Street Game

CHAPTER 15

“How is he?” Mack demanded, striding into the room, Sergeant Major on his heels. “Paul. Talk to me. Tell me Ethan’s alive.”

“He’s lost a lot of blood. Jaimie’s giving him a transfusion, boss,” Gideon said.

“You’ve got to let Paul work.”

Mack shot a hard glance at Sergeant Major. “You left out a few pertinent facts in Paul’s file. In fact, you left out a few facts altogether. The next time you decide you’re going to send two of my men on suicide missions, expect a fucking bullet in your head, because that’s what you’ll get. Are we clear?”

Silence fell instantly. The tension stretched until the room seemed brittle enough to shatter. Sergeant Major carefully removed his jacket and walked across the room to stare down into Ethan’s pale face. Paul didn’t even look up. His hands covered in blood, he worked fast to repair the body, using mainly healing energy. Griffen watched his son, a look of awe on his face.

“Look at him, Mack. My son. Worth more than I ever was. The things he can do, the miracle that he is. I would have risked everything for him. You want to put a bullet in my head for that, then you do it.”

Mack’s breath hissed out in the room, a coiled snake winding tighter. He actually pulled his gun and laid it along his thigh, finger on the trigger. “You son of a bitch. Everyone in this room matters to me. Your son as well as every other man. These people are my family and they’re all extraordinary. None of them are expendable, you hear me?”

“You might want to remember who you’re talking to,” Griffen said. Mack’s eyes blazed fire. He heard the collective gasp go around the room. His team knew him well and they all realized that was the last thing Griffen should have said.

“I don’t give a shit about my career, not when you’re so willing to sell us all down the river, so if you believe for a minute that threatening me will save you, think again.”

Babe. Jaimie’s voice was soothing. Loving. Calm down. He looked up to see her stretched out beside Ethan, tubes running between them, her skin pale, Ethan’s so white the dark scruff on his face was nearly obscene, and it made him even angrier.

“Mack.” Kane moved up beside him, his fingers settling lightly around Mack’s wrist. “Let’s all calm down. We just pulled his butt out of the fire. You don’t need to kill him.”

“I’d prefer that you didn’t, if I get a vote,” Paul agreed, not looking up from Ethan’s bloody body.

Mack jerked his arm away from Kane, but holstered his weapon and stalked into the kitchen. He couldn’t look at Jaimie again. Ethan had taken a bad hit. He’d been so certain he could get his men out clean. Maybe he was angrier at himself than at Sergeant Major. “Where’s Javier?”

Marc handed him a cup of coffee. “Where do you think? He prefers computers to people. He’s tracking our wannabe Bond.”

“They have the pictures of Griffen’s shadows? All three of them? I want that woman’s ID,” Mack snapped.

Griffen came up behind him. Marc immediately left the area and busied himself watching the bay from the windows.

“I’m sorry, Mack,” Griffen said quietly. “I didn’t know how to handle it. I realized Whitney was out of his mind when I went to tour one his compounds. I was with Senator Romney and Brigadier General Tommy Chilton and Colonel Wilford. They didn’t share my views of the facility at all, at least not Romney and Chilton; Colonel Wilford was quiet, didn’t say much at all. As we walked through that hellhole, I felt like I was in an alternate reality. Paul had already filled out the papers and was being processed into the program. I knew his talent was rare and that if Whitney realized what he could do, he’d never leave that compound alive. Romney and Chilton wield a great deal of power. Chilton has the president’s ear. I kept my mouth shut and got out of there alive, although I think Whitney was suspicious.”

“You should have come to me.”

“The day after I visited the compound, I was hit by a car right outside of my hotel. It was no accident. I was out jogging and the car was waiting for me. I think that must have been when they planted the tracking devices in my hip and side.” He rubbed the spots as if they ached. “I woke up in Whitney’s hospital. Oh, he was very gracious. Romney and the general were solicitous. The colonel was very quiet and upset, but I knew I’d been warned.”

“You should have come to me then,” Mack repeated and poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Sergeant Major.

“You sound like a broken record. I answer to the colonel. He answers to the brigadier general. He goes to the president. Who else can I go to, Mack?”

“Me. You come to me.”

“And what are you going to do?”

