Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers #9)(88)
Author: Christine Feehan

Someone sitting in a chair facing the window. He isn’t moving, just staring out. No woman. No children. He’s in a perfect position to be observing a camera. Gideon?

I have him, Gideon acknowledged. I have a shot.

Check Room 225, Mack ordered.

On it, Top. Kane shifted his gaze to the next apartment. Jaimie had said a single male had moved in. A man moved through the apartment fast, away from the window. The male in Room 225 is armed. There’s a second male standing by the door, armed as well.

I have the first male, Ethan said, second is out of my sight.

It’s a drug deal. Man with briefcase just walked in. Kane moved on to the next floor.

Checking the third floor. Room 334. Kane looked up to the top floor. The walls dropped away, leaving the occupants exposed. A woman lay on a bed motionless, her head tilted at an odd angle. The man was at the side of the windows in the front room, staring at the street below and the chaos the boys were causing as they ran from the SUV. The male glanced toward the bedroom, seemed to say something, and then walked into the kitchen to open the fridge and pull out a bottle. Can’t rule out. One male moving around. Female in bedroom, lying on the bed.

Check the roof again, Gideon.

Roger that, Top. Gideon complied.

Moving position, Kane said.

It always took a few moments to recover from using his gift. His body felt weak and shaky, his stomach churning. He dropped his head down to suck in as much air as he could to counteract the dizziness. It only took seconds, but he was running out of time.

While he still had the cover of the boys, he had to quickly get across the street. He slipped from the doorway and, hugging the shadows as best as possible, pulled a hat low, drooped his shoulders, and changed his gait. He appeared shorter and thinner than he was just by changing his posture and the way he walked. Hurrying, he crossed at the crosswalk, sending nervous, furtive glances at the boys, never once looking up.

Roof is clear, Top, Gideon reported.

Javier was already inside, and the two of them went up the stairs toward the second floor. Mack and Lucas had come in from the back and were already on the third-floor landing. Kane signaled to Javier, and they went into the hallway, guns out and ready, senses flaring out to find an enemy. They moved in silence, approaching apartment 224 first.

Gideon, do you have eyes on our man? Kane asked.

He hasn’t moved. Not so much as a change in position.

Kane nodded to Javier. Javier knelt and quickly worked the lock. He eased the door open. There was no chain in place, and icy fingers slid down Kane’s spine.

Going in. He knew Gideon would take the shot if necessary, but there was something else, some awareness that kept the adrenaline pumping through his system. He could almost smell Whitney’s presence.

He signaled again, and Javier dropped low to cover him as Kane went through the door and stepped to the left, clearing the room. The man in the chair didn’t move, didn’t turn his head. It was possible he hadn’t heard their entrance, but even when Javier moved to visibly clear the other small rooms, the occupant of the apartment was unnaturally still.

Kane glided up behind him, finger on the trigger, but still the man didn’t move. Kane could see why when he approached from the side. Eric Lambert sat grotesquely sprawled out in the chair, drink near his hand, throat cut open, shirt soaked in blood.

Man down, Top. Whitney was here.

Kane could smell the pipe tobacco, Whitney’s special blend. Bile reached his throat and he choked it back. He remembered that appalling scent as he came up from loving Rose. The man had made certain Kane and Rose had mated. Kane had ruined his cameras, so he’d come to see for himself. Kane had never detested a human being more than he did that poor excuse for a man. He would have killed him right there had he not been locked in a cage. The only thing he could do was cover Rose’s body with his own, shielding her from a monster’s smug, satisfied gaze. They’d looked at each other through the bars. Whitney had seen the resolve there, knew Kane wanted him dead. He’d simply, arrogantly, removed the pipe from his teeth and nodded before walking away. As if they had been in some hellish pact together.

“He left you a note.”

Kane had seen it. That blood-spattered paper placed carefully and conspicuously beside the dead doctor. Cursing beneath his breath, Kane edged the envelope with his name on it out from the dead man’s hand.

Top, Whitney was here. Eric Lambert is dead. He couldn’t have left too long ago. The scent of the tobacco made him sick. Kane reluctantly opened the envelope.

So you have finally won our little game, Kane. Your reward is this apartment building. I have signed the deed over to you. You are indeed worthy of keeping the boy. Eric Lambert betrayed you as he betrayed me. Had he gotten your son’s blood, he would have given it to your enemy, a group dedicated to wiping every GhostWalker from the planet and undoing years of my work. You prevented him from doing so by your vigilance. I commend you. They will pursue you, all of you, but you have the intellect and the training to keep them from succeeding in destroying you. Congratulations on your win. I would like to get Rose back. She did a superb job of producing a child. You must keep me informed of his progress. Rose can be tiresome in her rebellion, but her genetics are priceless. If you tire of her, get word to me, and I will make you a further trade.
Kane almost crushed the note in his hand. Tire of her? As if Rose had little worth beyond giving birth to a child. Did Whitney despise and loathe women so much? He certainly enjoyed seeing them suffer. He had enjoyed Rose being forced to accept a man.

“Damn you, Whitney,” he muttered aloud. He looked down at the last paragraph.

I warned McKinley about Javier Enderman, but he refused to listen. Enderman is a psychopath. If you all continue to trust him, he will be your downfall. Kill him now before he destroys you all. I should never have enhanced him, but his loyalty and protective instincts fooled me into believing he could be useful. He is not. I am not infallible, it seems. I have chosen the best, the absolute best of the genetic pool I could find for my mission. Weed him out so that he doesn’t poison it. He has one weakness that will bring you all down. He can be bought …
Javier was looking over Kane’s shoulder, reading the letter. He looked at Kane with flat, cold eyes and shrugged. “He’s right, you know. I do have a weakness.”

Kane shook his head. “Don’t let him throw you.”

“It isn’t the first time I’ve been called a psychopath.”

“Don’t let him throw you,” Kane repeated. “You don’t break. I’ve known you since you were a child, Javier, and you’re no psychopath.” He knew Javier had been called that on more than one occasion. It had hurt, whether Javier admitted it did or not. He was very careful not to appear sympathetic. “We all have a weakness. Mine is Rose and now the boy. Whitney profiled each of us, and what he perceives as our weaknesses are actually our strengths. He’s never understood loyalty. He tries to separate us, because he thinks we make one another weak. He’s alone, and he thinks he’s greater and stronger than all of us. He doesn’t understand, and he never will, that together we’re unbreakable.”