Street Game (17 page)

She moistened her dry mouth, ignoring the metallic taste of blood. “Go away.” Because she wasn’t getting up, not even to hear his voice again.

“Thank God, Jaimie.” Relief poured into Mack’s voice. “I was about to call for help. Open your eyes.”

She swallowed a protest. “What part of ‘go away’ didn’t you understand?” She didn’t dare move. Not any part of her body. Certainly not her head.

Top, looks like you’re about to have company,
Gideon reported.
Big son of a bitch. Looks like a model. Really good-looking. There’s something about the way he moves . . .
There was speculation in Gideon’s voice.

Mack signaled to Kane as he slipped a gun out and positioned himself in front of Jaimie’s bed. Kane slipped across the room, standing to one side of the window to peer down at the street. Ethan disappeared entirely.

“Jaimie’s persistent assistant,” he said. “Javier is coming up on him.”

Watch yourself, Javier,
Gideon cautioned.
He knows he’s being watched,
Gideon added.
Boss, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I swear he moves like Superman. I think he’s the one watching Jaimie. And that shot yesterday? The winds were ferocious. I had a good angle, but he didn’t. To make a shot like that, only a handful of people in the world could do that. If it’s him, and I think it is, he’s good, Mack.

I don’t think you’re crazy, Gideon. Javier, don’t approach him. Keep moving.

You’re taking my fun away.

Kane swore under his breath. “Javier just buzzed by him, doing a few showy tricks. He’s got four other kids with him. Jaimie’s little friend watched them every step of the way. Never took his eyes off of them. He’s not going to be easy, Mack.”

Javier, stop playing with fire. That man’s the real deal. I need you to get back here in a few when it’s safe.

Javier snorted.
I can take him, Top. You give the word.

You’ll stand down.

Waiting for orders as always,
came the prompt reply.

Mack snorted. Javier did whatever the hell he wanted to do and then grinned at Mack sheepishly while Mack lectured him.
I need you on the computer telling me everything you can about this guy. I don’t want the bullshit cover story. I want his real identity and who sent him.

Can I come in behind him and use Jaimie’s sweet equipment?
Javier sounded eager.

Only if you don’t mind if she gets mad at you for touching her babies,
Mack said.

“At the door, Mack,” Kane reported.

On cue the fog horn blared. Mack stabbed his finger on the intercom. “Yes?”

“I want to see her. Jaimie. I want to see her.”

“She told you to take the day off.” Mack didn’t pretend to be oblivious of the man’s identity. What was the point?

“Yeah, well, it’s me or the cops. I want to see her for myself and if you think I’m bluffing, try me.”

He saw us getting her into the car somehow,
Kane sent telepathically.
He knows she’s hurt, probably had a scope on us and saw the blood as we carried her. You’d want to do the same, get a visual checkup. The guy has balls, Mack.

Yeah, well, he’d better watch that he doesn’t get them whacked off.
“Come on up, then,” Mack invited into the intercom and waved Kane over to the door. “But come up unarmed.”

“I don’t need weapons,” Joe said, his voice utterly calm.

Kane flashed Mack a grin. “You got to hand it to the guy.” There was admiration in his voice. “He knows he’s walking into the lion’s den.”

“He won’t come without a weapon.” Mack made it a statement.

“No, he won’t,” Kane agreed.

Mack put himself in front of Jaimie, reaching down for a moment to wipe strands of hair from her face. She appeared to be sleeping again. He was terrified of her slipping into unconsciousness and then a coma. Bleeding on the brain often occurred with psychic overload and more than one death had resulted. His heart beat too fast and he was edgy as hell, not the perfect time for her friend to show up.

The man was arrogant enough to take the freight lift, not bothering to try to surprise them by silently creeping up the stairs. He stepped out of the elevator looking down the barrel of both guns without so much as blinking.

“Search him,” Mack said to Kane.

Joe shook his head. “Not a good idea to put your hands on me. I’ve got a dead man’s switch and you come near me, or make a move for Jaimie, and we all go up.” He smiled and there was amusement in his black eyes as they glittered at Mack. “Just to let you know, I don’t bluff.”