Mack’s smile was mean. “I’m going to kill the sons of bitches.”

“You don’t know for certain it’s them. I don’t know,” Griffen objected. “Don’t you think I thought of that? They have never once communicated with me. I have no proof. Just the damn bugs. I had to utilize the encryption program to communicate with Paul, and anything secure I’m working on can’t be done in my office.”

“Who set up Kane and Brian? Was it Whitney?”

“The orders for the mission came directly from Colonel Wilford, as most of the missions do, but his orders come from above. The only thing different was he requested them by name. I had my suspicions the moment he requested them. I had turned over all the evidence the men had gathered against Whitney against my better judgment.” He looked directly at Mack for the first time and there was shame in his eyes. “Did they make copies?”

“If they did, they didn’t inform me.”

“I tried warning you, Mack. I said things to make you as uneasy as possible.”

“I must have picked up on it without knowing it, but you should have just told me. You could have used Paul’s e-mail.”

“I couldn’t be certain that everyone on your team was clean, not with Paul’s life at stake.”

“They threatened him?”

“When I woke up in the hospital, Whitney was there with Romney and Chilton and they were all talking, consoling me, telling me I was going to be all right. And they said how easily these things happen and thank God it hadn’t been Paul, because no one wants to outlive their child. I took it as a warning.”

“Damn it, Sergeant Major, you should have come to me. You trusted me with your son. You should have trusted me to get you out of it.”

“You’re a loose cannon sometimes, Mack,” Griffen said. “No one, not even me, can predict how you’ll act in any given situation. You have a reputation for charging hell with a bucket of water.”

Mack shook his head and went back over to Ethan, Griffen following. “Maybe, but I’d put the fire out. I always have a plan.”

“They’ll know your team has me,” Griffen pointed out. “That makes all of you sitting ducks. You’ll get orders to go to the Congo or worse.”

“Not if they’re dead. We just need the proof of who the man is pulling the strings. We get in and get out.” Mack walked around the bed, inspecting the damage done to Ethan. He put his hand on Ethan’s shoulder, his touch gentle, at odds with his commanding tone. “Give me the word, kid,” he ordered Paul. “I’m getting a little worried and we all know that makes me cranky.”

Paul flexed his fingers and sagged back onto the bed, slumping, his head down. There was a film of sweat on his forehead and his eyes were sunken in. He looked pale. “Get me some water, please.”

Marc handed him a glass and the team gathered around him, waiting while he downed the water. “Maybe you should lie down,” Marc suggested, one hand on Paul’s shoulder to steady him.

Paul shook his head and looked up at his father. “She was trying to kill you. Ethan took that knife for you.”

“I know he did,” Griffen replied. “Were you able to repair the damage?”

“She went for the liver. It was difficult getting the bleeding stopped.” He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to ease the terrible weariness. “He wouldn’t have made it if we’d taken him to a regular hospital. They wouldn’t have had enough time.” His bloodshot eyes met Mack’s gaze. “He’ll need a lot of rest, boss.”

Mack nodded and forced himself to look at Jaimie. Brave Jaimie. His Jaimie. She’d stayed right there while Paul used psychic energy to heal the aftermath of violence-a particularly violent and brutal attack. She hadn’t flinched, or shrunk away from giving blood. Even though she knew the energy was going to tear her apart. He bent to brush a kiss over her temple. “Thanks, Jaimie. Thanks for taking care of him. I know what it cost you.”

Paul glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’ll help you as soon as I can.”

“It’s just a bad headache,” Jaimie assured. “I’ve had many. And somehow I think you’re in worse shape than I am. Did Javier get the information we need? I can…”

She started to sit up and Mack put a restraining hand on her shoulder at the same time Paul did.

“Rest,” Mack ordered. “Javier will get it.”

“Boss,” Lucas said, “I hate to bring this up now, but we’ve still got Armando Shepherd and Ramon Estes sniffing around Madigan’s warehouse. The signs are pretty clear they’re looking to make their move soon.”

Sergeant Major nodded. “I brought the latest intel on Doomsday. They’re pushing hard for the weapons deal because they’re gearing up for something big. The chatter’s been increasing steadily.”

“Where?” Mack asked.

