Night Game

CHAPTER 19

She fought the urge to yank the foreign object out of her body.

Someone sat nearby in a chair. There was movement to her left, She feigned sleep, struggling to keep her heart under control when it insisted on accelerating, when adrenaline flooded her body, triggering every alarm in her system. Betrayal was a bitter taste in her mouth. She ached with it. Screamed silently with it. Tears burned but she refused to give them license.

Raoul Fontenot had delivered her back into Whitney’s hands.

Flame awoke to the scent of lavender. She was lying in a bed, but it wasn’t the same bed she’d gone to sleep in with Raoul’s body wrapped closely around hers. Her heart slammed hard as she realized that there was a port directly into the vein under her collarbone. The last time she’d had something like that stuck in her body had been when Whitney gave her the cocktail of medicine needed to get rid of the cancer he had manufactured.

Oh God. Please God. Don’t let this be happening to me. Anything but this. Anything at all. I can’t do this. She sent the silent prayer over and over while she slid her hand up to feel the port, hoping she was having a nightmare. She felt the edges of the dressing and knew the port was stitched in place and the catheter was under her skin.

The person to her left moved to the edge of the bed and bent over her. She smelled him. Knew his touch. She reached for rage, needed it to survive, but there was only pain. She gasped aloud, shocked at the intensity of her anguish. She’d never felt so raw, so ripped open and vulnerable.

“I know you’re awake. I can hear your heart, your breathing. Open your eyes, Flame. It isn’t what you think.” Raoul’s voice was low, almost pleading.

“No?” She lifted her lashes, couldn’t stop the tears from swimming where he could see them, but she didn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at him. “You didn’t seduce me? You didn’t drug me and take me to the one place you knew I swore I’d never go back to? You warned me. I can’t say that you didn’t. You said you were supposed to bring me back, but I let you seduce me into forgetting.”

“Flame, you know better. Look at me. You know it wasn’t like that.”

She was going to be sick. Her stomach churned and she could hear the silent screams in her head growing louder. There was so much pain. She hadn’t expected it to be so bad, the utter humiliation of knowing he had slept with her to do his job.

Surprisingly she wasn’t restrained. She struggled into a sitting position, batting away his hands when he tried to help her. “Don’t touch me. I never want you to touch me again.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Where’s the bathroom? I’m going to be sick.” It was already too late. He shoved a small tray into her hands and she was further humiliated by throwing up over and over again in front of him.

He left her side for a brief moment to return with a cool washcloth and towel. She took it without looking at him. She knew if she looked, if she saw his face and his lying eyes, the terrible storm inside of her would crash over her and she would break apart, shatter so completely that she wouldn’t be Flame anymore.

Raoul took the small tray from her, dumped it and rinsed it out, returning it to the bed within reach of her hand. The sight of the tray triggered childhood memories. Ugly. Torturous. She felt dizzy and for a moment couldn’t catch her breath.

Control. Discipline. Patience. She repeated the mantra silently. She knew what she had to do. She was prepared; she’d been prepared ever since the first moment of her escape. Death wasn’t nearly as bad as living as a lab rat.

She let her breath out slowly. “I guess you didn’t believe me when I told you I’d destroy everything before I’d be put in a cage again. I’m willing to die here, Raoul, are you? Because you have about two minutes to get the hell out and take everyone else with you.”

“Why warn me, Flame? Why not just do it?”

“Get out, Raoul.” She was tired. Desperately tired and drained. The screams in her head had subsided, but now, somewhere deep inside she was silently weeping. Great terrible sobs that she couldn’t control were shredding her heart. Her body shook with sobs, her chest ached and her throat was nearly closed with the tears clogging it, but no sound escaped. She refused to give that to him.

“I’m not leaving your side.”

“Look, you did your job. You can go tell all your buddies how great you are. You royally fucked me.”

“Maudit! That’s not the way it was.”

