Conspiracy Game

CHAPTER 18

Briony heard another volley of shots and increased her speed, until she was in the very center of the smoke. Visibility went to zero, but she’d mapped out the steps in her mind, holding her course as straight as she could from memory. All the while she held her breath, but couldn’t prevent her eyes from burning and tearing.

She heard Jack swear and another shot rang out. Red orange flames erupted to her left and black clouds swarmed around her. She winced each time Jack fired and the canisters leapt into the air, exploding into walls of flames and quickly turning to more smoke. It was everywhere now, thick and impenetrable, a great hiding place, but she couldn’t breathe or see and was beginning to become disoriented.

Out of the gray swirling vapor a huge downed tree trunk loomed up, nearly hitting her in the stomach. At the last moment she managed to slip under it, landing hard on her bottom and sliding beneath the narrow archway of brambles forming a tunnel over her head. She crawled fast, moving quickly past the entrance to the canyon, staying close to the ground, where there was less of the dark smoke. She gulped fresh air, drawing it into her burning lungs, trying to wipe at her good eye in order to clear her vision.

Brambles caught in her hair, halting her forward progress, dragging her head back, and pulling at her scalp painfully. She reached back to free herself, and the stickers pricked her fingers and palm. The black smoke closed in around her like a wall, the brambles like the bars of a cage, until claustrophobia enveloped her.

Jack!

I’m here, baby. Don’t panic on me. We’re almost clear. Keep moving. Follow the trail all the way in. You’ll come to the camp. Ken and I need to cover the back trail and set a few surprises for anyone following us.

Just hearing his voice stopped the rising fear. Briony kept crawling. The tunnel widened a bit, but still the thorns caught on her clothes, tearing at her skin like claws. Behind her, there were more shots, and she touched the weapon inside the waistband of her jeans to assure herself it was there.

“I’m right behind you,” Ken said, his voice startling her. With the explosions and concentrating on racing through the brambles, she hadn’t realized he was so close.

“Where’s Jack?”

“Jack likes to play with explosives. He’s enjoying himself at the moment. Keep moving. We’re almost out of here.”

“I can hear the helicopter. It sounds funny.”

“I wounded it. Darn thing lurched to one side and spoiled my shot. I’ll never hear the end of it from Jack.”

“Could you tell if Luther was in the helicopter?” She asked anxiously.

“I didn’t spot him, but then Jack shot him, so he’s probably getting medical attention. Wait.” Ken put a hand on her shoulder and fell silent.

Briony held her breath to keep from making noise while he listened intently. Small sounds penetrated the tunnel of brambles-the scampering of a lizard across the rock, the hum of bees nearby, the call of a bird, and the chattering of a squirrel in the distance.

“We just have to crawl for a couple of minutes and you’ll come to a solid wall of bushes. It isn’t easy to move the tangle of brush out of the way, because it’s all stickers. If you can let me slide by you… ”

“Are you nuts? There’s no room for sliding by me. I can get it open.”

“And then when Jack finds you all cut up to hell, he’s going to get nasty with me. Have you noticed when it comes to you he has a protective streak a mile wide?”

Her laughter was muffled. “I noticed he has a protective streak for just about everyone. He just doesn’t seem to realize it.” She glanced at him over her shoulder, grateful they were away from the billowing clouds of smoke. “You’re always watching out for him, aren’t you?”

Ken shrugged. “I can handle certain things better than he can-and he’s got my back on other stuff, so it all works out.”

And right at this moment, Ken, you’re protecting what I hold most dear. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done this day.

Shut the hell up, you’re going to make me cry. Ken sent it back with sarcasm, but the truth was, the naked emotion in Jack’s mind was enough to make tears burn behind his eyes.

As Briony came up on what appeared to be a giant tangle of blackberry bushes, it suddenly occurred to her that Ken wasn’t comfortable around others any more than Jack was, but for his brother’s sake he pushed himself to deal with the everyday things in life.

She sent him a brief smile. “You drag him to the bar just to keep him civil, don’t you?”

“He’d live in a cave if I didn’t,” Ken said. And you would too, including his brother in the conversation.

She studied his face. “So would you.”

He flashed a faint grin, but it never reached his eyes, and faded immediately. “I’m not all that different from Jack. I’ve got my father in me too. I know Jack told you about him. We both have to live with what we might become given the right circumstances, and we both work hard at avoiding any situation that could bring him out in us.”

“He isn’t in you, Ken.”

