Ghostwalker 08 - Street Game

just as they began to show signs of agitation. One of the handlers stopped and looked around.
    Jacob, Mack hissed. A clear order.
    Jacob concentrated on the man. Go the other way.
    Sometimes suggestion worked and sometimes it back-fired. Jacob practiced often, but there was no telling how someone would react. There were a few resistant, but most reacted as if hypnotized, and strangely, the higher the IQ, the easier it was for Jacob to give them a “push.” The Marine and his partner walked off and disappeared into the drizzling rain and fog.
    Jacob went first with the girl. He whispered soft assurances to her when she clutched at him, scared of the dark, scared of leaving Dae-sub. Once he was in the garden, Mack moved after him, running lightly with Dae-sub, weaving in and out of the shadows and shrubbery.
    You ready, Kane? We’ve got two more soldiers close, but if we hurry, we can slip through to the fence.
    Javier? Kane asked.
    Right behind you, Gunny, Javier said. Once we’re near the fence, Gideon will have us and he never misses.
    She guided Kane through the dark grounds, running from shrub to shadow until the fence was looming ahead. Jacob, still holding the little girl, cleared it with ease, dropping to the other side and running to the van with his burden.

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    Mack shifted his burden and crouched low. He propelled himself up and over, using only his leg muscles. Dae-sub cried out softly when they landed, but Mack clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound. They lay almost in plain sight.
    Jaimie dragged Kane down as the guard’s radio crackled and running footsteps could be heard.
    I’ve got him, boss, Gideon said. Give me the go-ahead.
    The guard reported all was fine. It was the longest minute of Jaimie’s life with every second lasting an eternity.
    The footsteps stopped and faded away.
    Go, go, she urged Kane and they ran for the fence as Mack leapt up, dragging the boy with him and sprinting for the van.
    Kane and Jaimie went over the fence together. Javier stood beside the guard, showed him his watch, and whispered, “You have thirty-seven minutes left to do your job. Get them the hell out of our country.” He leapt the fence and made his way back to the van.
    Javier yanked Gideon inside, the doors slammed shut, and the van was hurtling down the street toward safety where General Chun waited for his son and the kidnapped girl. Jaimie could actually breathe again. The little girl began to cry softly and the young man pulled her into his arms protectively. Jaimie knew none of them looked reassuring in their masks and night combat gear, but it was essential to protect their identities. She touched the young man gently to try to give him confidence in them.
    Paul immediately began to work on Dae-sub and she kept her face averted, waiting her turn, her head pounding, but elation sweeping through her. They’d rescued the children and there was no evidence of their participation in the rescue and no evidence of the hostages on the embassy’s grounds. She looked up and smiled at Mack through the trickling blood.

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CHAPTER 20

    Pleasure burst through Jaimie like champagne bubbles. She felt warm and drowsy, her body coming awake inch by slow inch. She felt Mack’s body wrapped tightly around hers, his hands stroking over her skin with familiar knowledge, his mouth nuzzling her breast. She laughed softly, feeling complete. She loved waking up to him—to this. She closed her eyes and let the feeling take her, sweeping through her bloodstream on a tide of pure heat.
    “You awake, baby?” Mack whispered against her bare skin, his teeth nibbling gently over the swell of her breast.
    Jaimie slid her hands over his back, up to his hair. “Yes. I love waking up to you.”
    “I’ve been lying here next to you most of the night thinking about us.” He pressed kisses along the valley between her breasts up to her throat. He propped himself up on one elbow, leaning over her, his dark gaze moving broodingly over her face.
    Her heart jumped. She’d known this was coming since the rescue of the children.
    Mack had to go back where he belonged. She’d gotten used to being with him, with the others. The others had left a few days earlier and she and Mack had spent days just worshipping each other’s bodies. They rarely left the bed for anything other than food and drink and to watch the ocean under a blanket of stars.
    She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to lose him again; it was