Mind Game (GhostWalkers #2)(74)
Author: Christine Feehan

Gator rubbed his head. “I’m confused, Dahlia. You spotted this same man in the building where you were scouting to break in?”

She nodded. “But I didn’t place him. It’s been a year since I was at the university taking a look at the documents.”

Sam laughed. “Don’t apologize. Most people wouldn’t have noticed him, let alone recognized him a year later.”

“Well, it would have been a lot safer had I recognized him immediately. Instead, it took me skimming the document and realizing it was a false one as well. For a minute I thought maybe the company had been sold false data, but then I remembered where I’d seen him, and I realized the data was flagged and I’d be having company any minute.”

She glanced at Nicolas. Waves of dark energy swarmed around her. “You’re getting upset. I’m alive and safe, and it wasn’t all that difficult to get out of there. The biggest problem was the research data. I didn’t want them to be able to move it. I was fairly certain they didn’t have much warning so they couldn’t have buried it all that deep. Most people think in terms of protecting a computer, but a really good hacker can get through most computers given the time. I figured they didn’t put anything on the computers just because of that. And if I was right, that meant there was only the one copy. And if there was only one copy, they had it locked up tight.”

“A lot of assumptions in a short period of time, especially when people are coming after you,” Kaden pointed out. “You should have gotten the hell out of there.”

“I was fairly certain I could stay hidden. And I also knew I could provide a few diversions. I was more worried about the security system where they had the data. I assumed they’d beef it up and maybe provided a human guard or two. I wish I had your ability to coax someone to look the other way.”

Nicolas folded his arms across his chest, his bronzed features an implacable mask. “So you stayed even though you knew it was a trap and you had no backup. Calhoun couldn’t have even gotten to you if they’d found you. You saw what they did to him. They would have killed you. You must have known that, Dahlia. They had to be putting out some malicious energy.”

She could feel his level of anger rising, a very unusual emotion for Nicolas. If the others hadn’t been there, she would have reached out to soothe him, but she felt inhibited by their presence. Inwardly she sighed. She had no idea how to act around other people. What kind of relationship did Nicolas and she really have? They’d slept together. Lots of couples slept together and it didn’t mean anything at all.

“Yes it does.” Nicolas said the words aloud deliberately, said them between his bared teeth. He said them aloud to show her he was seriously staking his claim. He didn’t care how primitive she might think him. She wasn’t going to have sex with him and throw him out, damn it. They belonged together. There was law and order in the universe. She wasn’t going to turn him inside out and upside down and then toss him out like garbage.

“Stop it!” Dahlia backed away from him to the doorway. “You’re acting like an idiot.”

The other GhostWalkers exchanged raised eyebrows, clearly not feeling the hostile energy pouring off of Nicolas the way she did. Dahlia didn’t understand how they could be so protected.

“Well, now, ma’am,” Sam said, scratching his head. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone call Nico an idiot.” He quickly held up his hand for peace when she turned to include him in her glare. “I’d be obliged if you let us in on what’s going on. To be honest, no one dares to call him much of anything.”

“Why not?” Dahlia flicked a quick look at Nicolas, who leaned one hip against the wall and managed to look lethal just standing there.

“He’s a dangerous-looking fellow,” Sam pointed out.

“And he’s handy with guns and knives and all sorts of other nasty weapons a pretty little thing like you wouldn’t want to know about.”

Dahlia knew immediately Sam was diffusing the situation, and she was grateful for the instant reduction of energy. She had the impression of a smile in her mind, but Nicolas’s expressionless features didn’t reflect one.

“Please go on, Dahlia,” Kaden prompted with a small warning glance at Nicolas. “What did you do?”

Nicolas’s black gaze iced over, but he refrained from speaking.

“I went into my invisible mode and made myself quite small. I can’t blur my clothes, so I always note the walls of the places I’m going and try to wear clothes that blend. I can manipulate the surface of my skin, which helps to blur my image somewhat. It allows me to slip past the guards. I hid in a vent while they searched the building. I purposely chose the smallest one I could find so they would overlook it, thinking I couldn’t possibly have used it to hide. It was a very uncomfortable couple of hours.”

Kaden nodded his head. “Your ‘invisible mode’ is really more of a chameleon mode, right?”

“Exactly. I’ve practiced until I can blend into most backgrounds.”

Tucker inhaled sharply. “I saw that on the tape during your training. It must come in handy. Wish I could do it.”

“Why didn’t you just get the hell out of there?” Sam asked curiously.

“I figured they’d move the real data. I was fairly certain they’d check to make certain I hadn’t found it and they’d lead me right to it. I wouldn’t have to check every box in the vault, and I’d be able to get it and get out fast.”

Nicolas paced away from the small group. Dahlia’s tales of her adventures were holding the GhostWalkers spellbound, but they made him ill. Nothing and no one had ever affected him as she did. He felt her inside of him. Inside his head, his body, even his heart. It was crippling to a man like him. He had to have a clear head and his body couldn’t be tied up in knots, especially around Dahlia. Just the thought of her in such a dangerous situation sickened him.

He took a deep breath, made every effort to clear his mind.

“Nico,” Kaden called him back to the group. “If we’re going to help Dahlia plan going back in to recover the data, we’ll need you on board. You’re carrying most of the load, moving the energy away from all of us.”

Nicolas glanced at his friend and then back into the murky waters of the bayou. Kaden was carrying a good bit of the load as well. He was every bit as strong an anchor as Nicolas was, and he guarded the other men carefully. He sighed. As much as he liked Kaden, he didn’t want his friend to be the one drawing the energy away from Dahlia, or worse, diffusing it with whatever emotion was the most flammable.