Ghostwalker 05 - Deadly Game

men. Jack and Ken, like several other men in the military, had fallen for his enthusiasm over his psychic experiments. It made perfect sense at the time – to take men from all branches of the service with Special Forces training and test them to see if they had potential to use psychic abilities. The doctor would enhance the inherent talent and create a unit of men who could save lives with their abilities.
    Whitney hadn't said a word about gene therapy and genetic enhancement. He hadn't mentioned cancer or brain bleeds or strokes either. He certainly had never admitted he would pit the men unknowingly against one another. And never once had he mentioned a breeding program, using pheromones to pair a supersoldier with a woman.
    Ken rubbed his pounding temples. Whitney hadn't screened them very carefully – or maybe he had. Maybe he knew about Jack and Ken's father and how he was so jealous and obsessed with their mother he couldn't bear to share her with his own children. Obsession was a very ugly word, and Whitney had certainly compounded the demon the twins fought on a daily basis. They had vowed they would never chance becoming the man their father had been, yet they had both been chosen, without their knowledge, to participate in Whitney's breeding experiment.
    Of course he knew about the old man, Jack said. He's the reason Whitney chose us.
    We're twins. He's paired us with twins and he's kicking back waiting to see the results.
    You're fishing, bro, Ken replied. You want to know if I'm somehow affected by Mari's scent.
    Aren't you?
    Ken glanced at his brother. He couldn't tell – and that meant neither could Mari. She had a chance then, a slim one, but still a chance when he'd thought they were all lost. He didn't watch tragic movies and he sure as hell wasn't going to live a tragic life, nor was he going to allow Jack and Briony and certainly not Mari to live one either. Whitney be damned and his experiments too. If necessary, Ken would go hunting the man.
    Aren't you? Jack repeated.
    You'd know it if I was, wouldn't you?
    Jack swore under his breath. That's not an answer and you know it.
    Ken shrugged, making it as casual as he could. Evidently, my genes are not quite as in demand as yours.
    Jack narrowed his eyes and frowned at his twin. Suspicion pushed at Ken's mind. Jack was not in the least bit satisfied with his answer.
    You're acting possessive of her.
    I shot her. She's Briony's sister. Not just a sister, her twin sister. If this doesn't end in a good way, do you really think Briony's going to be okay with that? You can't get anywhere near Mari, because if she dies, Briony will blame you whether she wants to or not; it's human nature. You can't, Jack. You have to let me handle this one.
    Jack shoved his fingers through his hair, a rare moment of agitation. It's not right.
    Because you're looking out for me, you'll destroy your own relationship with Briony.
    I'm not married to her. And that's what we do. We look out for one another.
    Keep that in mind if you decide to take any unnecessary risks just to protect me with my wife.
    I didn't know there was such a thing as an unnecessary risk. Ken flashed a small, cocky grin at his brother and was relieved to see him relax.
    Nico set the helicopter down on a small pad just above the house Lily Whitney-Miller had rented for them. A brilliant woman, she was the only orphan Peter Whitney had raised as his own daughter, and the betrayal of all that she had known and believed had been devastating. Married to a GhostWalker, Ryland Miller, she'd opened her home, a huge estate, and her resources, to the GhostWalkers. It was Lily who had found ways for them to build shields to protect their brains from continual assault. And it was Lily who had put Flame's cancer into remission. And it was always Lily who stayed one step ahead of her father to keep the GhostWalker teams safe. When they didn't know who else to turn to, they called on her.
    As the helicopter settled to earth and Nico shut it down, Eric slipped from his seat and once more bent over his patient, stethoscope to her heart. His hand slid down her arm until he found her wrist, searching for her pulse.
    Ken's gaze jumped to the palm sliding over Mari's bare flesh, and a roar of protest started deep in his belly. Primitive and ugly, the monster inside gnashed its teeth and clawed for freedom.
    "Didn't you just listen to her heart rate?" Ken asked, keeping his voice even. "Is something wrong that you're not