Lightning Game (GhostWalkers #17) -Christine Feehan Page 0,118
would answer the question.”
“How could I possibly know if his unit gets promotions? I don’t ask him that. Most of his work is classified, so even if I wanted to tell you about it, I couldn’t.”
“Do you know the colonel outside of work?”
Whoa. Sean didn’t back off from the hard questions. She smiled up at him angelically, knowing she was about to drop a bomb on him. “Well, actually, yes. I know him quite well. In fact, I was here to visit with him. And Diego, his brother. They’re very, very close, in case you’re unaware of Diego. He’s good in the forest. Extremely good.”
There was a silence, so much so that the wind seemed to pause, as if holding its breath right along with them all. Very slowly, the men looked at one another and then to Sean.
“I need you to clarify this for me, Jonquille. Are you saying that you were with Rubin and Diego Campo in the forest when we acquired you?”
“Yes.” She answered without hesitation. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Why were you with the Campo brothers?” Sean persisted through clenched teeth.
“Rubin is my fiancé,” Jonquille said. “He’s been working with me on healing as well. He’s very good at it. He has a natural gift for it.” She gave them her sweetest smile and rubbed her thigh over the supposed mosquito bite.
She sent a message to Rubin, hoping he wouldn’t be upset with her, using little fiery flicks of the sequence and keeping it short. As she sent the message, she watched the others under the veil of her eyelashes, trying to figure out if any of them felt those jabbing spears of hot lightning on the outer edges of the brain. Blew yr cover. Told them U healer if that’s what they want. Not happy.
She really hated that she had blown it for Rubin and Diego. Part of their advantage was that this group had no idea who they were dealing with. They still didn’t know for certain the brothers were GhostWalkers, but they had to be guessing. Sean was intelligent. She didn’t understand why Rubin was so insistent, but she knew the news had really shaken Sean.
Rubin let some time go by so there was no way to associate the tiny jabs with communication. She noticed that two of the soldiers rubbed their temples. It could have been coincidence, but she’d noticed them before when messages had come in from Rubin. One was called Hudson, the other Andrew.
“We attacked a colonel in the Air Force, his brother who happens to be a lieutenant colonel, and kidnapped the fiancée of the colonel.” Abel rubbed the corners of his eyes. “We’re going to be court-martialed. The keys to our cells are going to be thrown away.”
“We knew going into this that it could go wrong,” Sean reminded the others. “We all agreed it was our only chance. We voted on it. The only thing we can do is go forward and try to talk to the colonel and hope he has some understanding of our situation.” He turned his attention back to Jonquille, his gaze moving over her in a dark, moody way she wasn’t certain she liked.
“Does he have a radio on him?”
She frowned. “Why would he have a radio? He wasn’t lurking around in the woods playing soldier. He’s a doctor. He came to check on patients. He does every year, twice a year. There are people, families, that won’t seek out normal medical attention. Rubin and Diego were born here. They’re accepted and can go into those homes and provide care for those that would otherwise never have it.”
“If the colonel came up here to play doctor, why was he loaded for bear?”
“They always go armed. I’ve never seen either of them without weapons. I don’t go into the woods without weapons. And Diego doesn’t ever go anywhere without his rifle.” The moment the words were out she wanted to clap her hand over her mouth and shove them back inside. It was too late. Far too late.
“Diego,” one of the men whispered, his voice filled with fear. “Sean. That’s not just anyone she’s talking about.” He suddenly glared at Jonquille as if she had deliberately set them up. “Tell us who he is.” He shouted the command at her.
“Hudson, calm down. It isn’t her fault we’re in this mess. What are you worried about?”
“This Diego she’s talking about. The colonel’s brother. He’s known, Sean. He can shoot the wings off a fly.