Predatory Game

CHAPTER 5

“Wake up, Saber,” Jess called from the bottom of the stairs. “I know you can hear me. Come on down here.”

He had to see her. It was pathetic how much he needed her, how much joy she brought to his life.

“Go away.” Her voice was muffled, confirming his suspicions that she had the covers over her head to block out the sunlight. “I just got to bed.”

Saber wasn’t certain she could face him. The idea that she had tried to kill him had haunted her all night. And what if she hadn’t tried to use a knife? He would never have known, would never have been able to defend himself.

“It’s your own fault you didn’t go to bed last night. And you can forget any sympathy from me, not after the way you woke me up at five a.m. with that crap you call music.”

She answered him with total silence. She was ashamed of her loss of control. She covered her face with her hands and could have wept in despair.

Downstairs, Jess heaved a sigh. “I’m serious, angel face, you don’t get down here in five minutes, I’m coming up after you. And if you put me to all that trouble, you won’t like the consequences,” he threatened.

He heard her stirring, muttering. Something hit the wall and he grinned. Saber padded down the hallway on bare feet, rubbing her eyes drowsily with her fists. At the banister, she leaned her head over, her shining hair an intriguing mass of unruly curls. She was wearing what looked to be one of his old shirts, one he was certain he had tossed out recently. The thought made him smile.

“What exactly do you want, dragon king? Because this is totally uncivilized behavior,” she accused. “Even for you.”

She looked incredibly small and feminine, her huge eyes so drowsy they seemed to be an open invitation to temptation. She looked like sin and sex to him, all rolled up together, and his body responded in the now-familiar way, hard and aching with a demand he was afraid would never quite be sated.

“My willpower is dwindling away,” he muttered.

“What?” Saber looked more confused than ever. “Jesse, you are making absolutely no sense. Not that I think you make much sense anyway, but it’s only noon. Noon is the same to me as three in the morning is to someone else. I am in deep sleep mode. I don’t care how cute you think you are, go away and stop bothering me.”

“Stop complaining and get down here. Patsy’s on her way.” Cute? She found him cute? Like some teddy bear. That was worse than if she’d called him sweet. He was going to show her cute if she kept looking at him like that.

“Patsy?” Saber groaned and shook her head. “Oh, Jess, no. I cannot take your sister on no sleep. She thinks I’m ten and you’re a pervert out to ruin my virtue.”

“Well, don’t feel bad. Usually she thinks the woman is a vamp and is after my virtue so really, you’re the lucky one this time.”

She sat at the top of the stairs, smoothing her shirt tail over her knees, her hair wild and her lashes drooping. “Poor Patsy. She’s always trying to look out for someone. I like her, I really do, but she’s…” She stopped, searching for the right word to describe his older sister.

He found himself smiling. She always managed to make him smile. “A stick of dynamite? Come on, baby, grab a shower and eat something. By the time she gets here, you’ll be in great shape.”

“I’m never in great shape around Patsy,” she muttered. “Can’t we pretend I’m not here? I could stay up here sleeping.” Patsy was wonderful and so loving, but she wanted to take care of Saber. No one had ever tried to take care of her. She was a very solitary person and the people around her had always avoided touching her-with good reason. Patsy, however, had no idea of personal space. She hugged and kissed and generally tried to run Saber’s life-in the nicest way possible of course, and maybe that was the biggest problem. Saber was growing too fond of her as well.

“And leave me to face her alone?” Jess scoffed. “No way. Not a chance in hell. Get dressed and get your very awesome ass down here.” Jess rubbed his shadowed jaw thoughtfully. “I’d better shave.”

“Jesse,” she wailed, trying not to be pleased at his “awesome ass” comment. “Why drag me into this? She’s your sister.” He looked good. He brought such sunshine into her life. And he made her feel special, as if he couldn’t deal with life without her. She wanted him. Wanted him. Ached for him.

“You’re my housekeeper. Helping out with guests is part of your job. Now stop being a little complainer and get down here.”