Griffen shrugged. “It’s anyone’s guess with them. We have a chance to cripple them.”

“How many, Lucas?”

“So far we’ve only ID’d Shepherd and Estes, but Javier went out last night with a bunch of his new little pot-smoking friends and brought back a couple of photos of the other two. They aren’t homeboys.”

“Javier on that as well?” Mack asked.

Jaimie frowned. “I can help him, Mack. You have no idea how much work it can be to run all the databases. I have multiple programs he doesn’t know about.”

“He’s been in your workroom for a while now, baby,” he said gently. “Believe me, Javier’s found your programs. He’s a maniac when it comes to computers.” He bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Like you. Just rest a little longer. Gideon, I know you’re tired but I need your eyes out there.”

“I’m on it, boss,” Gideon said.

“Does anyone in this room remember they’re in the military?” Griffen demanded.

“Occasionally,” Mack said, “when we get bad intel.”

A ripple of laughter hastily suppressed went through the room. Mack squeezed Jaimie’s hand and went over to the table, sitting down and gesturing to the others.

“All right. Let’s see what we’ve got. What’s the latest on Madigan? Is he out of intensive care yet? Has anyone been to see him in the hospital? He’s going to get antsy wanting to move those weapons.”

Marc tossed several pictures onto the table. “This is Dane Fellows, Madigan’s right-hand man. He’s reputed to be a high-profile killer, Madigan’s enforcer. We took these in the bar just down the street. It wasn’t difficult to spot Madigan’s people, they walk around like they own the place. The locals ignore them for the most part, although once in a while a fight breaks out between the dockworkers and Madigan’s men. Fellows usually controls his people fairly quickly.”

“Which means,” Mack said, “they want to keep this area out of the spotlight.”

“Yeah, that’s my take,” Kane agreed. “Word is, Madigan has an in down here with someone in the police station. Someone tips them off every time there’s been an investigation into his activities.” He glanced at Griffen. “If we run this, it’s probably best to get in and out without the locals knowing we’re running an operation.”

“Homeland Security is going to love that,” Griffen said. “I do have to answer to them, you know.”

“Let Colonel Wilford give you heat after,” Mack suggested.

Griffen pressed his lips together tightly, his bushy eyebrows coming together as he frowned. “He’s still the person I have to report to, Mack. I don’t know for certain if he’s dirty. If I knew, don’t you think I’d do something about it? I’m not a man to take this kind of thing lying down.”

Mack’s head went up sharply. He narrowed his eyes and studied Sergeant Major. No, Griffen wasn’t the kind of man to put up with being threatened. He’d tried to buy himself time by sending his son to Mack to babysit while he… “You’ve been conducting your own investigation. Did you bring us any more pieces of the puzzle?”

“I don’t know if what I’ve got helps. I followed the general from a meeting. He called someone on his cell phone. He was angry and I heard my name come up twice. He was objecting to whatever was being said. The senator’s car followed him and when they pulled to the curb beside him, Chilton stopped his call immediately. The senator offered him a ride and General Chilton not only refused, but he backed away from the car. I’ve never seen him scared, but he looked scared.”

“Why did you follow Chilton?” Mack asked.

Griffen went silent. His fingers drummed on the tabletop. Mack sat back in his seat, tipping the chair. “I see. But you changed your mind.”

“Nothing seems so certain anymore, Mack. I’d get out, but that would leave you and the rest of the GhostWalkers hanging out there, more vulnerable than ever.”

“Whitney doesn’t want us dead,” Mack said.

“No. He’s proud of his soldiers,” Griffen agreed. “But you’ve got enemies, someone working against all of you, and that someone is powerful. They aren’t the ones pulling my strings.” He glanced at the bed where Jaimie and Ethan lay side by side, both asleep, and where his son sat, still slumped, head in his hands. “Jaimie opened a can of worms when she started her campaign to gather proof against Whitney. His supporters don’t want his experiments coming out into the light.”

“They know it’s her?”

