Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

her life depressed her beyond belief.
    His palm brushed caresses over her bel y, a soothing motion that not only calmed the restless baby but eased some of the tension out of her. “He has to have some sort of way to track you, Rose, and when you managed to elude his private little army of psycho GhostWalkers, he thought you were worthy enough to play one of his games.”
    Rose was silent, turning over the idea in her mind. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had been anywhere but a military compound training for combat. Whitney had watched every move they made. There had been no privacy, everything documented as if he were studying insects under glass. He had often tried to pit them against one another when they were little girls. He had tried hard to make them rivals, and then later, wanted them cohesive, working as a unit. Yes, he liked psychological warfare. Everything was an experiment to him. He liked to create situations, sit back, and see what developed, and found amusement in watching them al figure out what he was doing.
    “How is he tracking me, Kane?”
    He frowned up at the ceiling. “I don’t know yet, sweetheart, but it has to be by satel ite, and the feed is intermittent, which explains why he keeps losing you between the times he sends his team after you. And it explains why, once he knew you were in this country, he decided to isolate you in a spot where he could send a team in under the radar and pick you up.”
    “Before I have the baby?”
    “I don’t think so. I think he’l wait until you’re vulnerable and weak. He wants you both, and he knows you’re going to fight him.”
    She turned her head up to look at him, although she continued to rest against his chest. “Then we have time.”
    “If I’m right. It makes sense. If you buy Jimenez’s story and retreat here to wait for the birth of your baby, al he has to do is wait until he’s certain you had the baby and send in his force. You’l be weak and vulnerable. You’l be afraid the child wil get hurt, and he’l have al the leverage he’l need to use against you. Cooperate or you won’t see your child. That’s Whitney’s logic, and it’s actual y sound.”
    “Except you’re here, and he doesn’t know that.”
    “The mission was covert, and he has no idea anyone was sent in, let alone my particular team. But he’l find out eventual y. He has sources placed high in the administration.”
    “I need to rest, Kane. Just a day or two. Hopeful y my body wil settle down and I can move without risking an early birth.”
    She was asking permission, and she hated that. It was important to her to make her own decisions, but she needed his protection, and if she was relying on his strength, she’d better use al of it, including his judgment.
    Kane nuzzled the top of her head with his chin. Her heart jumped a second time. She held her breath, waiting—needing. “I think resting might be the lesser of two evils. I want you somewhere safe to have the baby, Rose, but the baby has to be safe too. Running without thinking is plain foolish. We’l take precautions and give you a day or two to rest. But I want to find out how he’s tracking you.”
    Relief washed through her. She didn’t have to move, hopeful y not for at least twenty-four hours. She didn’t have to be vigilant or do anything but crawl under the covers and go to sleep. Kane was there, and he’d watch out for their baby.
    As if reading her mind, Kane suggested, “You’re fal ing asleep, sweetheart. Slide under the covers and close your eyes.”
    “I have to brush my teeth first. But don’t worry, once I’m under the covers, I’l be asleep,” she assured, al owing the first tendril of happiness to sneak in.
    Rose knew she was dropping her guard and she was going to get hurt, but did it have to matter right at that moment? She felt brittle—ful of tiny holes as if pieces of her were long gone and spiderweb cracks veined the shel of her body. One wrong move and she would shatter. She was drowning, pure and simple. She had no reserve left and was running on empty. If Kane didn’t save her, she was going down for the last time, and this time, she wouldn’t come up again.
    “Rose.”

    Her heart thudded in her chest. His voice was so incredible, a sexy, low tone that resonated through her entire body. He made her feel different—
    feminine instead of a soldier with death on her hands. He made her feel as if life could be lived with laughter