Toxic Game (GhostWalkers #15) - Christine Feehan Page 0,22

she was doing the same for him but felt like she was failing miserably.

I think you’re pretty brave, Shylah. Let’s stretch out, heads turned away from the dead guy. Keep your eyes closed and let me haul you around him. Once we’re away, I’ll let you know. He made certain every hair from her head was unwrapped from the dead man’s fingers.

Do dead guys freak you out when they stare at you? She almost hoped so.

Not dead guys, he admitted. Needles do. I fucking hate needles.

She frowned. You’re a doctor.

He was towing her through the water. Around something large. She kept her eyes closed tight and stayed as relaxed as possible, so she wasn’t a hindrance.

Exactly. I work with a group of men who would give me a rash of shit like you wouldn’t believe if they knew. So, if you meet them, keep your mouth shut.

She liked that he acted as if it were possible she might meet his teammates. You have to work with needles every day.

True, but they aren’t usually going into me. I don’t mind looking at them, or using them on other people, but don’t want them in me. We’re clear. Let’s get around that bend, then we’ll only have a few hundred yards to go before we can head for the shallows.

They began to swim toward the spot where the bank wasn’t steep, all the while hugging the bottom of the river as they neared the bend. They picked up speed once they were certain they were a good distance from the most recent boat. Around that curve an explosion blasted through the water. The only thing that really saved them was they were already a good distance away from the blast site.

Draden didn’t hesitate. He was already able to touch down in the shallower water and he reached down, plucked her out of the river and tossed her onto the bank. Run for the trees.

Shylah struggled to her feet and had already covered half the distance when the second explosion hit, rocking the ground slightly as if a seismic event were taking place. She didn’t look but trusted her partner to be right on her heels. When she reached the first line of trees, she halted and turned back.

Draden wasn’t just out of the water, he was directly behind her. She hadn’t heard a single sound, not even labored breathing. He swerved to avoid running into her, caught her hand and kept going without slowing down, taking her with him. Water poured off both of them and she tried not to think about how polluted it might be. She really shouldn’t worry about things like that, not when she had given Draden mouth to mouth. She’d tried to save his life and in doing so had condemned herself to death.

She wasn’t afraid of dying. She had always contemplated ending her life. She detested always going back to Whitney’s compound and giving him power over her. This was too much though, living minute by minute knowing every second the virus was turning her insides to mush.

Shylah. Stop. Don’t think about it yet. That’s a few steps from now. You need to be running in the lead. We didn’t have time to wipe out our tracks so they’re going to be on to us. Even if they don’t find us tonight, they’ll be back in force tomorrow. We need a place to rest. I presume you have a camp.

She hesitated, which when she thought about it, was rather stupid. Secrecy had been drilled into her. The only partners she’d ever worked with were Bellisia and Zara. But that was early on when Whitney had thought to create a team of female soldiers capable of taking out the enemy easily. There had been five of them back then.

Two had died during that first trial, attempting to escape. Deserting—that was how Whitney had seen it. Because of their actions, none of the girls could be trusted. She’d never been allowed to work with her friends again. Whitney had sent them out individually, holding the others as hostages, threatening to harm them if the one in the field dared to desert. Bellisia, Zara and Shylah had talked it over, encouraging one another to leave if they ever got the chance. Two of them had done just that. Shylah had been very alone ever since.

Without a word, Shylah ran around Draden to take the lead position. She had a very good sense of direction and her feet always seemed