Griffen shook his head. “I knew. I knew the minute the senator and the general came to me saying someone was hacking into top-secret files. She would never walk away from the rest of you and she was convinced Whitney was doing things he shouldn’t have been from the start. She came to me and told me she’d done research and that someone had been murdering GhostWalkers. She was afraid for you all. I thought, at the time, that I’d convinced her Colonel Higgens had been killed and his people rounded up and everyone was safe. Months later, the senator shows up in my office and tells me they have a problem. I knew it was Jaimie.”

“Why didn’t you tell them who you suspected?”

“By that time, I was already worried about Whitney, and Paul had applied and been accepted into the program. I wanted to do some investigating of my own.”

“So when Kane came to you and asked you to provide a guard for Jaimie, you just thought you’d take advantage of that and get something in return.”

Griffen shrugged. “I was happy he came to me, Mack. Someone had to keep an eye on her. Joe Spagnola is a good man. I knew him personally and I trusted him. If anyone came after Jaimie, he would protect her.”

“And if he found any incriminating evidence against Whitney and his supporters, he could turn it over to you, just as you’d instructed Kane to do.” He sat forward, putting both hands onto the table. “You should have brought me in on this, Theo.”

“So now I get a ‘Theo.’ I thought maybe you’d forgotten we were friends.”

“I wasn’t being friendly.”

“I got that.”

Mack didn’t reply, just continued to stare down the sergeant major. Griffen sighed. “You were my ace in the hole, Master Guns. I didn’t want you anywhere near this mess. I sent you Paul because I knew you’d keep him alive.”

“And Kane and Brian?” There was a challenge in Mack’s voice. “Did you expect me to keep them alive as well?”

Griffen’s teeth snapped together impatiently. “Damn right I expected you to keep them alive. And you did.”

“We’re in the middle of a maze, Sergeant Major. There’re only a handful of people we know we can trust. We have to rely on one another.” Mack leaned across the table. “Know this. Jaimie is not a pawn. I don’t want you to think you can use her as a bargaining chip with these people.”

Griffen burst out laughing. “Do you think I’m stupid, Mack? Do you think anyone in this room, anyone who knows you, would make a move against Jaimie and not kill you first? No one wants you for an enemy. Even Whitney wouldn’t be that stupid. He’s the one who wrote the profile on you. I protected Jaimie. I wanted her data, yes, but only to add to my own. What’s she going to do with it? Take it to the newspapers?” He gave a snort of derision.

Silence once again descended. Griffen’s eyebrow shot up. “Not to the newspapers. Come on, Mack. Within hours they’d have an entire history of her being in mental institutions. They’d discredit her so fast she wouldn’t know what hit her.”

“She knew that. But it would still be out there and the evidence would be where everyone could see it. She’d ruin them.”

Mack. Joe Spagnola’s on the rooftop across from me. He’s spotted Shepherd’s men and I’m afraid he thinks they’re watching Jaimie, Gideon reported. Mack sighed. “How well do you know Spagnola?”

“He’s my best friend’s son. A good man. I’ve known him since he was a kid.”

“And you trust him,” Mack said.

“Yes.”

Mack turned around. “Paul. You feeling better?”

“Not much. I need to lie down for a while.”

“How much can you tell about a man by his energy? Can you tell if he lies?”

“It depends on whether or not he believes the lie. In other words, if he believes he’s telling the truth, there’s no way of knowing differently.”

Signal him in, Gideon. Tell him we’re running a couple of missions and could use some help.

“I hope you’re right about him, Top,” Mack said, finally giving his friend a title of friendly respect. “Paul, after you see Spagnola and tell me what you think, I want you to get some sleep. All of you will need to rest up. I’m going to need you, Kane. We’ll hash this out and come up with a plan of action.”

“Plan of action?” Griffen echoed.

“Let’s take the guns,” Mack said. “We’re GhostWalkers. We get in and get out like the ghosts we are. No one knows we’re here. Madigan loses his shipment and Shepherd either is dead or goes home empty-handed. We don’t have a lot to lose.”

“You have to track them,” Griffen said.

Mack shook his head. “We don’t have to track the weapons. We’ve got four of them here. We only need to let one of them get away. We just have to figure out how to put one of those nice little homing chips under his skin.”

“I see your point.”

“Is Rhianna still out of the country?” Mack asked.

Griffen nodded. “There’s no way to use her. She’s still on loan to the Mossad, Mack. I can’t pull her back. Can we use Jaimie?”