“That’s exactly the way it was. You knew you couldn’t force me back so you pretended to fall in love with me.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I fell for every word you said. Be proud of yourself. Maybe Whitney will give you a nice bonus. Just get the hell out of here. I can’t stand the sight of you.” She pressed the wet cloth over her face, hoping it would cool her burning eyes.

“You would never have come in on your own, Flame. Never.”

“Where am I? The room is soundproofed, but it’s no hospital.”

“I couldn’t risk taking you to Lily’s home. All of us stay there on and off and Lily’s pregnant. If you decided to retaliate, I had to find a way to contain the damage. You can kill me, Flame, but I’m not going to let you take out the others. They only did what I asked them to do because they wanted to help you.”

She looked at her broken arm, at the new cast, unmarred by the rain and water of the bayou. “I suppose you’re going to tell me Lily did this.”

“She had to check to make certain there was no infection from the alligator bite. You’re on strong antibiotics and painkillers, but with the cast getting wet-”

“Where’s Peter Whitney?” she demanded, cutting him off.

“I have no idea. I’ve brought you to a facility where Lily can treat the cancer and we can guard you from Peter Whitney, if, in fact, he’s still alive and is trying to take you back. Peter Whitney has nothing to do with this – or with me. I brought you here because it was the only way to keep you alive.”

“That’s not your decision to make.” She was holding on by a thread, rocking back and forth to try to soothe the pain. How could he have taken away her free will?

“It is my decision, Flame. It should have been. I love you and…”

“Damn you to hell for even saying that.” She jerked the cloth from her face and for the first time forced herself to look at him. It was a terrible mistake. He didn’t look like the devil. He looked like the man she loved with his dark wavy hair and his impossible eyes. His sinful mouth and perfect body. Instead of the anger and rage she so desperately needed, she broke down.

The storm inside her body took over and she heard a long wail of grief break free. It tore through her insides and escaped before she could contain it. Flame buried her face in the pillow in an attempt to muffle the sound of her sobbing. She’d given him something so precious. Not her body, or even her love, but she trusted him. She didn’t want to see shadows in his eyes, or a face ravaged by worry. She wanted to hate him the way he deserved to be hated.

The bed shook with her sobs. The room shook. Gator stood against the wall listening to her crying as if he’d not just broken her heart, but ripped it out of her body. He’d destroyed her. There was no way to comfort her, nothing he could find to say that she would understand. He sank into the small armchair he’d set by the door and covered his face with his hands. He’d expected anger, rage, an emotion he could cope with, but she was killing him with her grief. And it was grief. Her grief was destroying him.

He felt her pain as if it were his own. He’d done the right thing, taken the only avenue available to him. His chest tightened and his throat ached. Tears burned in his eyes. He’d done this to her. He’d made the decision to save her life, knowing he’d probably lose her, but he hadn’t considered the consequences beyond that. He thought he could bear losing her as long as he knew she was alive, but he couldn’t bear being the one to cause her such pain.

Flame felt a hand on her shoulder. Her first reaction was to shrug it off, but the hand was soft and thin, the scent strong of lavender. The hand stroked back her hair and a soft voice murmured comforting words. “There, there, cher. It will be all right. I’m here now. We’ll make it all right.”

“Nonny?” Was she hallucinating? She turned her head to see the little old lady standing beside her bed, her eyes filled with concern. “You can’t be here.” She tried to get the words out between the tearing sobs. Her breathing was so ragged, her throat so sore, she could barely get the words out. Worse, she was going to be sick again.

Flame groped blindly for the tray, vomiting over and over until she had the dry heaves. Nonny took the tray from her and pushed the wet washcloth into her hand. Somewhere in the room, Raoul watched and that knowledge only added to her humiliation. How could he do this to her?

Nonny was back, slipping an arm around her and taking the cloth, replacing it with a glass of water. “This will pass, Flame. Lily said you might be sick.”

Flame fought to control the wild weeping. She’d learned a long time ago it didn’t do any good. It only gave her a headache and made her angry with herself for giving Whitney the satisfaction of getting to her. Now it was Raoul. Another sob escaped. How could he have done it?

