Deadly Game

Chapter 18

The soldier closest to Whitney yanked him back and down. The blade sliced across the back of soldier's arm. As he whipped out his gun and leveled it at Sean, Whitney yelled, "'No! Don't kill him. I need him alive."

Sean didn't look at any of the security team. His gaze was solely on Whitney, as if he were a robot programmed to destroy. In spite of the men who were surrounding the doctor, he waded in. fists flying, trying to achieve his goal.

Mari struggled to her feet. Violet and the senator were already at the elevator, and they weren't waiting for her. She was left on her own, facing Whitney, his supersoldiers, and a demonic Sean. She took a deep breath and inched toward the hall. Most of the guards were watching Sean, trying to find a way to subdue him without getting hurt. He was fast and dangerous, and most of them had at one time or another been bested by him.

She couldn't use the elevator, so the stairs were her only option. She made it about six feet before Whitney turned his attention to her. "Stay where you are, Mari. You don't want Rose to get hurt, now. do you?"

Rose? Are you out? Mari hesitated, needing reassurance.

Kane made me run. He fought off a couple of the guards. Someone, must be your friends, provided covering fire. I'm over the fence and running free. Someone tried to stop me; he kept shouting they could get me out, but I don't trust anyone. I'm sticking to our original plan. Scatter and evade. I can get to the stash of money and take my share.

Mari knew she had hesitated too long. Most of Whitney's supersoldiers in the vicinity wrestled Sean to the ground. He was making animal noises and still trying to crawl, with the security force on his back, toward Whitney.

Cami. Are all the girls safe and away?

We're close We'll scatter and will meet you at the rendezvous point, Cami confirmed. Are you out? I'll come back and help.

The doctor sighed. "You're a lot more talented than I ever suspected, aren't you, Mari? And to think I nearly gave the order to eliminate you. Are you pregnant with Norton's child?"

"You sent Sean to me last night. I won't know until after it's born, will I?" She took another step back, but two of Whitney's guards were locked onto her. Each step she took, they mirrored, so they were doing a macabre dance with her.

It was bizarre and very difficult to be in a deadly dance and yet hold a telepathic conversation with her sister. Of course Cami would risk her life and return to aid Mari. Mari would do it for her. No! Keep moving. I'm going with Ken to his home in Montana. She sent the images of its location she'd picked out his head.

"I don't understand how I could have missed your abilities ail these years." Whitney frowned and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

"I knew you were psychic. You use touch, don't you?" she guessed shrewdly, hoping to throw the guards off by talking to Whitney. She gained a few more inches, but the entrance to the stairs was still so far away. She was fast, very fast, but Whitney's team was enhanced.

No! Cami objected Don't trust any of them. Stick to our plan.

Go, Cami. I'm in a fight right now. Get away!

"Very good, my dear. Of course I do. I have a superior brain as well as being psychic. There are very few true strong psychics in the world." He glanced toward Sean. The man was pinned down and secured with flex-cuffs on both his ankles and wrists. He was still fighting to get to Whitney. "You controlled his mind, Mari. You planted a suggestion, a nasty one at that. He hasn't touched you, has he? He simply thinks that he has. Yet Brett…" he said thoughtfully, a small frown of concentration on his face.

Mari leapt to cover the distance, using enhanced physical ability to gain the stairway. She grasped the railing, leapt onto it, and. using it as a springboard, jumped half a flight of stairs. She raced up to the third-level landing. She heard Whitney yell to his men to go after her. and she caught the second banister and made a second jump.

Ken. I'm on the run. Are the other women away clean? She didn't like that almost Cami had given her and wanted him with her. She could hear the men. one leaping after her, the other galloping up the stairs, talking into a radio, and telling someone to cut her off. Someone was waiting on the next staircase: she heard the radio and the buzz of men's voices.

I led them out through the corridor. Your friend Cami's taking them the rest of the way. It's up to them to get out once they're on the surface. Jack says all hell is breaking loose. I'm on my way back to you.

I'm on the stairs, trying to get to level two, but I'm trapped between two security teams. I don't think I can make it to you. You'll have to go without me.

Like hell, don't be ridiculous. I'm not leaving without you. How close are you to level two? Can you beat the team chasing you?

Yes, but I'm running right into the men waiting for me. Mari paused, unable to decide what direction would be the most promising.

Keep going, sweetheart. Fast. You want to be at the top; hit them hard and mean, buy us a couple of seconds.

What are you going to do?

I'm going to take down his house. I take it Sean didn't get him?

