Deadly Game (41 page)

Maybe,
Ken mused.
But he wouldn’t want an investigation anywhere near this place. I don’t think he’ll hit the senator here. I think he’ll make his try either before or after he leaves. He’d be stupid to bring a firestorm down on his laboratory, and the one thing Whitney isn’t
—
is stupid.

He has to make it look like an accident this time,
Jack said.
Get word to Marigold and tell her if she can warn Violet, to do it.

No. Absolutely not, Jack.
Ken was adamant. He crawled on his belly, careful of the sharp rebar sticking out of the walls, dragging his legs up and away from it. It was easy to lose oneself in the labyrinth, and Mari had been working on a new escape plan with the other women, as they feared they’d told Sean too much.

We don’t have a choice. Violet has to know what she’s up against. We don’t have a team in place to protect him. If he’s really Whitney’s enemy . . .

Ken sent Jack the impression of disgust.
No. I’m not risking Mari. She’s taken enough risks in this hellhole. If Violet is undercover for Whitney, then Mari’s dead.

And if she isn’t, the senator is dead,
Jack reminded him from his vantage point on the bluff. The air was cool. He wished he could send it to his brother trapped like a rat in the walls of Whitney’s prison.

That’s not my problem. Frankly, I’m not risking her life for anyone connected to Senator Freeman. I don’t trust him or his wife. I’m not risking Mari. I’ve gone as far as I’m willing to go for her family. We’re getting them out today, because if Sean doesn’t die today, he’ll be back tonight. I’ll kill him and be done with it, and Mari will know what a bastard I am. That won’t be good, because she’ll decide she doesn’t want me and then I’ll have to kidnap her and try to change her mind.

Jack sighed.
You’ve gone caveman on me, bro.

Mari has that effect on me. And, by the way, Briony will be really upset if anything happens to Mari, and that will impact your life, so just get over having Mari warn Violet.

Man, you’re edgy. Chill out.

Ken frowned. He
was
edgy. He didn’t want to leave Mari alone in that cell, locked up and trapped like a rabbit in a cage, when Sean might come back at any moment. He forced his mind to concentrate on the business at hand.
Speaking of the sick, twisted freak, have you caught sight of the bastard?

Jack gave a short, expressive snort.
Um, that would a negative. I’ve never actually seen Sean.

I sent you an image.

Tails and horns aren’t exactly the real deal, Ken. You gave me a picture of the devil.

Ken made a rude noise, accompanying it with an even ruder gesture his brother couldn’t see but would know he’d done anyhow.
I did my best to nudge Sean into making a try against Whitney. With a little luck, he’ll kill the doctor, and Whitney’s men will do him, and we can just write them both off. Thanks for helping out last night.

Sorry I didn’t step in sooner. I went to higher ground and dug myself in, just in case using that much energy took its toll. You must have been completely wiped.

Ken tried to sit up, and hit his head on rebar. He swore softly and glanced down at his hands. He hadn’t felt the scrapes as he moved over the jagged, unfinished cement, leaving smears of blood behind. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore but getting Mari out of there.
For a couple of hours. I couldn’t get to Mari and I thought I’d lose my fucking mind. I didn’t realize I had such a vivid imagination. I lay there scared shitless. The only time I’ve ever been that scared was when Ekabela’s man was cutting my cock into tiny little pieces.
He’d never admitted it before. Never discussed it with Jack—but Jack had to know he couldn’t do without Mari. He had to get her out.

There was a small silence.
She all right?

Sean was going to force himself on her. He’d been her friend; they trained on her GhostWalker team together. It’s obvious she had genuine affection for the fuckwad, and for him to betray her like that . . .
Ken hit the cement with the flat of his hand, needing to expel his pent-up anger in some physical way.
She was pretty torn up, Jack.
Ken took a deep breath and forced his mind and body back under control.
I’m going to be taking the women out through the corridor the minute you give me the signal. I marked the way to make the run fast, but if you get a shot at Sean, take him out.

You’re certain?