I had no choice.

Flame closed her eyes, ashamed of her lack of control. The intensity of her emotions was so strong she was connecting with him. She made an effort to pull herself together. Control. Discipline. Patience. She repeated it over and over until she calmed the wild storm enough to sip the water and gain a semblance of control.

“How long have I been here?”

“Forty-six hours,” Raoul answered. He leaned back until his head rested against the wall. He’d had forty-six hours to prepare for this, yet he had never considered her heart-or his-would break.

“That can’t be. Nonny, you have to get out of here, now. It’s too dangerous for you to stay. Raoul, get her out of here.”

Nonny patted her hand. “Now, now, child, don’ be gettin’ yourself riled up again. Raoul explained you were like him, some kind of government weapon, and that you could lose control and maybe bring the building down on top of us.”

“Not maybe, Nonny, I could. I don’t know what he was thinking, bringing you with him.”

“He told me what he was goin’ to do, and I knew you’d be plenty angry with him. It was wrong to take matters into his own hands, but he’s always been like that. I knew you’d be upset and you’d need me. I don’ care about the danger. Raoul loves you. You’re family, girl. I take care of my family.”

Flame shook her head. “This is crazy. You can’t stay, Nonny. Bad things happen in these places. Raoul knows that. He should never have allowed you to risk your life.”

Nonny laughed. “Honey, I’m on the backside of my life. I’ve lived full and long and had a good run. You’re just beginning, same as Raoul. I was the one who told Raoul I was going to come with you. He tried to talk me out of it, but I told him you were goin’ to need me.”

Flame closed her eyes. She couldn’t risk Nonny’s life. She just couldn’t. She looked so innocent, so frail, so determined to help and yet she didn’t have a clue how utterly dangerous staying really was. “Listen to me. I swear to you, I won’t use sound as a weapon. I’ll do everything they tell me, but you can’t stay here. If Raoul is telling the truth and he isn’t working for Peter Whitney, then believe me, Whitney will send others to get me back and a whole lot of people are going to die here. You can’t stay, Nonny.”

“You’re a good girl, Flame. I’m here and I’m goin’ to watch over you and see things done right. If someone is trying to take you from my boy, well you just trust him to keep you safe. He swore to me he and the others would stay with you every minute and I believe in him.”

Flame sank back onto the mattress. Of course Raoul’s grandmother believed in him; he hadn’t ripped her heart out of her chest and stomped on it. She closed her eyes and turned her face away, tears leaking onto the pillow. “Are there cameras in here, Raoul?”

“No. You aren’t restrained, but the door is locked and guarded. I’ll be inside with you at all times. Kadan, Tucker and Ian are guarding the building around the clock. A couple of other members of my team, men I trust implicitly, will be joining us. Both Lily and Ryland are here as well. Nico and Sam are out on a mission but, Dahlia’s en route. They should be here in a few hours. The general sent us some help as well. They aren’t enhanced, but they’re good soldiers and highly trained.”

Gator kept his tone informative and made no attempt to go near the bed. Flame was obviously hanging on by a thread and it was only his grandmother’s presence that kept violence from erupting. There was always the possibility of suicide, but she would never do such a thing as long as she felt she had to protect Nonny.

Flame took a deep breath and let it out, forcing her mind away from betrayal and back toward logic. “When do you think he’ll try to hit us?”

So she was accepting the fact that he wasn’t working for Peter Whitney. That was the first step. A small one, but he’d take it. “If he’s really looking to reacquire you, and the general consensus is that either he, or someone familiar with his program, is, then the logical action would be to come after you immediately, before we’re set. We found tranquilizers, not bullets in the sniper’s rifle.”

“He has to have an informer, or he wouldn’t have known I was in the bayou.”

“It isn’t Lily. And the computer probably tells him the same thing it tells Lily. If he wrote the program and feeds in personalities, the program will tell him what you’re most likely to do next.”

