Ghostwalker 05 - Deadly Game

me to be truthful?"
    Mari smiled and snuggled closer to him. "No. I hurt and I want to go to sleep. You feel safe. I need to feel safe."
    "Then you're perfectly safe with me."
    Ken wrapped his arm around her and tried not to feel more than the surge of sexual awareness the heat and softness of her body brought. Emotions were something he refused to deal in. She looked so young, her lashes long and thick, lying against her pale skin. Her hair gleamed with platinum and gold strands. Lily must have slipped something into the fluids to push her toward sleep, or Mari would never have made such an unguarded statement. He hoped she wouldn't remember it when she woke.
    "I'm here, baby. Just go to sleep and I'll keep watch," he murmured, his lips against her temple. She should have smelled of death – not life – but when he inhaled her scent, he could taste her in his mouth, feel his heart beating in time with hers, strong and steady with a perfect rhythm.
    "I can't go to sleep; it's too quiet in here."
    He groaned softly. "You're going to make me turn into a fool, aren't you?" He glanced toward the door. "You'd better never tell anyone I did this." Ken wrapped his arm around her head, his arm blocking the light from the window, wishing he had his guitar.
    Jack had turned to books in the long years of their childhood and Ken had turned to music. He could play nearly any instrument, but he preferred the guitar. The feel of it in his hands and against his body was the same he felt when he held his rifle – an extension of himself. It was calming and took him away from the world, just as the rifle did. He couldn't play for her, so he sang softly, filling the room with his rich voice, using his own creations, songs he'd written over the years – songs of loneliness and heartache, of rage and death, and songs about the beauty of the earth and sea. He kept watch while her breathing evened out and she slept lightly. Whenever he stopped, her body jerked and a slight frown crossed her face, urging him on.
    He glanced at his watch when Lily entered the room; he was shocked that several hours had passed. Embarrassed to be caught singing, he busied himself smoothing out Mari's hair while Lily checked her pulse and heart rate.
    "How's she doing?" he finally asked.

    "Much better. You saved her life, Ken, getting her here so fast. Another few minutes and I couldn't have done anything." Lily began removing the IVs from Mari's body. "Zenith is an amazing healer, but like dynamite, it's highly unstable. I've never been able to isolate what causes cell breakdown, and what the exact timing is. It always varies from patient to patient. It would be miracle drug if it stopped after healing the body. Look at her wrist."
    Ken remained lying on the bed, holding Mari close to him. She was awake; he could tell by the racing energy in her mind. She'd awakened the moment Lily entered the room, but she hadn't stirred, keeping her breath slow and even.
    Lily carefully cut off the cast and gently prodded the wrist. "She's probably a remarkable healer anyway and the Zenith just pushed her body relentlessly." She placed Mari's arm back on the mattress and covered it with a sheet. "Has she mentioned my father much?"
    Ken didn't reply. He wasn't going to lie to her, but Lily was fragile in her pregnant state and it wasn't her fault that her father was a madman.
    She sighed. "I have to know about this breeding program he's got going, Ken." She glanced toward the door to where the others were resting, a small frown on her face. "I think he's inserting animal DNA into the soldiers. I think some of you already carry it, especially the men. Has she mentioned aggression? Anything that might indicate a few of the soldiers in his programs are showing signs of instinct rather than intellectual behavior?"
    Mari's fingers touched his. He enfolded her hand in his. "I'll ask about it, Lily."
    "He needs help desperately, Ken." Lily shook her head. "I should have known. I should have gotten him help. Look at this." She pushed the thin sheet from Mari's leg, running her hand along the skin there, feeling the bone. "She doesn't really even need this splint anymore either. She was shot. Her leg was broken, and yet in a few short hours her body has healed. Peter Whitney did that. He created the drug and engineered the biotic enhancements to accelerate her body's healing capabilities to phenomenal speeds. Just imagine how much the world could have benefited from his