Mind Game (GhostWalkers, #2)(41)

“You’re certain his people know this?”

She nodded. “I’ve done recovery work for them for several years. We’ve always done it the same way—always. His people have to know that he would never know where I was or how to find me. Other than at the target location. They didn’t hit me there, they hit me at home.”

“What are you saying, Dahlia?”

“You thought they were destroying all the evidence of my existence by killing Milly and Bernadette and burning down my home.”

“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Nicolas said. “Lily made inquiries and probably raised a red flag somewhere. If they aren’t legitimate they would have to destroy all evidence, anything that might lead back to them.”

“True, if they aren’t legitimate, but Jesse Calhoun is no traitor. He believed in what he was doing. We had quite a bit of contact over the years, and even though I’m not telepathic, I still have a good feel for people through energy. He wasn’t betraying his country. And he was no mercenary either.”

“He might have been duped, Dahlia. I volunteered for the GhostWalker program. The contract was a military one and a colonel was overseeing it. The rot went all the way up the chain to a general. Calhoun could very well believe that his superior officers are telling him the truth. We believed—until people started dying.”

“That doesn’t make it the same situation. In fact, that only adds more doubt. If they were operating outside the government, they would have made sure they kept tabs on the relationship between Jesse and me. They’d know he couldn’t tell them where I was.”

“Do you have another contact for these people? I’m not convinced, but it’s worth investigating.”

Dahlia drew up her knees and rubbed her chin back and forth. “I could find them. I have contact numbers, but I’ve never used them. Jesse is always the contact.”

“Dahlia, how could you be so careless when you were working with these people? You seem like someone who pays attention to details.” Her behavior seemed out of character to him. He didn’t know her that well, but she didn’t seem like a woman who would work for an agency without knowing exactly what she was doing.

“I knew Milly worked for them. She watched over me, and she could contact them if needed. I’ve spent my entire life staying away from people. Separated from them. I didn’t trust them, but it was something to occupy my mind and use my skills, so I did it. And I felt it was important.”

“I think we need to have Lily run a check on both Milly and Bernadette.” He said it carefully, knowing it would bother her. “She’s looking into Calhoun now, and I hope she has something for us.”

Dahlia shook her head, ignoring the reference to Milly and Bernadette. The moment he mentioned their names her chest burned with grief. “I just don’t buy it, Nicolas. Jesse was too squeaky clean. And he’s intelligent. Really, really smart. I think if something was off-kilter, even a little bit, he’d begin to suspect.”

“Maybe he did suspect something and they wanted to get rid of him.”

“Then they would have killed him.”

“Not if they needed him as bait for you to follow,” he said patiently.

“Then why shoot him in the leg so he can’t walk? They had a long way to go to get him out of the bayou. It doesn’t add up.”

“I hate to disillusion you, but some men torture others for the sheer pleasure of it.” Nicolas reached out and tucked the curtain of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering in the silky strands. Touching her seemed as necessary as breathing. Electricity sizzled in his bloodstream. He forced his mind to think of something else. Something besides petal-soft satin skin and a sexy, intriguing mouth. “Something with teeth. A big cat. Really large, maybe a saber-tooth.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“I’m occupying my mind with things other than sex.”

She glared at him. “We are discussing something very important here. You might want to participate and then you won’t be thinking about sex.”

“As long as you’re sitting in front of me, Dahlia, I’m afraid sex is going to be uppermost on my mind. The saber-toothed tiger was to keep all other images out of my head,” he added piously.

She bared her teeth at him. “How’s this for an image?”

He closed his eyes and groaned, vividly picturing her small white teeth nipping over his skin. “That wasn’t nice.”

Dahlia smiled at him, a soft, feminine smile. Sheer poetry. Nicolas was certain she didn’t need many other weapons. “I suppose it wasn’t, but you deserved it.” The smile faded and she rubbed her chin against her knees again. “Follow me on this for a minute. Let’s say Jesse is really working for the government. If we’ve been doing our job, and it was all aboveboard, then there would be no reason for the destruction of my home and family.” She could feel the anger begin to coil inside of her, to wrap itself around the tight knot of sorrow. The emotions were dangerous both to her and to anyone near her if she allowed them to rise out of control.

Nicolas was so tuned to Dahlia he could feel the energy gathering around her, generated by her own intense emotions, no longer sexual, but turbulent. He reached out and circled her ankle with his fingers, making a loose bracelet, but maintaining contact. At once the energy lessened, gave her breathing room.