Saber forced a glare when she wanted to laugh, just because he was incredibly beautiful and he wasn’t holding a grudge over the way she’d tried to stab him. “You owe me big time for this, Jesse.”

Jess regretfully turned his back on her, although the sight of her lingered in his mind. Saber couldn’t have been more beautiful if she had spent all day locked in a beauty parlor with a team of makeup experts. The sight of her slender, bare legs and fresh, soft skin put far too many erotic thoughts in his head.

Saber was falling in love with him, she just didn’t know it. He rubbed his jaw, hoping he was right. He was happy around her. He loved their strange conversations and her causes. He liked watching the expressions chase across her face. She had to be falling in love with him. She was running in every direction but the one she should be. She belonged with him, and whether it was the right time or not for either of them, he was going to make certain she stayed where she belonged.

Patsy Calhoun was tall with a woman’s curvy figure, a generous mouth, and rich dark hair spilling around her face in a soft feminine sweep emphasizing her cheekbones. Normally she was smiling and looked sophisticated and in absolute control, but when Saber opened the door, she was leaning against the wall in tears.

Saber glanced back into the house, looking in desperation for Jess to appear, but he was in the kitchen brewing tea for his sister. “What’s wrong?” She sounded more clipped than compassionate because it scared her to see Patsy in tears. She placed a comforting hand on the older woman’s arm, feeling inadequate but wanting to help. The moment they came in contact, an instantaneous prickle of awareness ran down Saber’s spine.

“I’m sorry.” Patsy looked down at her, the tears spilling over. “I guess I’m more shaken than I thought.”

Saber wrapped her arm around Jess’s sister and urged her into the house. Patsy was trembling, and Saber’s prickly awareness was now a full-blown radar attack. She kicked the door closed and took Patsy through to the kitchen.

Jess glanced up, the smile fading from his face. “What happened, Patsy?” His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp and penetrating. He maneuvered around the chairs and took his sister’s hands. “Tell me, honey.”

Patsy sank into a chair. “I’m sorry, I’m being silly. It’s just that…” She trailed off again and began to weep quietly.

Saber hastily got her a glass of water. As she leaned over Pasty’s shoulder to pass her the water, she felt the tingle of a low-level vibration emanating from the woman. Keeping all expression from her face, she rested a hand on Patsy’s shoulder and let everything in her shift to find the rhythm of Patsy’s body. She was very suspicious that she knew what that vibration of energy was.

“Patsy?” Jess leaned toward his sister. “Just tell me, honey.”

“I dropped by the radio station this morning.” Patsy’s hand trembled as she lifted the water glass to her lips and took a sip. “It’s the first time I’ve been there since I lost David.”

Jess glanced at Saber. “David was Patsy’s fiancé.”

Patsy nodded. “I own the station with Jess and I thought I should begin to take an interest again, so I went in and wandered around. It was upsetting, but I really feel like it’s time.”

“That’s good, honey,” Jess encouraged.

Now Saber was picking up both rhythms, Jess’s and Patsy’s, because Jess was holding Patsy’s hand. It was interesting that they were so different. Being siblings apparently didn’t make their individual biorhythms similar. Jess gave off a very strong, steady beat, the blood moving through his body with an ebb and flow that suggested power. Patsy…Saber frowned, not liking the rhythm. Something was a little off. The blood didn’t seem to move the way it should. She took a breath and tried to drown out Jess’s beat as well as the strange little vibration so she could catch the flow of Patsy’s blood, the echoes of the heart chambers.

“I talked to some of the men and then I left. I was driving down the winding road leading to the main highway, and just as I was approaching that hairpin turn…” Patsy’s voiced hitched again.

Jess let go of her hand to get her a small towel from the sink. That allowed Saber to align her body rhythm with Patsy’s. Yes, there was a definite swish that shouldn’t be there as the blood flowed through a chamber of her heart, almost as if it wasn’t going through properly and was backing up. Along with that Saber could pick up that strange vibration, the energy low and tuned to…

She straightened, covering her gasp of alarm. Jess’s exact tones. The receiver, somewhere on Patsy’s body, was tuned to look for Jess’s tone exactly. She inhaled and exhaled, pushing air through her lungs. Chaleen’s warnings were well-founded. Someone wanted to know about Jess’s secret investigation, enough to use his sister to slip a receiver into the house.

