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  Nico whispered in his ear, letting him know when to move and when to be still. He made it to the edge of the shrubbery at the far side of the house, but it took several minutes of painstaking progress before he was clear of the laser field.

  Kadan moved into the wide bed of flowers close to the house, looking up at his chosen point of entry. It was two stories up and Tansy's bedroom window. On this side, there were no balconies, and she often left the window open a couple of inches because she needed to feel like freedom. Her hands, encased in gloves, always made her feel like a prisoner, and she would slide her hands out the window and wave them in the night air. If he was lucky, no one would have remembered to lock her window, as she'd been gone so long.

  "Now," Nico's voice whispered in his ear.

  Kadan leapt up as high as he could, going from a crouch to a full extension and reaching high above his head. His finger pads caught and held, gluing him to the side of the house. Again his skin tone changed, taking on the hue of his background. He began to move upward in silence. Fredrickson was a GhostWalker and their strongest opponent. He had the ability to sense their presence, and they had no idea of his psychic talents. He had to be neutralized before a rescue could take place.

  At a soft go from Nico, Ryland moved into position, penetrating on the opposite side of the grounds, to get through the laser fields as the guards swept that area. When he made it through the yard and neared the house, he would hold at his location waiting for Kadan's entry and the all clear, signaling Fredrickson was dead.

  Kadan climbed to the window, anchored his body with one hand, and, as he carefully raised his body to peer over the sill, felt with the other for trip wires. His hearing was particularly acute, and he became aware of the faint hum that often accompanied a live wire. Fredrickson had not only known about the slightly raised window, he'd anticipated an entry and left it invitingly open that scant inch and a half, but had laid enough traps for ten mice.

  "I'm going up, Nico. This is a trap."

  "Two men on the roof," Nico reported. "One just above your position and one about ten feet to his right. Both look likes mercs. I can take them both, but Fredrickson will know."

  Kadan had already begun his descent. "No. I'll get in."

  "I can rile up the dog. We've still got the bastard guard poking at him with a stick," Gator offered. "Let me get the dog going and that will draw them to this side. Fredrickson will go on alert, but he'll want to know what's going on."

  "That's a go."

  Kadan could use the diversion. If he was lucky, once Fredrickson knew his own guard had screwed up, he'd send someone personally to chew the man up. And that meant a door open. He just had to be in the right place at the right time. Moving with the speed and precision of a spider in a web, Kadan chose a door on the side of the house close to where the guard was teasing the dog. He went down the wall headfirst, much like a gecko might, held by the sticky pads on his fingers and his enormous strength until he was hovering just above the door, in plain sight on the side of the building.

  Within minutes the German shepherd went crazy, slamming into the chain-link fence, roaring a challenge, snarling and barking, hitting the fence repeatedly in an attempt to get to his cruel handler. The yard erupted with guards, men running, calling out to one another, rushing toward the fence. One caught the guard with stick in hand, still tinged with blood where he'd driven it into the dog's side. Lights burst on overhead, turning the grounds into daylight. Alarms shrieked as the lasers were set off.

  Within a couple more minutes, enough time for the message to be relayed to Fredrickson, the door below Kadan burst open and a man went running out. Kadan swung his body through the opening, landing in a crouch inside, gun already out and tracking. From the drawings Tansy had provided, he knew this was an atrium that opened into the living room. Huge plants grew nearly wild, rising to the high ceilings, the mist kicking on automatically every few minutes to provide the atmosphere of a rain forest.

  Kadan took his time. He was in enemy territory now. Not just any enemy, a GhostWalker who would feel the slightest change in the energy around him. Kadan could shield, but the closer he got to his prey, the more difficult it would become to do so. And he was close. Fredrickson was also a shielder--surprising, but it had to be true. That gift was somewhat rare, just as being an elite tracker was.

  Kadan went to his belly again, green now, like the plants around him. Using his elbows to propel him forward, he slithered through the jungle of foliage to the edge of the glass. The atrium was huge, bringing the rain forest indoors. Completely glass, the room could be enclosed and kept separate from the rest of the house, or, with the double glass doors opened as they were, the sweeping, dramatic plants could become part of the enormous sunken great room.

