Deadly Game

thought maybe his daughter, Lily, was keeping him grounded, but-'

'You know about Lily?' Jack interrupted.

Mari nodded, trying not to flinch as Ken cleaned her leg. More blood had seeped out. 'He talked about her often, and it seemed like he really might love her, although, to be honest. I couldn't imagine that he was capable of real love. He didn't see any of us as human beings. Over the last two years he's become fanatical. Even his friends seem to be having trouble holding him in check.'

'Tell us about his friends,' Jack encouraged, taking another step forward.

Mari tried to keep her gaze from straying to the gun at his waist, or the two other weapons in the twin harnesses beneath his arms. He was close enough that she might be able to snag one of the guns if she was fast- very fast.

'Is there something about my brother's face you find fascinating?' Ken asked.

The low tone made her shiver. He could sound so utterly menacing at times. 'Actually, no,' she brazened, determined not to be intimidated. 'I was wondering if he was deliberately tempting me to make a try for his guns or whether he was so into the conversation he forgot I was his prisoner.'

'Do you really think you're that fast?' Jack asked.

'Ordinarily, but I'm hurting a little bit right now, so my timing might be off. In any case, you're double-teaming me. Ken is waiting for me to jump you, and frankly, it's a really uninspiring trap. Neither of you put much thought into it.'

'Sorry, it was spur of the moment, just to see where we stood,' Jack said. 'You thought about going for a gun.'

'I have to escape. I don't have a choice. As much as I'm enjoying your company, I really, really have to get back-everyone's waiting for me.'

'And all this time I thought we were getting to be friends. Didn't we agree we were on the same side?'

Ken ignored both of them and once more took up a position by her head. He wiped her face with a cool cloth. 'Put off trying to escape just a little longer. Your leg isn't up to it yet.'

'I wish I could, but even if we were on the same side, they're going to come looking for me and someone will end up hurt. I may be able to sneak back into the compound before Whitney realizes I've ever been gone. My people are going to try to make that happen.'

'Just give us the location of the compound, and we'll be happy to escort you home,' Jack suggested.

'And you'd bring a few of your friends just to make it fun,' Man said. She waved him away. 'I'm tired. You can interrogate me later, okay?'

'Take another drink of water.' Ken slipped his arm behind her back again. 'We can't risk you getting dehydrated.'

'Did she do much damage to her leg?' Jack asked.

Mari closed her eyes and turned her face away from them. She liked them. She even understood them. They were soldiers. She respected that. They were doing their job and they very well could be on the same side-she was fairly certain they were-but she couldn't chance risking everyone's life to find out.

She inhaled, dragging Ken's masculine scent into her lungs. She'd been more stimulated, more humiliated, and more exhilarated than she'd ever been in her life. She had to escape. Nothing she said or did was going to convince them to let her go.

'Mari, drink the water.'

The steel in Ken's voice set her teeth on edge. She knew the ripple of anger going through her body tipped him off. She had a stubborn streak a mile wide, and it was the one thing that had gotten her through her separation from Briony-through her unusual childhood-and through the degradation of Whitney's insane breeding program.

Ken tightened his arm around her and lowered his face until his warm breath fanned her cheek-until she was enveloped in his scent and her body began to respond. She tried desperately to focus on the pain in her leg, on her dire situation, on anything but the feel of the muscles in his arm, the heat of his skin so close to hers.

Are you doing this on purpose? Because it's low.

Don't defy me just to be prove some silly point. You need the water to keep you healthy. Drink it.

She turned her head to glare at him, her lips inches from his. her gaze locked with his. It was a good thing she was telepathic, because she had no air left in her lungs to breathe-or talk. Has anyone ever mentioned to you that you're a complete ass?

I believe mx brother has done so on many occasions.

She nodded her head. Well. Okay then. As long as someone has.

She took a small sip of the water and let it trickle down her throat, surprised at how parched she was. The drugs were beginning to leave her system, and things were much more sharply in focus. Time had passed. She understood why they had kept her knocked out as they moved her from place to place, probably one step ahead of her unit, but she had no idea if it had been hours or days.

Panic gripped her for a moment and she fought it down. The five women left in the compound were her only real family. Well, there was Sean and a couple of the other men who had not been caught in Whitney's web of deceit. But she'd been raised with the other women. They were all close, sisters. They had no parents, no other friends, so the bond between them was strong. In the end it didn't matter if she was on the same side with Ken and Jack, because she had to go back. She couldn't leave the others to face possible death at Whitney's hands.

She was absolutely convinced Whitney had begun a descent into madness. He might have started out a brilliant scientist, but somewhere along the way he had become convinced he was far smarter than anyone else and his ends justified his means. Rules weren't for him. He had too much power and too little accountability.

Mari drank more water. She had to regain her strength. 'How long did you keep me out?'

'A couple of days,' Jack answered. 'We can't have you calling in your unit, and they've been hard on our heels.'

She flashed him a brief smile, deliberately leaning back against Ken's arm, determined to show him-and herself-that she could be in control of her physical feelings. 'They're good.'

'Not that good,' Jack disagreed. 'They don't have you and we do. Had we been looking for you, we would have found you.'

'You're so arrogant.'

Jack's eyebrow shot up. 'That isn't being arrogant. It's a fact.'

'I'm tired and my head hurts.' She glared up at Ken. 'Probably from where you slammed your elbow into me.'

'I remember. And you didn't even thank me for saving your life.'

'I would have preferred you being a lot gentler about it.' She was joking, trying to lighten the situation-or stall for time, she wasn't certain which-but a shadow crossed Ken's face. Up so close to him, she caught that fleeting reaction to her words.

Ken laid her back on the pillows. 'You've been out a couple of days. We've been leading your unit away from anyone who could get caught in the cross fire.'

Mari glanced at Jack. They had a plan. Whatever they were doing, she couldn't be a part of it. 'I have to get back. You don't understand. If I don't go back, Whitney is going to hurt one of the others. I can't let that happen.'

'Give us the location and we'll go in and bring them out,' Ken said.

She pushed at his chest. 'You know I can't do that. I won't sell them out. I have no idea who you really are.'

His glittering eyes met hers like the slash of a sword. Cold. Possessive. Very frightening. Her pulse began a frantic rhythm. He showed little emotion, and that had been frightening, but this seemed worse. Behind his mask, his mind was working fast, calculating, formulating, processing data every bit as fast-or faster-than hers did. What other attributes had Whitney brought out in him? What other genetic code had Whitney slipped into his body- because right at that moment he looked more predator than man.

The throbbing in her head increased. She caught the exchange between Jack and Ken. A single look, no more, but it was enough. She took a deep calming breath and relaxed her mind and body. Sean? Anyone? Are you out there? Her head was hurting not because of the elbow, but because someone was out there, calling, using telepathy, and the Nortons had been alerted.