Night Game (GhostWalkers #3)(67)
Author: Christine Feehan

“Wyatt, what are you doing now?” Raoul asked, his voice grumpy. “You’re hurting my ears.”

“I was warning you. We’ve got company coming. You don’t want everyone seein’ you lookin’ like a jack ass, do you?”

“I look like a jackass?” Raoul sat up slowly, careful not to jar Flame.

“You’re besotted. Whipped. Had. You can’t leave the woman alone even after she’s had surgery.”

“Who’s coming?”

“Grand-mere.” Wyatt straightened his scrubs. “She went shoppin’ for Flame, got her all kinds of clothes. And Kadan went over the airboat, retrieved the duffel bag and put it in the cabin. Everything’s locked down the way you asked. Are we movin’ her tonight?”

“I am awake,” Flame declared. “Someone could ask me. And I have to go to the bathroom before your grand mother comes in. Does someone have a toothbrush?”

“I’ll help you,” Gator said.

“I’m her nurse,” Wyatt said. “There’s no need for you to be doin’ my job.”

“Go away, Wyatt,” Flame said. “I have to ask your brother something and I may have to shove a knife through his heart when he answers me. I don’t want any witnesses.”

“You take all the fun out of my job,” Wyatt said and winked at his brother as he went out.

Flame sat up slowly, feeling a little dizzy. “They’re giving me pain medicine, aren’t they? You have to stop them. I have to be able to function.”

Gator slipped his arm around her. “Just sit for a minute on the side of the bed.”

“Was Lily here last night? Lily Whitney?” She turned her head and looked him directly in the eyes.

Gator glanced down at her hand, making certain she didn’t have the knife and wasn’t about to pull it out from under the pillow. “I couldn’t keep her away. She wanted to see you and Ryland brought her. I told her how you felt, but she came anyway.”

“Was it necessary to tell her I was here in the first place? Couldn’t you have waited?”

“Ryland is my commanding officer as well as my friend. I was using Lily’s private equipment and he asked Kadan what the hell was going on. I wasn’t going to put Kadan in the position of having to lie for me. We told the truth, but we took precautions. You were never, at any time alone. I was in the operating and the recovery rooms. The others guarded the doors. Once you were moved to a private room, we took over all care. And you aren’t in their computers.”

“She took my blood.”

She’s worried the cancer has returned.” He hesitated. “So am I, Flame.”

“You should have just asked me. Of course it came back. It was meant to come back, remember?” She slid the bed, trying to wrap the flimsy hospital gown closer around her. “Don’t look. I may be weak, but I can still kick your ass. This is humiliating and I’m already irritated with you. She had no right to come into my room when I was so out of it.”

He was still reeling from her casual affirmative answer the cancer question as he watched her walk to the bathroom. “Flame.” He couldn’t quite catch his breath.

She paused by the door. “I don’t want to talk about anything important here.”

“We are going to talk about this.”

“I love it when you get all alpha male on me, Raoul.” She flashed a smile at him. “A lesser woman might be intimidated.” She disappeared into the small room, closing the door behind her. “Did you beat that nasty little weasel James Parsons into a bloody pulp for me?”

“Not yet. but he’s on the list. What the hell was going on in that car?” Gator looked down at his hands. He wanted to smash something. James Parsons would do.

“I think he was trying to drug me, as if I wasn’t already a mess, but it’s all a little hazy.”

“You smashed his head in with a glass.” Gator leapt off the bed as his grandmother entered the room.

“Did I? Good.” Flame’s voice purred with satisfaction. “He’s such a slimy little bastard.” She opened the door and came waltzing out, at least until she caught sight of Nonny. Color washed immediately through her face. “Nonny. I didn’t know you were here.” She sent Gator an I’m-going-to-strangle-you-with-my-bare-hands look before flashing a tentative smile. “Sorry about the language.”

“No bother. I raised me four boys and I’ve heard it all. Which slimy bastard were you talking about?”

CHAPTER 14

Someone had tried to fix up the cabin to make it less of a hunting cabin and more of a home. Flame suspected Nonny had paid a visit while they were gone. A homemade quilt, the craftsmanship beautiful, covered the bed there was a tablecloth on the small makeshift table.

“Are you tired? Do you need to get into bed?” Gator announced.

“It’s a broken arm. I’ve spent more time in bed than I ever have.” She wandered over to the window and looked out. “I love this place. The bayou is so peaceful. I think I love the nights like this the best.”

“We’re alone,” Gator announced.

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’m very much aware of that. You’re still angry with me.”

“Damn right I’m angry. You took off.” He threw his gloves and everything else in his hands on the table and crossed the room to stand behind her. “You know how casual you sounded when you told me you knew you were sick again?”

Flame turned to face him, resting her back against the wall. “There was no question that the cancer would come back. Dr. Whitney made certain of that.”

His gaze darkened. “You knew that?”

“Not at first, not until I realized he’d coordinated my escape.” She shrugged. “Oh, it wasn’t all that easy. I was kept in a laboratory in Colorado for years. I escaped when I was nineteen. He made certain my escape was difficult so he could record it and see what I could and couldn’t do. He soundproofed everything so I couldn’t use sound against him. He made it hard enough, but after I managed to get out, it occurred to me that he wanted me to escape. How else could he test me in the world? In the field? Unlike his beloved Lily, I wasn’t co operative. He didn’t give me any run of the mill cancer; he made up his own. He needed to find a way to ensure I would have to come back to him. It didn’t occur to him I’d be willing to die.”