Shadow Game (GhostWalkers) Page 5

  “I don’t think Rosa asked that.”

  “Did you look at the planner on his desk?” Her throat ached, raw and painful.

  John snorted. “Please, Lily, no one can find anything on your father’s desk and if we did, it wouldn’t make sense. He has that weird shorthand code he writes in. You’re the only one who’s going to make sense out of anything on his calendar.”

  “I’ll go look, John. He probably went back to the labs and just isn’t picking up. Call the desk and ask if he signed back in.” She was proud of herself for sounding so practical. So in control. Not really worried yet, but slightly amused at her father’s continual absentmindedness. “And if not, ask if he left with anyone. And you might have them check on that ridiculous car he insists on driving.”

  Deep inside, she heard weeping and she knew it was her own voice. The sound was frightening in its intensity and she had no idea how she was making it when she was talking with John so naturally.

  For one moment she felt the warmth pouring into her again. Surrounding her, caressing her. There were no words, but the feeling was strong. Unity. Comfort. Her emotions were too strong and they were spilling out in spite of her protections.

  As she neared the doorway and the chauffeur, Lily deliberately twisted her foot on the priceless Oriental rug on the floor and stumbled. She caught at John Brimslow’s jacket to save herself, falling hard enough against him to shake them both.

  John steadied her, helping her back to her feet. Lily longed for a flood of information so she could be absolutely certain John was innocent and she would have an ally, but there was nothing whatsoever. John’s mind was, as always, even with her trying to read him, protected from the intrusion of hers.

  “Are you all right, Lily?”

  “I’m just tired. You know how clumsy I can be when I’m tired. Either that or Dad’s Oriental rug will have to go.” Hard as she tried, she couldn’t pull off a smile. She didn’t want to think that John could have betrayed her father. She didn’t want to think of her father lying at the bottom of the ocean.

  The only thing enabling her to walk toward her father’s office was that warmth spreading inside of her. Aid from the very stranger who might wish her father dead. She sat at her father’s desk and stared at the multitude of papers and the stacks of books without really seeing them. She was holding on to the warmth and courage pouring into her body from that unexpected and unwanted source. Ryland Miller. Was he her enemy? If she hadn’t been so carefully protecting herself, she might have learned earlier that her father was in danger. Whoever had planned to kill him may have been in the very room. Whoever had betrayed him lived in her home.

  RYLAND Miller sat down heavily in the one decent chair provided for him. Lily Whitney’s grief swamped him, weighed him down like a heavy stone sitting in the middle of his chest so he could barely breathe, her pain a knife through his heart. He felt sweat beading on his skin. Like him, Lily was an enhancer, amplifying emotions already powerful enough to ride the waves of energy between them. Between the two of them, the emotions were nearly uncontrollable.

  Peter Whitney had been his one hope. He hadn’t trusted the man, but Ryland had worked on the scientist, pushing at his mind to sway him into helping Ryland plan the escape. It had taken tremendous concentration and a great deal of overload to connect all the men telepathically so they could talk in the dead of night. They were waiting for him now, waiting for him to be able to shake off Lily’s terrible grief and sorrow. He admired her for the way she was trying to handle her father’s death. How could he not? She didn’t know whom to turn to, whom to trust, yet he sensed her deep resolve.

  Lily. Ryland shook his head. He needed to get to her more than he needed anything else. He wanted to comfort her, find a way to lessen the pain in her, but he was locked up in a cage with a team waiting for his plan. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, centered himself, and sent out the first message.

  Kaden, you will go out with the first group. We’ll all have to make it out the first time or they’ll double the security. All of you will have to be ready. I’ve worked on the computers and electric locks. I can handle those….

  THREE

  LILY normally smiled absently at the guards as she walked through the space between the metal detectors. She had gone through the routine so many times she had long ago ceased thinking about it. Now everything was changed. The enormous enclosure with its high electric fences and coils of barbed wire, the multitude of guards and dogs, the rows of ugly concrete buildings with their underground maze of rooms—this had been her second home most of her life. She had never given the security measures much thought—they just seemed routine. Now she was aware every moment that someone had murdered her father. Someone she probably talked with every day.

  Lily walked down the narrow corridor, lifted a hand in greeting, inwardly flinching as the armed guards hurried toward her. She half expected them to grab her and drag her off to the underground cages. She let out her breath as they moved past her, hardly glancing her way. At the second elevator she punched in her ten-digit code. The doors slid open and she stepped in.

  The elevator glided silently to the lower floors hidden deep beneath the earth. This was her world, the labs and computers, the white coats and endless equations. The tight security, cameras and codes and keys. Her life. Her world, the only one she had ever known. Where always before the rigid routines had comforted her, now she was all too aware of being watched. The Donovans laboratories had been built just south of San Francisco. The sprawling complex was deceptively innocent-looking with so many buildings inside the high fence. Most of the laboratories were actually located deep beneath the earth and heavily guarded. Even when going from one department to the other, security was always present.

  In spite of her desire to remain calm, her heart was pounding alarmingly. She was entering fully into a cat-and-mouse game with her father’s killer. And she was seeing Ryland Miller again. The idea was nearly as unsettling as returning to the laboratories. There was no way to ignore the attraction between them—it was magnified by every thought, every movement.

