Ruthless Game

CHAPTER 17

Rose tightened her arms around Sebastian as she followed Kane down the stairs to the second floor. The entire team had assembled in hushed silence. Javier and Ethan crouched beside the stairway and door leading to the outside fire escape, examining walls and railings in an effort to find whatever Eric had left behind. Ethan looked up as they came down the stairs and signaled them to silence.

Is Brian alive? Kane asked.

Paul and Marc saved him, Mack answered the question.

Rose was astonished that she was able to hear the master gunnery sergeant’s voice in her mind. She and Kane had a strong connection, something she believed stemmed from Whitney pairing them together. She could initiate telepathy, but it had never been strong, and unlike Mack or Kane, she could never have held a bridge for an entire team.

He’ll be down for a while. Jaimie’s going to take care of him until we can get a nurse we can trust. We could use Rhianna right about now.

Javier straightened to allow them to get past him.

Sebastian stared solemnly at the man and then suddenly smiled, leaning toward him. The move was unexpected and strong enough that Rose had to catch him with a little gasp. Her heart jumped. There was no doubt her son wanted Javier to hold him. She had to console herself with the fact that Sebastian had already shown he could sense and recognize an enemy.

She swallowed hard and made her first attempt at accepting Kane’s family as her own. Sebastian wants you to hold him.

Javier’s smile flickered for a moment in his eyes and then faded away. He held out his arms for the child. Top, have Gideon give it a try. I can’t spot anything, and I want to hold my nephew. It’s time we got acquainted.

As if testing her, Javier cuddled the baby close and, moving in his silent, fluid way, turned his back and strode out of Rose’s sight behind the tent. Rose’s pulse thundered in her ears, and she literally had to twist her hands together to hold herself in place beside Kane.

Kane dropped his arm around her shoulders and moved her closer beneath his broad shoulder. He bent his head, turning his body partially, shielding her from the stairs. He brushed a kiss along her hair. “Javier’s taking Sebastian away from what we believe is Whitney’s camera or some sort of monitoring device.” The words were barely audible.

She let her breath out and turned her face toward his, needing to kiss him, uncaring if any of them saw her. She was grateful he was the kind of man who read and cared about her feelings. He nearly lifted her off her feet, his larger frame completely shielding her, reminding her of when he had gotten her pregnant. He had not only destroyed Whitney’s cameras and recorders, but he had kept his much larger body positioned over hers to protect her from the guard’s prying eyes.

It was silly, really, to think that she needed a white knight, but he made her feel protected, cherished even. There was something to be said for a man who was so willing to offer a woman his own body to use as her armor and shield. She slipped her arms around his neck and clung, unashamed, allowing herself a moment of weakness. It was difficult to trust her son to anyone out of her sight, let alone the most dangerous of all the team members.

He keeps smiling at me.

The moment Javier spoke inside her mind, she felt herself settle, the wild churning in her stomach subsiding. There was awe, maybe even a hint of joy in the tone.

He’s so little I thought I might crush him, but he’s strong, isn’t he?

She recognized an uncle’s pride, and something hard inside her broke open. Javier was a man dedicated to his team and his country—but everyone else was an enemy. She could hear in his voice that Sebastian was family and always would be.

Rose blinked rapidly and tightened her arms around Kane’s neck for courage. She made herself laugh softly in her mind. He’s very strong. He pushes up off the floor already. Sometimes when he’s kicking, I have to duck very fast, because he’s got quite the kick.

Javier’s laughter slipped into her mind. Kane urged her forward, and she moved toward the hospital tent. She knew it was impossible for someone like her—someone with her background—to trust the people around her, but they were soldiers, and they knew their jobs. They worked well together, knew one another. They were offering her the opportunity to have everything she’d ever wanted—a family—and to be able to serve her country as part of an elite unit. She spent nearly every waking minute of her life training to be what these people were—a GhostWalker—and she wanted the chance to use her skills again.

She smelled bleach and blood as she skirted the makeshift hospital. Is Brian going to be able to recover fully?

Kane had to have been holding a bridge to allow the others to communicate telepathically with her, because once again, it was Mack who answered.

Yes. It will take some time. We were fortunate that we’d already arranged to have surgical equipment here. The “hospital” was going to be set up in the second building up the block, but we haven’t fully renovated it yet. We’ve only set up security.

Gideon winked at her as he slipped by, taking Javier’s place at the stairs. If something is here, Top, I’ll find it, he said with confidence.

