Ghostwalker 06 - Predatory Game

doctor.
    Eric straightened, glaring right back, refusing to be intimidated. “What do you think I mean? She kills with one touch. What happens if she gets a little tired of her man? Or she’s angry and out of control? She could kill you in your sleep. Just holding your hand. Leaning in to kiss you good night. The rest of you, you’re trained. Disciplined. She’s a wild card, Jess, and one none of the GhostWalkers can afford.”
    “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
    “That’s the problem and you know it. I do know. She’s a killing machine. Lily thinks so too, but she’s too polite to say it. I’m your friend and I don’t want you dead.”
    “We’re all killing machines, Eric.”
    The doctor shook his head. “Not like her. She’s deadly, Jess, and she’s got you wrapped around her little finger until you not only can’t think it, you can’t entertain the idea of it. What do you think is going to happen here? You know about her. You’re a liability to her. The moment she decides to pick up and leave, you’re a dead man.She can’t be controlled.”
    “And the rest of us can?” Lily snapped.
    “To some extent, yes. You all have loyalty and discipline. You serve your country. You have ideals and goals. You’re a team and those men and women are your family and the ones you trust. What is she loyal to? Who does she trust? Not you. Not any of you. And she sure doesn’t want to serve her country.”
    “How the hell do you know what she wants or doesn’t want?” Jess growled.
    “She’s out for herself. She ran from Whitney but she sure as hell didn’t try to come in, did she? She didn’t go to the nearest fort and say she had to speak to a commander. And I also know she’s something that should never have been created.”
    Jess heard no sound, but instinctively he knew Saber was there. He looked up, met her violet-blue gaze, dark and stricken. She blinked and her face was a mask.
    “I’m going for a walk, Jess. I’ll be back when your friends are gone—all your friends.” She spun on her heel and walked away.
    It’s pouring, Saber. Go to bed. I’ll be there soon.
    I don’t want to be in the same house with them. As long as they’re here, I’m gone.
    We need them.
    You need them.
    Her voice choked and his heart sank. He swore and glanced at Lily. She had tears shimmering in her eyes.

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    She held out her hand to him. “We’ll go. I know what it’s like to feel like a freak. To have to live differently than everyone else. All of us do. It doesn’t matter what gifts we have, people are going to look at us in the same way Eric does.”
    “That’s not true,” Eric denied, obviously upset. “I’ve never looked at you in any way other than as a friend and colleague.”
    But there was Dahlia, one of the women Jess had been a handler for, a woman who started fires when the energy buildup was too severe. She couldn’t safely go out in public without an anchor. No doubt Eric would consider her a monstrous freak as well. Jess pressed two fingers to the spots throbbing above his eyes. Why hadn’t he realized Eric might think of them that way, and if Eric, a doctor who helped them, did, what would most of the rest of the population think?
    The walls breathed in and out and the ground rippled again. “Damn you, Eric. What the hell was that?
    You don’t come into my home and insult my woman…”
    “Your woman?”
    “Yeah, my woman, and then think I’m going to be all right with it. I want to tear out your fucking heart right now.” Jess actually moved his chair closer to the doctor but stopped at the look on Lily’s face.“You know what? It doesn’t matter what you think. You don’t know Saber.” He held up his hand to forestall any reply. “Look, Eric, thanks for all you’ve done, but maybe it would be better if you didn’t come back.”
    “For God’s sake, Jess, we’ve been friends for years.”
    Jess rubbed his eyes. “Saber is in my life to stay, Eric. She isn’t going away, and knowing how you feel about her…well, enough said.” Because he still wanted to smash his fist in Eric’s face for making Saber look so lost.
    “Talk to you soon,” Lily said. “Get some rest.”
    “Yeah, I’m tired. I need to sleep for a while,” Jess agreed. “Thanks for sewing me up.”
    Lily picked up her bag. “Be more careful, Jess. Until you can get the bionics working