“Take your time, Patsy,” Jess instructed. “Tell me what happened.”

“I was approaching the turn. I took it very slow and I know I was already shaken, I always am, but this SUV came out of nowhere, off a little dirt road directly across from the curve, and it hit my bumper. My car went spinning right for the cliff. I nearly went over, Jess. I came to a stop right beside the guardrail. The SUV kept going.”

Jess’s granite features went so still it looked as if he had been carved from stone. There was a sudden, telling silence. The walls of the room seemed to expand and contract, and Saber’s heart leapt when the floor beneath her shifted slightly. She glanced at the coffee table and saw that items levitated, moved, and trembled. Power surged in the room. Energy. She glimpsed Jesse’s right hand curling slowly into a huge fist.

Jess Calhoun was no SEAL. At least he was no ordinary SEAL. For a moment she couldn’t breathe. Even her brain froze. He moved the walls, the floor, and the objects on the table. He had to be involved-very involved-in the GhostWalker project. And anyone in that project-anyone who knew about that project-was her mortal enemy. She had never had pain around him, never had to worry about headaches and the problems that came with psychic abilities. She thought it was the house, or the fact that they just fit, but he had to be an anchor, a GhostWalker who drew energy away from others.

He had to be trained. And very skilled. They’d lived in the same house for months and she’d never suspected. She always knew when a GhostWalker was close. They gave off a different energy field. Damn. Her gaze slid to the window, the door, calculating the distance. And what about her emergency pack with her money and her important things? Could she get to it? Did she dare take the time? Did she have time to pack everything that mattered?

If Patsy went down, Jess would concentrate his attention there and that would give her an opening to escape. Did he suspect she knew? She had to act natural. Had to appear as if she was only concerned for Patsy and her safety. And what had really happened? Saber shook her head, trying to clear her brain. Patsy had a bug in her pocket tuned to Jess, not Saber, so what did that mean? She had to think.

“I’ll be right back.” Saber flashed a small sign to Jess, hoping he would just let her walk out.

“Where are you going?” Patsy caught at her hand.

“I need to take a quick look at your car, honey,” Saber said. “It’ll just take a minute.” Because if Patsy was telling the truth there would be evidence.

Jess gathered his sister close. “You’re all right, Patsy.”

“I know, it’s just that it was so weird that it was right in that same spot where I lost David, almost as if it were meant to be.”

Saber was on her way out of the room, but the floor rolled and she turned back to see the horror on Jess’s face. He looked stricken. Pale. She couldn’t bear it, even though she was terrified that he was her enemy.

“Patsy, don’t say that,” Jess snapped. “I mean it. You’re not meant to die because David did. That’s bullshit and you know it.”

He glanced up at Saber and motioned her to check the car. She realized his fear was no act. He was genuinely afraid Patsy had nearly driven off the cliff on purpose.

She hurried through the house to the front, where Patsy liked to park her car. The sleek fire engine red convertible suited Jess’s sister. Saber walked around the car until she came to the rear bumper. Black paint, scrapes, and dents marred both the bumper and the rear end of the car on the left side. The car had definitely been hit, and fairly hard. It would have put the convertible into a spin. Patsy had been lucky.

On one hand Jess was a GhostWalker and the two of them being in the same place at the same time couldn’t be a coincidence. On the other hand, Patsy’s car had been hit and she had come in wearing a bug tuned specifically to look for Jess’s tones. He was conducting some covert investigation that was riling people up everywhere, which meant he was probably in more trouble than she was. If she had any brains at all, she’d leave.

“You’re stupid, Saber,” she murmured aloud. “Stupid.”

She’d stayed ahead of Whitney by being smart, by being on the move and leaving no trace behind. She knew how to conceal herself right out in the open, and she was still free because she always-always-played it smart. So what was she doing considering walking back into that house?

