Ghostwalker 03 - Night Game

through the water agrees with me. All I think about is when the next alligator is going to take a bite out of me.”

    “You don’ have to worry about that kind of gator takin’ a bite, cher . This one is the hungry one.”

    She rolled her eyes, her smile widening. “Does your grandmother know you’re such a goof?”

    “At least you smiled for me.” Raoul tried to ignore the knots gathering in his belly and the alarm bells shrieking at him. She didn’t just look tired, she looked beat. And pale.
    There were dark circles under her eyes. And more bruises. Fear came close to choking him, but he shoved it down where she couldn’t see, opting for casual.

    He glanced up at the sky. “The sun is beginning to set and the storm’s startin’ to kick up a fuss. We’ve got a good doctor waitin’ for Joy, one who knows how to keep his mouth shut. Kadan, Ian, and Tucker are calling Lily and asking for help on this one. We didn’t notify the police and now we’ve got three civilians dead. It’s going to be a nightmare and we’ll need her political clout and military clearance to save the day.”

    She raised her eyebrow. “You never intended to arrest any of them.”

    He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’ have the authority to arrest anybody. I rescued a friend. It’s not my fault they forced us to defend ourselves.”

    She took his hand to board the airboat, ignoring the pain throbbing not only in her arm, but her head. “You’re such a bad boy, Raoul Fontenot. It’s all those curls. There’s an old saying about curls and being bad.”

    He groaned, bringing her hand to his mouth before settling into the driver’s seat.
    “ Grand-mere used to quote that to me. I don’t have curls. I have waves. Wavy hair is much manlier.”

    “I’ll have to agree with that,” Wyatt said. He sat on the bench seat, cradling Joy to him.
    She had her face buried against his chest.

    Flame put a thin blanket over Joy to help protect her from the rain. Her legs felt unsteady as she made her way back to Raoul’s side. She leaned against the seat. “This was a good thing. For once, the monsters didn’t win.”

    “No they didn’t.” The boat flew over the water as fast as he could safely navigate.
    Darkness was falling and he needed to get Flame home and in bed. And he needed to think. To plan. Something had to be done soon or he was going to lose her. He didn’t intend for that to happen. One way or the other, she was going in for treatment. Just the thought of her reaction made him swallow hard. Flame was a powder keg when either of the Whitneys was involved. And he’d need Lily Whitney to make certain Flame lived.

    He wanted to talk with the other GhostWalkers and get their take on Lily. He couldn’t quite make himself believe she was working with her adopted father, but if Peter Whitney was alive, he couldn’t deliver Flame into her hands—and God help him, he was considering doing just that.

    “You look upset, Raoul,” Flame said, rubbing his jaw with her palm. “We’ve got Joy back. They probably would have gotten off if the case had gone to trial. People like that always do. They kill off the witnesses and buy off the jury or the prosecutor and tamper with the evidence. This is much better.”

    “I had no idea you were such a pessimist.”

    “I’m a realist.”

    “Did Vicq put his hands on you?” His tone was low. Ugly. His jaw set.

    She leaned closer and kissed the corner of his mouth. “You’re upset because I went into the cabin, aren’t you? That silly macho part of you thinks you should have gone with me.”

    “I’m upset over a lot of things, cher .”

    “I can take care of myself in a fight, Raoul.”

    He glanced at her, then back at the water. The rain was coming down harder, making it more difficult to see any dangers on the water’s surface. He was forced to slow the airboat. All he could think about was that Flame had been in danger and he had allowed her to walk into it. He didn’t care if it was macho of him to think that way or not. And the thought of another man touching her, hurting her, torturing her in the way Joy had been tortured, frankly made him ill. “Damn it, Flame, just answer me. Did he touch you?”

    Her breast still hurt and she knew she’d have bruises. She closed her eyes briefly. Why couldn’t she just lie to him? “Yes. And then I killed him.”

    He slammed his fist against the box beside the seat, roaring out a string of Cajun