  Tansy had been raised in this opulent home. She'd lived there as if it was an ordinary, everyday house, probably taking the beauty and uniqueness for granted. Kadan had spent a lifetime on the streets, in foster homes and one-room apartments, before moving on to the military life of jungle, desert, and sea. What was he thinking? How could she go from this to what he could give her? The moment the thought entered, he pushed it away. Tansy had no place here. She couldn't screw him up any more than she'd already done by turning him inside out.

  Kadan forced his mind back under control and slid through the doorway into the great room. Fredrickson was just ahead of him, staring impassively at Tansy's parents, who were sitting in two high-backed chairs, both with their hands tied behind their backs. Sharon Meadows was a small woman, very thin, with a wealth of blond hair. A bruise had formed just below one eye and there was swelling near her mouth. It didn't take a genius to figure out Fredrickson had used her to try to control Tansy. She wept silently, casting little glances at her husband, who looked as if he might have a stroke any moment.

  "She's dead if they come in here," Fredrickson said to Don. "You'd better hope your daughter loves you both enough to give herself up without bringing help."

  Sharon shook her head hard, but only sobbed louder.

  Don bared his teeth and struggled to loosen his bonds. "You don't need to touch my wife. Tansy will come. You tell Whitney she'll come. There's no need for this."

  Fredrickson shrugged. "We'll take her back, one way or the other. And we're doing you a favor. They know about her and she's marked. They'll kill her if they find her before we do."

  "You keep saying 'they' as if that's supposed to scare me," Don hissed. "I don't believe that anyone wants her dead. Whitney made that up because he wants her back."

  Kadan propelled himself forward on his belly over the smooth, rich marble floor, gun in one hand, knife in the other. He slid forward, inch by painstakingly slow inch. Each centimeter counted when he was out in the open and Fredrickson had only to turn his head. Kadan gathered his strength, his resolve, and he flowed from the floor, rising like a demon summoned from hell, hurtling the knife straight to his enemy's throat.

  The knife buried all the way to the hilt. Fredrickson gurgled, eyes wide, one hand half rising in reflex, as if to examine the instrument of his death. He swayed and then toppled to the floor. Instantly Kadan felt the psychic shield come down and lethal energy flowing toward him. He spun, already diving in front of Tansy's mother, instincts screaming at him that she was the target. The bullet caught him higher than he'd have liked, slamming into his bullet-proof vest like an explosive fist to his chest, half spinning him and driving him backward hard.

  Sharon's high-pitched shriek hurt his ears nearly as much as the punch to his chest, but his gun hand was already up, finger squeezing the trigger, one, two, three, precise shots, dropping the second GhostWalker even as Kadan fell. Blood sprayed across the marble and spattered the walls. He saw the red droplets showering down as his body slammed hard into Sharon's, driving her chair over backward.

  The blow to his chest had ripped the breath from his body, and it felt like every bone was broken, smashed beyond repair. For an instant, the edges of his vision bl
urred and then went black. He woke with rage and panic seconds later, his chest on fire, burning as if a hot iron was branding him, and Sharon screaming nonstop in his ear. He fought the need to rip his vest off and shut the woman up at the same time.

  Movement caught his eye, and his legs still tangled with Tansy's mother, he rolled, the gun rock steady in his hand, instinct staying his finger on the trigger. Don Meadows froze from where he was trying to slither across the floor, his gaze fixed on the knife at Kadan's waist.

  "I'll fucking put a bullet in your throat," Kadan warned, feeling deadly with his chest on fire, fighting for every breath. "Go, Gator," he managed to order into the radio while he extricated himself from the woman's flopping limbs.

  Sharon's screams would draw everyone for miles. Calmly, Kadan pulled out an air syringe and pressed it against her neck. He didn't bother to untie her hands. The drug worked fast, halting her scream in mid-shriek so blessed silence fell.

  "You bastard. What the hell have done to her?" Don demanded.

