’re going to take you to court. People like the De La Cruz brothers don’t lose in court.” He raised his hands to grasp her small waist before she could jump off the tractor by herself. Resisting the urge to shake some sense into her, he lifted her down easily, retaining possession for a moment. “You have to do this, Colby. I mean it, honey, I can’t protect you from these people. Don’t put it off any longer.”

Colby pushed away from him, a small gesture of impatience, swinging her head so her disheveled hair spilled out from under her hat, hiding the sudden sheen of tears swimming in her eyes. Ben quickly looked away, pretending not to notice. Colby in tears was lethal either way. A man would kill for her if she cried, and anyone else witnessing her tears would very likely take the brunt of her anger.

“Fine,” Colby began moving across the field at a fast pace. “I presume you have the entire lot of them camped on my porch?”

“I knew Ginny and Paul were gone tonight.” Ben had ensured that his sister-in-law invited the two kids over for homemade ice cream.

“Like that was hard to see through,” Colby tossed the words sarcastically over her shoulder at him. She had known Ben since kindergarten. She was certain he persisted in thinking of her as a wild, untamed little girl, not quite bright, when she was perfectly capable of running a ranch all by her little lonesome and had been doing so for some time. She wanted to box his thick skull for him.

“Colby, don’t go in there like a powder keg. These people aren’t the type to be pushed around.” Ben easily kept pace with her.

“Pushed around?” She echoed his words, suddenly furious, stopping abruptly so that he had to rock back on his heels to keep from running her over. “They’re trying to push me around. How dare they come here acting so arrogant I want to sic the dog on them! Men!” She glared at him. “And another thing, Ben. All my equipment keeps disappearing and some little gremlin is messing with the machinery. Instead of kissing up to Mr. Moneybags and his entourage, you might consider what is going on out here. That’s your job, isn’t it, not escorting the rich and infamous around.” She began moving again, setting her usual fast pace, her small feminine body radiating fury.