No, and Whitney realized he was under a suggestion, but he thinks I did it. She had sprinted as fast as she could up the long staircase. Without slowing down, she hit the door and plowed into the security guard waiting there for her. They both went down, Mari kicking hard at his face.

The guard caught her left foot and twisted, rolling her over onto her stomach, but she kicked at him with her right foot, hitting him hard enough that his hold loosened. Still using the momentum of the fall, she rolled over into a crouch and sprang back to her feet. The second guard loomed over her, and she ran into his chest before she could stop her forward motion. He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, pinning her arms against her sides. Mari used her knees, driving upward to hit him under the chin with the top of her head.

She dug both thumbs under his ribs, and when his arms loosened, she dropped lower, spreading her elbows to gain even more precious inches of room. She was able to get one arm free and drove the heel of her palm into his nose, pivoting to throw her body weight behind the blow. Breaking free, she tried to run again, knowing the two other guards who had been chasing her were only a couple of steps behind her.

Get down!

She dropped, both hands covering her head, as a deafening explosion knocked them all off their feet. Ken burst out of the rubble, grabbing her arm and jerking her up. As he turned, he drove the toe of his boot into one guard's head, dropping him like a stone. "Run, Mari!"

Ken tossed her a gun and a knife, then dropped back to protect her as she made her way through the dirt and debris. Go left. Take the left passage, he instructed as he laid down a spray of bullets, driving their pursuers back.

Mari whirled around, all business, as two lab techs popped up waving guns. She shot them both, her aim deadly. She kept moving, running along the narrow hall, twice taking out a camera as she went, her legs carrying her when her mind felt numb.

"The others, Ken, have you heard anything?" Mari asked anxiously.

Ken swept her against the partition, covering her body with his as bullets spat into the wall behind them. He returned fire, pushing her forward, urging her to run while he stepped out and sent covering fire down the long hall. Glass shattered, and guards leapt into doorways, finding whatever shelter they could. Ken ran backward, keeping up the fire until they rounded the next corner and he could turn and sprint after her.

"Jack says the women took off in different directions. My team had a hell of a time providing covering fire for them, but no one could stop them long enough to get them to the waiting helicopter. They went up and over the fence and scattered into the forest. We stopped most of their pursuers, but there's one hell of a firefight going on between Violet's men guarding the senator and Whitney's supersoldiers. It actually helped get the women out."

Ken caught her arm. bringing her to an abrupt halt as he yanked open a small maintenance door set into the wall. "The grill, get inside the shaft. Hurry."

She didn't waste time asking questions. They only had seconds. When the guards rounded the corner and saw they were gone, they would check the small maintenance room. She yanked the grill free and dove into the shaft, scrambling forward to give Ken plenty of room. He pulled the grill after him and signaled her forward.

Almost immediately bullets cut through the door and walls of the room behind them. Mari hesitated, her heart pounding, but Ken pushed her bottom, urging her to keep moving. Mari crawled as fast as she could, trying to stay quiet. The tube was surprisingly large, and getting wider as she moved down it. Ken tapped her ankle as she came up on another grill.

She pushed it out and like the other one, the grill fell open easily, the screws already removed. Man slid through headfirst, rolling, gun up and ready, tracking the room. She found herself in another maintenance room, tools scattered everywhere and a bucket of dirty water with a mop stuck in it pulled away from the wall. The bucket seemed out of place to her with all the tools.

She looked around, breathing hard, struggling to control her fear. She'd been on several missions with bullets flying, but nothing had prepared her for this-escaping from Whitney. He had controlled her life for so long she wasn't certain she could even think for herself.

Ken's hand brushed the nape of her neck. "You've been thinking for yourself for a very long time, honey. Stop worrying."

"You weren't touching me and you knew what I was thinking. I hate that. You scare me sometimes."

He flashed a small grin at her as he pushed past her to crack open the door enough to peer out. "You don't exactly have a poker face, darlin'," he drawled.

"I wish I could believe you, but I'm not that transparent. I spent too long fooling Whitney. You've got way more psychic talent than you let on."

The alarm was blaring through the compound now, and chaos had broken out. Lab techs hurried out into the corridor. Ken reached out and snagged a man by his coat, yanking him into the closet and smashing an elbow to his head. The tech slumped to the floor and lay there groaning. "Get his jacket off."

