Lethal Game (Ghostwalker Novel) Read online

  New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan has had over thirty novels published and has thrilled legions of fans with her seductive Dark Carpathian tales. She has received numerous honours throughout her career, including being a nominee for the Romance Writers of America RITA and receiving a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times, and has been published in multiple languages.

  Visit Christine Feehan online:

  www.christinefeehan.com

  www.facebook.com/christinefeehanauthor

  @AuthorCFeehan

  Praise for Christine Feehan:

  ‘After Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and Joss Whedon, Feehan is the person most credited with popularizing the neck gripper’

  Time magazine

  ‘The queen of paranormal romance’

  USA Today

  ‘Feehan has a knack for bringing vampiric Carpathians to vivid, virile life in her Dark Carpathian novels’

  Publishers Weekly

  ‘The amazingly prolific author’s ability to create captivating and adrenaline-raising worlds is unsurpassed’

  Romantic Times

  By Christine Feehan

  Torpedo Ink series:

  Judgment Road

  Vengeance Road

  Vendetta Road

  Shadow series:

  Shadow Rider

  Shadow Reaper

  Shadow Keeper

  Shadow Warrior

  ‘Dark’ Carpathian series:

  Dark Prince

  Dark Desire

  Dark Gold

  Dark Magic

  Dark Challenge

  Dark Fire

  Dark Legend

  Dark Guardian

  Dark Symphony

  Dark Melody

  Dark Destiny

  Dark Secret

  Dark Demon

  Dark Celebration

  Dark Possession

  Dark Curse

  Dark Slayer

  Dark Peril

  Dark Predator

  Dark Storm

  Dark Lycan

  Dark Wolf

  Dark Blood

  Dark Ghost

  Dark Promises

  Dark Carousel

  Dark Legacy

  Dark Sentinel

  Dark Illusion

  Dark Nights

  Darkest at Dawn

  (omnibus)

  Sea Haven series:

  Water Bound

  Spirit Bound

  Air Bound

  Earth Bound

  Fire Bound

  Bound Together

  GhostWalker series:

  Shadow Game

  Mind Game

  Night Game

  Conspiracy Game

  Deadly Game

  Predatory Game

  Murder Game

  Street Game

  Ruthless Game

  Samurai Game

  Viper Game

  Spider Game

  Power Game

  Covert Game

  Toxic Game

  Lethal Game

  Drake Sisters series:

  Oceans of Fire

  Dangerous Tides

  Safe Harbour

  Turbulent Sea

  Hidden Currents

  Magic Before Christmas

  Leopard People series:

  Fever

  Burning Wild

  Wild Fire

  Savage Nature

  Leopard’s Prey

  Cat’s Lair

  Wild Cat

  Leopard’s Fury

  Leopard’s Blood

  Leopard’s Run

  Leopard’s Wrath

  The Scarletti Curse

  Lair of the Lion

  PIATKUS

  First published in the US in 2020 by Berkley,

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Piatkus

  Copyright © 2020 by Christine Feehan

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book

  is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978-0-349-42667-9

  Piatkus

  An imprint of

  Little, Brown Book Group

  Carmelite House

  50 Victoria Embankment

  London EC4Y 0DZ

  An Hachette UK Company

  www.hachette.co.uk

  www.littlebrown.co.uk

  For Brian and Domini,

  because this book wouldn’t have happened without either of you pushing me to get it done when it seemed impossible.

  CONTENTS

  For my Readers

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  FOR MY READERS

  Be sure to go to christinefeehan.com/members/ to sign up for my private book announcement list and download the free ebook of Dark Desserts. Join my community and get firsthand news, enter the book discussions, ask your questions and chat with me. Please feel free to email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book was complicated and needed a tremendous amount of detail work. Domini was my go-to person, and she put in so much extra time. Brian really pushed me on this one when I was tempted to just put it under the bed and forget about it. It was important to me for so many reasons, but difficult to write. Domini, thank you again for always editing, no matter how many times I ask you to go over the same book before we send it for additional editing.