She stood in the front yard, staring at Jess’s house, her heart pounding, and realized the truth. She loved him. She had let herself fall in love with him. And he was her enemy. Did he know about her? How could he not? There was no such thing as coincidence, not in her world. How many men and women had Whitney actually experimented on, opening their minds and removing their filters, enhancing their psychic abilities and genetically altering them? Certainly the chances of accidentally running into one in Sheridan, Wyoming, were very small.

“Leave, Saber. Walk into the house, pack your things, grab your emergency pack, and leave while you can,” she said aloud as firmly as possible. “He’s a GhostWalker, and wheelchair or not, this is a setup. If he’s in trouble, that’s his problem. You can’t go back to Whitney. You have to look out for yourself. You do. So go now.”

Her heart ached-an actual pain that seemed like the point of a knife stabbing deep. She shook her head and made herself go in. She’d be casual. She’d walk in and tell him about the car, excuse herself, and get out.

She pressed her hand to her chest as she made her way through the living room. She loved the house. Loved everything about it. She loved the way Jess’s scent lingered in every room. Masculine. Spicy. She inhaled to breathe him in as she stopped in the doorway and just looked at him. Even in his wheelchair he was an imposing figure. He looked up, his eyes meeting hers, and her heart nearly stopped at what she saw there.

Raw desire mixed with something else, something she’d never seen before. Could he love her? Was it possible? She pushed a hand through her hair, suddenly uncertain of what to do.

“Baby? What is it? You look as upset as Patsy.”

The caress in his drawling voice warmed her when she hadn’t even known she was cold. She shook her head. “There’s black paint as well as scrapes and a large dent in her car, Jesse. Someone hit her.” And there was a listening device somewhere on her person. Saber had to find it and destroy it. “Did you go anywhere else today besides the radio station?” She poured tea and added a little milk, setting the cup down in front of Patsy. She was very casual, moving around Jess’s sister to stand at her side so she could once again rest her hand on Patsy’s shoulder in comfort.

“Just the police station to report the accident.”

Saber nodded. “Maybe you should have gone to the hospital and let them check you out. You didn’t hit your head did you? Or hurt your neck?”

She had it now. The low-level energy was coming from Patsy’s jacket pocket. Anyone could have dropped it in as she passed by them on a sidewalk.

She was fairly certain that it was no accident that someone had hit Patsy’s car and then taken off. But why? Saber studied Jess’s face. He looked cool until she looked at his eyes and felt the volcano simmering just below the surface. He was enraged, and that meant he’d come to the same conclusion Saber had: someone had tried to harm his sister. But if that was so, then who put the bug in her pocket? She looked at Jess again as he leaned forward, his sister’s hand in his, murmuring comfort to her.

She had been with him nearly eleven months. When she was close to him, he stilled the demons that plagued her. Not because he was a GhostWalker and an anchor, but because everything inside her was at peace when he was near. He made her laugh. Not a fake, polite smile, but a genuine laugh. More than that, she liked him, liked being with him. He was intelligent and could talk about any subject she was interested in. Jess was her best friend.

She couldn’t believe he was really betraying her. She couldn’t bear it if he was involved in a conspiracy against her. She took a breath, let it out, and turned away to keep her composure. There was something so endearing in watching him comfort his sister, that look of love on his face, the gentleness in him.

But the fact remained that he was a GhostWalker and she was on the run and Whitney would do just about anything to get his hands on her. But could she leave Jess when he might need her the most? There was a listening device tuned to the exact frequency of his voice-she’d worked with rhythm and sound enough to know Jess’s when she heard it. Still, her mouth was dry, her heart fighting for acceleration, which meant her body was in flight mode.

Jess chose that moment to look up at her and smile. The warmth in his eyes, the tenderness, swamped her.

Okay. She would try to gather more information and just keep her guard up every second. That meant watching him taste their food and drink in case he put a drug in it to sedate her. She shoved a hand through her hair and sighed. The complications were enormous and she was crazy to stay.

“Saber,” he asked, his voice gentle, “is something wrong?”

