Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers #9)(67)
Author: Christine Feehan

“Diego Jimenez made a deal with Whitney,” Kane explained. “Whitney supplied Jimenez with guns and ammunition and probably money in order for him to fight the former president. That made Jimenez very unpopular with all of the cartels, but the Lopez family in particular. Apparently they targeted Jimenez’s family, and when he found himself dying of cancer and Whitney was willing to do anything to get Rose back, he found a way, he thought, to get the cartel off his family’s back.”

Kane raked his fingers through his hair and huffed out his breath, a sure sign for those who knew him that he was angry. “Rose nursed the old man through his dying days, but he sold her out to the cartel, trading her life for his sons’. He told the cartel where she was and what she was worth to Whitney. They know her identity, and they know she was involved in the deaths of the cartel members sent to acquire her. Damn Jimenez. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself.”

The sound of soft, feminine laughter whispered inside his head. He glanced up and met Rose’s laughing eyes. His stomach did its famous flip, and his body stirred to attention. It took a moment to realize her laughter was for him alone and the intimacy of the moment shook him.

She pushed herself off the wall. “It was a natural conclusion, Kane. I knew they’d blame me. They had my name and they lost at a lot of their men. They seek vengeance as a rule; it’s how they keep everyone afraid of them. They have to blame someone for all those deaths, and I’m all they’ve got. It was a war zone out there. There’s no trace of any of you. Whitney’s men probably cleaned up their bodies, so what’s left as an explanation? They have to find me and get their answers.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You would have figured it out if you hadn’t been unconscious and recovering for so long.”

“You might have told me,” Mack pointed out.

She stood still for a moment, her dark eyes searching his face. “Yes. I should have. I’m sorry for that. I knew it wasn’t just going to go away, and by being with you all, it would put you in jeopardy as well. I should have said something.”

Mack nodded, accepting her apology. “Jaimie is very good at hearing threats in chatter. She monitors everything, and about three weeks ago, we realized the head of the Lopez cartel had reached out to one of the gangs affiliated with them here in the States, and your name came up.”

“And yet you didn’t mention this to me.”

Mack’s expression didn’t change as he briefly nodded. “That’s true. Perhaps I should have said something.”

Kane looked from one to the other. “Are we at war?”

Mack flashed him a grin. “Not me.” He held up his hands in surrender. “She saved your life, bro. I owe her for that. And she gave me the most amazing nephew in the world. So permanent truce. Although, you know, I expect her to marry your ass. I had Jaimie do the preliminary paperwork.”

Rose went a little pale while Mack looked wholly pleased with himself.

Kane grinned at Rose. “Get used to it, sweetheart. He bosses all of us. I guess you’ll have to marry my ass. Boss man says so.”

“Both of you are crazy.”

“You knew that going into it.”

“I’m going to ignore both of you.”

“You do that,” Mack approved. “Just say ‘I do’ at the appropriate moment, and all will be well.”

She frowned, obviously not really understanding or taking him seriously. Kane knew better. He shot Mack a warning glance. “Paul, is Sebastian healthy?” he asked, changing the subject.

Paul hovered just outside the door, looking awkward. His face lit up. “Very healthy, Kane. He’s unusually strong. He’s also alert and aware of what’s going on around him. When I came into the room, he locked onto me right away, without blinking, almost uncomfortably so, like a predatory animal might. I know you have feline DNA and Rose admitted she did as well. He has a few traits that make me think he’s developing at a faster rate than most children, but I’m not a baby expert.”

Kane frowned. “Are you saying he’s part animal? Should we expect claws?”

Paul hastily shook his head. “No, no, of course not. I’m just saying you might want to expect unusual behavior rather quickly from him. His lungs, heart, every organ is in perfect working order. He’s extremely healthy. Really. Nothing crazy, no leopard skeletons inside of him, but his intelligence shines through. Looking at him, you get the feeling he understands. When Rose introduced me to him, that alert stare vanished, and he seemed just like a normal baby, checking out a stranger.”

The explanation tumbled out. Paul talked fast, stumbling over his words, trying to convey something intangible when it was impossible. Kane understood. He’d noticed Sebastian’s strange stare as well as the too intelligent look the boy often gave him. “Thanks for taking a look at him, Paul.”

“When I gave him a few strength tests, he pushed back hard, harder than I ever expected a child his age to be able to do.” Again the words fell nearly on top of one another. It was apparent Paul was eager to discuss the baby and all the possibilities he presented, or at least to bounce his ideas off them.

“You know you can’t mention Sebastian to anyone,” Mack said, startling Kane.

Rose threw him a grateful glance.

That pulled Paul up short. He flushed. “Of course not. Never outside this room and never to anyone not a member of our team.”

“Our family,” Mack corrected. “Some others consider themselves part of us, but they’re not. You protect Sebastian in the same way we protect one another.”

“I got it, Top,” Paul assured.

He looked so awkward, Kane took pity on him. “Coffee’s on, Paul. We were just discussing what Mack’s found out about the threat hanging over Rose’s head.”

Paul threw him a grateful look and headed to the coffeepot.

“What exactly is the threat, other than they know my name?” Rose asked. “As far as I know, none of them saw me alive.”

“There was an old woman,” Mack reminded. “Her name is Olivia Lopez Martinez. Her son was guarding the outskirts of town when the two of you were escaping.

Apparently you pretended to be in labor. Apparently she took your picture.”

Rose’s dark eyes went wide. “Damn it. Just damn it. She was my neighbor, and she seemed such a nice woman.”

“She introduced you to Diego Jimenez.” Kane made it a statement.