Christine Feehan - Predatory Game

That’s not true, baby. First of all, Eric’s not like that and he’s not “everyone.” Second, I didn’t tell him. He doesn’t know.

He knows.

There was a small silence while he digested that. Are you certain? You’re tired and maybe a bit cranky.

Saber sucked in her breath. Cranky? He thought she was cranky? Her blood pressure was shooting through the roof, she wanted to scream at him, but she forced a calming breath to stay under control. He knows and I’m not cranky, I’m angry. I can fight one enemy, but not several, not all at once. He’s government all the way and he’ll trade all of us in in a heartbeat if he’s given the order.

Frowning, Jess cast a brief look at Eric Lambert. The doctor looked the same as he always did, laughing with Lily, teasing her about how she looked as if she’d swallowed a basketball. Saber didn’t know him and she was so worried about anyone finding out about her past. There was no real way Eric could have known. Saber was seeing things where they didn’t exist. You’re paranoid. And exhausted. Why don’t you go to my room and lie down. Eric’s sewing up the cut and they’ll leave. We’ll get some sleep and you’ll feel much better.

First I’m cranky and now I’m paranoid? Saber’s voice went low. Cold.

Jess winced at the ice in her voice. “Lily, come on. Enough already.”

Lily studied the cut on his head, frowning as the blood continued to seep in spite of the hours that had passed since he’d first been injured. “I told you to be careful. We’re using Zenith on you and that drug is dangerous.”

Eric held up his hands. “I’m going to wash up.”

“You know where the bathroom is.” Jess waited until he was out of the room. “You assured me that you were going to destroy the file on Saber.”

“I did.” Lily straightened up, stretching her back out.

“But you told Lambert about her?”

“No, of course not.”

“Why of course not?” Jess took the pill she handed him. His head was throbbing. They’d spent most of the morning at the hospital, staying with Patsy while the doctors ran tests and treated her wounds. Once they knew she was in good hands-and he’d put a guard on her door-Jess and Saber had returned home and waited all afternoon for news from the cleanup crew at Patsy’s house. Saber still hadn’t been to bed and she still intended to go to work. She wasn’t-he was going to make certain of that-but she needed sleep desperately and so did he. He just wanted everyone gone so they could be alone and he could hold her.

But Saber was wrong about Eric Lambert knowing the truth about her. Jesse hadn’t told him and neither had Lily. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“He isn’t one of us.” Lily ducked her head. “That sounds terrible, Jess, and I don’t mean it that way, but he could never understand our lives. If Saber stays, she’s going to have to be protected. Her skills will have everyone after her, even the good guys-especially the good guys. And what Whitney did to her as a child…He forced her to kill animals, animals a little girl would love and want to have for pets. He put her in the position of having to have perfect control or kill a friend-another child-toddlers even. How can a child get over that kind of trauma?”

Jesse was glad to hear Lily refer to her adopted father as “Whitney.” She was finally coming to terms with the fact that he was a monster beyond redemption, and she was beginning to distance herself from him emotionally. Jess was certain that was a good thing. “I didn’t think about that.”

“You wouldn’t, Jess-you came from a loving home. Saber wouldn’t have known what a mother and father was, not for years. She grew up training. Her life was all about rigid rules and constant learning. What do you think those first few years were like?”

He was ashamed to admit he hadn’t given it much thought-at least until he saw the pictures of her childhood.

“It’s amazing that she’s still here with you, that she could learn to trust anyone as much as she does you. You’re probably the first person she’s ever confided in, or shared any of the real Saber with.”

She was making him feel worse by the moment. He hadn’t wanted to think about Saber’s trauma, or even acknowledge there was a threat if she stayed with him, because he didn’t want to lose her. “She’s probably being paranoid, but she thinks Eric knows about her.”

Lily went very still. “Jess. Why would you doubt her? She was raised in a world even you can’t comprehend. She has to be very sensitive. We haven’t even begun to discover what she can do with her abilities. When a GhostWalker ‘thinks’ something, it’s most likely true. Look at you. Until you were in that chair, you hadn’t developed your ability to move objects and yet now you’re incredibly strong. You ‘thought’ you might be able to do it and played around a little bit, but because you didn’t have time, you didn’t bother with it. There’re so many others with hidden talents they haven’t begun to tap. If Saber says Eric is treating her different, I wouldn’t ever think she’s paranoid, I’d believe her.”

He didn’t want to believe her because he didn’t want to accept the consequences. Logan knew. For sure, Logan knew. Was it possible that he had told Eric? Jess rubbed his head again. He was too tired to think. “I need to go to bed, Lily.”

“I know.” Lily packed up her equipment. “How are the bionics coming?”

“It’s frustrating. I’m beginning to think we should have gone with a power pack even though that would be limiting. I can’t keep function and I sure can’t trust it.” His frustration and anger were in his voice, but he couldn’t help it.

Eric returned, leaning into the doorframe. “Are you visualizing? Using your psychic abilities to rebuild the pathways?”

Jess sent him one smoldering, dangerous look. He wasn’t in the mood to be lectured. He’d done enough visualizing to get fifty pair of legs working, and he was still sitting in a chair, taking falls that put stitches in his head, humiliating him in front of his friends and Saber. He wasn’t going to take bullshit from anyone, not even a friend.

Eric held up his hand. “Don’t take my head off, I was only trying to help.”

“Well, don’t.” Jess glared at him. “Just who told you about Saber?”

Lily’s hands stilled on the medical bag. She turned and looked at Eric. The doctor stood there, looking uncomfortable, toeing the doorframe. He shrugged. Jess remained silent, waiting, insisting on an answer. Because whoever ratted her out was going to get the beating of his life.

Eric scowled at him. “How the hell would I remember? I’m around all of you all the time. Does it matter?”

“It matters if you make her feel uncomfortable in her own home.”

Irritation crossed Lambert’s face. “This is your home, Jess. I’ve been in it hundreds of times over the last year. She’s not like the rest of you and you should know that. And frankly, if anyone should be feeling uncomfortable in it right now, it’s you. Because as long as she lives here, you’re putting your life and the lives of everyone that comes here at risk.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Jess spun his chair all the way around to glare at his doctor.

Eric straightened, glaring right back, refusing to be intimidated. “What do you think I mean? She kills with one touch. What happens if she gets a little tired of her man? Or she’s angry and out of control? She could kill you in your sleep. Just holding your hand. Leaning in to kiss you good night. The rest of you, you’re trained. Disciplined. She’s a wild card, Jess, and one none of the GhostWalkers can afford.”