“I’m upset that this could happen to Patsy,” Saber said, and it wasn’t altogether a lie. She hated that Patsy might be in danger as well.

Patsy immediately reached out and caught her hand. “I’m all right, just a little shaken. If it hadn’t been that exact spot, I’d be all right. I go there often and put flowers just over the guardrail. I had no idea that dirt road was there or that anyone lived on it. It’s a scary drive to come off of, onto that highway right in the middle of a hairpin turn.”

Saber took the opportunity to move very close to Patsy, zeroing in on the listening device. One tiny burst and the bug was toast, but if she didn’t direct it exactly, she could destroy everything electronic in the house. Worse, she was sincerely worried about Patsy’s heart. Something was off, the rhythm not quite right. If she blew it, she could kill Patsy, and that didn’t bear thinking about.

“Tell us what was so important before all this happened,” Saber encouraged, knowing she was opening a can of worms, but determined that Patsy would stop crying. “Let me take your jacket for you, and you just relax and have tea and tell us what’s up.”

Patsy straightened immediately. “Yes. I had something very important to discuss with you both.”

Saber reached down to help Patsy out of her jacket, not giving her a choice in the matter. Jess raised his eyebrows at her, not at all pleased that they were about to get a lecture. Both of them knew what was coming, and Saber had deliberately invited it.

Patsy lifted her chin and glared at her brother, which was difficult to do when he had just been so loving to her. “I have come to save Saber from your playboy tendencies, Jess. You’re a hound dog and you know it. She’s a sweet, innocent girl who needs my protection and I intend to give it to her.”

Saber hid a grin at Jesse’s aggrieved look and carried the jacket across the room to the doorway leading to the living room. She needed to get it as far from Patsy as possible.

Saber hung the coat in the closet and, glancing back toward the kitchen to assure herself no one could observe her, placed her hand on the listening device and concentrated on keeping the electromagnetic pulse streamlined toward that one small object only. The brief surge of energy eliminated the faint vibration so she could breathe a sigh of relief. She’d check the computers and Jess’s cell phone as soon as she could, but she was fairly certain she’d kept the pulse centered on Patsy’s jacket pocket.

“Very funny, you two,” Jess said as Saber reentered the room. “It’s a good thing I’m not sensitive.”

“I’m thinking you need to go to the hospital for a checkup, Patsy,” Saber said, changing the subject abruptly, knowing Jess would follow her lead if only to get out of another lecture.

“Saber’s right, Patsy. You could have internal injuries we don’t know about,” Jess agreed.

Patsy rolled her eyes. “You’re both just saying that to distract me. Saber’s much too young, Jess, to be living with you like this.”

“Actually I just look young,” Saber said. She might be small and waiflike, not tall and elegant with womanly curves, but she certainly was a fully grown woman. “I’m a lot older than you think.” But she couldn’t very well tell her age when she didn’t know it herself. Whitney wasn’t big on giving out that kind of information. She hadn’t known people celebrated things like birthdays and Christmases and anniversaries until very recently. “And truly, when you came in that day and we were clowning around, it was only a joke. Jess is always a gentleman with me.”

“Even when I don’t want to be,” Jess muttered under his breath.

Patsy leaned forward. “What did you say?”

“I said I’d never hurt Saber, not in a million years, Patsy,” Jess assured.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t hurt her deliberately,” Patsy said. “But she isn’t like your other bimbos.”

Saber leaned her hip against the wall and grinned at Jess. “I see Patsy’s met Chaleen. She was here recently, Patsy. She wanted to pick up where they left off.”

“Jess!” Clearly aghast, Patsy reached out to her brother. “Are you all right?”

“Of course I am. Saber sent her away.”

Patsy cast Saber a grateful look. “I detested that woman. She only pretended to enjoy all the things Jess liked. And she really didn’t like the family.”

“Families can be scary,” Saber admitted.

“Not ours,” Jess said, holding out his hand. He noticed she was staying far away from him and knew it was a bad sign. “Come here.”

