Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers, #9)(106)

Kane glided up behind him, finger on the trigger, but still the man didn’t move. Kane could see why when he approached from the side. Eric Lambert sat grotesquely sprawled out in the chair, drink near his hand, throat cut open, shirt soaked in blood.

Man down, Top. Whitney was here.

Kane could smell the pipe tobacco, Whitney’s special blend. Bile reached his throat and he choked it back. He remembered that appalling scent as he came up from loving Rose. The man had made certain Kane and Rose had mated. Kane had ruined his cameras, so he’d come to see for himself. Kane had never detested a human being more than he did that poor excuse for a man. He would have killed him right there had he not been locked in a cage. The only thing he could do was cover Rose’s body with his own, shielding her from a monster’s smug, satisfied gaze. They’d looked at each other through the bars. Whitney had seen the resolve there, knew Kane wanted him dead. He’d simply, arrogantly, removed the pipe from his teeth and nodded before walking away. As if they had been in some hellish pact together.

“He left you a note.”

Kane had seen it. That blood-spattered paper placed carefully and conspicuously beside the dead doctor. Cursing beneath his breath, Kane edged the envelope with his name on it out from the dead man’s hand.

Top, Whitney was here. Eric Lambert is dead. He couldn’t have left too long ago. The scent of the tobacco made him sick. Kane reluctantly opened the envelope.

So you have finally won our little game, Kane. Your reward is this apartment building. I have signed the deed over to you. You are indeed worthy of keeping the boy. Eric Lambert betrayed you as he betrayed me. Had he gotten your son’s blood, he would have given it to your enemy, a group dedicated to wiping every GhostWalker from the planet and undoing years of my work. You prevented him from doing so by your vigilance. I commend you. They will pursue you, all of you, but you have the intellect and the training to keep them from succeeding in destroying you. Congratulations on your win. I would like to get Rose back. She did a superb job of producing a child. You must keep me informed of his progress. Rose can be tiresome in her rebellion, but her genetics are priceless. If you tire of her, get word to me, and I will make you a further trade.



Kane almost crushed the note in his hand. Tire of her? As if Rose had little worth beyond giving birth to a child. Did Whitney despise and loathe women so much? He certainly enjoyed seeing them suffer. He had enjoyed Rose being forced to accept a man.

“Damn you, Whitney,” he muttered aloud. He looked down at the last paragraph.

I warned McKinley about Javier Enderman, but he refused to listen. Enderman is a psychopath. If you all continue to trust him, he will be your downfall. Kill him now before he destroys you all. I should never have enhanced him, but his loyalty and protective instincts fooled me into believing he could be useful. He is not. I am not infallible, it seems. I have chosen the best, the absolute best of the genetic pool I could find for my mission. Weed him out so that he doesn’t poison it. He has one weakness that will bring you all down. He can be bought ...



Javier was looking over Kane’s shoulder, reading the letter. He looked at Kane with flat, cold eyes and shrugged. “He’s right, you know. I do have a weakness.”

Kane shook his head. “Don’t let him throw you.”

“It isn’t the first time I’ve been called a psychopath.”

“Don’t let him throw you,” Kane repeated. “You don’t break. I’ve known you since you were a child, Javier, and you’re no psychopath.” He knew Javier had been called that on more than one occasion. It had hurt, whether Javier admitted it did or not. He was very careful not to appear sympathetic. “We all have a weakness. Mine is Rose and now the boy. Whitney profiled each of us, and what he perceives as our weaknesses are actually our strengths. He’s never understood loyalty. He tries to separate us, because he thinks we make one another weak. He’s alone, and he thinks he’s greater and stronger than all of us. He doesn’t understand, and he never will, that together we’re unbreakable.”

“Fuck him. I could care less what that monster calls me.”

“Rhianna is back, Javier.” If Javier had one weakness, one thing that could make him lose the ice water running in his veins, it was Rhianna.

Something dangerous moved behind those dark eyes. “When?”

“I just heard. She has an apartment in this building.”

Javier shook his head and turned away. “We’ll need a cleaner up here.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do with this deed?”

“Is it legal?”

“Looks like. Jaimie can find out for us,” Kane replied.

“We’ve wanted the building. Jaimie said she was pretty certain Whitney was responsible for the quick sale of the building out from under us.”

Kane flashed a small grin. “We’ve got it now, don’t we?” But he didn’t want any part of Whitney’s gift. It made him feel he was being rewarded for taking Rose’s choices from her. He glanced at Javier’s set face. “I’m signing the damn thing over to you. You can figure it out.”

“What?” Javier stepped back. “You can’t give me the building.”

“I own the warehouse with Jaimie and Mack. I don’t want this from him, but we need it to secure the entire two blocks. We’ll have the bay on two sides of us, and we’ll only be vulnerable to the city side. We can set up security.”