“You need to get Nonny out of here. We don’t have enough manpower to keep her safe.” She looked around her. “Where are my clothes?”

“You aren’t getting up.”

She turned her head to stare straight at him and there was fire in her eyes. “Don’t you tell me what I can or can’t do.”

Whatever drugs they’d been giving her to keep her knocked out still lingered in her system. She felt slow, her mind a little hazy. And obviously Lily had started a chemotherapy treatment. Flame wasn’t one of the lucky ones. Chemo treatments often made her violently ill. Her stomach was heaving again and she turned her face away from Raoul so he couldn’t see her gagging. “Nonny. Please cover your ears for me.”

“Are you going to blast my boy?”

“I should, but I’m not.”

Nonny covered her ears.

Flame glared at Raoul. “When my hair falls out I’m going to shave your balls with a rusty knife.”

He flinched visibly. There wasn’t much he could say to that and the warning made his cock jerk with fear. The woman was more than capable of carrying out the threat. He studied her expression. Proud. Defiant. Hurt. Scared. His heart sank. When her hair fell out. Not if, but when. She’d been through this before, knew what was coming and she was going to lose that mass of beautiful red hair. He wanted to hold her, tell her it didn’t matter, that her hair didn’t define who she was, that it would be all right, but she held herself away from him and there was no way to bridge the gap. Still, he tried.

“Look, Flame, you told me you wouldn’t allow Saunders to kill you any more than you would Whitney. If you die of cancer, you’re letting Whitney kill you. You’d be letting him win.”

She ignored his logic. “I’ll need my weapons.”

“You think I’m going to arm you when you’re so pissed off you want to shave my balls? You’re a powder keg right now.”

“Give them to me.” Flame reached out and tapped Nonny’s arm. “You can put your hands down now, I’m not talking to him anymore.”

Nonny patted her hand again and leaned very close. “When you get to feelin’ better, I might have to wash out your mouth with soap.” It hadn’t done much good to press her hands over her ears.

“That should be an experience,” Raoul muttered under his breath.

Flame flicked him a quick glance, meant to wither him on the spot, but her voice was gentle, compliant even, when she spoke to Nonny. “I’ll work on it.”

“Good girl. We can’t have you talking that way in front of the babies.”

Flame’s heart twisted in her chest. “There won’t be any babies, Nonny.”

“Sure there will. Raoul is one potent Cajun. All the Fontenot men are.”

“I’m sterile.”

“But Lily said…”

“Grand-mere!”

Raoul’s harsh tone set Flame’s teeth on edge. She slid out of bed, gripping the handrail to prevent falling. “By all means, keep whatever Lily said a secret, Raoul. That will keep me from…” She turned her head and sent her voice directly to him. Slitting your throat.

The walls of the room expanded and contracted as if breathing. Oh, yeah. There was the rage she’d expected earlier. It swept over her like a tidal wave. She clenched her teeth and fought it back, afraid of hurting Nonny.

Damn you for that, for allowing your grandmother to place herself in danger.

You mean I should have taken charge and acted in her best interests?

She forced air through her lungs, watching the walls as they undulated, as they slowly became still. “Just tell me what Lily said and cut the crap.”

“Lily found eggs and sperm stored from each of us. The eggs were frozen in a cryoprotectant, which is a special formula that protects the eggs from damage during freezing and thawing and then they were stored in the Whitney Trust Laboratory right here in this compound in liquid nitrogen tanks.”

“Why would Whitney do that?”

He cleared his throat. “Lily said she feared Whitney is exploring a second-generation experiment.”

“Exploring a second-generation experiment?” Flame repeated. “Is that how she put it to you? My God.” She pressed her fingertips to her throbbing temples. “So very scientific of her to notice.”

“You’re angry with me, not her,” he reminded quietly. Her head snapped around. “Don’t think for one moment I don’t know that.”