  Kadan sent him one quelling look, and the man was smart enough to stop talking. Kadan's chest hurt like a bear, still painful with every breath he drew, but the fire was beginning to subside a bit. He still wanted to rip his vest off, along with the shooter's head. He pushed down his need to put another bullet in the dead man's head, most likely Watson's, and instead, he took care to insure the room was cleared of all enemies so he had only to contend with Tansy's parents.

  "Any more guards in the house?"

  "Most are outside. Several are on the roof."

  "Then they'll be coming at us eventually. Are you going to give me trouble?" As a rule Kadan could read minds in close proximity, especially in a situation like this one where fear and anger were strong emotions, but Don Meadows had some kind of barrier that blocked his thoughts and emotions from escaping.

  "Not if you're getting us out of here."

  "Tansy sent me."

  "She all right?"

  Kadan liked him a little better for that. "She's fine." He slipped another knife from his belt and cut the tape binding Meadows's wrists. It was a calculated risk since he couldn't read the man's mind, but they had to move fast.

  "Coming in." Ryland's voice floated over the radio.

  "Come on then," Kadan replied in greeting. "Gator, you clearing a path for us?"

  It wasn't difficult for Gator to scale the fence, using the prongs on his boots and the spikes on his gloves. He went up and over and then signaled to the dogs, stirring them up, commanding them to bark, to roar out challenges from every point in the yard while he sprinted for the helicopter pad. He'd just made it to cover when the guards burst out into the open from every direction, lights once again flooding the compound. This time, the handlers released the dogs from the double fence and brought them leashed, searching for enemies on the grounds.

  Gator did a hasty job of planting the explosives, first on the helipad, more on the helicopter, a third along the fence just beyond the pad. He used the blurring speed of the enhanced GhostWalker, cutting through the acreage to get to the opposite side of the estate, throwing voices as he sprinted, disrupting the dogs so they went crazy, howling and barking, raging at their handlers, so that chaos erupted in several hot spots, keeping guards running in every direction but toward Gator or the house.

  A guard on the roof must have spotted him, because Nico's gun boomed and the man nearly toppled at Gator's feet. Gator kept running. A second shot rang out, and he caught a glimpse of a man falling from the roof to a balcony. The Cajun didn't hesitate; he put on a burst of speed and zigzagged, just to keep the odds in his favor.

  "Thanks, man."

  "No problem." Nico sounded the same. Matter-of-fact.

  It took Gator several minutes to get to the opposite fence, two acres from the helipad, and even he was a bit out of breath after his run. Whipping out a can, he sprayed an entire section of all three fences. A man shouted hoarsely at him, but Gator kept spraying and didn't turn when Nico's rifle coughed up another kill.

  "Where are you?" Ryland's voice buzzed in his ear.

  "Heading for the garage," Gator answered and whirled back to make another run. This time he was going to have to first get through the ranks of guards and then enter the garage, where Nico would no longer be able to help him.

  He drew two guns and headed for the garage. The guards were gearing up to make a move on the house, knowing through radio silence that their bosses were most likely dead. They were between him and the garage, and he had to get to the Humvee. "I'm on the move now."

  The moment Kadan heard Gator was making a break for the garage, he skirted around the woman on the floor and pulled two guns from his belt. "Search him, Rye."

  He didn't look back, but broke out of the house on the run, firing relentlessly, choosing his targets as he cleared a path to protect Gator. He could hear Nico's rifle and the resounding crash of Gator's guns as they joined in the fight.

  "I'm in." Gator's voice was a little out of breath. He swore. There was more gunfire and then he spoke again. "Son of a bitch, get out of my ride." More gunfire came from the vicinity of the garage. "It's an original, and man, she's a beaut."

  Kadan gave a small sigh of relief. The intel on the vehicle had been hastily researched, and Tansy hadn't paid attention to it, she'd never even ridden in it. Don Meadows had the real deal, the military-issue, four-wheel drive, high-mobility, armor-plated, go-over-and-through-anything vehicle. And they were going to need it.

  "Blow the helicopter," Kadan ordered.

  Instantly the aircraft lifted into the air, exploded into several large pieces, and settled back down in a fiery orange and black cauldron of flames. The explosion had the desired effect of sending the guards scurrying toward the ocean side of the property.