  THE GHOSTWALKER SYMBOL DETAILS

  SIGNIFIES

  shadow

  SIGNIFIES

  protection against evil forces

  SIGNIFIES

  the Greek letter psi, which is used by parapsychology researchers to signify ESP or other psychic abilities

  SIGNIFIES

  qualities of a knight—loyalty, generosity, courage and honor

  SIGNIFIES

  shadow knights who protect against evil forces using psychic powers, courage and honor

  THE GHOSTWALKER CREED

  We are the GhostWalkers, we live in the shadows

  The sea, the earth, and the air are our domain

  No fallen comrade will be left behind

  We are loyalty and honor bound

  We are invisible to our enemies

  and we destroy them where we find them

  We believe in justice and we protect our country

  and those unable to protect themselves

  What goes unseen, unheard, and unknown are GhostWalkers

  There is honor in the shadows and it is us

  We move in complete silen
ce whether in jungle or desert

  We walk among our enemy unseen and unheard

  Striking without sound and scatter to the winds

  before they have knowledge of our existence

  We gather information and wait with endless patience

  for that perfect moment to deliver swift justice

  We are both merciful and merciless

  We are relentless and implacable in our resolve

  We are the GhostWalkers and the night is ours

  1

  We’re taking heavy enemy fire.

  Like they all weren’t aware of the helicopter lurching from side to side as they came in low trying to put down where the wounded soldiers waited for transport. Malichai Fortunes kept one hand on his medical kit and the other on his rifle. He could shoot the wings off a fly with that rifle.

  You’re up, soldier, Joe Spagnola, his team leader, said. Want you back in one piece.

  Roger that. Malichai jumped without hesitation, landing in the snow and moving out of the way just in case Rubin Campo, another GhostWalker teammate, landed on top of him.

  They both were dressed in white with splotches of gray to better blend into the environment around them. The moment they were on the ground, the helicopter was up and away, skidding sideways through the sky, dodging the deadly fire from three or four bunkers, with heavy artillery shooting continuously.

  The moment Malichai saw that the helicopter was out of target range, he was up and running in a crouch, toward the coordinates of the small group of soldiers who had been shot down and were now pinned on top of that very cold mountain, surrounded by the enemy, with no supplies or medical aid and low on ammunition.

  A hail of deadly machine-gun fire ripped across the mountaintop and zigzagged in a pattern up and down, seeking to find them and the wounded soldiers.

  “Coming in,” Malichai called out, hoping his own soldiers weren’t going to shoot him.

  He and Rubin leapt over the ring of rocks and landed just inside the circle the soldiers had made for themselves. Other than the rocks, there was little cover, and the men were freezing. Malichai had seen some pathetic setups, but this was one of the worst. Added to the fact that the soldiers were all wounded, the rocks didn’t make the best fortress. The enemy had enough firepower to blow those large boulders forming their stronghold to kingdom come.

  Five men with various wounds lay in misery, but with their weapons ready. One attempted to sit, but Malichai waved him back down. They were all shivering continuously. The snow was stained red in places.

  “I’m Malichai, that’s Rubin.” Deliberately, he left off any mention of rank. “We’re here to pull your butts out of the frying pan. Give me your assessment of each patient,” Malichai added to the one obviously assuming leadership.

  “Jerry Lannis took the worst hit. His leg and arm. They were launching mortar fire and grenades. He shielded the rest of us when one of the grenades landed close. We did the best we could to help him . . .” The soldier trailed off as he indicated a man lying in the most protected spot the small space had.

  Rubin immediately went to Jerry and uncovered the man’s body. He glanced up at Malichai with a slight shake of his head. If he makes it, he’ll lose both the arm and the leg.

  Get started on him.

  Rubin glanced around at the other soldiers, all looking at him with hope. He ducked his head over Jerry’s arm, looking for a vein.

  Rubin was a GhostWalker, enhanced psychically as well as physically. He was one of the ultra-rare—a psychic surgeon. If his assessment was that Jerry was going to lose his arm and leg, then no one could save those limbs. Rubin would do his best, and that meant Jerry would most likely live, but there was little chance he would live with all four limbs intact.

  “We’ve got supplies. Not a lot, so you’ll need to ration.” As he spoke, Malichai tore open the thin packets with the blankets in them that would provide enough warmth to survive in the time they had to wait for extraction. He examined each man, making quick assessments.

  The appointed leader went on with his report. “Jack Torren has two bullets in him. One caught him on the hip and the other along his ribs. Ribs are broken. Hip’s intact. We’re not sure how.”

  Jack sent Malichai a faint grin. “I guess I’m too mean to die. I tell them I have superhero bones.”

  “Barry Clarke has a broken arm and hand. Arm on one side, hand on the other.”

  “Nice,” Malichai said. That was at least two mobile, if Jack’s hip was really fit enough to allow him to run.

  “Tim Barrens went down with a shot to the head. He’s been in and out for some time. Mostly out, but when he comes to, he knows he’s a soldier and he’s with us and has to stay quiet, so he’s comprehending things around him.”

  Malichai was already working on Jack, cleaning him up and setting up a bag of fluids to hydrate him as quickly as possible. He would need some of these men on their feet, fighting and willing to keep going, although they’d dug in and defended themselves so far in the face of an enemy outnumbering and outgunning them.

