Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

certain he’s Whitney’s plant.” He looked careful y around the room. “Check everything, Jaimie. Thank God Rose was so paranoid about Sebastian. She never left Eric alone with him. They didn’t manage to get a sample of his blood. They weren’t able to microchip him either.”
    “Kane did,” Jaimie said. “He said it was the only argument he and Rose have had over the baby. He insisted, for Sebastian’s safety.”
    “Top!” Paul cal ed out. “We need you.”
    Mack reacted instantly. “Tel Kane, Jaimie. The two of you need to go through that house and be thorough about it.”
    Jaimie watched him disappear into the surgical tent and then made her way up to the third story. As she leaned in for a retinal scan, she stopped suddenly, frowning. She made her way back down to the bottom of the staircase where Eric had hesitated. She pul ed out a smal penlight and meticulously began going over the railing and wal s, paying particular attention to where Eric had stopped.
    The staircase was interior, running just on the inside of the building so that there was an escape from the first story and one leading to the roof. The second story was completely enclosed with only a door leading to a fire escape. She ran her fingers along the door. Eric must have known they would be suspicious of him, and he’d run. He wouldn’t have considered going upstairs to confront a GhostWalker. He wasn’t armed. She knew that because each time he stepped inside the entrance, she had a ful -body scanner making certain. No, he’d stopped on the stairs for another reason.
    She stepped back and studied the door and then turned around in a circle, inspecting the stairway again. She knew she was right; she just couldn’t figure out what he’d done. Reluctantly, Jaimie gave up her quest and went up to the top story. She used a retinal scan to open the door to her home.
    Rose lay on her couch, a blanket over her, holding her head and moaning softly. Kane obviously had rinsed off and was now crouching beside Rose, sweeping back her hair with one hand, murmuring soft reassurances to her. Jaimie looked around for the baby.
    Kane saw her question and nodded toward the safety of the bedroom. “Paul put him down when he fel asleep. I’m hoping he stays that way until we know Rose can safely feed him. We don’t want whatever drug this is to get into his system.”
    Kane straightened slowly, stretching out sore muscles. He’d managed to find a pair of jeans and had ripped off one of Mack’s tees. “I take it they’re having a problem with Brian?” He managed to keep his voice even, but every muscle had tightened up al over again. He’d just managed to reassure himself that Rose and Sebastian were going to be fine, and now he was worried al over again.
    Brian Hutton had grown up with him. Mack and Kane had protected the younger boy al through school. His parents had moved and left him behind.
    He’d stayed in a condemned building, foraging on the streets for food and running from bigger bul ies until Mack and Kane had come across him. He’d been a wide-eyed kid with a mop of hair and a quick, inventive mind. He also had very quick hands. He was a first-class pickpocket. It had taken a lot to convince him to stay in school and get an education, but he wanted Mack’s and Kane’s protection, so he’d gone along with their rules. They’d made up a lot of paperwork for him to keep him out of the system and make the schools think he had parents.
    “Marc and Paul wil pul him through,” Jaimie said. “They’re good.”
    “What the hel happened to Eric?”
    “He’s a plant, Kane. He’s working for Whitney. He knew the physical therapist was going to make a grab for Sebastian and Rose. I think he got nervous when I kept looking at the surveil ance tapes, and he ran,” Jaimie explained.
    “That means everything he came into contact with has been compromised,” Kane said.
    “Exactly. Mack wants a sweep of the entire building. I think he planted something at the bottom of the stairs on the second floor. He was running, but he stopped there. At first I thought he might be trying to come up here and changed his mind, but that didn’t make sense. I couldn’t find anything.”
    Kane studied her face. Jaimie knew things. Al of them, the entire team, had learned never to ignore Jaimie’s gut feelings.
    Rose moaned and struggled to sit up. Kane held her down with a hand to her shoulder. “Paul said not to move around yet, Rose. He