Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers #9)(79)
Author: Christine Feehan

Marc stuck his head out of the tent, bloody glove-covered hands in the air. “Where the hell is Eric? He went to get another set of instruments. I need help in here. I can’t monitor him and do the operation.”

He disappeared back inside the tent.

Get down here, now, Paul. Mack sent the command instantly. “Get upstairs, Kane. Guard Rose and Sebastian. Don’t trust anyone.” He glanced at his watch. “Eric ran out of here a few minutes ago to get another surgery kit from his car. I thought it odd that he didn’t ask one of us to get it for him but just figured he could find it faster.”

Kane turned and ran up the stairs as Paul came running down.

“That’s what’s bothering me,” Jaimie said. “Look, Mack. Look at the tape. Eric goes through the door first, and the therapist follows him. Look at what Eric does.” She froze the tape. “Look at his eyes. He stops right there, and his gaze shifts down and toward the lock just as the therapist slips in his tool. Eric knew. Eric has to be working with Whitney.”

Chapter 16

“Son of a bitch.” Mack leaned down to study the tape. The entire time, they’d been watching the lock and the therapist, not really paying attention to the surgeon who had worked at one time or another on many of the GhostWalkers, even saving lives. How Jaimie had noticed the slight turn Eric made and the shift of his eyes as he glanced down at the lock, he couldn’t imagine. Especially in the midst of Brian having surgery just a few yards away.

“He knows, Mack,” Jaimie reiterated and pulled up the footage inside the second floor and then of the street.

They could see Eric rush out of the surgical tent, call out to Mack, and then run behind the tent out of their sight. He put a foot on the stairs leading up to where Paul watched over Rose and Sebastian, shook his head, and turned quickly to take the stairs leading down to the first story. Clearly he had considered making another try for the baby. He dashed down the stairs and out the door, never entering Kane’s home. The street cameras showed him leaping into his car, cell phone out, and talking fast as he sped away.

“Get the word out to the other teams,” Mack ordered Jaimie. “There’s no telling what damage he’s done to us. Everyone he’s come in contact with may be compromised. Advise sweeping for bugs and reworking security wherever he’s had access. Let Jack and Ken know their home probably has multiple problems. Has he had access to our computer equipment?”

Jaimie shook her head. “No one touches my computers other than Javier. And he’s worse than I am about security. Well … okay … maybe not.”

Mack swore under his breath as he paced back and forth. “We’ve had a snake among us from the very first.”

“What if he didn’t work for Whitney? What if he’s working for the faction that wants all of us dead?”

“I doubt he would have saved so many of us. The death toll would have been much higher. I’m certain he’s Whitney’s plant.” He looked carefully around the room. “Check everything, Jaimie. Thank God Rose was so paranoid about Sebastian. She never left Eric alone with him. They didn’t manage to get a sample of his blood. They weren’t able to microchip him either.”

“Kane did,” Jaimie said. “He said it was the only argument he and Rose have had over the baby. He insisted, for Sebastian’s safety.”

“Top!” Paul called out. “We need you.”

Mack reacted instantly. “Tell Kane, Jaimie. The two of you need to go through that house and be thorough about it.”

Jaimie watched him disappear into the surgical tent and then made her way up to the third story. As she leaned in for a retinal scan, she stopped suddenly, frowning. She made her way back down to the bottom of the staircase where Eric had hesitated. She pulled out a small penlight and meticulously began going over the railing and walls, paying particular attention to where Eric had stopped.

The staircase was interior, running just on the inside of the building so that there was an escape from the first story and one leading to the roof. The second story was completely enclosed with only a door leading to a fire escape. She ran her fingers along the door. Eric must have known they would be suspicious of him, and he’d run. He wouldn’t have considered going upstairs to confront a GhostWalker. He wasn’t armed. She knew that because each time he stepped inside the entrance, she had a full-body scanner making certain. No, he’d stopped on the stairs for another reason.

She stepped back and studied the door and then turned around in a circle, inspecting the stairway again. She knew she was right; she just couldn’t figure out what he’d done. Reluctantly, Jaimie gave up her quest and went up to the top story. She used a retinal scan to open the door to her home.

Rose lay on her couch, a blanket over her, holding her head and moaning softly. Kane obviously had rinsed off and was now crouching beside Rose, sweeping back her hair with one hand, murmuring soft reassurances to her. Jaimie looked around for the baby.

Kane saw her question and nodded toward the safety of the bedroom. “Paul put him down when he fell asleep. I’m hoping he stays that way until we know Rose can safely feed him. We don’t want whatever drug this is to get into his system.”

Kane straightened slowly, stretching out sore muscles. He’d managed to find a pair of jeans and had ripped off one of Mack’s tees. “I take it they’re having a problem with Brian?” He managed to keep his voice even, but every muscle had tightened up all over again. He’d just managed to reassure himself that Rose and Sebastian were going to be fine, and now he was worried all over again.

Brian Hutton had grown up with him. Mack and Kane had protected the younger boy all through school. His parents had moved and left him behind. He’d stayed in a condemned building, foraging on the streets for food and running from bigger bullies until Mack and Kane had come across him. He’d been a wide-eyed kid with a mop of hair and a quick, inventive mind. He also had very quick hands. He was a first-class pickpocket. It had taken a lot to convince him to stay in school and get an education, but he wanted Mack’s and Kane’s protection, so he’d gone along with their rules. They’d made up a lot of paperwork for him to keep him out of the system and make the schools think he had parents.

“Marc and Paul will pull him through,” Jaimie said. “They’re good.”

“What the hell happened to Eric?”

“He’s a plant, Kane. He’s working for Whitney. He knew the physical therapist was going to make a grab for Sebastian and Rose. I think he got nervous when I kept looking at the surveillance tapes, and he ran,” Jaimie explained.