Lightning Game (GhostWalkers #17) -Christine Feehan Page 0,23

on her. Other children had made the mistake of thinking if they cooperated, they would incur his favor. He only experimented more.

A dread began to build in Rubin. His talent—psychic surgeon—the one that as far as he was aware only one other person possessed, was kept entirely secret by his team. He was guarded everywhere he went, and he despised that. He didn’t like that other team members and his own brother would put his life before their own. Especially Diego. He couldn’t take the thought of losing his last family member. He didn’t want Jonquille to have the same burden.

“You were given training as a medic, Jonquille?” Again, he tried to be casual, as if they were just conversing and his heart weren’t pounding and his mouth hadn’t gone dry.

He was always calm in every situation. He had survived that way. That was how he and Diego had managed to do all the things they had done as young children and teens. They never panicked. They were calm and worked the problem. But the thought of Jonquille alone in the wilderness, a vulnerable target with the weight of a talent so heavy as being a psychic surgeon, was abhorrent and a little terrifying to him.

“Yes. I was given training first as an EMT, then as a doctor. I retain what I read very easily, and we had small private classes for the most part. I interned at small hospitals where he could control the environment. I never found the work difficult, only trying to balance the electrical energy so many people in emergency situations gave off with my body being a magnet for it. I wore certain clothing that helped. Eventually, I couldn’t handle it and couldn’t go to the hospital to work. I had to do simulated situations. That was much harder because Whitney was annoyed beyond description. He called me his greatest failure every chance he got. I think he was truly embarrassed that he had to pull me out of the program. The backlash kept getting worse. That’s when he began to set up the field training in lightning management all over again.”

“Did you ever use your talent to perform a healing on someone with major injuries, someone who needed surgery but wouldn’t make it to the hospital if you didn’t help them right there?”

Her lashes lifted again, and her eyes looked directly into his. “These questions are beginning to sound like an interrogation again, Rubin. They’re very specific. Would you mind telling me where you’re going with them? I’m beginning to feel very uncomfortable.”

“That’s because my brother is out there with a rifle and scope,” Rubin said.

“I’m very aware of that,” Jonquille said. “He followed you. He’s been outside watching me the entire time. I made sure to give him a good target so he doesn’t get trigger-happy.”

He could definitely fall in love with her. She was so cool under fire. She hadn’t let on in any way that she’d known Diego had followed him out and was up in the crotch of a tree with a sniper’s scope making certain Rubin was safe. Knowing a sniper of great skill was watching her intently didn’t seem to bother her enough to show concern. She exuded that much confidence.

“I’m trying to determine whether you have the same talents I have.” That was honest enough without giving too much away.

She sent him a faint smile. “You’re concerned that Whitney may have paired us the way he likes to do when he’s playing god. He does like his little games.”

“That’s exactly what I think he’s done. In spite of his genuine insanity, he does have a gift for pairing couples that can indisputably make a good match, physically and emotionally. They fit and they end up loving each other. He pairs them because he thinks they’ll make a good team as soldiers in the field, but he never considers the emotional bond that builds between them. What do you think, Jonquille? Do you believe there’s a possibility that he put us together?”

She dipped her head to one side and her wild blond hair spilled in an unruly riot of waves to her chin. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind, Rubin, not if you’re attracted to me. You’ve got brains and you’re gorgeous. Why would you look at someone who can’t get out of the woods and be around anyone? You mentioned how my skin smells. No one else would notice. Your brother didn’t and he was sitting