He’ll never stop. Even if we don’t get Whitney, and Whitney gives him a direct order, Sean is going to keep coming after her. In the end I’m going to have to kill the son of a bitch and she’ll have a hard time forgiving me.

She isn’t a stupid woman, Ken. You’re underestimating her. Not that I mind killing him one way or the other.

Take him out, Jack, if you get the chance.

Jack briefly laid his head on his arm. His brother’s emotions swamped him at times; then he’d recover, pull back, and regroup. But Ken was at a boiling point.
Roger that. Is Mari organizing the women?

Ken reached out to Mari.
Hey, baby. How you doing? It’s a great day for freedom.

There was a short silence while he counted his heartbeats.
Yes, it is.
There was a smile in her voice.
Everyone’s excited. I’ve cautioned them about telling anyone the new escape route, and they’re waiting for the word.
Her voice dropped an octave, the sound brushing like velvet on the walls of his mind and stirring his body in spite of the cramped, uncomfortable quarters.
I can’t wait to be with you in your home.

Ken closed his eyes and allowed that breathy, sexy sound to wash over and through him. He could admit, there with the walls closing in on him and the dark surrounding him, that he had fallen hard for Marigold. It had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the emotion threatening to choke him. He would continue to deny it, but right now, in this place, with her soul brushing against his, and cement walls separating them, he admitted it. “I love you more than life, woman.”

He swallowed and leaned his head against the concrete blocks.
I can’t wait for us to be there together either.

Mari’s softness vanished and she got down to business.
Whitney grabbed Rose. She’s the one who was afraid she might have conceived. He has us pee in a cup every morning, so if she is, he knows it. He’s going to hold her over our heads while the senator is here, to keep us in line.

Ken rubbed his throbbing temples. There were so many threads, and he had to pull off a precision escape to get all the women out.
Don’t worry about her. If he knows she’s pregnant, he grabbed her in case you all manage an escape. My guess is Sean tipped him off to what you’re all planning, and he doesn’t want to take a chance on losing her. Do you know where she’s being held?

The man who is paired with her is named Kane. He’s with her. Rose thinks he’ll help, but I’m afraid for her, and I have no idea where she is.

Damn it. This is getting complicated. I have to get back to Jack, hon. Hang in there.
Ken swore again, rubbing his hand over his face.
You get that, Jack?

Yeah, I got it. I say screw waiting for the senator. The waters are getting murkier. Grab your woman and let’s get the hell out of Dodge.
Jack sounded decisive.

Ken had been contemplating precisely that all morning. He had reluctantly left Mari right before the guard came with her food. She hadn’t even clung to him. There was no last kiss, no protests, and no tears. She simply watched him sneak away, like a thief in the night. It shamed him to leave her there. He had made love to her and left his prints on her. The sex had been rough and wild. She had given him everything she was, and he had just left her there in that cage.

He despised himself. What kind of man would do that? None. Monsters did that. Sick, depraved men who didn’t respect a woman. He hit the back of his head against the cement wall and felt a burst of pain.

Cool it, bro, we’ve got company,
Jack watched the small plane circle above their heads and begin descent.
The senator is arriving. Jesse did some digging, and he thinks Whitney could have as many as twenty supersoldiers in his employ. Another psychic test was given out about six months ago.

Ken swore softly. There was no stopping Whitney.
You know, Jack, Whitney isn’t just a mad scientist conducting illegal experiments. He has too much help and he’s too well covered. He’s up to something far bigger than we ever imagined. And he can’t be alone in this like we all thought.

The plane is down. I see two men getting off. Neither is familiar.
Jack crawled through the thick foliage for a better view. He adjusted the viewfinder.
Nope, I don’t recognize any of them, but Violet knows them. She’s acting very comfortable with them. Whoever they are, they’re GhostWalkers. They’re covering the senator like a blanket.

Ken hated being trapped inside the walls, unable to see for himself what was going on. He didn’t trust Violet at all. He wanted to get Mari out. His goal had narrowed to one person.