“Yes he is. I feel him there, crouched like a monster just waiting for me to let him out. Jack may have been the one to kill him, but I would have done it had I been able to. I attacked him with the bat when he was beating my mother’s dead body. He took it away and broke my arms.”

“It was self-defense. We all have a right to protect ourselves. I don’t see how either of you can possibly equate who you are with that man. Both of you have been nothing but kind to me, protective of me.”

“Jack is quite capable of violence, and so am I.”

She shook her head. “That’s not exactly a news flash, Ken. I am too. Most people are, given the right circumstances. Both of you have a much skewed view of who you really are. I’d take either of you over most people any day of the week.”

“That’s only because we’re saving your butt right now, not bossing you around.” He handed her a pair of gloves. “Put those on, they’ll help.”

“Thanks. You know, Ken, men can’t boss women unless we let them. I let Jack take the lead because I want to learn from him. He knows how to survive, and he can teach me, and that will help me keep the children safe, but trust me, I’ve always been the type to do pretty much what I wanted to do and damn the consequences. My brothers were always lulled into a false sense of security because I went along with most of what they wanted. If something isn’t that important to me one way or the other”-she shrugged-“if it’s important to the other person, why not let them have their way?”

“Is that why you were performing in public when it caused you pain?”

“No, silly, I did that because I love my family. Do you go to the grocery store and deal with the woodshops when you’d rather pull out your fingernails one by one?”

“Point taken.”

Briony caught the edges of two strands of thick tangled vines looping toward her and dragged them to her right. “I’ve never been fond of berry bushes.”

“Making an opening can be particularly uncomfortable if a bear happens to be having a little snack.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“I did offer to be manly and go out first.”

“Yes, you did. Thankfully I don’t smell a bear close by, although I think your brother is coming up behind us fast.”

You must stink. Briony can smell you already, Ken informed his brother.

Pure aphrodisiac, Jack sent back.

Jack slithered through the tunnel at top speed, wanting to get back to Briony. He’d felt such a burst of love-of pride and admiration-when she’d made the decision to trust him with her life. He’d felt humbled by her faith in him, by the love he saw in her eyes right before she turned and ran into an open field filled with smoke.

He needed to get to her to clean the laceration in her side. The last thing she needed was an infection, and with the wound open she could easily get one. Mostly he wanted to find a place to take shelter and let her rest. He had told her the babies would be fine, but he wasn’t so certain. He hadn’t had a chance to read the entire book on pregnancy, and he was worried.

Briony parted the brambles and stepped out cautiously. Black smoke drifted by and curled around the tops of bushes and scrub trees. Ken moved up in front of her, his gun ready, eyes quartering the area around them with methodical patience. Behind them, Jack did the same thing.

“Follow Ken, baby. He’ll lead you through the brush. Not too far from here we’ve got a small camp set up. You can rest there until nightfall.”

“You don’t think they’ll come after us?”

“That’s the idea. They’ll think we’re trapped here, and sooner or later they’ll make their move.”

“I need to find Luther, Jack. He can lead us back to Mari.”

“You’re absolutely certain you have a sister? Whitney might be just as capable of planting memories as taking them away.”

Briony reached for him, mind to mind, trying to make him feel what she felt-the emptiness, the joy of discovery, the sound of two voices mingling together. Jack and Ken had used telepathy-so had Briony and Mari.

“Try it. Try now,” Jack suggested. He took her arm as they walked into a shallow stream. “The rocks are brutal, here, Briony. Watch your step.”

Briony concentrated on remembering her sister-how it felt to be with her, to see her and interact with her, to be close to her. She felt the rocks sharp and slippery beneath her feet and the cold water seeping into her shoes, but her mind was already stretching, reaching for Mari. Where are you? I can’t find you. Do you know me-remember me? Mari. Answer me.

Silence. Emptiness. Briony pressed a hand to her aching heart. “I can’t reach her, Jack.”

“Then we know she isn’t somewhere close by,” he answered.

His usual calm steadied her. “She’s probably here in the States, though, right?”

“It won’t be hard to trace Luther. If he flew in or out of the country at any point, we should be able to find a starting point. If he attacked you in Italy, he had to fly home and report to someone.”

“I don’t think Whitney is in the States. I would get sick and Mom would call a number and Dr. Sparks would be there in a day. Sometimes within hours. Kadan told me Whitney has several private jets able to land at military bases around the world. If he has that kind of clout, he could easily smuggle someone out of one country and into another,” Briony protested. “If these jets are used to bring prisoners from one place to another without the world knowing, Whitney could certainly get Luther in and out of the United States with no problem.” She placed both hands protectively over her stomach. “He could take me out of the country.”

