Deadly Game (GhostWalkers #5)(58)
Author: Christine Feehan

“But . . .” Whitney pressed.

“I doubt he’s her intellectual equal.”

“Do you think that matters?”

Whitney had never really asked her opinion before. It was a trick question; she could tell by his tone and the sharp look he was giving her.

“I have no idea.”

“Lily is unquestionably brilliant.”

“As I said, she saved my life. She has discovered that Zenith kills if it stays in our systems too long, but you must have known that.”

“Of course.”

“And the risks are acceptable because . . . ?”

“I don’t have to answer to you.”

“No, you don’t. But I figure they’re acceptable because the benefits outweigh the risks. Those of us who need anchors can perform without them being too close to us. If we’re wounded, we heal much faster, and if we’re captured, we don’t have time to give up information under torture.” She kept a straight face, simply reporting, not thinking about breaking his scrawny neck. She wanted to recite the reasons in front of Sean. Sean—who often ran missions and was shot full of the drug. Sean—who had turned on the very people who had been his family.

Sean met her gaze and looked away. Good. He was getting it—finally.

“You will be taken to the medical facility and examined there, Mari. In a few days we’ll test for pregnancy. I’ll send Norton’s file to you so you can read the data I’ve collected on him. I think you’ll see it’s a good match.”

Mari nodded, keeping her head down, afraid she wouldn’t be able to hide the relief she felt. The story was plausible, and Whitney was happy there was a chance she had conceived a child with Ken, so he wasn’t going to delve too much further. She waited until he was gone before looking up at Sean.

“Unlock the cuffs.”

“This isn’t over, Mari. You’re not having that man’s baby.”

“Better his than Brett’s.”

“I was taking care of Brett.” He reached for her hands and unlocked the cuffs.

She rubbed her bruised wrists and sent him another glare. “You didn’t have to put them on so tight.”

Sean took her hand in his, thumb sliding over the bruises. “Did Norton force you?”

She jerked her hand away. “You should have asked me that question hours ago. It’s too damn late to show concern now. Go to hell, Sean.” She stood up, had to grab the metal railing to keep from falling, and stood swaying, gritting her teeth against the ferocious pounding in her head. “Did you hit me again?”

“No way. I wasn’t about to give you an excuse to kill me. And I knew you’d wake up pissed.” He reached out and captured her hand again. “I did put those things on a little too tight. You’ve got bruises.”

She pulled her hand away again and rubbed her palm down the thigh of her jeans. “I’m really angry with you, Sean.”

“I know. You scared the hell out of everyone. Damn it, Mari, they shot you.”

“Everything is all mixed up. No one was there to assassinate Senator Freeman. Both teams were there to protect him. Could the threat have been a publicity stunt? And why would they send two GhostWalker special ops teams in to do the same job? There aren’t that many of us. They couldn’t just have made a mistake.”

She took a tentative step and the room lurched. “What the hell did you do to me, anyway, Sean?”

He steadied her by taking her arm. “I drugged you. It probably reacted with whatever was already in your system.”

“Well, that’s all right then.” She gave him her best sarcastic tone, wishing she had a knife to slit him from throat to belly. “I’m still really angry with you. You acted like a jerk. I should have let Norton shoot you.”

“You were really talking him out of killing me?”

“Yes. He doesn’t like you, but I told him you had a good side. When he asked what it was, I couldn’t remember. I need to go to my room before I go to the doc.”

“I’m supposed to take you straight to the medical wing.”

“Sean, don’t make me kick you. I need to stop off in my room. It will take two minutes. I can’t stand wearing these shoes a minute longer. In case you hadn’t noticed, they aren’t mine.”

“We swept you for tracking devices.”

“Did you sweep me for shoes hurting my feet and giving me blisters?”

“All right.” Sean glanced at his watch. “But we have to hurry. You know how Whitney is; he wants every minute accounted for.”

“You can tell him about the blisters on my feet. The first thing they teach a good soldier is to take care of his feet.” She pulled away from him. “I’m fine now—well, except for the headache. I’m not forgiving you for a long, long time, in case you’re interested.”

“I don’t know what got into me, Mari. When you started talking about ha**ng s*x with Norton, I just lost my mind. I’m sorry I hit you.”

Mari kept her gaze straight ahead. Anger was alive and well and living just beneath the surface of her purposely calm expression. “You would have been a lot sorrier if I hadn’t retaliated. Apparently the Nortons aren’t very fond of men hitting women. He would have shot you right in the head.”

“You really are pissed at me, aren’t you?” Sean held the door open for her.

“You think? I was taken prisoner and they treated me better than you did. I’ve known you for years, Sean. I thought we were friends. You’ve turned into a jerk.” She sat on the edge of her cot and leaned down to unlace the shoes.

“Yeah, they treated you so good you slept with one of them.” The edge was back in his voice.

Mari threw the shoe with deadly aim, hitting him square in the chest. “You don’t know the first thing about what happened to me, so shut up.” She turned her back on him, yanked her hair in frustration, and let out a hiss of anger. She brought one hand sliding down quickly to remove the braided gold chain from around her neck. The movement was fast, the chain bunching in her hand out of sight. “Do you see my slippers anywhere? I thought they were right here.”

She dropped down to look under the bed, shoving her hand beneath her mattress as she leaned her weight against the cot. “Do you see them?”

Sean yanked open the doors to her locker. Mari’s room was stark, not a thing out of place. He couldn’t imagine her slippers being under her bed. “I don’t see any slippers anywhere. Why don’t you grab a pair of socks if you don’t want to wear shoes?” He tossed her a pair.