  She leaned over the retinal scan, fitting her eye to the lens at the heavy door leading to her father’s domain. As she moved into the lab, she snagged a white coat from a peg on the wall, buttoning it over her clothes without missing a stride. Someone called her name and she waved the obligatory hand, still moving quickly.

  “Dr. Whitney?” One of the techs halted her determined progress. Lily looked at him, keeping her expression carefully blank. The waves of sympathy nearly swamped her. “I’m so sorry, we’re so sorry about your father. We all hope he’s found very soon. Has there been any word at all on his disappearance?”

  Lily shook her head. “Nothing at all. If someone took him for money, they haven’t asked for a ransom. The FBI thinks they would have already demanded money. There’s been nothing at all, just silence,” She was reaching for every emotion pouring out of the technician. The man couldn’t possibly have been involved in her father’s murder. He was genuinely upset at the way his boss had simply vanished. He had liked and respected Peter Whitney. Lily smiled at him. “Thank you so much for your concern. I know everyone feels his loss.”

  Right now Lily couldn’t think about her father and how much she would miss him. She wouldn’t think about being alone and frightened. She couldn’t talk, she didn’t dare. Her emotions were raw, far too close to the surface. She had waited all week, torn between impatience and a terrible dread, to be officially asked by the president of the corporation to take over her father’s work. She hadn’t dared appear too eager and had stayed locked up in her home, mourning her loss, grieving privately, away from even those whom she called family, all the while planning carefully her every move to find her father’s murderer.

  She had searched for a hidden laboratory in her enormous home, but there were so many rooms, hidden and not, that it seemed an impossible task. There were secret passageways leading belowground and up to the attic
s. She had meticulously gone over the blueprints and the floor plans, but to no avail. So far she had not found her father’s secret world, and she hoped he’d left her a clue to its whereabouts in his office at Donovans.

  Lily moved quickly through the rows of bottles and burners, through two rooms filled with computers to halt at another door. Firmly she pressed her palm and fingertips into the print scanner and leaned close to speak her coded phrase, waiting as an unseen computer analyzed the combination of her speech patterns and hand scan to verify her identity. The heavy door slid aside and she went into another, much larger complex.

  The laboratory had muted lighting, turning the world into a bluish, tranquil setting. It was filled with plants and trickling waterfalls. The sound of water added to the calm atmosphere kept at all times in the lab. In the background was the continual sound of the ocean playing on a tape, waves rushing the shore and retreating, adding to the soothing ambiance of the laboratory.

  “How was he last night?” Lily asked after greeting the dark-haired lab tech, who had snapped to attention in his chair when she entered. She had known Roger Talbot, her father’s assistant, for five years. She had always liked and respected him.

  “Not good, Dr. Whitney; he didn’t sleep again. He’s pacing back and forth like a wild animal. The level of aggression and agitation has risen daily this last week. He’s asked for you repeatedly and has ceased all cooperation with testing. His pacing is driving me crazy.”

  Lily pinned him with a sharp gaze. “From what I read in the reports, his hearing is extremely acute, Roger—I doubt if he cares much for your admission. You’re not the one locked up, now, are you?” Her voice was low but it carried a lash of reprimand.

  “I’m sorry,” Roger apologized immediately. “You’re right. I don’t have an excuse for being so unprofessional. I’m letting the colonel get to me. Colonel Higgens has been extremely difficult. Without your father around to provide some kind of a buffer, we’re all…”

  “I’ll see what I can do to keep him out of here for a while,” she soothed.

  “About your father…” Roger trailed off as she continued to look at him. “It must be difficult for you,” he tried again.

  Lily was monitoring his emotions as she had with the other technician. Roger had no idea how her father could have disappeared and he was desperate for his boss to return. She tilted her chin. “Yes, it is difficult not knowing what happened to him. Take a break, Roger, you’ve earned it. I’ll be here for some time. I’ll beep you when I leave.”

  Roger glanced around the room as if they might not be alone. He lowered his voice. “He’s getting stronger, Dr. Whitney.”

  She followed his gaze toward the other side of the lab, waited a heartbeat, her mind assimilating the information. “What gives you the impression he’s growing stronger?”

  Roger rubbed at his temples. “I just know. He becomes very quiet when he’s not pacing; he sits there, perfectly still, concentrating. The computers go crazy, alarms start going off, everyone scrambles, but it’s a bogey. I know it’s him. And I think he might be able to talk to the others.” He leaned closer still. “Not only has he stopped with testing, but so have all the others. They aren’t supposed to be able to communicate with the heavy glass and all, yet it’s like they have a collective brain or something. No one is cooperating.”

  “They’re all isolated from one another.” Her hand went to her throat, her only sign of agitation. “You’ve been in here cooped up with him too long. My father chose you because you’re always so calm, but you’re letting the talk spook you.”

  “Maybe, but he’s changing, and I don’t like the way it feels. Your father’s been gone over a week, Dr. Whitney, and Captain Miller is different. You’ll see what I mean when you see him. When I’m with him, he feels invincible to me. I’m afraid to leave you alone with him. Maybe the guards should be here inside the lab with you.”

