Street Game
Page 11

Mack’s stomach knotted. “Jaimie.” He didn’t know what to say.
“I have a life now.” She motioned toward the window. “And now I’m right back in the middle of something I don’t want. I’m not an anchor the way all of you are. I barely get by. It’s a struggle every single day. Most nights I lie in bed with a killer headache wondering if I’m going to make it through the night. I’m not going back, not for either of you.”
Mack ignored her small retreat and followed her, wrapping his arms around her.
“You never get headaches if I’m with you.”
Not headaches. But heartaches, and that was worse. She wasn’t going to let him comfort her, or change the subject. Deliberately, Jaimie stepped away from him.
“What are you really doing here?” Jaimie walked to the sink and poured herself a glass of water to gain her equilibrium. Mack looked hurt. He felt hurt. That was the last thing she wanted, but their coming was no coincidence.
Mack raked both hands through his hair in agitation. “I told you it was a mistake.”
Jaimie wandered across the room to the street side, staring moodily down at the tendrils of fog reaching in off the bay.
“Come on, Jaimie,” Kane said, his voice utterly calm. “We didn’t bring this down on you and you know it. We’re the convenient whipping boys. You were manipulated and you let yourself be. You wanted out and you jumped at the easy way out. It came with strings. As for who is watching you, they were here before we got here. You’re safer with us close than not.” He yawned. “I’m not getting up at five A.M. to hash this out. If you two are going to keep talking, do it in sign language.”
Get her away from the window. Get her back! Gideon’s voice burst into Mack’s head.
Without hesitation, Mack leapt forward and tackled Jaimie, bringing her to the ground. Kane rolled off the couch, hitting the floor and fighting his way out of his sleeping bag, gun already in his hand, indicating Gideon had called the warning to both men telepathically. Kane crawled to the window, where Mack’s body covered Jaimie’s. She didn’t protest or ask questions, but lay quietly beneath both men.
What do you have, Gideon? Is Superman back?
I wish. I think these two came looking for their buddies. They’re loaded for bear.
Can you get a shot at them?
Yes. I can take both out, but it won’t be quiet, boss.
“Tell me,” Jaimie said.
There was no panic in her voice, but there was suppressed rage. Mack’s gaze met Kane’s above her head. “Who are they, Jaimie?” Mack asked.
“You tell me, Mack,” she shot back and for the first time, struggled to get out from under him.
“You little liar.” Mack hissed the words in her ear, bending close, trapping her beneath him. “You know who they are. They aren’t terrorists coming to get you, are they? Not the ones we’ve been following.”
“They aren’t any friends of mine.” She turned her head to glare at Kane. “I’m not going back. Not ever. I don’t care how many you send after me. I will never go back to work for Whitney. I’ve hacked into enough files to know what he’s doing and he isn’t alone in it. He experimented on children. And he’s got a breeding program. The women are forced to pair with a man of Whitney’s choosing. It’s barbaric and illegal and the women are held prisoners with no one to help them.”
Mack saw Kane wince and covered for him automatically, catching Jaimie’s chin and forcing her to look at him. “Does he know you’ve been collecting evidence against him?”
“Get off me, Mack.” She bit out each word between her teeth. “Right now.”
He stayed where he was for a full minute, looking into her eyes. With a sinking heart he realized the truth. “You don’t trust me.”
He had lost something beyond measure if she didn’t trust him. Jaimie had believed the sun rose and set with him. She had believed in everything he did and said. He’d been her hero. He waited but he saw it on her face, in the way she schooled her expression. She wasn’t going to tell him anything about her current life. Not one thing. And that just might get her killed.
“Damn it, Jaimie. This is Mack. You know me. You know Kane. We’re your family.”
The voice in his head whispered again. One is a sniffer, like Jacob. He’s running his hand along the doors and windows and he knows they’re wired to blow them to kingdom come. I could take them out.
We don’t know enough yet, Mack objected reluctantly. He wanted Jaimie safe and the temptation to kill the two men was strong. But if they were GhostWalkers under legitimate orders, Mack’s team had already made one serious mistake when Javier killed the two men earlier. They were trying to identify the bodies fast. They didn’t need to add two more.
He eased his body away from Jaimie. She sat up, her back to the wall, drawing her knees up, staying below the window. They stared at each other.
“We’re family, Jaimie.”
She shook her head and there was a flash of pain in her eyes. “I don’t know what we are anymore, Mack, but we aren’t family. You chose them over me. The GhostWalkers. And they’re evil. I can’t trust anyone who is part of it.”
He swore and turned away from her, his hands itching to shake her. This was his fault. He knew it was. She’d lost faith in him and no longer looked to him or the others to help her. But whatever she was into was definitely trouble.
“We have the same code of honor we’ve always had,” Kane said, his voice calm, much calmer than Mack could have managed. “That’s ridiculous for you to think just because an evil man started the program that it makes us all tainted. Our commanding officers run legitimate missions and we save lives. We specialize in hostage rescue and put our lives on the line all the time.”