Gideon’s eyesight is enhanced, Kane explained. He can see things we can’t, and if Javier didn’t find anything, then Gideon’s our last hope.

You swept for bugs? Rose asked.

Mack nodded. They had moved around the tent now, out of sight of the stairwell. “Found several in your living quarters and two up here where Eric planted them while his physical therapist was doing his best to kill Kane by overdoing it. Jaimie’s checked their every movement with all the surveillance tapes frame by frame. We’re confident we were able to find them all.”

Rose was listening, but her gaze had jumped to Javier, sitting in a rocking chair, Sebastian in his arms. The man had a big grin on his face.

“Thank you, all of you, for getting Sebastian back,” she said simply. Emotion was nearly overwhelming, welling up so fast it was impossible to hold it in check. “You all risked your lives for us . . .”

“You’re family,” Javier dismissed her stammering thanks with a wave of his hand. “You’d do the same.”

The confidence in his voice warmed her. “Nevertheless, I wouldn’t have survived if Whitney had managed to get his hands on Sebastian.”

Kane threaded his fingers through hers and brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth. “Yes, you would have, Rose. We would have gone after him.”

“And we’d never stop until we had him,” Mack confirmed.

“The thing I don’t understand,” Javier said, inhaling the baby’s scent, “is why Whitney thinks we would stop. He knows us, or he should know us.”

“He can’t know our bond,” Mack said.

“Javier has a point, Mack,” Kane agreed, “He knows us as individuals.”

“Which is why he had you assigned to the compound, Kane,” Rose said. “He read all about you, what you were like, and he knew you would appeal to me.”

“Then he has to know if he took you from me, I would never stop looking for you unless I was dead.”

“And then we’d continue,” Mack added. “I think there’s a part of him that likes to see if we’ll win. Like playing a game, only with human beings for game pieces. He sets up a battlefield and throws the players onto the board and amuses himself watching what will happen.”

“That’s pretty sick,” Javier said. He smiled at the baby, his tone softening. “And Whitney thinks I’m a psychopath.” The baby wrapped his fingers around Javier’s index finger as if in response. “For future reference, a psychopath is considered very bad.”

Rose glanced at him. Javier had sounded hurt, yet when she looked at him, he was bending his head to kiss the baby’s fingers.

“Actually,” she said, “that’s exactly the type of grand experiment Whitney would enjoy. It probably doesn’t even matter all that much which side wins as long as he can observe and document . . .” She trailed off. “He had to have been here in San Francisco when they tried to take Sebastian. He would have been close enough to observe. He would never plan something so elaborate with so many different ways for his team to escape with us without watching it all play out.”

Mack and Kane exchanged a long look. “Why the hell didn’t we figure that out ourselves?” Kane lowered his voice.

Javier beckoned Rose. His face had lost all expression, his eyes once more going flat and cold. Sebastian stared up at his face, immediately ceased gurgling happily, and looked carefully around the room with so much awareness in his eyes that Rose shivered as she took him. She glanced at Kane, worried. The baby was only a couple of months old, and already he was picking up his cues from the adults around him, recognizing danger far before he should.

What kind of a childhood is he going to have? There was despair in her voice and fear creeping under her skin. There’s no way for our son to have any kind of normal life, is there?

Kane stroked a single caress over her hair and then reached out to take the baby. He’ll be safe, happy, and prepared, Rose. It’s up to us to make a new normal for him.

He recognized the difference in Javier and is already alert to the changes in all of us. She wanted to cry for them all. She didn’t want that for her son. She wanted her little boy free to play and laugh with others, not living the kind of life she had—already training for a life of warfare by the time she was able to walk.

“This is our life,” Kane said aloud. “This is his life. He’ll have a playground, and he’ll have a happy childhood. He’ll just know from early on that, like us, like his family, he’s different, and he has to live differently. That doesn’t mean worse, Rose, it means different.”

Nodding, she swallowed the terrible choking lump in her throat, blinking fast to get rid of the shine of tears in front of the other team members.

Javier touched Sebastian’s head with a gentle hand. “He’ll be safe, Rose—and very loved. We’ll see to his needs, all of us. We’ll help provide everything he needs. You tell us, and it’s yours.”