Man crouched down to pull the jacket from the tech. Whitney had made it mandatory for all techs on the third level to wear a black lab coat and those on the second level a white one. The man was wearing a white coat, but she'd caught a glimpse of several third-level techs. They were swarming up the stairs along with the security teams sweeping through each of the levels.

"What was the explosion?" She kicked the man as he tried to rise, and he went down a second time. Mari donned the jacket and looked around the room for a hat.

"I set a few timed charges. They'll keep going off at odd intervals, just enough to keep Whitney and his men rattled. The women are over the fence and presumably away. Jack says unfortunately the senator is almost to the plane. Jack's waiting for us."

"They don't have my sisters?" She winced as Ken grabbed a second white-coated tech and slammed him into the wall. He bounced and Ken dragged him into the small room. "Not a single one?"

"Your sisters aren't very misting." His vivid gaze pinned her. "You knew they wouldn't be. You all discussed it ahead of time, didn't you?"

To avoid his glacier-cold eyes, Mari bent down to pull the jacket from the tech. "Yes. I knew you wouldn't be happy."

And he'd be even less happy knowing she was supposed to get away from him and meet them as soon as possible.

"Just because my men are risking their lives to get the women out? Your sisters knew they were going to be there, with bullets flying and a helicopter waiting, and they went over the fence and scattered into the woods."' He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "Are you planning to do the same thing?"

She avoided his eyes. What was she planning? She was going to see Briony. She was going to try with Ken. "I'm planning on going out with you, fighting for all I'm worth and gaining freedom. You know that word that is supposed to represent the American way? Freedom, Ken. We wanted the freedom to make our own decisions."

"They're psychic, most without anchors, the same as you are. How are they-or you-going to survive without aid? And do you really think Whitney is just going to let them go? He'll send every soldier he has to get them back. We could have protected them."

"And exchanged one prison for another?"

His heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. "Is that what you think you're doing, Mari?"

Their eyes met. He counted his heartbeats. She had talked with her sisters about taking off on her own. He had handed her his soul, and she was thinking of walking away from him. And why not? Life with him would be a form of prison. He couldn't deny it-not even to himself. He would want to run her life, wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her hidden from the world and any danger it might present. She desperately wanted, needed-and deserved-freedom.

Ken swallowed everything he wanted to say and took the jacket from her, shrugging into it. The coat was too small, and pulled across his arms and back, but it would do getting down the corridor. With explosives going off every few minutes, he doubted Whitney was staring into the security cameras. Ken had taken a great deal of time setting the charges for maximum chaotic effect.

Mari caught his arm before he opened the tool room door again. "I don't think I'm exchanging prisons, Ken. I'm just afraid. Terrified, in fact. I don't have a clue what to expect outside this facility. I feel as if I'm going AWOL. I need to find out who and what I am and if I can even live with the rest of the world."

She didn't add before I can be in a relationship, but he heard the echo of the words in his heart. Maybe he heard them in her head. And a relationship with him would not be of her choosing, once she was out in the real world where normal men, with maybe a penchant for romance and gentleness, were available to her.

Ken. Jack's voice intruded, sharp with command. All hell is breaking loose up here. Can you get to the first level? Logan and Neil are making their way to you. I'm backing them up, but if I don't see your ass in the next few minutes, I 'm breaking protocol and coming to get you. Get moving now. There was urgency in Jack's voice.

Ken knew his brother would too. Jack would place his own life and anyone else's in danger to get Ken out of trouble, just as Ken would do for him. I'm on my way. We're on the second level trying to make our way up to the first. Give me a few minutes.

You might not have a few minutes. Oh shit! There was a moment of complete concentration.

Ken recognized the blank, emotionless will of iron in his brother that meant he was sending a bullet into someone. He waited, knowing something bad had happened.

One of the security guards guiding the senator to the plane just shot him in the head. Violet took the son of a bitch out and pulled her husband into the plane, but it doesn't look good. We can't tell the bad guys from the good guys, Ken. You've got to get out of there and make it to the helicopter. They re pouring out of that building like bees.

Roger that. Ken cracked open the door enough to peer into the hall. Mostly techs ran for the stairs. A few security guards and soldiers pushed through the corridor trying to see the individuals, which told him Whitney hadn't given up hope of finding them.

Anyone spot Whitney?

You and I both know he's got himself a tunnel or two. He's not going to get trapped here. He's probably halfway to his next lair. He pushes a button on a computer and his data is sent to other computers and he abandons this lab.

Ken pulled Mari close. "Stay close to me. Walk directly to the stairs. Keep the gun in your pocket and ready to use. Don't look up toward the cameras, just walk with the flow of the other techs."