“No way. Don’t even think about it. Jaimie doesn’t work as a field operative. Rhianna can handle it, but not Jaimie. It was just a thought because we know her. We’ll find another solution.”

Joe’s coming toward the warehouse, Mack. Don’t let Javier kill him. He is over six feet, Mack pointed out.

The sound of Gideon’s laughter pushed into his mind, lightening his mood. There is that, boss. He’s a pretty bastard, isn’t he?

Jaimie looked at him.

Gideon’s amusement increased. Well, I could see why he needs to die, then. Six feet, good-looking, and Jaimie looking at him. He’s a dead man walking.

Mack laughed softly. “Joe’s at the door. Kane, you want to bring him up? Gideon thinks Javier might do him in and, although I tend to agree with Javier on who needs killing most of the time, we might have need of Joe.”

“I read in the reports that many of you have become more aggressive,” Griffen said. “I’m beginning to think it’s true.”

Mack stayed silent. He might trust Sergeant Major with his own life, but he was not going to report that their psychic talents were growing stronger. Or that Gideon and Joe had a different energy that helped make it impossible for other psychics to spot them. Jaimie was amazing with the things she could do-especially that. The GhostWalkers, including Paul now, had to stick together and believe in one another. They had no other choice. The deck was stacked against them. In the end, Sergeant Major had spent a lifetime in the Corps. He might feel compelled to report when asked, and Mack wasn’t going to put him in the position of choosing between his men and his career.

Coming in, Mack, Kane sent.

“Paul, can you manage to make it over here to the table?” Mack asked.

“No problem, boss.” The kid was game and Mack’s respect for him grew. Using psychic ability was draining and performing surgery psychically had to drain one’s strength even more. Paul hadn’t complained once.

Marc and Lucas closed in from either side and helped him as he staggered over to the table. Mack pretended not to notice. The kid deserved his pride remaining intact. Paul dropped into a chair, taking the one just out of the light, probably to keep anyone from noticing a resemblance to his father. The pair had become adept at distancing their relationship publicly.

Joe was wary, looking around, noting each man, his gaze dwelling for a moment on Ethan, the IV, blood, and Jaimie lying asleep, so pale, beside the obviously wounded man. He waited for Kane to move in front of him before crossing into the kitchen area.

“Looks like you’ve had some trouble,” he greeted. His gaze shifted to the sergeant major and back to Jaimie and Ethan.

“You could say that,” Mack agreed.

“Is Jaimie all right? And your man?”

“Ethan Myers,” Mack provided. “Jaimie’s tired. She gave blood. Ethan will be fine.” He said it with more confidence than he felt. “Everyone, this is Joe Spagnola.”

He waved his hand toward the table. “You want to sit down?”

“Maybe over here,” Joe said. He stayed clear of the light, away from the window, and where he knew no one had slipped behind him.

Mack sighed. “Joe, if we wanted you dead, it would have happened the first time you came up and we had a gun on you.”

Joe winced. He hadn’t spotted the man. “Which one of you?”

Mack gestured toward the bed. “There’s your man right there. He took a knife for the sergeant major.”

“I’ve got to meet him. He’s damn good.”

“All my men are good,” Mack said. “I thought, since you were hanging around, you might want some action.”

“You’re talking about the tough guys hanging around.”

“They’re Doomsday. They’re sniffing around the wharf looking for their weapons. They had a deal with an arms dealer named Madigan. He’s known far and wide as the Spider. He likes tats, has about a dozen spiderwebs covering his back and torso and down his arms. We think the weapons are in the warehouse at the end of the block. The deal was set and Madigan had a heart attack and is in intensive care at the hospital.”

“You taking the guns?” Joe asked.

“We’re not taking the chance of them falling into terrorist hands. We’ll take the weapons and tag a couple of the suspects. If they lead us to the nest, we can wipe them out for good.”

“Any chance of making the deal ourselves and taking them out that way?”

Mack sighed. “Madigan is too well-known, as are his men. We’ll have to get the weapons out of there before Shepherd and Estes decide to make their move and try to steal the guns. We think they’re getting ready to do just that.”

Joe nodded slowly. “I’d say you were right. There’s been a lot of activity this evening. I’ve spotted four.”

