Christine Feehan: Ruthless Game

“And he was afraid to trust his own military or the police,” Rose guessed. “He should be. These people are armed to the teeth with the latest weapons, Kane. Something isn’t right here. They’ve all but declared war.”

“Corruption here is rampant,” Kane agreed. “Someone would tip off the cartel. El presidente is a very intelligent man. He knows his administration and his military as well as police departments have been infiltrated by paid informants for the cartel. He asked a personal favor from our president, and we pulled the assignment. None of us had any idea the informant would be you.”

“I thought long and hard before I called it in,” Rose admitted. She ducked her head, refusing to meet his eyes. “It was selfish of me, that I waited, but I knew there was the possibility that if the hostages were who I thought they were, that a GhostWalker team would be called in. It was a calculated risk, but I couldn’t just ignore the fact that those monsters would kill them. I was afraid to try a rescue myself with so many of the enemy guarding them.”

His heart slammed hard against the wall of his chest. She’d contemplated the idea, that much was obvious. His Rose, pregnant with their child, would have risked herself for strangers.

“We’ll get them out, Rose, but you stay put. I don’t want you running again. You need care. I can offer that to you, as well as safety. The last thing I want is for Whitney to get his hands on you or the baby. I don’t know why you trusted me to be the father of your baby, but you did. I’m asking for that same faith now. I swear to you, on my life, I will protect both of you.”

She lifted her head and looked him straight in the eye, searching his expression. For a moment he had the uncomfortable feeling she was looking into his mind, which was entirely possible with a GhostWalker. There were things buried there best kept hidden. Especially from Rose. He refused to look away, keeping his expression blank. A faint smile curved the bow of her mouth. His breath nearly exploded from his lungs. He dreamt of her, night after night. He thought of her every minute of every day.

Intellectually, he knew Whitney had found a way to “pair” a couple by using pheromones, and he’d certainly made Kane crave Rose physically. He couldn’t get near her without his body reacting with a permanent hard-on from hell. But the doctor hadn’t paired Rose with him. She’d been forced to choose from three different candidates, and she’d chosen him, but she didn’t have the same physical drive to be with him that he had for her, which posed a major problem for him. He had too much respect for her and too much honor to force himself on her. But the thought of never seeing her again, of spending his life without her, drove him insane. He also knew he would never ever be able to tolerate another man in her life. And quite frankly—that sucked.

“All right.”

That softly spoken assent surprised him. He studied her face in an effort to read whether or not she was telling the truth.

“Then you’ll wait here for me to come for you.”

She shrugged. “I won’t run.”

He was missing something; he just couldn’t quite figure it out. His mind was already shifting, his radar going off, and instinctively he put himself in front of Rose as he swung around to face the bedroom door, knife in his hand. Rose tried to jerk her gun out of the hidden holster, but the man facing them shook his head, a grin on his face.

“Naughty, naughty, Miss Rose. I can’t let you shoot him, even though Mack thinks he’s a major pain in the ass. He is my brother, after all.”

“Actually,” she corrected, “I planned on shooting you.”

Javier’s grin widened, but his eyes were ice-cold, his stare sending piercing icicles stabbing right through Rose’s mind. “Well then, everything’s fine. You carrying my nephew there?” He indicated the small basketball shape beneath her loose tunic.

Her eyebrow shot up. She didn’t wince, and she didn’t take her gaze from his. She kept her voice low and taunting, as if she didn’t realize she faced the biggest threat of her life. Kane knew better. He felt the little tremor that ran through her body.

“Maybe a niece.”

Javier snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up. He’s too damn mean to throw a girl. Mack’s getting all papa bear on us. You good, Kane?”

Kane noticed Javier’s body was angled toward Rose, half in, half out of the shadows, making him a difficult target, and the tiny knife was still concealed in the palm of his hand. He smiled at Rose and joked, but he was ready for any trouble, those cold, cold eyes never leaving his prey. Kane shifted his weight, subtly moving to cut off Javier’s angle of attack. Javier glided slightly as well and shook his head.

You know better than that. Mack would skin me alive if anything happened to you.

Rose sighed. “Nothing is going to happen to him. I’m Rose Patterson, by the way.”

“Javier Enderman, ma’am. Pleased to meet you. You reading my mind?”

“No,” Rose said. “I’m smart. I know what you’re both thinking.”

“Then you know I’ve got to get him out of here in one piece, ma’am. And that none of us wants you to hurt him.”

Kane huffed out his exasperation. “You’re making me sound like a two-year-old you all have to babysit. Tell Mack we’re on our way, and let’s get it done.”

“They’re armed to the teeth,” Rose said. “And they have trip wires strung around the windows and in the hallways leading to the apartment. You’re not going to get in through the ground floor.”

Kane made a strangled growl in the back of his throat and crouched down in front of Rose, catching her chin in his hand. “You scouted them out with my baby in your belly?” He bit out each word through clenched teeth.

“Yes,” she said very calmly, her dark eyes sober. “Before I made the decision to call in reinforcements. I told you I’d decided I couldn’t rescue them alone. Did you think I made that assessment from here?”

“Damn it, woman. You do something like that again, and we’re going to have trouble.”

She looked at him a long time. You have the same eyes. A different color, of course, but you both can look very scary.

It was the first time she’d used the more intimate means of telepathic communication. He knew Javier frightened her, and he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her close to comfort her. It took a minute to realize he frightened her. She wasn’t showing it, but he knew.

“Rose, neither of us wants to send you back to Whitney or to harm you in any way. You’re close to delivering the baby, and you’re going to need help. Stay and wait for us here.”

“I said I wouldn’t run.”

Again she looked him right in the eye. He couldn’t detect any evasion, but still ... Kane sighed and stood up. “I’ve got work to do. I’ll be back to get you.”

Rose nodded. She remained seated in the chair as Kane started back to the bedroom. Javier never took his eyes from her, even as he backed toward the bedroom, his body between her and Kane.

Stop trying to intimidate her and let’s go, Kane snapped.

You first. And I’m smiling, Javier shot back.

Like a snake, Kane pointed out and went out of the apartment the same way he’d entered. Javier followed him into the night.

The moment that Kane and Javier were gone, Rose covered her face with her hands and allowed herself a brief moment to shake uncontrollably. She had to drag in several deep breaths to keep from crumbling completely, to keep from shedding ridiculous, stupid tears. She’d always been so fearful in comparison to the other women she’d grown up with. They had no problems or qualms with their training—she’d always been tentative, forcing herself not to show fear when at times she’d been terrified—like now.