A chill went down Gator’s spine. She wasn’t going to forgive betrayal. She’d never see what he did as an act of love-of desperation. He had done to her exactly what Lily had done. He’d known all along he could lose her, but he had held out hope that she’d get better and realize it was the only way to save her life. That look told him differently. In that moment his world crumbled. Shaken, he lifted his hand to cover his face. He had become the enemy.

They’re coming, Gator, and they’re coming in force. We’re going to need you on the outside. That was Kadan, calm and self-assured. Ready for battle.

We agreed I’d stay inside with Flame.

Too many of them out here. We need you now!

Gator shrugged off emotions and forced himself to think like the soldier he was. “They’re here. Get dressed, Flame. Your knives are in the top drawer of that bureau over there.” He indicated it with his hand. “There’s a semiautomatic and a small handgun with several clips of ammo in the closet. Get them and get ready. Grand-mere, do whatever Flame tells you. Do it fast and stay absolutely quiet.”

Flame didn’t say a word but dropped her hospital gown to the floor and jerked open the drawers to find clothes. The fiberglass cast on her arm was light and smaller, leaving her arm much more mobile. She dragged a shirt over her head and struggled with her jeans. “Where are you going to be?”

“They need me outside.” He wrapped his arms around Nonny. “Don’ be afraid, Grand-mere. Flame won’t let anything happen to you.”

Nonny hugged him back. “I’m not afraid. This is excitin’ stuff at my age.”

Gator stood for a moment, wanting to say something to Flame, to tell her how much he loved her, but he couldn’t find the words. He looked his fill and abruptly turned on his heel and walked out.

He heard Flame’s soft whisper behind him as he closed the door.

“It was you that went shopping for our romantic night, wasn’t it, Nonny? It wasn’t Wyatt after all. I don’t think you should be talking about washing my mouth out with soap.”

There was a hint of laughter in Flame’s voice, maybe forced, but Nonny wouldn’t hear that. She’d only hear how confident and natural Flame sounded. His heart clenched hard. He’d lost her. She’d never panic. She’d fight with her last breath to protect Nonny. She was everything in a woman he’d ever wanted, or imagined, and he’d thrown away his chance with her.

He locked the heavy door behind him and ran down the corridor leading to the outside. It wouldn’t be easy to break in, but it wasn’t impossible. For the first time he allowed himself to really think about Flame’s childhood. He had never dared to examine her past before, knowing it was too dangerous. Now, they were coming for her, and if he felt rage toward them, if his control slipped, the consequences were on them.

Her childhood had been ruthlessly ripped away from her and she’d been used exactly like a laboratory rat. Exactly. Whitney hadn’t liked her, couldn’t control her, so she had been the perfect object for his experiments. He’d dehumanized her in his mind and simply used her.

Yeah, he felt rage all right, but it was cold and calculating and very scary. It welled up like a volcano, a melt down of his careful control. He shook with anger, with the need for action. You’re not going to get her, you son of a bitch. He meant it. He’d kill everyone; flatten them all be fore they laid one hand on her. And God help Whitney if Gator ever found out where he was hiding, because there would be no mercy for him.

He stepped into the night, crouching low and remaining motionless to acclimate himself to the sounds out side. He heard the scurry of steps, men moving in standard two-by-two formations. Cover and move. It was a textbook play. He counted eight coming in from the north and four at the front and back of the building with another eight on the other side. Whitney wasn’t playing games -he wanted Flame back.

Around the corner he found a downed soldier. He knelt to feel for a pulse. The kid didn’t look older than twenty and he was already dead-dead because a mad man thought himself above the law. Fury shook him.

Kadan. Clear our men away from the north wall. Have all the general’s men drop back completely clear of the area. Send them away. I’m not having these kids die for a son of a bitch like Whitney.

There was a small silence. Kadan’s voice was very calm. Negative, Gator, stand down. That parking lot funnels directly into the street. It’s a natural corridor for sound to travel.

Then fuckin’ do your job. You’re shielder, throw up a shield at the far end of the lot because I’m taking them down. You have about ten seconds to get everyone clear.