"They'll recognize me. They don't have women techs here. Whitney thought it too much of a distraction."

"Your hair isn't that long. You can pull the jacket up around your neck. We've got to go now, Mari. And if say run. take off and don't look back."

"I'm not leaving you."

"I'll be right behind you. I'm not a hero, honey. I'm not about to let Whitney hook me up to some machine for the rest of my life."

She caught the front of his jacket. "I may have been afraid and even hesitating, but I plan on going with you. See that you're right behind me. I mean it, Ken, because I'll go back for you." Doubts of the future aside, she'd never leave Ken to Whitney's mercy.

"You sound like my brother, and I'm warning you, Mari. you do anything stupid like that and I'm going to put you over my knee."

She rolled her eyes. "I've been caned, Ken. The threat of a spanking doesn't scare me much."

He gave her a little shove. "Get moving. Keep moving."

She was going with him. He had a reprieve. He had no idea how he was going to keep her. but at least she wasn't going to go over the fence and strike out on her own. The women had been planning an escape for some time, and even though Ken and his team had been there offering protection, they hadn't taken a chance on deviating from their plan. They believed in one another and no one else. Even Violet was out of their circle. It worried Ken. If the women turned on Mari for choosing to stay with him. would she eventually resent him?

He shoved all thoughts from his head and went into warrior mode the moment he stepped out of the tool closet. He dropped back several paces to better protect Mari as she pushed her way through the hall. She gave herself fighting room, he noted with approval, and she moved with confidence, but keeping her face averted from the cameras. She had a woman's walk, her hips swaying, and he saw two of the soldiers react as she passed. The men were standing in a doorway, searching faces as the techs went by.

Before either man could speak into his radio, Ken shot them. He used a kill shot, taking them down fast and hard, a one-two attack that had both men sinking to the floor almost before the shots registered with the fleeing crowd. He kept moving, hiding the gun with his body, reacting with the others, nearly running.

A bullet whined past his ear and hit a tech close to him, driving the man into the wall. Blood sprayed and the tech screamed, clamping his hand on his shoulder. Immediately everyone ran, knocking into one another, pushing and shoving as they raced for the stairs.

Ken lost sight of Mari as he crouched low, letting the crowd hide him, while he searched for the enemy. A barrage of bullets swept low through the running mass, knocking people off their feet so that they sprawled on the floor and others trampled them. Blood ran down the corridor. Ken slipped back into the shadow of a doorway and fired rapidly at the lights, plunging the hall into darkness. Instantly he went up the wall, climbing like a spider until he gained the beams running along the ceiling support.

Ken! Mari sounded slightly panicked.

I'm alive. Get the hell out. Jack will cover you. You can trust Neil and Logan. They'll get you to the helicopter.

I'm not going without you.

Bullets swept the entire area where he'd been, the enemy systematically sweeping low and going high, ruthlessly cutting down anyone who ran into the kill zone. Ken fired at the flash, concentrating a tight four-point target where the heart should be.

Mari, I swear, I'll kick your stubborn little ass if you don't do what I say. Go!

He dropped to the floor and lay flat, waiting for a return, but there was only the sound of the dying and the frightened cries of the techs wanting out but unable to gather the courage to move again. He took a careful look around, using his enhanced night vision. A man was down several feet to his left, gun still in hand, a pool of blood spreading under him. Ken leapt up and sprinted for the stairs, leaping over fallen men, ignoring their cries for help.

He jumped halfway up the stairs, ran up the rest, and burst out into the first-level hallway.

Down! Down!

Mari's frantic cry had him diving for the floor, rolling as close to a doorway as possible while his gun was out and tracking. A barrage of bullets kept him rolling, the sound deafening in the narrow confines of the corridor. He managed to crawl into an open door and scramble up the side of the wall to position his body directly over the door. The jacket tore as his muscles bulged, holding his weight spread-eagled across the entryway. He could see where a bullet had pierced the material, leaving a hole through the fabric.

They're coming in. Standard two-man drill. Watch yourself. There was fear in her voice.

You all right, honey? He was calm, soothing. This was what he lived for. She may as well know it. He'd been born a warrior, and anyone stupid enough to come after him simply had a death wish.

I've got a knife. Idiot didn't do a righteous search. Signal when you're clear.

He ignored the anxiety in her voice, keeping his tone the same calm note. You'll know. How many guards have you got on you?

Two. I can take them out; just make sure you get your two. Mari's tone matched his now. calm and sure and filled with confidence.