“I don’t guess you do,” Mack said without lowering his weapon. “You take out the bogey on the roof?”

“I think your man and I hit him at the same time.”

“Nice shot.” Mack gave credit where it was due.

“Thanks. I don’t miss what I’m aiming at.”

“You want to tell me what you want with Jaimie?”

“You’re the one standing over her with a gun. She looks in bad shape. You tell me who you are and what you’re doing here.”

“You can find out about us the hard way, just like we’re doing with you,” Mack said. “You think I’m going to hand it to you?”

“This is going to be a damn long day and she could be in real trouble,” Joe pointed out.

“She’s my family.” My
everything.
Mack didn’t say it aloud, but he might as well have, with the gruff voice he used.

Those black eyes studied him. “I look out for her. Step aside and let me see to her. I have medical training,” Joe added.

He’ll have to let go of the switch,
Kane pointed out.

True, but he’ll be next to Jaimie. If he’s an assassin . . .

Joe sighed. “Keep the gun to my head. Let me take a look at her.”

Mack stepped aside. “I’ll kill you without hesitation if you even look like you’re going to harm her.”

Joe’s eyebrow went up. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.” He walked straight across the floor to the bedside, turning his back on Kane without hesitation.

Cocky bastard,
Kane observed.

Joe knelt down beside Jaimie, his back to both of them. They knew it had to take courage to do it, but the man ran his hands gently over her face. “Hey, sweetheart, can you open your eyes for me? I need to look into them. I want to hear you talk.” He glanced over his shoulder at Mack. “Has she talked? Slurred her words?”

“She told me to go away and let her sleep,” Mack admitted, “so she knew what was going on, and no, she didn’t slur her words. But she’s in pain. She was moaning up until a few minutes ago.”

Sweetheart? Who the hell does he think he is, calling Jaimie sweetheart?
he demanded of Kane.

Noticed that, did you?
Kane shook his head.
Let it go, Mack. He’s worried about her. She always was more sensitive than the rest of us to violent energy, and someone died back there.

She should never have opened herself up. We could have protected her if she hadn’t done that.

We don’t know how her radar works. Obviously she had no choice if she wanted to find out the enemy’s position. Mack, she’s in trouble, we both can see it.

“Tell me what you need for her,” Mack said. His gun never wavered. His gut told him Joe Spagnola was there to help Jaimie, not hurt her, but it would take one moment to kill her.

“My medical bag is in the lift.”

Kane immediately retrieved the small bag, opened it, and went through it carefully. Joe didn’t even glance at him, but had placed his fingertips on Jaimie’s head and closed his eyes. Marc was an accomplished medic in the field, working with wounds, but he didn’t have the ability to work with brain bleeds. Strokes and even death could follow. The moment the fingers locked onto her skull, Jaimie’s facial expression turned to a frown, and her body became restless beneath the thin sheet.

“She has leaking blood in several spots, although none appear too bad. No big clots.”

“Can you stop it?” Mack asked.
Do you think he’s a psychic healer? The real deal?

I don’t know, boss, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing,
Kane answered.

“I’ll try working to seal off the weak areas. Sometimes I can and other times I don’t have the strength to tap into the energy I need. It all depends on how severe the problem is. I have some medication in my bag that should help. Do either of you know how to set up an IV?”

“We both can.” Nearly every GhostWalker could. All of them had fundamental lifesaving skills.

Kane removed the necessary equipment and began the preparations while Mack watched Joe closely. The man kept his fingers on Jaimie’s skull, and they could feel the pull of energy around him as he seemed to gather and use nearly every bit in the room. For a moment the smell of burned flesh permeated the room and Mack’s heart jumped in response, but he held still, the feeling that Joe was working to help Jaimie strong.

She moaned softly and tried to turn her head, her body moving restlessly under the covers. Her legs thrashed and she lifted her hands, trying to push him away, batting feebly, but very persistently.

“Hold her down,” Joe ordered. “It hurts like hell. Basically I’m trying to manipulate the energy to do what we’d do in surgery.”

Mack holstered his weapon and sat on the other side of the bed, leaning his weight on her slender body while Kane put the catheter into the back of her hand.