“Same number here. First we have to remove the weapons and take over the warehouse without tipping them off.”

“Should be easy enough,” Joe said.

Joe’s eyes took on a silver sheen, gleaming bright and hot as if the very thought of finally getting in on the adrenaline-laced action had changed the chemistry in his blood-or at least the energy surrounding him. Mack was beginning to understand the energy of the psychics was a little different with each one. Joe and Gideon shared something quite different, the layers shielding them from others. He glanced at Paul, still slumped with fatigue, his face in the shadows. Paul nodded once, the movement nearly imperceptible, but it was enough for Mack.

“Marc, you and Lucas take Paul back to the room and get him to bed. Make certain he drinks a lot of water. I need you in shape as fast as possible,” he added.

“I can handle it tonight,” Paul said.

Mack scowled at him. “I wasn’t asking. Get your ass back to that room and go to sleep. If he can’t sleep, Lucas, knock him out. Take the med kit with you. Are we clear, kid?”

Sergeant Major stirred. Mack shot him a warning look.

“Got it, boss,” Paul said.

He stood up, swaying slightly. Lucas and Marc immediately closed in on either side of him. Paul glanced at his father, nodded his head, and went out.

“What the hell happened?” Joe asked. “You’ve got three down.”

“Jaimie gave blood and you know how she is with violent energy,” Mack said vaguely. “She’ll be fine. Ethan and Paul will both come around.”

I’ve got something, boss. Javier’s voice slid into Mack’s mind seamlessly. The woman assassin was Lieutenant Roslyn Kramer, formerly of the army. This is her second death. The first time was three years ago in a car accident in Berlin. She’s a real ball-breaker, this one. And Mack, her file was flagged. The moment I accessed it, through a thousand walls-and yes, I am the greatest-someone began erasing it and back-tracing at the same time.

Mack swore. You’re on Jaimie’s computer. You’ll lead them right back to her. Javier snorted. Give me some credit, Top. I was ready for them. After the first six firewalls and encryptions, I figured they’d be ready for a hacker. I knew the moment I got to the file, alarms would go off somewhere. I had part of it downloaded before the flag went up. The moment the trace started, I bailed.

Which database? The army?

Nope. Homeland Security has their own supersecret database no one knows about. We’re in there, boss. Want your file?

If it’s so damned supersecret, how did you know about it? The amusement faded from Mack’s mind as Javier sobered. Okay, I didn’t know about it. Jaimie did. She has amazing programs, Mack, things I’ve never seen before. I think she may have worked on some of these. Each person has a sort of signature code, and I swear some of these look like hers.

Mack wasn’t certain exactly what Javier was talking about, but he knew Jaimie worked on many programs for the various agencies. She developed self-learning programs that adapted as they were used. He’d heard her talk about her ideas, and loved the sound of her enthusiasm, but in truth, he didn’t understand half of what she said. He was proud of her accomplishments even if he’d never fully comprehend them. If she was developing extremely sensitive software for the various agencies, then chances were it was impossible to hack unless she was using her own program to hack it. Which meant that would lead them straight back to her door as well.

As for her databases, she either developed them herself, or she stole them. Jaimie was resourceful, which made her invaluable to Colonel Wilford whenever he wanted information for his teams. Mack knew she still worked for the colonel and because her skills were needed on the computer, they didn’t insist she do fieldwork. That and the fact that it was common knowledge that anyone wanting Jaimie was going to have to go through Mack to get her kept her safe.

He rubbed his pounding temples. He was exhausted with trying to keep so many people protected. Do you have anything on that address for me, Javier? Javier didn’t ask which address and Mack was grateful. A headache was kicking in hard. Talk flowed around him, Kane had picked up the slack immediately, but Joe was watching his face and Mack knew little escaped those eagle eyes. He kept his face without expression.

It looks like a drop to me, Mack. An apartment building in Virginia. Who owns the building? Who is the apartment registered to? That’s the thing I find interesting. A man by the name of Earl Thomas Bartlett owns the building. He appears to have no social security number and no driver’s license, yet he owns several companies. There’s a Lansing International based in Nevada he recently acquired and a company called International Investments. He has an entire list of companies in various states, all international. He owns a Falcon 2000 executive jet that seems to be able to land on any of our military bases in any part of the world, which he acquired from Lansing before he ever took over the company. And Mack… Jaimie has a file on him as well.