Kadan didn’t bother to argue, reading the tone and knowing it was useless. Move them out of there, Tucker. You too, Ian. Send them to the far end of the compound and tell them to take cover. S when you’re all clear. And Gator, I’ll need more time to seal the place off. It’s not that damned easy.

Rage was boiling. Gator couldn’t have stopped it if he tried. His body trembled, broke out in a sweat with the effort to contain it. His vision narrowed, tunneled, until every detail of the northern side of the building was etched into his mind in vivid imagery. He saw the men as shadowy targets, nothing more. They had come for one purpose. To take Flame back to a cage where Whitney could torture her, infect her with diseases. God only knew what he would do next. Impregnate her? Take her child from her? The man was capable of anything.

He snapped his teeth together, biting down hard as the sounds welled up, demanding release.

Maudit! What the hell is taking so long? I’m not going to be able to hold back.

Damn it, Gator. Have you even thought about what you’re doing? You could be blowing your entire career.

I’m taking out his army. I can’t get him, but I can hurt him, put him back several years. I don’ care how much money the bastard has, it takes time to build up manpower.

The general isn’t going to be happy about this. Kadan gave it one last try.

Where the fuck is the seal?

The soldiers are clear but the seal isn’t finished on the street. A couple of innocents driving by. We can’t take the chance. You have to hold. Kadan’s tone said he expected it, didn’t like it, but knew he couldn’t stop the inevitable.

Ian’s voice broke in. I’m taking out the four in the front.

Wait for backup, Ian, Kadan instructed. Tucker’s on his way to you.

Gator’s gut churned, knotted, the rage moving through him like a living entity. It was rising, much like lava needing to spew forth, impossible to contain. It was all there, swirling like a tornado inside of him. Flame believing he’d betrayed her. Whitney’s atrocities. The terrible deeds done to Joy. The dead soldier.

You have a go.

The note burst out, a low-level wave of infrasound invisible to the human ear. It traveled the corridor along the north side, slamming into everything in its path. It traveled through a small structure, flattening it as the sonic wave struck. It hit living tissue, vibrating internal organs. The wave remained at seven cycles per second, corresponding with the median alpha-rhythm frequencies in the brain.

They’re down. They’re down. Back off.

Like hell. I’m going to the south side. Eight came in that way. Let me know if our soldiers are in the clear.

Gator took a breath and let it out, trying to calm the seething rage as he surveyed the downed targets. Infra sound waves stayed close to the ground. They traveled long distances through just about anything in their path and were considered unstoppable. As the GhostWalkers had discovered in earlier field tests, without Kadan’s shields, the sound waves continued to travel, destroying everything in their path.

There were eight downed targets with eight more on the opposite side of the building. If the other Ghost- Walkers were able to take down this sizable force, it would be a significant blow to Whitney. Even paying for an army meant finding good men and if Whitney was enhancing some of them, that took time.

Gator began moving around to the other side of the building. Moving through the front area. Don’ mistake me for a target. He crouched low, rifle in hand, and eased his way through the wide row of trimmed bushes.

Go in close to the building, Tucker advised.

Gator worked his way to the southern corner of the building where the other eight mercenaries were closing in. I have a visual. I count eight You have a shield up?

It won’t work on this side. The opening is too large and the sonic wave will break through. You have to narrow the corridor, Kadan answered.

Gator studied the layout of the buildings and fences. It looked like a maze and Kadan was right. He not only would flatten several buildings, killing anyone inside, but they would be unable to contain the infrasonic wave. It would travel through the streets smashing everything in its path with the force of a volcanic eruption. He pushed back the need to strike, to neutralize the threat against Flame instantly, and forced his mind to think logically.

The best bet is to push them toward the maintenance yard. We’ll have to go in and take them out.

Gunfire erupted around the front of the building. It acted as a signal and immediately the eight men on the south side began spraying the area around them, moving in a much tighter and faster formation toward the building. Four gained the wall and flung what appeared to be grenades into the bank of windows Gator knew were offices. The explosion blasted the smoke into the air, obscuring vision.