We’ve got trouble, Ken. Sniper lying up in the trees about a hundred and fifty yards from me. Oh yeah. I recognize that son of a bitch. Remember Mitch? Big guy, smart mouth. Thought he could take the instructor and ended up staying in bed for a week? He’s got to be one of Whitney’s supersoldiers.

Jack watched the woman walking beside the senator. She looked confident and tough. Her gaze was restless, searching the trees and bluffs, and twice she said something to one of the senator’s guards and he immediately moved a step or two to further blanket her husband. Senator Freeman reached out and took Violet’s hand even as he nodded and smiled, clearly feeling as though he was safe.

There’s no way the senator and Violet believe that Whitney put a hit out on him,
Jack reported.
They’re walking in like they own the place. They’re cautious, but not ‘we’re fucked’ cautious.

And Violet thinks she’s safe because she managed to get her own team in place. The senator must have been the one who tapped someone at the top to change the team,
Ken concluded.

Mari’s got to warn them, Ken.

Ken rested his head in his hands. He didn’t want to have Mari get in the middle of Whitney and the senator’s battle. And she would.

There was deep affection in Mari’s voice when she spoke of Violet. She obviously thought of the woman as family. And if Mari got in the middle of Whitney’s fight with the senator, her chances of survival took a sharp downturn. Whitney already disliked her. She was a rebel and stirred the other women to mutiny. If he decided to eliminate one of the women to keep the others in line, his most likely choice would be Mari.

If they’re walking in like they own the place
—
maybe they do. Maybe we have this all wrong, Jack. We know Freeman helped Whitney lure us to the Congo. Maybe they’re strutting because they have reason. Mari trusts Violet, but that doesn’t mean Violet’s not part of this whole thing. She could have sold out for money and power. People do it all the time. Fuck the senator and his wife, I’m not letting Mari risk her life for them.

Ken felt Mari stirring in his mind.
Violet says they’re on their way up.

Don’t you tell her anything, Mari, about your escape plans,
Ken cautioned.
Think of the other women. I’ll be monitoring the conversation, so don’t worry about relaying me information.

Senator Ed Freeman and his wife, Violet, entered the facility, flanked by the security team.
Mari, we’re going to come talk to you about things and then Ed will straighten everything out with Dr. Whitney.
Violet’s voice was calm, controlled, and very confident.

We want out of this facility, Violet.

There was a slight hesitation on Violet’s part, but when she replied, her voice was even smoother.
Ed is going to try to help. I told him about the breeding program and he thinks it’s appalling. He’s ashamed he ever helped Whitney.

Mari pulled back abruptly. On some level she had known, but the confirmation of the senator’s complicity still shocked her.
What did he do for Whitney?

There was a small silence.
He didn’t know about us, Mari.

Don’t make excuses; just tell me what he did.

Violet sighed, clearly reluctant.
He was on the appropriations committee and kept Whitney well funded.

And . . . ,
Mari prompted.

Violet was silent for another long moment. Ken’s stomach hardened into knots. He resisted sending another warning to Mari.

Mari, we’re here to help you. This is unnecessary.

Maybe to you. I don’t think you’re all that safe, Violet. You and your husband may be the ones needing help. You’ve been away from Whitney a long time.

What does that mean? What do you know?

Mari caught the impression of Violet striding down a narrow hall, suddenly looking around herself warily.
Answer me, Violet, or you’re on your own.

Damn it, Mari. We came here to help you.
Violet hesitated again and then capitulated.
He helped Whitney draw a couple of GhostWalkers to the Congo for some experiment he was conducting. Ed didn’t bother to ask what it was. He just was the bait to draw the men there. In return, Whitney and the others put him in a good position for the vice-presidential candidacy.

Mari’s stomach heaved. She knew Ken was listening, felt him go very still. She desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him.

Was he aware that the man who went to rescue him was captured and tortured? That Ekabela was waiting for him? Violet, he had to have known, and he led them there anyway in order to get a better political position.