Saber crossed to his side, hiding her reluctance. The more she was with him, the more physical contact they had, the more she knew she would be trapped by her own feelings for him. But she put her hand in Jess’s because she couldn’t resist.

Jess tugged at her until she was close to him and he could catch the nape of her neck, dragging her head to his level to brush a kiss in her hair. “I’m sorry, ladies, but I have an appointment with my doctors, so I’ll have to leave you two alone. Patsy, don’t you dare persuade Saber to leave me. I wouldn’t survive it.”

“Just the opposite. I’m going to persuade her she needs to make an honest man out of you.”

Jess flashed a quick smile at his sister. “I’ll love you forever if you manage to convince her.”

“You’ll love me forever anyway,” Patsy said.

He pushed himself out of the room, hearing Saber urging Patsy to go for a quick checkup, even if it was just to her own doctor, “just in case.”

Jess entered his office, upset over Patsy’s supposed accident. Coincidences were piling up and they were beginning to strain the bounds of credibility. And Saber, well, she was just acting weird.

He had a meeting with Lily and Eric about the bionics and he wasn’t looking forward to it. By now the therapy, visualization, and drugs should have been working, but he still couldn’t walk. He didn’t need to be wasting his time with doctors who weren’t doing him any good.

Something was wrong with Saber and he was terrified she was on the verge of pulling a vanishing act. If she took off, he’d never find her. And that scared the holy crap out of him.

Lily and Eric were both waiting, greeting him from their respective monitors. “How are you feeling?” Lily asked.

“Like I can’t walk,” Jess replied, an edge to his voice. “Hell, you used enough iguana and lizard DNA to turn me into a reptile. I thought it would regenerate the cells with or without the drugs you’re pumping into me.”

“You have to have patience, Jess,” Eric said. “We told you, this course of treatment has never been tried on a human. The theory is sound and it worked on a few lab animals but we didn’t have time to even perfect that.”

“A few lab animals,” Jess echoed. “That’s great. Just great. If my tongue starts to grow and I suddenly develop a taste for flies, you’ll tell the others why, won’t you?”

Lily passed a hand over the mound of her stomach. She looked like she had swallowed a basketball. “I know you’re upset, Jess. But this will work. We just have to give it a little time. Are you still having trouble with bleeding?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“And you’re not overdoing it? You only do your therapy when you have someone with you, right?” Eric said.

Rather than lie Jess scowled at them. “I’m beginning to think neither one of you really knew what you were doing when you talked me into this.”

“I told you it was highly experimental,” Eric pointed out. “When I said it had never been tried, I meant it had never been tried.”

Lily leaned forward. “I’m working on it, Jess. You know I’ll keep going until I get it right. Your body hasn’t rejected the bionics, and that’s the biggest hurdle. We just haven’t yet managed to get them hooked into your brain. If worse comes to worst, we can go back to the power pack idea.”

“Which gives me a few hours and then I’m back in the chair, still a liability if I’m on a mission.”

“So you really want to go back into the field,” Eric asked.

“Of course.” But he was no longer so certain. He didn’t want to leave Saber behind. “Look, there’s nothing new you’re telling me. I’m going to sign off now and get some other things done.”

Lily nodded. “We’ll figure this out, Jess.”

He lifted a hand at both of them, inexplicably angry with them and with himself. He had agreed to the surgery. Neither had lied to him about the possibility that it wouldn’t work, but he had been so certain. Iguanas and lizards regenerated tails, why not find a way to regenerate his damaged nerves so his bionics would be directed by his brain, just as if his legs were all his?

He needed Saber. He needed to hold her. To be with her. To just breathe clean fresh air and forget that he might not walk again after his hopes had been raised. He went looking for Saber because she was the one person who soothed him when he was ready to explode with frustration or anger. She was in the kitchen putting dishes away.

“Is Patsy gone?” Jess asked.

Saber nodded. “A little while ago. I tried to get her to go to the hospital and get checked out, and I really think you should call her and try to persuade her. Sometimes things show up later. She shouldn’t take any chances.”