Ian? Tucker? Check in, Kadan demanded.

Two down in the front. Two to go, Ian reported.

Tucker interrupted. He’s hit.

I’m not hit-well, maybe a little hit, but no problem.

Gator swore under his breath. He’d been the one to pull the soldiers back. He had eight men swarming one side of the building with at least six more front and back. Ian was hit and there were men on the roof. For one brief moment insanity rode him hard and he contemplated wiping them all out. One long pulse would do it. Whitney’s army would be gone and Flame would be safe, at least for the time that it would take Whitney to rebuild. In the meantime, the GhostWalkers could actively search out their enemy.

He brushed away the idea, refusing to give in to temptation. He couldn’t hurt innocent people, not even to keep Flame out of the hands of a madman.

Tucker, stay on Ian, take out the other two and get around to the back. Gator and I will work our way to the southern side.

The four men at the windows, threatening to gain en trance to the building had to be removed. Gator moved like a silent wraith through the tall hedges, utilizing the cover to get close to the first of the two-man teams. One man dressed in black signaled his partner to come forward to use him as a human ladder to gain entrance into the building. Gator took them both, two shots, two kills. A bullet spit into the wall next to his head and he spun around, spraying covering fire as he dove toward the ground behind a two-foot wall of cement.

Corning up behind them, Kadan informed him.

Gator held his fire, afraid of hitting Kadan. He waited, eyes searching out the second two-man team nearest the building. They’d gone to ground at the first gunfire, but at least they hadn’t gotten into the building.

Kadan moved like a phantom, so fast, so silent, he was a blur as he crossed Gator’s line of vision. Gator blinked twice wondering if he’d really seen him.

You’re clear. Two down.

Tucker reported in. We’ve got two more down here and are going around to the back. Ian’s bleeding like a stuck pig.

It’s a scratch.

Tie it off, superhero, Kadan ordered.

Gator crawled through the shrubbery, careful to keep from moving any of the foliage. He could just make out a boot and part of a leg. In the shadows it looked like a fallen log. The leg moved as the enemy propelled his body forward toward the building. Gator heard the whisper of an order on a radio. He only caught three disjointed words, but it was enough to have him rolling to his right. Bullets thudded into the ground right where he’d been. The shots came from above and the fire continued, pinning him down.

They’ve got a sniper on the roof of the laboratory. He warned the others. He’s using infrared.

I’ve got him, Ian said confidently.

A single shot rang out and Gator saw the sniper fall. As the noise cleared away, he heard another sound and his heart nearly stopped. Maudit, Kadan, I hear them going into the vent. Warn Flame. I’m going in after them.

Flame. Kadan reached for her immediately. Gator hears the enemy in the vents. Can yon hear them?

Yes. We’ll take care of it.

Gator’s coming in after them. Don’t shoot him, no matter how angry you are with him.

I can handle this myself. She didn’t want Raoul risking his life for her. She didn’t want any of them to do that. Flame turned to Nonny. “I want you to get into the bathroom and lock the door. Don’t open it unless you hear either Gator or me tell you to, understand?”

“I can use a gun. I’ve been hunting all my life,” Nonny said. “I don’ want to be in a bathroom hiding when they come. I wouldn’t know what was going on.”

Flame handed her the semiautomatic. “Have you ever used one of these?”

“Gator showed me how. If it’s a gun, I can shoot it.”

“Then you get into the bathroom and stay there. Leave the door open if you prefer, but stay undercover. It will be easier for me to consider everyone in the room an enemy. Don’t fire unless you have to because you might hit me.”

“I’d rather stay out here with you and just gun them down as they come.”

“I’ll have the advantage, Nonny. They don’t want to kill me. That’s why it was so easy for me in the swamp. Raoul told me the sniper had tranqs in his gun. If some one tranqs me, feel free to shoot them.”

Nonny took the gun. It looked too big and heavy for her but there was a no-nonsense air about her that gave Flame added confidence.