“Not a chance, little darlin’,” Ken said. “The United States was Whitney’s stomping ground. He has friends in high places, and he certainly uses CIA tactics to run covert operations. He’s embedded deep here, and yes, he may have places overseas, but he’s going to want to stay right where he knows he has help-and that’s the United States.”

“How can we trust anyone?” Briony asked. “In the file Kadan gave me, there was an entire section on corporations that were fronts, and jets and military bases around the world, and hidden laboratories. You know he’s got to have help. He isn’t alone in this. He’s creating an army of supersoldiers for someone.”

Jack helped her over a particularly large set of rocks, up onto the embankment. “Don’t sound so scared, Briony. He isn’t going to get you.”

“He has my sister.”

“We’ll find her. I’ve got a few friends I trust,” Jack said, glancing at Ken over her head. Is that true anymore? Who can we trust?

We trust each other and the members of our team-because that’s all we have, Jack. They’re in this with us. If we’re expendable, they’re expendable.

Ken cleared his throat. “We’re going on the assumption your sister-if she really exists-wants out. Whitney’s managed to get quite a few men working for him and they appear fanatical. Is it possible she wants to be exactly where she is?”

“Luther said it wasn’t necessary for the woman to agree. I think Whitney wants to see how far she’ll go to fight him-and how far his supersoldier walking sperm banks will go to keep her.” She touched her cheek. “Luther went from being gentle with me, talking reasonable, to flashes of jealousy and anger. No, I don’t think she wants to be there, Ken. I think she’s being held prisoner and they’re hurting her to get her cooperation. I want to find her.”

“We’ll find her, Briony,” Jack assured her.

They followed a faint deer path into a thick grove of trees. The branches overhead intertwined to form a thick canopy, providing shade and a refuge against the helicopter searching methodically above them. Jack went directly over to several thick ferns and pushed the leaves back, feeling along the ground until he found a rope.

The trapdoor opened to reveal a pit wide enough to accommodate supplies. He pulled out a heavy crate and set it to one side. Beneath it was a second one.

“Good grief. Are you planning on staying awhile?”

“We like comfort,” Ken explained. “All the amenities of home. It’s called being prepared, little sister. Better to stash a few supplies here and there then get caught with your pants down.”

Jack spread out a groundsheet and tossed a sleeping bag on it, gesturing for Briony to sit down. “Everything but the baby book. Next time, we’ll think to include things like that in all our caches, so if we lose one, we’ll have another.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“He’s not,” Ken said. “He’s always got books to read. I’m a music man myself.”

She sat in the shade watching the two men set up a lethal field around the small camp. They seemed to have thought of everything. They had several small tabs to use should they need warmth, as well as supplies to eat. Mostly, she noticed, they had ammunition, guns, and explosives.

“Lay back, baby. Let me take care of that wound on your hip,” Jack instructed. He heated up water using one of the field tabs. Crouching beside her, he pushed up her shirt and indicated she shove down her jeans enough to give him room to work.

“It doesn’t hurt as bad now that we’re not running,” she told him.

“You’re covered in blood.”

“I was running. It was bound to bleed a lot. I didn’t stick anything important,” she said. “I was very careful.”

He removed the blood-soaked gauze and peered closely at the small stitches. “Not a bad job, but a little uneven. You did better on me.”

“Not a bad job?” She squeaked the words, glaring at him. “I sewed it up myself, thank you very much.”

Ken burst out laughing. “He said the same thing to me once.”

Briony winced as Jack cleaned the wound again with the hot water and antiseptic. It burned and stung enough to bring tears to her eyes. “Where were you? How’d you get hurt?”

“Afghanistan,” Ken said. “There’s a ten-thousand-foot ridge known as the Whale’s Back on the west side of a valley, and on the east the Shah-e-Kot mountains rise above, with the enemy sitting up around ten to twelve thousand feet, using everything from small arms, to mortar and heavy machine guns. The infantry was caught in the valley humping over bare ground with heavy gear and no cover. The enemy had all the advantages, sending heavy fire from very defensible positions, inflicting heavy causalities on the infantrymen.”

“When you say infantry, aren’t you talking a lot of troops?”

Ken shrugged. “I think a couple of battalions. They were chasing the resistance into the mountains in an attempt to mop up after the battle. We were sent in to provide additional defense for the troops.”

“Ow!” Briony slapped at Jack’s hand as he poured liquid over the wound. It burned even worse than the first brew he’d used.

