Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

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    Roger that. Gideon was calm. He kept his eyes on the street, sweeping rooftops and windows. Mack and Ethan were past the buildings now and running hard through the desert toward their destination. His job was to back Kane.
    Rose, get moving, Kane ordered, even as he began quartering the buildings. They wouldn’t have taken the child too far from his mother and sister.
    They wanted leverage, and a five-year-old was perfect to manipulate a woman. Get on that helicopter.
    Rose slipped back into her apartment and shrugged into her pack. She traveled light. She hadn’t invested in much for the baby, just the bare necessities, and she knew better than to add anything that might slow her down. She wasn’t getting on the helicopter without Kane. Kane could give al the orders in the world, but she didn’t trust anyone else. She owed him, and she knew he would protect her and the baby, but the others ...
    She’d started this mess by cal ing in a team. She hadn’t done enough research and found out about the boy. That omission was on her. Now Kane and the other man, Javier, were going to be left behind if they didn’t find the boy in eight minutes.
    Got him. At the end of the block. Corner apartment; he’s in the back room.
    That’s impossible, even for you, Javier protested. He’d been standing with the teens just outside the apartment. He hadn’t gotten that churning in his gut that meant that trouble was close.
    Remember something spooked those kids from their little party? One of them was dragged inside, and he’s being used as a target. They’re forcing the child to stab him repeatedly. Looks like everyone inside is having a good time but the two kids. Kane’s voice was grim.
    He moved fast, heading down the street toward the corner apartment, staying wel into the shadows along the sidewalk. He stumbled once, weakness overtaking him, but he kept going. The sight of the two boys, one five, the other a teenager, caught in the hel ish situation turned his stomach. He cared little that using his psychic talent drained his energy. He ran on sheer adrenaline, sprinting down the street, Javier on his heels.
    They halted abruptly outside the apartment, one on either side of the door.
    If we go in guns blazing, we might hit the kid, Javier pointed out.
    Kane swore under his breath. Five men. One holding the kid. The teen is tied standing to a post of some kind. They’re all drinking.
    It was unnecessary to add the last, because the stench of alcohol was permeating the air outside the apartment. They had to get inside without triggering a firefight. Kane felt a prickle of unease down his spine and spun around at the same moment as Javier.
    Rose swept past them and knocked on the door before either could stop her. She looked completely different. Her hair was dark and thick and seemed to trail down her back. She looked very young, like a teenager. There was no evidence of her pregnancy; if anything, she looked too slim.
    The door was yanked open from inside, and a large man, disheveled and armed to the teeth, lost his angry expression and began to grin like a macabre puppet. He had scars on his face and a gold tooth.
    In Spanish, Rose asked for her brother. “His friends said he came in here, and he needs to come home.”
    The man nodded several times and reached for her nape, curling his fingers around her neck and jerking her to him. His eyes went wide. Shocked. He gurgled, and blood bubbled from his mouth to dribble down his chin. He hunched a little, another sound escaping, this time a gasp.
    Kane and Javier fel in behind Rose, using the large man as a shield as they entered the apartment. Kane went left, Javier right. Kane took out the man forcing the five-year-old to stab the teen. The knife sliced through his neck, the tip protruding out the other side. On his knees, the dead man slumped over, fal ing away from the child. Rose shoved the big man to the ground and, stepping between his legs, threw her knife, stil dripping with blood, into the heart of a man sitting in a chair clutching a bottle of tequila. Javier stepped right into the fourth man, hand-to-hand, nearly dwarfed by the size of the guard.
    His eyes were flat and cold, his smile never changing as he shoved his weapon deep and twisted to ensure the kil .
    Kane whirled around to rush the last man. The guard had his finger on the trigger and was bringing his weapon around to center on Kane. Three throwing stars slammed deep into the guard’s