“Patsy’s stubborn. Maybe if she wakes up tomorrow and hurts like hell, she’ll go.”

Saber pressed her lips together to keep from insisting. “Are you all right? You look upset. If you’re worried about Patsy, I still think you should have a doctor check her out and then hire security-a bodyguard, someone to keep an eye on her.”

Jess had already planned to do just that. In fact, he was going to make a few phone calls. He was feeling restless.

He dragged both hands through his hair. “I’m feeling cooped up. Let’s get the hell out of here and go on a picnic.”

Her eyebrow shot up. “A picnic?”

“Yeah, a picnic. You know, blanket on the ground-”

“Cold ground,” she interrupted.

“Blanket on the cold ground,” he repeated. “Wicker basket loaded with goodies especially prepared for outdoor dining. You know-picnic.”

“I know what a picnic is, Jesse, I just don’t understand your sudden urge to go on one, especially now when nature is about to dump a ton of snow on us.”

“It’s just a bit brisk. You’ll love it.”

“Yeah right. Me and the penguins.” But he was starting to grin and the sparkle in his eyes was irresistible. Darn him. He knew she couldn’t resist that teasing look. “Suppose I agree to this ridiculous picnic idea. As you’ve just pointed out, picnics involve food.” She opened the refrigerator and pointed with a smirk. “Hate to burst your bubble, Calhoun, but that looks empty to me.”

“Give me some help here, you little whiner. We’ll stop at the store. I need some enthusiasm from you.”

“All right already,” Saber capitulated. “I’m enthused. I can’t wait.” And she couldn’t. She’d never been on a picnic before. It was one of those things normal people did. Normal, just like she’d always wanted. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Dress warm and don’t forget your gloves,” he instructed.

Saber allowed herself to really study his face. It was difficult to read Jess; it always had been. She felt comfortable with him, alive and happy. And there were no headaches, no bleeding from her mouth, nose, or ears. When she was close to him, she could handle all the energy flooding her brain, all the emotions and the bombardment of sound assaulting her. She had never questioned that, but she should have. Only a GhostWalker who was an anchor could draw the energy away from her, and Jess Calhoun had to be an anchor. Was that why she felt so close to him? Because he was like her?

Had she really deceived herself all these months? He had to be very well trained to have concealed his part in the program from her. Ordinarily she could spot a GhostWalker a mile away, but because Jess was in a wheelchair, it hadn’t even occurred to her that he could possibly be in that program.

“What is it?” he asked again, his voice soft.

It was tempting to just blurt out her fears, her questions. But she knew better. Jess had been a SEAL, and once a GhostWalker there was no going back. He still worked for the military. He was involved in some kind of top secret investigation. She was well aware of the secret visits, the men she never saw come and go. She should have suspected, but the wheelchair had thrown her into a false sense of security.

“Saber?” he prompted.

“Nothing.” She forced a smile. She was taking this one day with him, for herself, because it was probably the only day she would ever have with the man she loved.

Subject Calhoun’s sister arrived today. I managed to drop the listening device in her pocket earlier after I heard she was going to visit her brother. He must have jamming equipment in his house, because it did no good. I couldn’t pick up on anything and it abruptly stopped working. The good news is, she is back in town, and if needed we can use her to control Calhoun. He has shown us that he is willing to sacrifice his life for anyone he loves. It is his greatest weakness and one we can capitalize on. Give me the go-ahead and I can take the sister.

He would love to get his hands on haughty Patsy, looking down her nose at him, brushing him aside as if he were nobody. He could teach her manners and enjoy every moment of it. He was frustrated that the listening device hadn’t worked after he had gone to all the trouble of planting it, especially since it had taken so long to get the exact frequency worked out. Weeks of listening to Jess’s voice for hours on end, over and over, recording the exact wavelength. Whitney had all these little experiments he wanted done. And the other-he was just as demanding. It was exciting to be a double agent, play both sides and collect fat paychecks, but if he didn’t get the results both wanted soon, they would send someone else to do the job, and that was unacceptable. He had plans for the Night Siren. Big plans.