“Stop being a baby,” Jack murmured. “You sound just like Ken.”

“I take it the situation got bad,” Briony prompted, gritting her teeth. Her side hurt worse than when she was running. The talk distracted her, and in any case, she liked catching glimpses into their world.

Jack pressed fresh gauze to the wound. “It went to hell very fast. The two battalions were taking heavy casualties and were pinned down. Six of us went in to try to clear out the enemy and get our men out of there. The enemy had them right where they wanted them.”

“How did Ken get hurt?”

“I think he has ADD,” Jack said. “He can’t stay still.”

Briony laughed, in spite of the fact that he was taping the gauze in place and the wound still burned from the double dose of disinfectant. She knew Ken could remain still for hours.

“You laugh,” Jack said, “but it’s the truth. We hooked up with the Airborne’s brigade, and the enemy was throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink. We moved up to a better vantage point and began picking them off, but as soon as we got rid of one, another would take his place. The fighting went on so long we were running low on ammunition. We’d cached our gear below and Ken decided he’d just take a little run across the bare valley and up to a ridge about another one hundred meters and collect it for us. You, know, a little stroll through the park.”

“And you sat up there and protected him while he did it,” Briony guessed.

“Hell, someone had to. He’s a maniac. He took a grenade launcher with him and made the run back and forth through heavy fire at over eleven thousand feet. The air’s pretty thin, but not only did he drag our gear and ammo back, but he took out a nest of al-Qaeda hidden in a streambed firing mortars at us. Just as he came up over the ridge, I caught the edge of tree cancer just above us and knew a sniper had set up.”

“What’s tree cancer?”

“Snipers set up, and sometimes you catch the edge of their blind. It looks like a growth on the trunk, so we refer to it as cancer.”

“Okay, I get it. So what happened after you spotted him?”

“I took out the shooter, but he got off a round and nailed Ken.”

“He failed to mention the only reason I was able to make the run and live was because he took out anyone trying to cap my ass,” Ken said.

“You do something like that again and I’ll shoot you myself.” Briony caught the rough affection and the fear for his brother swirling in Jack’s mind, but as always his voice was calm and matter-of-fact.

“I picked up a pretty medal,” Ken pointed out.

“You nearly picked it up after we buried you.” Jack soaked a cloth in the warm water and pressed it gently to Briony’s face. “Ken insisted on sewing up his wound, although he let me dig the bullet out of him.”

“Precisely why you weren’t sewing me up, you sadistic bastard. It hurt like hell.”

Jack threw him a sleeping bag. “It’s going to be a long night. I’ll take first watch while you get some sleep.”

Briony waited until Ken settled down a few yards from them before touching the tattoo on Jack’s arm. “You, Ken, and Kadan all have the same tattoos. What are they?”

Jack studied the crest on his arm and the symbol. “Only GhostWalkers wear these tattoos. This is the GhostWalker crest. The globe represents the world, which basically is our hunting ground. We’re responsible for protecting those who can’t protect themselves. The keys signify our various missions, to walk unseen in enemy camps and collect the necessary information, and the knives are, of course, a silent kill. The Latin-nox noctis est nostri-means “the night is ours,” which it is. The GhostWalkers own the night.”

“And the other one?”

“The symbols put together have meaning. The triangle signifies shadow; this is the Greek letter for psi; this is protection against evil forces; and the last is the qualities of a knight. So basically the meaning is-shadow knights protect against evil forces using psychic powers, courage, and honor. We have a creed as well. It means something to us and we live by it.”

“I like the tattoos, and I think it’s especially cool that you use ink that requires special vision to even see them.”

“You’re a GhostWalker, Briony. You’re more than entitled to wear them.”

“Well, I might just get one-after I have the babies.” She frowned. “Why did your team leave you behind in the enemy camp, Jack? You were wounded.”

“I went in to get Ken out. I told them to leave and I knew they’d come back for me. The GhostWalker team mounted two strikes against Ekabela, but I was moved before they hit the camp, both times. They were planning another attack and would have kept doing so until they either found my body or got me out alive.”

“You mean Ken would have.”

“No, I mean all of them would have, orders or not.” He grinned at her. “But Ken would have been leading the pack.”

She flashed a small answering smile. “I really like your brother. He’s a good man. He worries about it too, you know, about being like your father. He doesn’t like being around people any more than you do.”

“He’s the best man I know, Briony, and he sure as hell isn’t like our father.”