  “That would only agitate him more, and you know he needs it quiet. The more people around him, the worse it is for him. He’s been trained in the Special Forces, Roger, I’d say he’s always had confidence in himself.” Lily rubbed the pad of her thumb over her lower lip. “I’m perfectly safe with him.” Even as she said it, a shiver of fear crept down her spine. She wasn’t certain it was the truth, but she managed to look serene, unconcerned.

  Roger nodded, recognizing defeat. He scooped up his coat, hesitated at the door for one more warning. “You call for help if you need it, Dr. Whitney.”

  She nodded. “I will, Roger, thanks.” Lily stared at the closed door for a full minute, allowing the breath to move slowly through her lungs, to allow the peace of the room to seep into her pores. The entire lab was soundproofed, free from all outside noises. She rubbed her hand over her face and took another deep breath before turning resolutely toward the partitioned room on the far side of the lab.

  Captain Ryland Miller was waiting for her, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. She knew he would be. He would have known the moment she entered the complex. His gray eyes were turbulent, angry, storm clouds betraying the violent emotion swirling beneath his expressionless mask. The force of his gaze penetrated straight through her body to her heart. They regarded one another through the thick glass of his cage. His dark hair was wild from his hands raking through it, but he took her breath away. He knew how to get to her, and he used the knowledge shamelessly.

  Open it. The words shimmered in her mind, his ability to use telepathy growing stronger with each use.

  Her heart began to pound. Obediently she pressed the required sequence of buttons to activate the mechanism. The heavy glass partition slid aside so he was left staring at her through the thick bars.

  He moved with lightning speed. That surprised her, how fast he was. She had thought herself safe, out of his striking distance, but he caught her wrist and jerked her against the bars. “You left me alone in here like some rat in a cage,” he snarled, his mouth pressed close to her ear.

  Lily didn’t struggle. “Hardly a rat, more like a Bengal tiger.” But her heart melted at the word “alone.” The thought of him alone in his glass cage was heartbreaking.

  When he continued to glare at her she sighed softly. “You know I couldn’t come back here without an official invitation. I received it this morning. If I had tried before that, they would have been suspicious. They had to ask me. I made certain I showed no interest at all, and don’t pretend you don’t know why.” She raised her voice just enough to reach the recorders. “I’m sure you must have heard my father has disappeared. The FBI suspect foul play. I have all of his projects and my own to take care of and with all the work here and at home too, I’m afraid my time is at a premium.” Deliberately she glanced up at the camera to remind him they were not alone.

  “You think I don’t know it’s there?” He hissed the words, anger seething in the deep timbre of his voice. “You think I don’t know they watch me eat and sleep and piss? You should have come here immediately.”

  Her eyebrow shot up. It was a struggle to keep her face without expression. Her gaze began to smolder. “You’re lucky I came at all, Captain Miller.” She made a supreme effort to keep her voice soft even when she really wanted to lash out at him. “You know my father disappeared.” She lowered her voice even more. “You were there with us, weren’t you? How dare you be angry with me!” For one awful moment tears threatened and she fought them back.

  His voice changed completely, dropping an octave so that it whispered in her mind, weaving them together as if they were bound in some way. You can’t think I had anything to do with his death.

  The intimacy in his tone robbed her of air. Worse, he was flooding her with warmth and comfort. His thumb was stroking small caresses along her sensitive inner wrist. She attempted again to jerk her arm away from him, the movement reflex, one of self-preservation. His fingers settled around her wrist like a shackle. His fingers were warm, enormously strong, yet he was very gentle.

  “Don’t fight, Li
ly, you’ll have every guard in the compound running to save you.” There was an edge to his voice as if he couldn’t quite make up his mind whether to laugh at the thought or be angry for the accusation in her mind.

  Can you command from a distance, one human being to kill another? She refused to look away from him, staring directly into his eyes, speaking back to him in the same way, mind to mind. Can you do that?

  Ryland couldn’t look away from the deep blue of her eyes, a mirror reflecting his soul. He wasn’t certain he wanted to see what she saw. And he wasn’t certain he could afford for her to see him as he had become. There was so much raw anger seething in him.

  The disembodied voice of the guard crackled over the speaker. “Dr. Whitney, do you require assistance?”

  “No, thank you, I’m perfectly fine.” Lily continued to stare into Ryland Miller’s eyes. Challenging him. Accusing him. Seeing him.

  His fingers still circled her wrist like a vise, yet his thumb feathered over her rapidly beating pulse, to soothe her. He said nothing, only continued to look at her.

  Tell me. Can you do that?

  What do you think?

  She studied him for a long while, her gaze penetrating beyond his mask, seeing the predator prowling just below the surface. I think you can.

  Maybe. Maybe it’s possible if the person was already filled with malice and capable of killing, wanted to kill, it’s possible I could manipulate them to do so.

  I felt your dislike of him. You believed he put you here, that he was responsible for killing the men in your unit.

  I’m not going to deny that, it would be a lie. But you’re touching me. Read me, Lily. Did I have anything to do with your father’s death?