He shouldn’t have been surprised by anything she did, but he was. Jaimie was thorough. When she began digging, she wasn’t going to let anything stop her. What’s in the file?

I have no idea. Jaimie’s private files are encrypted. I wouldn’t be in the databases except that she gave me a password to use on this particular machine for the various databases she’s tapping into.

Javier, how much trouble is she in?

There was another long silence. Honestly, boss, it’s hard to tell with Jaimie. She covers her ass, and I don’t think a computer working on her encryption could break it in a hundred years-she’s that good. But she’s got stuff here I’ve never seen before. And Mack. Javier hesitated. She’s not working alone. The words were a punch in the gut. Mack cursed under his breath. Are you certain?

She’s not only backing up her work; she’s sending it to someone else. Damn her. I swear I’m going to wrap my fingers around her throat and strangle her. Mack flexed his fingers and shot Jaimie a glare. Joe watching him be damned. He would shake her until her teeth rattled. Why hadn’t she told him?

Boss. If you kill her, do I get all this cool equipment? I’m not in the mood, Javier. Who is it? Can you get me a name? Not a chance, Top. Remember that encryption program Jaimie was telling us about? Well, she uses it. I can’t hack her mail.

Do whatever she did to get into Paul’s. You were there. She talked you right through it.

Not exactly. She knows the code, not me. She told me what she did, not how she did it. She has a backdoor into the program, boss, not me. I could search for… Yeah, I get it. A hundred years.

More like a thousand, boss.

It felt like a betrayal to him. She had been corresponding with someone else, sharing her data, her conclusions, her suspicions-with someone other than him. And she hadn’t told him. Had he really lost her trust to that extent? The blow was enormous. He stood up so abruptly his chair nearly fell over. Kane caught it, shooting him a strange look, but Mack paced away from them, wishing them all gone. Needing them to be gone so he could be alone to reason out the why of it. Why had Jaimie kept this from him?

It seemed impossible to separate his emotions, as intense as they were. Jaimie was his. His world. They’d talked about resolving their issues. Hell, they’d shared the best sex he’d ever had in his life. Everything was right. But this… Why hadn’t she told him she wasn’t working alone on trying to expose Whitney and whoever was backing him?

Kane, get them out of here.

What’s wrong?

I’ll tell you later. After he strangled her.

He stalked across the room, vaguely aware of Kane closing down the meeting with the others, filling them in on the plan to retrieve the weapons. Mack stared down at Jaimie’s face. So innocent. So pale. Her midnight black hair, so dark it gleamed bluish black whenever the light hit it, only made her skin look almost a pearl white. Her lashes were thick and long and every bit as dark as her hair. There was even a curl on the ends of them, hardly surprising when her hair was so naturally curly. He reached down and pushed the coil of tubing from around her arm and gathered her into his arms. She stirred, her lashes fluttering, lifting. Her eyes were so blue, like the deepest sea.

“Mack,” she said his name softly, a drowsy, slumberous, oh-so-sexy note. Her smile was slow, drawing his attention to her mouth. The one he spent far too much time fantasizing over. His stomach did a slow roll in time to her smile. “That’s right, baby. It’s Mack. I’m putting you to bed and sending everyone home.” He bent his head to brush a kiss over her forehead. “You’d better not be giving other men that particular smile.”

“I reserve it just for you,” she assured.

He carried her across the room to their bed. He was glad they hadn’t gotten rid of the twin-sized thing she’d been sleeping in. The bed was tucked along the side wall. Kane would have something to sleep on with Ethan in his bed.

I’m assigning Brian to Sergeant Major. We’ll put him in his room. There’s no way to trace him there, Kane said.

Sounds good. I’ll need Javier and Gideon to go with me to Washington. I knew you were going to go, Kane said, resignation in his voice. You might want to see if Joe can communicate telepathically. If so, put him on the roof when we’re gone. If not, Lucas would be my next choice. Anything else?

Don’t get anyone killed while I’m gone.

I’ll do my best, boss.