“You look at me as if I’m your equal, Jack-your partner. Luther looked at me as I was his possession. You’re nothing like your father, Jack. Nothing at all-and neither is Ken. If we don’t get out of this, I want you to know I’m not sorry for one minute I’ve been able to have with you.”

He groaned softly. “That’s a hell of thing for you to say with my brother only a few feet away.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “It wasn’t meant to be sexual, you nut; I was being emotional.”

“Just looking at you is sexual, let alone you saying something like that.”

“Shut the hell up, Jack,” Ken said without opening his eyes. “I feel like I’m at a porn movie. It’s just wrong.”

Briony laughed. “Are you both really going to go to sleep? Aren’t we surrounded?”

“Ken is; he should be asleep already,” Jack said. “We’ll take turns. If the troops try to move into the canyon, we’ll know. I’ll just mosey on up to the top of that ridge and discourage them. They’ll most likely wait until nightfall-just like we’re waiting.”

Briony stared up at the heavy canopy of branches and leaves. The air was cool and the last of the smoke had drifted away. They could have been out camping instead of hiding from a lethal military group. Neither man seemed stressed at all. Within a matter of minutes, she was certain Ken had actually gone to sleep.

Jack’s hand found hers, tangling their fingers together. “You always want to conserve energy if possible, baby,” he advised, bringing her hand to his mouth. His teeth nipped her finger. “You’ll learn. If you can, go to sleep.” He pulled a light blanket over her body to protect her from the colder temperatures.

“Talk to me. Tell me about you and Ken. How old were you when you lost your mother?” She didn’t want to say killed your father, but somehow the words were there between them.

“Nine. We were nine years old.”

“What happened to you?”

“They took us both to the hospital and then tried various foster homes. Sometimes they split us up, but it was never a good idea. We’d break out and each track the other down. If either of us was mistreated, there was always retaliation. We spent a lot of time on the streets. Eventually, after earning a bad reputation, no one would take us, so for a while we were in a state-run home. That didn’t work out very well either.”

“I can imagine.”

“Neither of us is very good following rules. Somewhere along the line we met Miss Judith.”

“Miss Judith?” There was a wealth of affection in Jack’s voice.

“She would come to the home as a volunteer and was the only person Ken and I would listen to. There was something about her, something very distinct and real. She genuinely wanted to help-she cared. Eventually she fostered us. We were nearly seventeen then, and twice her size, but she took us in against the advice of all the other workers. She had a ranch up in the hills and she gave us plenty of room to run free. In return, we excelled in schoolwork.” He grinned at her. “Notice I didn’t say anything about school. She took over our education and homeschooled us because no regular school wanted anything to do with us. We worked hard for her, and she gave us our first real taste of a home.”

“Is she still alive?”

Jack hesitated. “Yes. But we don’t let anyone know that. She could become… ”

Briony lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. “A liability?”

Jack groaned. “I’m never going to live that down, am I? And no, Miss Judith needs protection so anyone coming after us won’t be able to use our feelings for her against us. I don’t want her vulnerable.”

“Did you fake her death?” Briony asked curiously.

“Too easily disproved. No, we simply manufactured a very heated public argument and she disowned us. After several months she moved to another state and then, a year later, returned to her hometown, back to her family ranch. We’re never seen near the place and she certainly doesn’t come here. We never call her, so there is never a paper trail to follow. Most people have forgotten we were ever with her.”

“I see.” Briony frowned and turned her face up to the sky. “What about me, Jack-and the babies? What are we going to do after they’re born?”

“You’re going to marry me before they’re born, and we’re going to live together right here on this mountain. Ken will help me protect you and the kids, and we’ll be fine. I think I can send a loud enough message to any enemy that if they dared mess with my family, I’d never stop until they were dead.”

“I wouldn’t want you to do that, Jack. Revenge isn’t the way to live life,” Briony said gently.

He tunneled his fingers in her hair. “You’re not going to change who-or what-I am, baby. Ken and I tried that a long time ago. We know what we can and can’t live with. No one is going to take you away from me.”

She was silent for a long time, staring up at the clouds, her swollen eye watering and aching, but fire in her side was slowly going away. She rubbed her hand over her stomach soothingly. “I’ve changed your life so much already, Jack.”

“That’s a good thing, Briony.”

“And Ken said I can’t marry you.”

Jack felt his heart jump in his chest. He glanced at his sleeping brother. “Did he say why?”

“Yes.” She kept her voice sober. “He said you have to ask me properly.”