“She should have gone to the hospital,” Mack said, angry with himself. He didn’t trust her being in a hospital. It would be far too easy for an assassin to get to her. Too many doctors, nurses, and orderlies going in and out of her room.

Joe shook his head. “Too risky. She’s a target. You couldn’t take the chance and you know that.”

Jaimie continually moved her head, trying to get his hands off of her. Her moans were becoming cries of distress. Mack leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. “I’m here with you, honey. He’s trying to help you.”

His voice seemed to soothe her a little. She subsided, her fingers sliding across the sheet to find his leg.

“You know why they want her dead?” Mack asked.

“I have my suspicions. I hope I’m wrong. I originally was assigned to guard her to keep any foreign governments from trying to acquire her. What about you? Do you know?”

“We just arrived last night. We grew up together.”

“You must be Mack McKinley. I read her file. She had a very different background. All of you were friends before you ended up on the same team.” Joe visibly relaxed, although his fingertips never lifted from Jaimie’s skull.

She cried out softly in protest again and began to thrash under him again. Kane gripped her hand to keep her from ripping out the IV. Her lashes fluttered and she tossed her head, trying to get rid of the insistent fingers and the heat they were generating.

“This is hurting her,” Mack said. “She wasn’t doing this before.”

“I’m operating without anesthesia. Did you think it would be easy? She’s a GhostWalker, she’ll be able to handle it.”

“She’s not like the rest of us,” Mack protested. His stomach was in knots and there was a bad taste in his mouth. He felt as if they were torturing her. Jaimie wasn’t cut out for what they did, no matter how powerful her gift. If she opened herself in public, too much energy rushed in to overpower her. He had believed that with practice, all of them could protect her. They were anchors and in theory, the energy should rush to them, but something about Jaimie was different. He’d known it since she was a child, that her psychic gifts worked differently than all of theirs, and that hers was stronger.

“What was she doing?”

“Jaimie isn’t an anchor. If she uses her abilities, she pays in a big way.”

Joe did look at them then, staring from one to the other. “I read that all of you belonged to Team Three and all of you were anchors. She should have been protected.”

“It doesn’t matter when it comes to Jaimie.” Mack’s gaze met Joe’s. “Why do you think you were here? They probably told you to record everything you could about her. No one can figure her out. Short of taking her to Whitney’s lab and dissecting her, they don’t know how her radar ticks or anything else about her. And as for a foreign government kidnapping her, she may have to worry about Whitney wanting to do the same thing. He likes his little experiments.”

“Whitney didn’t send me,” Joe said.

“Sergeant Major Griffen did, Mack,” Kane said. “Acting on my request.”

There was a long silence, punctuated by Jaimie’s distressed moans. Mack kept his face absolutely blank. He didn’t know or trust Joe Spagnola all that much and refused to spill his fury over Kane’s admission in front of a stranger. Once again, Jaimie had tried to tell him Kane had been involved in the “coincidence” but he’d chosen not to listen or believe her. If it felt like betrayal to him, then how would it seem to Jaimie? And the man she’d spent time with, carefully chosen out of hundreds of applicants, how would it feel to her to know he’d been working undercover to watch her? Most important, when GhostWalkers usually could identify one another just through the psychic energy, how had Joe managed to mislead Jaimie? And did Griffen or those above him know?

His stomach was a mass of hard knots and he couldn’t believe the anger roiling in his gut. Kane was his best friend, the man who walked through death with him, waded through blood. Trust was everything, and he had trusted Kane implicitly his entire life. He had allowed Jaimie to walk away from him because he wasn’t about to abandon Kane and the others after he’d led them to Whitney.

As if sensing his distress, Jaimie opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, red and not very focused, but relief swept through him at the awareness there.

“Hey there, honey. You’ve given us all a bad scare.”

Her perusal took in Kane and then Joe, who still had the pads of his fingers in firm contact with her head. The heat he generated couldn’t fail to tip her off to what he was. That should have made him happy, that she’d think her hero had feet of clay, but instead, he felt sad for her. He wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her tight against him, shelter her from every hurt.