  “You were a very welcome sight,” the leader continued.

  “Tell me about your wounds,” Malichai instructed.

  “Name’s O’Connell. Braden O’Connell. I took a hit, a through and through, on my thigh. I was lucky, it didn’t hit anything that’s killed me yet, although I’m very weak.”

  That alarmed Malichai. He cursed under his breath. Would the kid have lasted so long if the artery was nicked? Regardless, he was probably bleeding internally.

  “I wasn’t certain but didn’t want to move around too much just in case. I see to everyone as best I can, but I’m no medic.”

  “When are they coming for us?” Jack asked.

  Immediately there was silence. Even the guns of the enemy had fallen silent. Malichai felt the eyes of the soldiers looking at him. Trusting in him. He sent them a small grin and continued to finish cleaning up Jack before moving on to Barry.

  “Well, Jack, the deal was, I jump out of the helicopter and fix you up so you could get your superhero ass in gear and carry us all back home.”

  The others grinned but no one pointed out he hadn’t answered the question. No one asked again. As far as Malichai could tell, Barry’s left arm had suffered a clean break. Someone, most likely Braden, had splinted it. He’d done a good enough job that Malichai wasn’t going to mess with it. He examined the wrist. There was a lot of bruising and swelling. Again, Braden had splinted it, but it was obvious Barry had continued to use it in an effort to help defend their position.

  Malichai stabilized it and then wrapped it. “You’re going to need fluids as well, but we’ll set up after I’ve examined the others.” Barry wasn’t too bad off as far as life-threatening injuries went. He’d lucked out.

  Tim lay quietly. Too quietly. Malichai swore under his breath and put his hand over the man’s open eyes, slowly lowering the eyelids. Tim was dead. The headshot had quietly killed him, probably in the late evening hours and no one had been aware, leaving him to “sleep.” He turned to look at Braden. Braden knew. He saw the gesture and the way Malichai had dropped his head down and briefly closed his own eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, mostly to Braden. The soldier had tried to keep them together and alive since their team leader was gone. The helicopter carrying these men had been shot down during their extraction. The other one carrying the rest of their team had thankfully gotten away.

  “He was a good soldier. A good man,” Braden said, emotion crossing his face. He struggled to contain it. “And a very good friend.”

  The others looked over at Tim and then at each other. “How’s Jerry, Rubin?” Malichai asked deliberately, wanting to keep their attention on the living. “Full name, by the way, is Malichai Fortunes, and that’s Rubin Campo. Just dropped in to see how you boys were doing and get you ready to come home.”

  Heads swiveled toward Rubin. Rubin had always been a man of very few words, and he lifted his gaze
to Malichai, giving what amounted to a death stare. Malichai gave him a faint grin in return.

  “He’ll be ready to travel in a couple of hours. He needs a transfusion and he’s badly dehydrated. I’ve already got lines into him and am giving him the blood we brought for him.”

  “What about his leg and arm?” Jack asked.

  Rubin shook his head. “A better question is, what about his life? We’ve got the enemy coming straight at us in the morning. The helicopters will have to set down right above us on the ridge. We have to be able to get him up there without losing him. We’ll need all of you.”

  “No way can a helicopter land up there,” Braden said. “You see those bunkers on your way in? They have heavy artillery. I mean heavy. They’ll take out the helicopters every time.”

  “That’s where we come in.” Malichai took pity on Rubin. “We’re going to make certain they can’t shoot down our birds as they come in to get you.”

  There was a small silence. Braden let out his breath. “That’s suicide. I’m serious. They’ve got every kind of weapon known in those bunkers and experienced fighters handling them.”

  “We have the intel,” Malichai assured. “It’s the only way any of us are getting out of here. We knew that when we volunteered to haul your butts out.” Deliberately, he sounded cocky, but even though both men were enhanced, the bunkers weren’t going to be easy to take down—and they had to be down, or they’d just keep losing helicopters.

  “Your job is to get stronger. Get warm. Hydrate. Start getting those muscles to work,” Rubin added to fill the silence as the others looked at them as if they were insane.

  “It isn’t the first time, you know,” Malichai added. “That’s what gave us the idea. A SEAL did something very similar on a different mountain a few years back.”

  “Weapons change all the time,” Braden pointed out. “I’m telling you, that’s suicide. I tried getting close to them, and they unleashed hell on us.”

  “We think they’re going to sneak up on us and take us out,” Jack added. “We’re taking shifts, trying to stay awake, but they could kill us just about any time.”