  Kadan counted to thirty and gave the next order. "Take out the helipad."

  The second explosion rocked the estate. Smoke billowed into the air along with a tower of flames.

  Kadan retreated to the doorway of the house. Ryland would have to pack Sharon out on his shoulder, but Don . . . now, Don was another matter. Kadan didn't trust him. He had to have some psychic ability to have such a natural barrier in his head. Given a psychic talent and his longstanding friendship with Whitney, Kadan didn't trust the man any further than he could throw him.

  Ryland came up behind him, gun out, Sharon draped over his shoulder. Don had been herded in front of the GhostWalker and was clearly unhappy.

  "I can carry my wife."

  Kadan turned cool eyes on him. "You can be quiet or you'll go out the same way she's going out."

  Meadows flushed. Kadan doubted anyone ever talked to him like that. As a future son-in-law, he wasn't racking up the points, but he didn't really give a damn.

  "At least give me a gun to defend us," Don demanded.

  Kadan swung around, drawing the air syringe from his pack and slapping another liquid cartridge into it.

  Don held up both hands and backed up. "I'll be quiet. Seriously, you don't need that."

  Kadan ignored him, turning back just as the Humvee burst out of the garage and bounced over the flower beds. The few remaining guards scattered, dogs roared, and the vehicle slid sideways to the atrium door.

  "Blow the back fence," Kadan ordered calmly as he stepped back, jerked Don out of the line of gunfire, and shoved Tansy's father behind him.

  The third explosion shook the house again.

  "Go, Rye," Kadan ordered, calmly shooting two men who were aiming at Gator. Nico's rifle barked at the same time, and the bodies jerked twice as they went down.

  Nico was firing steadily now, providing cover as Rye ran, Sharon's limp body bouncing like a rag doll against his back. He slung her into the waiting vehicle and took up a position to cover Kadan and Don.

  "Let's go," Kadan said. "Make a run and dive inside. Get on the floor and cover your wife's body."

  To his credit, Don didn't hesitate. He looked neither right nor left; he just took off sprinting, leaping
for the open door and draping his body over Sharon's.

  "Get out, Nico," Kadan ordered. "Go, Gator."

  The Humvee lurched forward and then picked up speed.

  A guard rose up on the driver's side, sighting down his barrel at Gator. A red hole blossomed where his left eye had been just as Kadan put one in his chest.

  "Nico," Kadan said, reprimanding him.

  "I'm out," Nico confirmed. "Catch you at the rendezvous point."

  "Did you get the tracking device, Gator?" Kadan asked.

  "Dismantled," Gator said, his eyes on the fence looming ahead of them. The double chain-link with the privacy fence just beyond it. He kept his foot on the gas, building up their speed.

  Don Meadows lifted his head trying to peer out, saw the fence coming at them. "Stop!"

  Kadan's boot found the back of his neck and shoved him low as the front of the vehicle hit the chain, weakened by the acid bath Gator had provided. The Humvee tore through the second fence and struck the third at full throttle. The splintering crash was loud as the boards gave way and the vehicle passed through unscathed.

  Gator had a map of the rough terrain imprinted in his head. The property backed up to the steep canyons. The dense foliage and trees would provide them with cover as they made their way to the safe house. The Humvee went up and over a slope and down the other side, and they were dropping off the earth, with mountain peaks rising above them and wilderness surrounding them.

  Kadan took his boot off Don Meadows's neck and indicated for him to get in the seat. "Get your wife strapped in so she doesn't get hurt."

  Meadows glanced out the window and then around at the three grim-faced men. The Humvee bounced over rocks and brush, and although Gator had slowed considerably, the motion was intense, jostling the passengers, throwing them from side to side and up toward the roof. Don reached down, his grip gentle, to turn Sharon over and up into his arms. Ryland and Kadan were guarding each side of the vehicle, guns out, waiting for signs of pursuit.

  "Nico should be coming at us anytime," Gator called, slowing more. He turned the wheel hard to his right, the wheel jerking violently as they went up and over a series of rocks and then dropped down a brush-covered slope into a creek bed.