Christine Feehan - Conspiracy Game

“Are you nuts? There’s no room for sliding by me. I can get it open.”

“And then when Jack finds you all cut up to hell, he’s going to get nasty with me. Have you noticed when it comes to you he has a protective streak a mile wide?”

Her laughter was muffled. “I noticed he has a protective streak for just about everyone. He just doesn’t seem to realize it.” She glanced at him over her shoulder, grateful they were away from the billowing clouds of smoke. “You’re always watching out for him, aren’t you?”

Ken shrugged. “I can handle certain things better than he can-and he’s got my back on other stuff, so it all works out.”

And right at this moment, Ken, you’re protecting what I hold most dear. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done this day.

Shut the hell up, you’re going to make me cry. Ken sent it back with sarcasm, but the truth was, the naked emotion in Jack’s mind was enough to make tears burn behind his eyes.

As Briony came up on what appeared to be a giant tangle of blackberry bushes, it suddenly occurred to her that Ken wasn’t comfortable around others any more than Jack was, but for his brother’s sake he pushed himself to deal with the everyday things in life.

She sent him a brief smile. “You drag him to the bar just to keep him civil, don’t you?”

“He’d live in a cave if I didn’t,” Ken said. And you would too , including his brother in the conversation.

She studied his face. “So would you.”

He flashed a faint grin, but it never reached his eyes, and faded immediately. “I’m not all that different from Jack. I’ve got my father in me too. I know Jack told you about him. We both have to live with what we might become given the right circumstances, and we both work hard at avoiding any situation that could bring him out in us.”

“He isn’t in you, Ken.”

“Yes he is. I feel him there, crouched like a monster just waiting for me to let him out. Jack may have been the one to kill him, but I would have done it had I been able to. I attacked him with the bat when he was beating my mother’s dead body. He took it away and broke my arms.”

“It was self-defense. We all have a right to protect ourselves. I don’t see how either of you can possibly equate who you are with that man. Both of you have been nothing but kind to me, protective of me.”

“Jack is quite capable of violence, and so am I.”

She shook her head. “That’s not exactly a news flash, Ken. I am too. Most people are, given the right circumstances. Both of you have a much skewed view of who you really are. I’d take either of you over most people any day of the week.”

“That’s only because we’re saving your butt right now, not bossing you around.” He handed her a pair of gloves. “Put those on, they’ll help.”

“Thanks. You know, Ken, men can’t boss women unless we let them. I let Jack take the lead because I want to learn from him. He knows how to survive, and he can teach me, and that will help me keep the children safe, but trust me, I’ve always been the type to do pretty much what I wanted to do and damn the consequences. My brothers were always lulled into a false sense of security because I went along with most of what they wanted. If something isn’t that important to me one way or the other”-she shrugged-“if it’s important to the other person, why not let them have their way?”

“Is that why you were performing in public when it caused you pain?”

“No, silly, I did that because I love my family. Do you go to the grocery store and deal with the woodshops when you’d rather pull out your fingernails one by one?”

“Point taken.”

Briony caught the edges of two strands of thick tangled vines looping toward her and dragged them to her right. “I’ve never been fond of berry bushes.”

“Making an opening can be particularly uncomfortable if a bear happens to be having a little snack.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“I did offer to be manly and go out first.”

“Yes, you did. Thankfully I don’t smell a bear close by, although I think your brother is coming up behind us fast.”

You must stink. Briony can smell you already, Ken informed his brother.

Pure aphrodisiac , Jack sent back.

Jack slithered through the tunnel at top speed, wanting to get back to Briony. He’d felt such a burst of love-of pride and admiration-when she’d made the decision to trust him with her life. He’d felt humbled by her faith in him, by the love he saw in her eyes right before she turned and ran into an open field filled with smoke.

He needed to get to her to clean the laceration in her side. The last thing she needed was an infection, and with the wound open she could easily get one. Mostly he wanted to find a place to take shelter and let her rest. He had told her the babies would be fine, but he wasn’t so certain. He hadn’t had a chance to read the entire book on pregnancy, and he was worried.

Briony parted the brambles and stepped out cautiously. Black smoke drifted by and curled around the tops of bushes and scrub trees. Ken moved up in front of her, his gun ready, eyes quartering the area around them with methodical patience. Behind them, Jack did the same thing.

“Follow Ken, baby. He’ll lead you through the brush. Not too far from here we’ve got a small camp set up. You can rest there until nightfall.”

“You don’t think they’ll come after us?”

“That’s the idea. They’ll think we’re trapped here, and sooner or later they’ll make their move.”

“I need to find Luther, Jack. He can lead us back to Mari.”

“You’re absolutely certain you have a sister? Whitney might be just as capable of planting memories as taking them away.”

Briony reached for him, mind to mind, trying to make him feel what she felt-the emptiness, the joy of discovery, the sound of two voices mingling together. Jack and Ken had used telepathy-so had Briony and Mari.

“Try it. Try now,” Jack suggested. He took her arm as they walked into a shallow stream. “The rocks are brutal, here, Briony. Watch your step.”

Briony concentrated on remembering her sister-how it felt to be with her, to see her and interact with her, to be close to her. She felt the rocks sharp and slippery beneath her feet and the cold water seeping into her shoes, but her mind was already stretching, reaching for Mari. Where are you? I can’t find you. Do you know me-remember me? Mari. Answer me.

Silence. Emptiness. Briony pressed a hand to her aching heart. “I can’t reach her, Jack.”

“Then we know she isn’t somewhere close by,” he answered.

His usual calm steadied her. “She’s probably here in the States, though, right?”

“It won’t be hard to trace Luther. If he flew in or out of the country at any point, we should be able to find a starting point. If he attacked you in Italy, he had to fly home and report to someone.”

“I don’t think Whitney is in the States. I would get sick and Mom would call a number and Dr. Sparks would be there in a day. Sometimes within hours. Kadan told me Whitney has several private jets able to land at military bases around the world. If he has that kind of clout, he could easily smuggle someone out of one country and into another,” Briony protested. “If these jets are used to bring prisoners from one place to another without the world knowing, Whitney could certainly get Luther in and out of the United States with no problem.” She placed both hands protectively over her stomach. “He could take me out of the country.”

“Not a chance, little darlin’,” Ken said. “The United States was Whitney’s stomping ground. He has friends in high places, and he certainly uses CIA tactics to run covert operations. He’s embedded deep here, and yes, he may have places overseas, but he’s going to want to stay right where he knows he has help-and that’s the United States.”