“So why are you here, Kane?” she demanded again.
Mack frowned. Jaimie was being very persistent and Jaimie was extremely intelligent. He looked at his best friend. “Do you know something I don’t, Kane?”
Kane sighed. “Do you really think this is the best time to go into it? Of course I knew they’d watch Jaimie; you knew it too. She’s a multimillion-dollar weapon and she’s smart as a whip. Not to mention she can do things no one else can do and no one, not even Whitney, can figure out how the hell she does it. I have no idea what she’s into or why these men are sniffing around her home now.”
Gideon’s voice whispered in Mack’s head again. Superman has joined the party.
He’s good, Mack. His camouflage is every bit as good as or better than mine. He’s like a damned ghost. I barely caught sight of him. He moved to get a better angle on the two moving around Jaimie’s house. He’s got the mean end of a rifle on them and looks like he knows how to use it.
Mack looked at Kane over the top of Jaimie’s head, knowing Gideon had sent the information to Kane as well. They had another player in the mix, with no way of knowing if he was a friend or enemy.
Has he spotted you? Kane asked.
I don’t think so, but I’m pinned down. If I move to check out the two below, he’s got a clear shot at me.
Mack turned the information over in his mind. Stay where you are. Javier wouldn’t have left an opening for visitors to come in, and Jaimie’s got this place fully secure. If they break in, we’ll know about it, most likely with a big boom. Keep your eye on Superman. Try to get a good look at him through the scope, but don’t expose yourself. Just watch him.
“Are you going to let me in on what’s going on?” Jaimie asked.
“Like you share information with me?” Mack asked and instantly regretted it.
“We’re trying to sort it all out. Gideon spotted the two men moving around the first floor, looking for a way in. They were obviously looking for their friends, the ones Javier took out.”
“I see. Did you tell Gideon not to include me in the broadcast, or did he make that decision all on his own?” She knew Gideon had to be following orders.
Mack ignored her question. “And then someone else showed up on one of the rooftops and he’s watching them too. We’re fairly certain he isn’t with the others. I think we’ve got two factions here.”
“Great. You show up, Mack, and my life is instantly turned upside down.” Jaimie swept both hands through her hair, struggling not to cry.
The insanity had started all over again. And the hurt. As much as she hated it all, she should have been included. She fought to make a life for herself, but now . . . She shook her head. She couldn’t entirely blame Mack, although she wanted to. It would be so much easier to drive a wedge deeper between them, but that was a coward’s way out. She didn’t want to love him. To feel weak inside when he was close. Her body felt out of control, alert and alive around him. Almost desperate, and she wasn’t a desperate woman.
She was blaming him unfairly for the firestorm she’d brought down on herself.
She’d been gathering information against Whitney, but more important, she’d been trying to find out who was supporting him, who was sanctioning his criminal experiments. Hacking into a government site was risky business. She had a high security clearance, but not high enough, not when they were protecting their connections with Whitney. Someone had buried him deep and there were so many layers and red flags, she may have tripped one without knowing it. She hadn’t thought so, but she had no doubt in her mind that if she was found out, they would erase her.
She’d gone after them anyway.
Whitney had taken all their lives. He’d promised to enhance them psychically. He already had conducted experiments on children, which none of them had known. He knew the effects it would have on them, but he’d done it anyway. Worse, he’d altered them genetically as well. And he’d paired them using pheromones, with the idea of breeding the perfect soldier. The man was a maniac and someone had to stop him.
Unfortunately he still had powerful friends in high places and he had access to all the money in the world. He could move around from one facility to another and often had military protection where he went.
She couldn’t blame Mack, as much as she’d like to, and it made her ashamed of herself that she’d let him think she believed he’d brought trouble with him. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, he probably had saved her a lot of trouble. She had two escape routes, and may have gotten away, but she had sunk most of her money into her current project, looking to build a future not only for herself but for the others should there be need.
“I’m sorry, Mack. I shouldn’t have said that. This isn’t your fault and I know it isn’t.” Jaimie sighed and leaned back against the wall. “I had a couple of years to pretend my life was my own. I don’t know who these men are. As far as I know, I haven’t had anyone watching me until Gideon discovered the room across the way.
And I have to tell you, no one has ever managed to surprise me, so either he just set up there, or I’m losing my abilities.”
“The room had been lived in for a time, Jaimie.”
She bit her lower lip and looked away from him, for the first time very shaken. If her radar system was faulty, she was in real trouble. She’d always been able to detect danger. She knew where the enemy was and became aware of anyone stalking them.
Even snipers would have a difficult time targeting her. If that was no longer true, there was no place she was safe.
“What does Gideon say?” She knew Gideon was always their eyes. The man was an eagle, a ghost, and a phenomenal shot all rolled into one.
“He calls the man Superman. Says this Superman has the same attributes as he does. Do you have trouble detecting Gideon? Maybe it’s something in his makeup.”
She frowned. “I don’t know. Gideon’s never hunted me. At least not to my knowledge. He’s always been with the rest of you.”