Relief made him weak. His pulse beat at his temples, throbbed in his neck. For one moment his fingers closed in her hair in a tight fist. “Properly? If I ask, you might say no, so I’m thinking we’ll just start off right and I’ll tell you and we’ll get the thing done.”

“Get the thing done?” Briony echoed.

Ken snorted aloud. “Jack, I’ll take over watch and you get some sleep. I think you fried your brain up there on the roof.”

“Pipe down over there,” Jack said. “You’re already stirring up trouble.”

“Get the thing done?” Briony repeated slowly. “The thing being what exactly?”

“The ceremony. The paperwork. Whatever the hell it takes to make it legal.”

Briony sat up and glared at him. “Take your ‘it’ and shove it, Jack.”

“There’s no need to be getting upset, Briony. We can’t exactly go around with a bunch of kids and not do whatever the hell it is one does to make it legal.”

“Whatever the hell it takes to make what legal?”

He shrugged. “How the hell would I know? I’ve never done this before. Sleeping together I guess.”

“So you’re going to marry me so it’s legal to sleep with me?”

“This isn’t coming out right.”

“You think?”

“Don’t get upset, baby. I don’t understand why you’re getting upset.”

“Don’t you ‘baby’ me, Jack,” she said, narrowing her eyes in warning. “Marriage might not be anything but a ceremony to you, but to me it’s something sacred. And you don’t have to worry, I’m not about to insist on marriage. I told you from the beginning I’m quite capable of raising a child by myself.”

“We’re not having one child, Briony,” he pointed out. “We’re having two. I guess that means you need me whether you like it or not.”

“I guess you’re not getting it, Jack. I have no intention of marrying you.” She half sat, glaring at him.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? What are we going to tell all of our children? I don’t think we’ll be stopping at two, do you?”

Briony couldn’t help the sudden urge to laugh. Jack was impossible-would always be impossible. She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Two is already scaring the hell out of me. I don’t think we’ll be talking about having more for a long, long time. Do you have any idea how small a baby actually is, Jack? Have you ever held one?”

“Nope. But I’m sure we can manage. There’s bound to be a book on the subject somewhere. And don’t think we’re finished talking about the marriage thing.”

“We’re definitely finished.”

She shivered beneath the thin blanket, and Jack reached out to pull her tight against the warmth of his body. “Come here. You’re going to get chilled if you don’t stay close to me,” he said invitingly. His hands slid up and down her arms to rub heat into her.

Ken rose and caught up his rifle. “I’m going to do a little recon while you catch some shut-eye, Jack.”

Be careful bro. They’ll have a sniper in the trees trying to catch a glimpse of one of us walking around.

Like I don’t know that. I think it best to give you a chance to redeem yourself. You’re such a jackass, and you can grovel better if I’m not around. Ken flashed a grin at his brother and stalked off into heavier brush, back in the direction they’d come.

“Is he going to be all right?”

“He’s giving us a little privacy.” Jack turned onto his side, propping his head up with his hand to stare down at her face. “He thinks I’m making a jackass of myself.”

“He’s right.”

“I know. I know it’s too soon, Briony. There’s no way you could fall in love with me this fast, but I know how I feel about you. It has nothing to do with Whitney or pheromones or experiments. When I’m with you, I feel different-alive-happy-hell, even peaceful-even though you argue half the time.”

“I don’t argue.”

He smiled at her, his free hand sliding down her throat in a gentle caress to trace the swell of her breasts. “You make me happy, Briony. It doesn’t seem to matter where we are or what kind of hell we’re walking into, when I’m with you, there’s something inside of me that lights up. Tell me why you don’t want to marry me.”

Briony stared up at his face, so masculine-rough and weathered, with lines etched deep; his gray eyes that could ice up or go hot like the sun. He wasn’t a man who smiled often, but he was a man who took care of his own. She traced those lines with her fingertips. Emotion swept over her, shaking her, setting her pulse racing and her stomach fluttering. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to marry you, Jack Norton, only that you hadn’t asked me properly.”

The look on her face-in her eyes-set his heart pounding. No one had ever looked at him like that before. He could wake up to that look every morning. He shifted his weight again so he could frame her face with his hands, wincing a little as his thigh connected with the groundsheet. “You ever heard of a book on this crap, because I’m going to need something.”

Briony groaned and rolled onto her back, laughing helplessly. “You’re hopeless, Jack. Hopeless.”

“I love you, woman. What more is there to say?” Her laughter affected him more than he thought possible. To keep the overwhelming emotion at bay, he bent his head to hers and took possession of her mouth-a little desperately, a little wildly-mostly lovingly.