Flame rolled the blankets in the bed and jerked the top sheet over them to make it look as if a body were asleep in the bed. She waved Nonny to the bathroom as she plunged the room into darkness. She went to the wall with the ventilation opening and crouched down, listening. It always amazed her when sight was taken away how acute all other senses became. She faced the grate as she detected the sliding of clothes along the inside of the ducts.

She sent a single note through the grate, a low pulsing wave that raced through the ducts. She kept it nonlethal, not knowing who else might accidentally be in the way of the sound wave. Stepping back against the opposite wall, she waited, knife in hand. Gator had provided her with an array of throwing knives, and she was grateful. She was accurate with them and trusted them much more than she did a gun.

Nausea came in waves, cramping her stomach. She broke out in a sweat, weak and sick. Chemo had a very bad effect on her; it always had. It didn’t make sense to go through it all again if the cancer was going to return.

Maybe she’d have to talk to Lily and ask a few hard questions.

The sounds coming from the air duct were getting louder. Whoever was in there seemed pretty sick and disoriented, thrashing wildly at one point. She held the gun against her thigh with her broken arm and the throwing knife clear of her body with her good arm. Maybe she’d get lucky and not have to kill him, and they’d have a chance to find out where Whitney was hiding out.

The grate was pulled off from the inside and the muzzle of a gun appeared, a small red dot shining around the room, searching the corners, the door, dwelling on the bathroom door. Flame willed Nonny to stay very still. Finally the red dot went to the bed and the stranger slipped into the room, gun held steady.

For the first time, Flame was unsure of herself. She thought there were three men in the ducts, but she couldn’t be certain. She was too sick to be able to concentrate properly. She was fighting the dry heaves and even her vision blurred. She felt behind her for the wall and the hilt of her knife scraped against it.

The man spun back, the red dot centered on her chest. “Drop it.”

She swayed. She wasn’t going to be able to do this. She couldn’t bring up the gun or the knife, She didn’t drop either weapon. Two men wiggled out of the duct behind the first one. They trained their weapons on her as well.

“Put it down,” the first man repeated. He held up one hand, softening his voice. “No one wants to hurt you, ma’am. Just put down the weapons and come with us.”

The other men had spread out and were beginning to go through the room. One neared the bathroom. Flame shook her head and pointed the gun at the one closest to Nonny. “I’ll go with you, but I’m keeping my weapons.” She tried to push off the wall and the movement caused her stomach to cramp. There was no way to stop from getting sick. She turned away from them, resting her head on the wall, her finger on the trigger of her gun, hand up to her head.

Even in her misery, she heard the whisper of a body in the air duct followed by the impact of a knife hitting a target. She managed to turn her head to see Raoul, arm around one of the enemy’s neck, holding the body in front of him like a shield, gun trained on the man near the bathroom. The body of the third man lay on the floor practically at her feet.

Instantly a red dot appeared over her heart. “Put it down or I’ll shoot her.” The stranger backed up toward the cover of the bathroom.

Nonny. Flame sent the warning to Raoul.

Hit the floor. Gator squeezed the trigger three times, rapid fire. One bullet in the head, two in the heart.

The stranger fired from reflex, but Flame had dropped down and the bullet went into the wall where she’d been standing.

The man Gator had in a headlock stabbed down with a knife, driving it into Gator’s thigh. He fell backward, stumbling, tracking with his gun a heartbeat too late.

Flame threw the knife from a prone position and the sound of a single gunshot echoed through the room. The enemy went down, knife in his kidney, bullet in the back of his neck. She turned her head to see Nonny lowering the semiautomatic.

Flame crawled to Gator, shouting to Nonny to bring something to tie around the wound. She pressed hard with both hands, ignoring his orders to get the hell out of his way. Nonny returned with towels and her rifle. She put the gun in her grandson’s hands and took over. Flame slid back until her head was in Raoul’s lap. She closed her eyes, feeling his hand in her hair and she gave in, allowing the blackness to take her.