Ghostwalker 04 - Conspiracy Game

matter?”
    “Oh, honey,” Jebediah assured her, “it matters. Jack Norton always matters. He’s totally unpredictable and he lives by an entirely different set of rules than the rest of us. Do you remember when I first saw him in your room and I was yelling at you for going out into the jungle by yourself?”
    “Of course.”
    “Do you remember the threat he made?”
    “He said he was going to rip out your heart if you kept talking to me like that,” Briony said.
    “That’s right. It wasn’t a threat, Bri. Jack would have done it.” He leaned forward. “I’m serious, honey. Jack Norton is a straight-up killer. He has a code and all that, but when push comes to shove, Jack’s going to be the one standing. There’s something different about him.”
    Pain twisted her heart. “He’s like me.”
    “He’s nothing like you,” Jebediah objected. “Where did you ever get an idea like that?”
    “I thought you liked him.”
    “You don’t like Jack Norton. You respect him. You might fear him—but you don’t like him. Jack’s someone you want on your side in a tight spot, but you’re never going to invite him home for dinner.”
    “That’s strange, Jeb, because for the first time in my life, I was comfortable. I didn’t hurt at all when I was with him, not a single headache. I relaxed. I laughed. I enjoyed being with him.”
    Jebediah exchanged a long look with Tyrel. Her tone had wavered, alerting both brothers that she was close to tears. “I’ve never known Jack to talk much and I sure have never seen him laugh. You must have brought out the best in him, Briony. Did I ever tell you that he saved my life once?”

    “He did?” It didn’t make sense to her the way Jebediah felt about Jack, yet now, when she needed it the most, her brother had given her a gift and she was grateful. “You never mentioned it—and neither did he.”
    “Jack would never say a word. We were running a rescue, going after two Rangers caught in enemy territory. The Rangers were supposed to hump it out to the extraction point but ended up right in the middle of a hornet’s nest.”
    “Where were you?” Tyrel asked.
    Jebediah shot him a quelling look. “Somewhere we weren’t supposed to be and would never admit to being, so it was imperative to get them out of there without anyone getting caught. We came in on the north side, wanting to be able to cover them. Jack lay up in some trees and waited, and I moved into position on the ground. We just needed to provide them with enough time to get into the ravine, where the team members had set up an ambush.
    The Rangers would go in, drawing the enemy after them, and the canyon was going to be blown all to hell. That would give us time to get back to our ride.”
    “Something went wrong?” Tyrel prodded when Jebediah fell silent.
    Jebediah smiled, but the amusement didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You could say that. A guy came out of the ground, practically in my face. I swear his knife was the size of Texas.
    I didn’t even hear the shot, my heart was pounding so loud, but I saw the hole right in the middle of his forehead. Jack took him out before he could finish his first slash with the knife. Later, I thanked him for saving my butt and he just shrugged. Never said a word to anyone about it. He probably saved a lot of us that day.”
    “He said I was a liability.”
    Tyrel’s head jerked up. “He doesn’t deserve you, Briony.”
    “It still hurts.”
    “Of course it does, honey,” Jebediah said. “But it’s for the best. Life with Jack would be difficult at best. He’s not a man easy to be around. I don’t know why he was so good with you, but that isn’t the norm. He’d go days without speaking a single word. His brother, Ken, joked around some, but not Jack. He never seemed to sleep. Some of the guys liked to play pranks, but the smart ones knew better than to try to creep into Jack’s area. More than one found themselves on the floor with a knife to the throat, and he wasn’t gentle about it. You ever look into his eyes and you could see death there.” Jebediah spread his hands out. “You wouldn’t want to raise your child with him, honey. You want a place where there’s laughter and joy. We’ll help you. You know we love you and want you with us.”
    “I feel very lucky to have you all. Thanks, Jeb. It was very sweet of you to tell me about Jack. It’s something for the baby, you know. I don’t know much about him.”
    “I know a