The two soldiers emptied their guns into the door and walls of the room before slamming new clips in and kicking open what was left of the door. It splintered and broke from the hinges, and the two came into the room, back to back, spraying bullets in a semicircle to cover every inch of the room.

Now, Mari.

Ken leapt from the ceiling, palming his gun and shooting the closest soldier from midair. He landed in a crouch and shot the second one up close. He ripped the tech jacket off of him, though he disliked the white color for surfacing in the dark. You clear, baby? He peered around the corner.

One guard lay at Mart's feet, obviously dead. The other man fought with her for the knife. Ken saw the man's shoulder twist and he punched Mart twice, going for the throat. She managed to turn her body enough for him to miss his target, but the blows rocked her. She didn't drop the knife. Ken came up behind the guard and used his own knife, shoving the blade to the hilt into the man's kidney. He slammed the flat of his hand against the guard's head, driving him away and down, and reached out to pull Mart to him.

He did a quick appraisal, making certain she wasn't bleeding as they turned to jog down the hall. "They're going to hit us with everything they have," he said. "He isn't going to want you to get away."

"He won't kill me," Man said with absolute confidence. "He thinks I controlled Sean and planted the suggestion that we'd had sex."

Ken shot her a glance even as he continued to scan the hall. It's too easy, Jack. He's up to something. "He figured that out?"

"Not much gets passed Whitney. He didn't let the guards kill Sean either. He told them not to, and that means he'll send Sean after me."

"I'm counting on it," Ken said, keeping his shields firmly in place. The last thing she needed to do was feel the raw violence swirling around in his brain. He wanted to take Sean apart one piece at a time and had every intention of doing so.

"But he'll do everything he can to kill you," Mart said. "I want to cover you. You lead and I'll drop back."

Ken pointed ahead of him. "We do it the way I've always done it. We have help waiting. Just head for the helicopter. We'll get you out." As he handed her more clips, he touched her mind, not wanting insubordination in the middle of what he knew was going to be a hell of a firefight.

Mart planned to give herself up if it came down to his life or her freedom-and she wanted freedom now that she'd had a taste of it. But she was determined he wouldn't be captured and tormented by Peter Whitney. The woman could tear out his heart if he was stupid enough to let her. Ken paused, keeping to the left of the door, holding her to him. His lips brushed the back of her head.

No matter what happens, Jack, swear to me, you tell the team we get her out. I don't care if you have to hit her over the head and take her out unconscious. She's not playing the heroine and saving my ass at the cost of hers.

Jack's amusement was soothing balm on a sore wound. Oh, you got it bad, bro. That woman has you tied up in knots. Get the hell out here and let's go. We're not leaving anyone behind.

Ken believed in few things, but he believed in his brother. He gave Mari the location of the helicopter. "Run. Let the team provide covering fire. You keep going and I'll be right on your heels."

We're coming out, he warned his team.

You've got enemies scattered in a loose semicircle, Jack warned. Mitch is trying for the bluff, but he isn't going to make it. There was a moment of silence and then a rifle shot. Oh darn, he slipped back and isn't moving.

Mari took off, sprinting with the blurring speed of an enhanced soldier. Ken keeping pace right behind her. She didn't run straight, but zigzagged, trying to find cover where there was little to find. Gunfire erupted all around them, but they kept running. Ken trusting Jack and the others to keep the enemy pinned.

Incoming.

Down, Mari, hit the ground. Ken leapt forward to tackle her. driving her down even as he warned her, sheltering her body with his. Angry bees stung his back and legs, but he sprawled over Mari, striving with his arms to cover her head and keep her safe from the small, deadly missiles the mini-bomb was ejecting.

Jack swore in his head, the curses long and eloquent. Nails. They put nails in the damn thing. You look like a fuckin' porcupine. Can you run?

I have to. I can do it. Just don't let them throw one of those again. He hurt like a son of a bitch, but he wasn't about to get shot-or captured. He rose, his back and calf muscles screaming at him. Mari obviously felt the pain in his mind, because she kept trying to turn, to see him, but he pushed her firmly forward again.

He put the pain out of his mind. Compartmentalizing was a useful tool, and Ken and Jack had learned it early in life. He ran flat-out, the nails in his body not slowing him down. Several shooters including Neil and Logan closing in on either side of them and dropping to one knee-systematically picked off the enemy.

