Toxic Game (GhostWalkers #15) - Christine Feehan Page 0,108

of him. She woke with a sleepy protest, but he soothed her back to sleep, promising to be right back.

Draden dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, keeping his gaze on his woman. She had been unexpected. Exhilarating. She made him feel alive just when he should have been at the lowest point in his life.

She must have felt his stare because her head moved slightly, and she lifted those long lashes of hers and blinked at him several times sleepily. “You need me to get up? I can go with you. Are we on alert?”

Her words were slightly slurred. Drowsy. Sexy as hell. She definitely did it for him.

“No, baby.” He bent to press a kiss against her temple, sealing himself there. “I’m just checking things. Be right back.”

“Be safe or I’ll be upset with you.”

As threats went, it wasn’t too worrisome, especially when she looked so beautiful lying there in his bed. “I’ll be safe. Go back to sleep and don’t shoot me when I come back in.”

Her lips curved, but she didn’t even lift her lashes again, already settling back into sleep now that he’d reassured her.

The rain had stopped so he wasn’t going to get completely soaked, which, after the first drenching, he was grateful for. He slipped Shylah’s phone into his pocket and hurried out to make his way back to the remote lab.

The forest was dark, but the moon spilled a silvery light over the canopy, giving the leaves a metallic gleam. The wind had died down to more of a breeze, ruffling the leaves and needles so the trees appeared to dance, swaying to the symphony of the ever-present cicadas. With his acute hearing he could hear the rustle of rodents in the thick vegetation. He spotted an owl as it dropped down on silent wings, talons outstretched. The bird missed and pulled up, screaming its disappointment, the sound adding to the evening’s dramatic mystery.

He’d always preferred the dark. He often ran by himself, shrouded in fog in the swamp, the night creatures his warning system as he let the demons in his head have free rein and then fade away from sheer exhaustion. Since he’d been with Shylah, those demons had, for the most part, stayed silent. She seemed to be a guardian. A shield of sorts. Shylah was pure magic. If they had to die, he was going to give her everything he could before that happened.

Inside the lab the computer powered up immediately. Joe answered his call within thirty seconds. “You alright, Sandman?” Joe asked, calling him by the name his team often used.

“Have a request for quite a few items. I need you to pull out all stops. Money isn’t an object. I’m sending you paperwork to access my accounts, but you know I’m good for it. Don’t care what you have to spend. My next call is to Trap and Gino, asking them to help with the money until you can get into my accounts.”

“No worries.”

“I have a list. Some of the items are specific, so you’re going to have to work all night, but I have to have them by tomorrow. I’m sending the list now.”

He waited a couple of minutes, picking up a pad of paper and sketching how he planned on changing the lab into a place where he could marry his woman.

“Draden.” Joe’s voice held caution. “This is crazy. Some of this stuff is insane. How do you expect me to get this here by morning?”

“Afternoon. She’s very tired, and I’m going to do my best to black out the windows so she’ll sleep. Then we’ll have a good breakfast before I meet you. At that time, I’ll put everything together. I know it doesn’t give you much time, but Trap has a jet that can go anywhere in hours. It’s expensive as hell, but he’ll be thrilled to make the pilot work for his keep.”

“You sure this is what you want? I believe Trap and Wyatt when they say the two of you are fighting this virus off. You don’t have to do anything drastic yet.”

“We’re infected. What part of that didn’t you get? Of course we’re fighting it off. We both have unique and very strong immune systems, but that doesn’t mean we won’t fail, just like everyone else. I hope like hell we don’t, but live or die, I’m doing this because I want to do it. No matter what, she’s the one.”

“Getting married is permanent, Draden. You don’t even have a