Mind Game (GhostWalkers, #2)(34)

“It smells great.” Automatically, he glanced at the windows, making certain no one could see them from any angle.

“Tell me a little bit about how you got into recovery work,” Nicolas suggested.

Dahlia leaned back and allowed herself a long look at him. “I think I only said I’d do it because Dr. Whitney said I couldn’t do it. I really detested that man.”

“So you’re contrary on top of everything else.”

She watched the way his muscles rippled as he made his way to the coffeepot. He reached easily into the cupboard and pulled out two mugs. “Very contrary when it’s needed. The man who recruited me wore a uniform, and both Milly and Bernadette were afraid of him. More than just nervous, you know? I think he had a couple of stars on his uniform. Whitney was there at the time.” She shrugged. “I was about seventeen, I think, and deliberately didn’t pay much attention.”

“What about his sleeve? Did you see an anchor alongside the stars?”

“Now that you say that, yes he did.”

“Curious. So he presented himself as part of the military. This could have started as a black ops. Covert. Whitney had a lot of ties to the military. Most of his contracts were with the government, and he had a high security clearance. But if Whitney later became suspicious that you were being used by someone who didn’t have his approval, why didn’t he take you out of there?”

“Whitney and I didn’t get along very well. When he was around, there were a few accidents.” Dahlia studied her fingernails. “And yes, they were true accidents. I don’t hurt people on purpose. The repercussions are brutal. I just hadn’t learned to control my feelings. Teenagers have such intense emotions.” She shrugged. “I think he preferred to forget I existed.”

“He remembered you enough to leave a letter to Lily asking her to find you and the other women he experimented on.”

“I suppose I should be grateful.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Nicolas said. “If Jesse Calhoun is a Navy SEAL and the man you saw had the uniform of an officer, and it sounds as if he could be rear admiral, then we should probably start with any Navy connections to a high-level security splinter group. Before we found you, the GhostWalker program was slated to be wiped out by a splinter group of military. We thought we got all of them, but maybe we missed somebody. And if that’s the case, they’d know about Lily and the rest of us.”

“Are Lily and the others in danger?” Dahlia asked quickly. “Call them and warn them to be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to Lily, especially because of me.”

“It wouldn’t be because of you, Dahlia. Lily is committed to the GhostWalkers, and she’s very committed to finding each of the women Dr. Whitney experimented on and helping them recover.”

Dahlia resumed towel drying her hair, wishing she had a brush. “How did you get involved with the experiment?”

Nicolas hesitated, choosing his words carefully. He had never told anyone the reasons for his involvement. “I needed my psychic abilities enhanced.”

Dahlia waited for more. When it wasn’t forthcoming she looked across the table at him with a raised eyebrow. “Nicolas, no one needs their psychic ability enhanced.

Why would you even consider doing such a thing?” His very body language screamed at her to drop the subject, but Dahlia couldn’t imagine anyone wanting the life she’d led. “I’ve never known anything different, but you must have had a wonderful life prior to meeting Whitney.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to be able to heal people. Both of my grandfathers seemed to think I was born with the gift, but I’ve never been able to utilize it.”

“And you were willing to trade your entire life for a chance to try?”

“Obviously.”

“But it didn’t work,” she guessed.

“The experiment worked, but not for healing,” he said.

Dahlia studied his face, noting the sadness in his eyes. “It enhanced your natural abilities and made you a better hunter, didn’t it?” she guessed. “And there isn’t really a way to reverse the process, is there?”

Nicolas shook his head. “No, but there are ways to better live with it, ways Lily can help you so you might be able to live among people and at least have a chance at something resembling normal. She’s helped all of us.”

Dahlia shrugged. “Meeting her will be enough. A part of me did think I was losing my mind to believe she existed.” She pushed her hands through her hair, lifting the wet mass from her neck. “I’ve been giving it some thought. I don’t think it’s going to be all that hard to find Jesse. They want me to come after him. They must have left a trail of some sort for me to find.”

Nicolas poured a cup of coffee for her and handed it across the table. His fingertips brushed hers. His belly did an annoying ripple and his groin tightened. If he were a cursing man, now would be the best time. “I’d have to agree with you.” He kept his voice calm and even.

Dahlia took a sip of coffee, looking serene. She sat tailor-fashion in the large kitchen chair, comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt. Her long hair spilled down to her waist, a cascade of black silk. The mass left damp spots on the shirt.

Nicolas shifted his gaze to the numerous IDs. “Did you find anything in there that will help us?”