Mari made it to the helicopter and caught Martin's hand, allowing him to jerk her inside. Ken leapt in and caught the rifle thrown at him, picking it out of the air with one hand, swinging it to his shoulder, and dropping to cover his brother as he came out of the foliage. He heard Mari's gasp as she saw the nails in his body, but his concentration was on the enemy and covering Jack's butt.

Jack came out into the open, firing steadily. Ken caught sight of a soldier tracking his twin and he squeezed the trigger. The man went down, and Ken immediately swept the area looking for others. One rose up right in front of Jack, shooting too fast. Ken saw Jack stagger.

Drop. Even as Ken gave the order, he pulled the trigger. Jack hit the ground and the soldier fell almost on top of him. How bad you hurt?

Just clipped me, took a little bit of muscle, but I'll live. Jack was already up and covering ground fast, looking just as lethal as ever in spite of the blood on his right arm.

Stop trying to look cool and get your ass in the helicopter. Everyone knows you're a tough guy. Ken kept the worry from his voice, covering his concern with their usual jokes.

I was hoping you'd come and carry me; I'm feeling a bit weak. Jack fired off another round, and a soldier using a boulder as a partial shield went down.

Ken tracked two of the enemy sighting on Jack and shot them both. Briony's going to be really pissed at you for coming home damaged.

I'm bringing her sister. She'll be treating me like a hero. Jack made it the last few feet and leapt inside. Martin and Neil followed suit.

"Go, go," Neil ordered, and all of them turned their attention to any ground fire coming their way.

Logan pressed Ken down and sat beside him "Toss me the med kit." He pointed behind Mari's head.

She snagged it and threw it to him, her gaze still on the ground, watching. Once the rifle went to her shoulder, and she pulled the trigger.

"We're clear. No birds in the air."

She noted there was no relaxing. Neil and Martin took up positions to protect the helicopter as Logan began to pull the nails from Ken's back and calves. Most were shallow; there were one or two that looked deeper. Logan ripped Ken's shirt from his body, and she caught all of the men glancing at one another.

Mari dropped down beside Ken and put her hand on the back of his head. She leaned close to him. feeling protective, knowing he wouldn't show it. but he detested the others seeing the scars and the way his back looked like a giant grater had scraped over him. turning the skin haphazardly to cottage cheese. The front of his chest had the same thin pattern of scars as his face and neck. There was no way to block the line of vision all his team members had. She despised the looks on their faces.

Hey, baby, you doing all right? She wanted to ask out loud, for all of them to hear the concern for him in her voice, to hear what she felt for him. but she couldn't make herself that vulnerable. She asked it softly, intimately, in his mind, trying to join them together so he could feel she was with him.

His ringers tangled with hers. There was physical pain, but he could easily bear that. It was much, much more difficult to have his friends staring at him-seeing him-seeing the terrible destruction of his body. Mari ached for him, felt tears burning in her eyes and throat for him. He had been a handsome man with an astonishing face and physique, and Ekabela had taken great care to destroy him, inch by inch.

She bent closer, her lips feathering gently over his temple in an effort to distract him. Thanks for coming to get me. I really didn't want to stay there.

His fingers tightened around hers and he drew her hand to his mouth.

"What the hell's going on here?" Jack demanded. "I've been shot. Does anybody give a damn, or do I have to sit here and bleed to death while you all baby my brother?"

Neil and Martin instantly turned their attention to Jack.

"Sorry. It didn't look that bad," Neil said.

"That bad?" Jack echoed. "I'm pouring blood."

Ken choked. When Mari touched his mind, he was laughing. For the first time since she'd met Jack, she actually liked him a little. She respected him as a soldier, was filled with awe and admiration for him as a sniper, but she hadn't liked him very much and wasn't altogether certain she wanted Briony with him.

With one small performance Jack had changed her opinion of him. He wasn't the type of man to call attention to himself or be bothered by a small wound. He had his own scars, evidence of his torture at the hands of the same man who had had Ken for so long. Jack Norton had the reputation of being as tough as nails. She sent him a small smile and helped his game.

"I'll be sure and tell Briony how tough you are."

"Briony's probably going to hit me with something when she sees me. I promised her I'd be careful."

"I'll tell her you were showing off."

"You do that and I'm retaliating. That sister of yours can be mean."

Ken closed his eyes, fingers tight around Mari's, and allowed himself to drift. He was physically exhausted, three days without sleep and his body on fire from the nails, but he had Marigold and that was all that mattered. He relaxed, listening to his brother banter with her while the helicopter took them far away from Peter Whitney and his insane experiments.