“As long as Whitney’s alive, she’ll be in danger.”
“But not because of you. He had her adopted parents killed, and he tried to kidnap her the moment he found out she was pregnant.”
“I can’t believe she’s going to have a baby.” Her breath was coming in gasps.
“She couldn’t believe it either. Whitney’s team of supersoldiers did some damage to the house, but we’ve repaired it.” Now his fingers were truly wicked, exploring and teasing and never quite giving her what she needed.
Mari tried to push harder against his hand, to trap him into giving her release. “He promised me that as long as I cooperated with him, he’d leave Briony alone.”
Ken’s teeth tugged at her nipple in a gentle punishment. “He never left her alone. He kept tabs on her all these years. He outlined her education and insisted on his own doctor treating her for all illnesses. Whitney lied about Briony just as he lied all those years to Lily.”
“I feel so bad for Lily. It’s a terrible thing to find out your entire childhood is built on a house of cards.” His fingers pushed deep, withdrew, then pushed against her cl*t until she wanted to sob with pleasure. She closed her eyes.
Ken leaned down and kissed her belly button. It was so like Mari to be concerned for Lily. Mari who had no childhood, who had been treated like a grown soldier before she could barely walk. “Look at me, sweetheart. Open your eyes and look into mine.”
His voice was low and commanding and Mari’s lashes lifted. Her gaze met his, saw the absolute possession there, the stark need and the stamp of ruthless control mixed with something that could be love. She’d never seen the emotion, so she wasn’t certain that was what she was seeing, but she kept her gaze locked with his when he took her over the edge and had her crying out his name.
Chapter 17
It rained parachutes last night, Jack announced. Our boys showed up, and a beautiful sight they were floating down from the sky.
Who do we have? Ken asked.
Logan, of course, Neil Campbell. Jesse Calhoun is coordinating and arranging backup in case anything goes wrong.
That surprised Ken. Jesse Calhoun was a valued member of the team, but he had been seriously wounded and was in a wheelchair. Mainly he ran the investigations.
Trace Aikens and Martin Howard are here as well. Jack named the last two members of their GhostWalker SEAL team. No one wanted to be left out. You’re a very popular man, Ken.
It took a moment for him to realize Jack wasn’t joking, and it shocked Ken. He had trained with the men and they fought together, worked, and even at times lived together, but he had never realized their loyalties extended to him and his brother. Jack and he had always been a little apart, and often other men were leery of them.
Ken cleared his throat, thankful no one could see him. Emotion was playing far too big a part with him these days. They all in place?
Everyone’s in position.
Has any word come down on the senator? Ken asked.
Senator Freeman asked to have Ryland’s team guarding him when he visited “a high security facility today,” Jack reported. The general did initially give the order, then an hour later rescinded it and gave the assignment to another team.
Son of a bitch. Whitney has even more pull than we suspected. Who could go over the top of the general?
Ken sat in the narrow corridor inside the cement wall. The fourth level was far more massive than he had ever considered it could be. It had originally been built as a secret military base before it had been closed down. Whitney had obviously discovered it and either bought it or persuaded his backers to allow him to use it for his experiments. There were very few in the know about the existence of the GhostWalkers. Whitney’s front men were able to find a way to hide his work from the various committees who would have objected strenuously to his inhumane and illegal experiments.
I don’t know who could countermand one of the general’s orders. The president certainly, Jack responded. The secretary of defense. But I can’t see either of them mixed up with a nutcase like Whitney. He’s too unstable, and the kinds of things he’s doing would rock the nation—the world—if it came out. No president would risk being associated with him if they knew what he’s done to children and women.
That was true. Ken couldn’t see anyone risking their political career. Hell, they’d face jail time, if not the death penalty, right along with Whitney. Mari alone would attest to the rape and murder of several women.
There was no sense in speculating. Ryland would have to approach the general, and if that went nowhere, then it would be up to the members of Ryland’s team to find out whom they could trust.
Rear Admiral Henderson, the man responsible for the SEAL GhostWalker team, was already under investigation—of course he wasn’t aware of it—and if they found no evidence against him, they’d never tell him. Jesse Calhoun was working hard to find out who had betrayed their team and sent them into the Congo.
Ken looked carefully around the walls of his tomb of cement. Ever since leaving Mari, he had been busy, marking the way so Cami could lead the other women out once Mari gave the signal to escape. He had tried to find Whitney’s rooms and private tunnels so he could recover the pictures of the women, but it seemed impossible when the concrete dead-ended so often and was hazardous in most places to get through.
Has Logan got the blueprints on this compound yet? Ken wanted to destroy the pictures of the women Whitney had been taking for years. More, he wanted to put a bullet in Whitney’s head. Since it’s a former military base, he should have been able to access them with the admiral’s clearance. If not, put Lily on it. She seems to be able to get anything she wants. The Whitney name works wonders, Ken said.
Logan tracked them down. They’re studying them now. They’re set up to make the rescue when the senator is here. We’re going to have to push our timetable forward. There’s no doubt that Whitney is going to arrange an accident of some kind for Senator Freeman and his wife.
Maybe, Ken mused. But he wouldn’t want an investigation anywhere near this place. I don’t think he’ll hit the senator here. I think he’ll make his try either before or after he leaves. He’d be stupid to bring a firestorm down on his laboratory, and the one thing Whitney isn’t—is stupid.