Ghostwalker 07 - Murder Game

him.

    Sharontouched the bruise on her face. "Fredrickson hit me very hard when he took over the phone call. I nearly fainted."

    "I'm sorry he did that, Mom. He was a horrible person. What happened to your mouth?"

    Sharonglanced at Don. "He was angry at your father. We didn't know Watson was in on it, and when he came in, Don tried to jump Fredrickson. They didn't touch him; I think they knew it wouldn't do any good."

    Don swore. "Damn cowards. Hitting a woman."

    T
    " hey knew if they threatened me, Don would do whatever they said. They hoped you would too."

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    Tansy was more careful with her mother, hugging her gently and kissing the bruises on her face. "Come sit down." She caught her mother by the hand, tugging, leading her to the couch. "I would have gladly exchanged my life for yours, Mom, but fortunately I have friends who were willing to help."

    Don made a sound that was suspiciously like derision. Tansy didn't look at her father.
    She wanted to go to Kadan. He was all she could think about. He filled her mind, but she needed to comfort her mother. She needed to touch her and know she was all right before she was selfish, before she acknowledged to herself, to everyone, that Kadan was her heart and soul. Because if her parents were involved with Whitney, she'd lost them and she needed this one last time to be wholly loved by them and love them back without reservation. Once she saw Kadan's face, nothing else was going to matter to her for a long while.

    She let out her breath, running her glove-covered ringers over her mother's arm, feeling inexplicably sad. She wanted to touchSharon skin to skin. To be normal. "I love you, Mom," she said, her heart heavy. "I've always loved you so much. I'm sorry for all the letdowns over the years, but mostly for this. I don't know what they want, but you got this," she touched the bruise again with trembling ringers, "because of me."

    "No!"Sharon drew her daughter into her arms. "I love you more than anything. Your father and I both do. There are no regrets." Surprisingly her voice was strong, fierce even
    .
    "There never will be, no matter what happens. And I'm grateful your friends came instead of you. I would have been furious with you if you'd tried to exchange your life for ours."

    Tansy kissed her mother again and took another deep breath, before daring to look up at a
    K dan.

    Kadan saw her breath hitch in her throat. He swore he felt her heart stop beating. The color drained from her face and her eyes went that peculiar shade of violet.

    "Kadan," she whispered his name and he felt her move in his mind. Kadan . A breath
    . A
    caress in his mind.

    Suddenly for him there was no one else in the room. Only Tansy. Only that look on her face that was worth all the waiting in the world. She didn't take her gaze from his as she crossed the few steps to him, seemingly oblivious to her parents' curious stares. Her hand s oothed, featherlight, over his scar, then sk
    m
    immed his chest, finger touching the rip in
    his shirt.

    "Look at you," she said softly. "Just look at what they did to you."

    He should have been embarrassed with the other Ghost-Walkers looking on, especially when he caught sight of Gator's grin; the man was going to have fun tormenting him later, but nothing else mattered but that look in her eyes. All the teasing in the world was worth that moment. She was completely focused on him, soft inside, worried, her h a e rt in
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    her eyes. Her lips trailed down the side of his face to his chest.

    How bad ? Her fingers went to his shirt, dragging it from his jeans in an effort to get at his chest. I have to know how bad it is . There was desperation in her voice, in her mind, and—God help him—tears.

    His heart clenched. His belly knotted. How the hell did men survive women loving them? Because he honestly didn't know. He framed her face with his hands, unable to prevent himself from seeing the blood staining his skin and the rough, scarred backs against her smooth, rose-petal-soft cheeks. The pads of his fingers, topped with microscopic velvet bristles, brushed against her mouth. That beautiful, full mouth that terrified him when nothing else could, smiling at him, kissing him, taking him to