Deadly Game (GhostWalkers #5)(57)
Author: Christine Feehan

“Well, well,” Dr. Whitney said in greeting. “Our little Mari is stirring up trouble as usual. You’ve been off on an adventure.”

Mari had no idea what Whitney had been told, but she wasn’t going to give him anything for free. She turned, stretching lazily, striving to look bored. “I’m a soldier. Sitting around waiting for that idiot Brett is boring. I took a chance and went for a little action. It’s what I’m trained for.”

“You’re trained to follow orders,” Whitney corrected. “Rose, leave now.”

Rose squeezed Mari’s arm, her body blocking the gesture. Without a word she went from the room, leaving Mari alone with Whitney and Sean.

“Sean tells me you need the morning-after pill to make certain you’re not pregnant. Have you been a fraternizing with the enemy?”

She lifted her head and stared him right in the eye. “Ken Norton. He’s the one who shot me. It seems you made him part of your program as well.” She saw the shift in his expression. Elation. Hope. Emotions played behind his superior expression. He wanted her pregnant by Ken Norton.

“So Sean is right and you could be pregnant?” Whitney knew her cycle better than she did.

Mari shrugged. “We had sex. I suppose it could happen.”

Whitney studied her with the same detachment she’d observed in him studying his lab animals. “We’ll give it a few days and test you.”

Sean took an aggressive step forward. “No. No way. If you wait to see, it will be too late and she’ll have to have an abortion.”

“Norton carries a remarkable genetic code,” Whitney said. “Paired with Mari’s, the child could be everything we’ve been hoping for. No, we’ll wait and see. Meanwhile, Mari, you’ll need a medical examination to determine if your injuries can in anyway impair you, and of course, you’ll be locked up for a few days to make certain we don’t have a repeat of this incident.”

If she could establish that she’d gone AWOL for reasons of inactivity, that the rebellion among the women was mostly due to boredom, he might buy it. Whitney had raised them in a military environment, and it stood to reason that after running physical exercises and learning weapons for hours every day, they would be unable to just sit around.

“I need action, Dr. Whitney. Sitting around waiting for a man to knock me up is making me crazy. I’m a soldier. At least give me some training exercises. The other women feel the same way.”

He smiled at her, a cold, empty smile. “You want me to believe inactivity is the reason you’ve been causing so many problems lately?”

“I tried to talk to you a couple of times.” She glared at Sean as if he hadn’t carried messages to the doctor. “Nobody would let me near you.”

“And your rejection of Brett? Was that out of boredom as well?”

Mari rubbed her pounding head. “Brett is an ass. I don’t want to have his baby. I made that very clear. He’s not nearly as intelligent as you seem to think he is. And it’s way too easy to make him lose his temper. My child is going to be cool under fire at all times. I’ve never lost it during a mission, not once. I read Brett’s file, and he has issues I’m not passing on to the next generation.”

“Well thought out as always, Mari,” Peter Whitney said. “And what are you objections to having a child by Ken Norton?”

“I have none, although I’d like to read his file if you have one on him. From what I could see, he has extraordinary psychic talents, and he’s earned a reputation as one of the best snipers in the business. Sean told me.”

“I did not.”

“It was in your mind when I asked you about the Nortons.”

“You want me to believe you left this facility in order to participate in a mission because you were bored?”

She met his gaze without flinching. “Yes. And I will do so again at the first opportunity if you make me continue to live like this. No one can live this way. We need to go running and to continue to work on our skills, both physical and mental. We’re going crazy doing nothing but lying around all day.”

Whitney’s eyebrow shot up. “I suppose we could both pretend you haven’t threatened to slit my throat the first chance you get and that the only reason you haven’t done it is because I’ve bought your cooperation by holding a gun to the head of the other women—your bored sister soldiers.”

Mari silently cursed her big mouth. She had threatened him on many occasions, meaning every single threat. Whitney wasn’t going to buy into her cooperation act. She tried another course. Mari looked down at her cuffed hands, trying to look chastised. Sean grunted in disbelief and she shot him a quick glare. “There’s one more thing you should know. I met Lily. I met your daughter. She saved my life.” She hastily looked up to catch the expression on his face.

There was a long silence. Whitney stood without moving or speaking, blinking down at her as if confused.

“Dr. Whitney?” Sean broke the silence. “Do you need a glass of water?”

Whitney shook his head. “Lily is brilliant. I’ve been so proud of her work lately. She’s a fast learner and very astute. Did she appear healthy?”

Mari nodded. “She looks very healthy and is obviously happy.”

“And pregnant. Why weren’t you going to tell me about her pregnancy?” Whitney bent down, sticking his face close to hers, eyes furious. He could get remarkably angry when someone thwarted his plans. And he was angry now.

“I didn’t have a chance. I didn’t know if you knew, and I wanted to break it to you gently. I know good breeding is important to you, and I was afraid . . .” She let her voice trail off and tried to look helpless and distressed. She just wasn’t good at this actress crap. She’d rather be boiled in oil than pretend concern and look girly-girl nervous.

Rose assured her that turning girl worked, though, and she was feeling on the edge of desperation. They told her the soldiers always fell for it, and Whitney would become so disgusted he’d walk away. The other women had actually made her practice looking tearful. They’d all laughed at her, and right now she wished she’d paid a lot more attention to their lessons. She really, really wanted Whitney to walk away right now.

“Did you see her husband?”

Mari nodded again. The one thing she’d learned about Whitney over the years was that he had poor social skills. He rarely bothered to read other people—certainly not enough to know if they were telling the truth or not. If she could say what he wanted to hear . . . She chose her words carefully. “Yes, he’s definitely a good soldier and psychically talented.” She kept her tone reluctant.