Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers #9)(2)
Author: Christine Feehan

Sighing, Kane rose and stepped to the very edge of the alley where he could scan the buildings across the street. Seeing through a building always took a toll. Javier had to be in position to cover him. He waited, counting the seconds.

Men with guns seemed to be in every doorway, patrolled the rooftops and along the long balcony of the second story. They were out in force, and few people dared to take to the streets. He spotted some teens throwing knives and trying to look tough at the end of the street, closest to the desert. Javier was distinctive. He swaggered with his cool confidence, showing them all how it was done and giving advice. It seemed impossible that he could insert himself into a group on the lookout for strangers, but Javier always managed—and out in the open.

You’re a go, bro, Javier’s calm voice stated.

Kane didn’t hesitate. He’d learned to rely on his team members in any dangerous situation. He allowed his gaze to sweep through the buildings, searching out their package as well as their informant’s apartment. X-ray vision was really all about sound. Ultrawide radio waves passed through walls to capture images, allowing Kane to “see” behind the walls of a building. Kane could generate those waves, but it took energy—lots of energy and focus.

He spotted two potential hostages, both female, in the second-story apartment directly across from them. They appeared to be tied to chairs, ten feet into the room, back to back.

The package is on the second floor, third apartment from the left. Two females, just as our informant said. One is slumped over, possibly unconscious. The smaller one is alert.

A guard sat in front of a television set just to their left, and beyond the door, and out in the hallway, a second one sat playing with a handheld game.

He relayed the information to all the team members, drawing a precise map for them in his head. I can’t see the placement of the guards on the roof, Ethan. They’re beyond my range of vision.

No matter. That was Ethan, short and to the point.

Kane swept the small apartment on the ground floor for their informant. They needed to make certain she was legitimate and this was no elaborate trap to capture or kill members of the elusive GhostWalker team. He took a couple of deep breaths and squeezed his eyes closed tight, conscious of the tremors running through his body. Using psychic energy always took a toll, but emitting sound waves and reading them was particularly difficult.

He sent the pressure waves directly toward the small apartment. It had taken months of practice to read the various impressions caused by the distances the sound waves had to travel. Like a ripple effect, the sound traveled in repeating patterns, allowing the sensors Dr. Whitney had built into his body to detect reflected waves.

Kane could see a lone woman in the apartment. Short, wearing jeans and a loose top, she moved with controlled speed, shoving things into a small pack. She’s getting ready to run. Something about the way the woman moved was familiar to him. His heart began to pound. His pulse thundered in his ears. She didn’t look pregnant. She’d suspected she was carrying his child before the escape. It had been imperative to get her out before Whitney realized he’d succeeded in his goal.

He heard the collective gasp from his team as they felt the shock of recognition slam into him. Everyone went completely still. He could taste excitement in his mouth. He could taste—her. Once she got into the wind … she’d be gone like the ghost she was. But the baby …

Mack broke the tension. Kane? Talk to me.

It’s Rose. My Rose. She’s the informer, Mack, and she’s getting ready to run. If she gets away from me again, I’ll never find her.

Kane didn’t take his eyes from the figure moving around the house. Her movements were slow and controlled, with no wasted motion, very efficient. She knows we’re here, Mack. I can’t let her get away again.

We’re here to recover the hostages, Mack reminded. Take a breath, Kane. We won’t lose her. Gideon’s going in. She won’t recognize him as a GhostWalker. She’ll know we’re out here, but she won’t suspect him.

GhostWalkers recognized one another. Their energy was different, but Gideon was an exception. He’ll go in and get our information and plant a little bug.

I’m on it, Kane. She won’t get away from us, Gideon assured.

I’m telling you, she already knows. Kane couldn’t look away from that small apartment. His world had suddenly narrowed to the woman who had eluded him for months. He’d searched everywhere for her, called in every favor, and she’d been impossible to find. And now … He was on a mission, and his team counted on him for his full focus.

He swore under his breath as she slid into a harness that fit snugly under her shoulder and strapped a knife to her thigh and shoved another into her boot. She was readying herself for a fight. She stuck something in her hair and added more weapons to her belt. He was particularly impressed with the way she moved, the efficiency. He remembered her as a fragile creature he needed to protect. Rose was built small, like a little pixie. It was strange to see how she handled weapons with such smooth familiarity. He had to be careful of underestimating her. She was a GhostWalker—the same as he was. That meant enhanced psychic ability. She’d grown up with military training. She was probably every bit as lethal as he was or—he conceded—more.

I have to be the one, Mack. She knows me. I helped her escape Whitney’s breeding program. Even thinking about the vile place enraged him. Thinking about what he was forced to do to Rose sickened him. She’s my responsibility, Mack. I have to do this.

Mack swore under his breath, but each of them, as connected telepathically as they were, heard it. We’re on a f**king mission here, Kane. Don’t blow this.

Ethan moved as if he’d been a racehorse waiting at the starting gate, flowing across the expanse of sand, all fluid muscle, sprinting in silence for the alley. Give me a minute to get into position to cover you.

Kane stepped back to give Ethan room to move past him. Ethan flashed him a grin and moved out into the street, a blurring shadow sliding away from the lights. One guard turned his head toward Ethan, and Kane switched his knife to a throwing position, but the guard turned away, obviously not able to track the shadow as it went up the side of the building across from the alley. Ethan was nearly impossible to see without night vision, blending into the side of the building, clinging like a spider as he went up the impossible angle without climbing gear.

Kane held his breath, quartering the area carefully for anyone who might spot Ethan, knowing Javier was doing the same. It seemed a lifetime waiting for confirmation that he’d made it. Kane could hear his own heart beating in his ears. Somewhere a dog barked. Someone coughed, and another man cursed. Laughter broke out. All the while he exercised tremendous discipline to keep from looking at the apartment where the woman he’d been searching for, for months, was getting ready to run.