She looked around her at the circle of faces. They all nodded. Some of the tension eased. She couldn’t help smiling. Even as they reassured her, they were sliding weapons into clothing, readying for battle. There seemed to be an armory on every floor, hidden of course, but well stocked with just about any weapon they might need. She knew they went armed everywhere outside the house, probably in it as well.

“You good?” Kane asked.

They were all looking at her, waiting for her answer. Not, she realized, to get it over with, but because they genuinely cared and were ready to do whatever it took to make her comfortable with their future. She took a deep breath, not wanting to disrespect them with an easy answer. Was she? Probably not yet, but she was beginning to believe. She could see the genuine affection they all gave to one another. More than that, she could see that the same intense loyalty that had drawn her to Kane was in each of them.

“I will be,” she said honestly. “I need to start training and feel as if I’m part of the entire unit. More than anything, that will make me feel part of everything.”

Top! I found it. I’m still searching around looking, because it’s a tiny camera and I’m betting someone’s watching, Gideon said triumphantly.

Long or short range? Javier asked.

Rose’s heart began to pound. “It has to be Whitney watching. He wants to see the baby. What if Eric put a camera that small on our floor? He’s visited several times. He could have easily done so.”

Kane took the baby and cuddled him close. “There’s nothing for him to see right now, Rose. Sebastian’s stronger than most babies at this age, but there is no way the camera can capture the intelligence and awareness we’re seeing. Gideon can search our home. Eric wasn’t allowed in our bedroom . . .”

“Of course he was. He examined you daily while you were recovering,” Rose pointed out. “He didn’t get to examine Sebastian, but he was there.”

Gideon, I’m sending Javier. He’s going to check the camera as subtly as possible for range, and then we’re going to look for Whitney. You’ll have to check Kane’s entire home for possible cameras.

Gideon groaned. This was a bitch to find.

Now you know what you’re looking for. Ethan, I’ll need you on the roof, Mack instructed. Lucas, use the tunnel and come out on the other side of the street. Blend in. And Javier, whatever you do, don’t kill anyone. We’ve already got a bloodstained SUV parked outside our warehouse. The last thing we need is more bodies to try to dispose of.

Rose lifted her eyebrow at Kane. “Does he have to tell Javier not to kill anyone?”

“Every damn time,” Kane said. “It’s just a precaution. Javier tends to take the easiest path, and if someone’s in the way . . .” He shrugged.

“I can’t imagine that he’s a hothead,” Rose said. “He seems like he’d be cool under fire no matter what.”

“Ice water runs in his veins. He’s not quite like everyone else, baby. But he stands. And he obeys Mack. Javier’s a good man, just a little misunderstood at times.” Kane shot a quick grin at Mack.

Mack scowled at him. “Misunderstood my ass. I need to sit on that boy.” He looked toward the stairwell, and even though the tent was in the way, he lowered his voice. “Jaimie heard Rhianna was back in the States. She sent word to come home, that Brian was down, and that you have a son.”

Kane’s breath hissed out. “She what?”

“She needs to come home, Kane,” Mack said. “It’s time. She’s part of us, and Javier and Rhianna have just got to come to terms with whatever the hell is wrong.”

“He’s still not talking?” Kane asked.

Mack shook his head. “Not one word, but I’m not surprised. Javier has always been one to play things close to his chest, especially when it comes to Rhianna.”

Rose made a noise in her throat to remind them she was still there.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Kane apologized right away. “We all grew up together. We formed a family and sort of had each other’s back. There were only two girls, Rhianna and Jaimie. They were both quite a bit younger, and we were overprotective any way you looked at it. Rhee was different, her background far worse than the rest of us, with the exception of Javier. She didn’t always feel comfortable, although she always stayed with us.”

“Javier put a lot of pressure on her, and eventually she rebelled. He sort of rode her all the time, little digs, you know,” Mack said. “Very unlike him. He’s the strong silent type, but he didn’t like her around other men, and he got pretty ugly with a couple of guys. They had a fight a few months back, and she asked to be reassigned without telling any of us first. He’s been a bear ever since.”

“So he doesn’t think of her as his sister? Or he’s an overprotective brother?” Rose asked.

Mack shrugged. “He doesn’t act like a brother, but who knows with Javier. Rhianna is the only person in the world who can shake Javier up. He’s arctic cool until she comes around, and then we can cut the tension with a knife.”

Top, he’s across the street in the apartment building. I’m guessing second floor, but it could be the third floor. I can’t pinpoint the room.

Best guess, Javier, Mack said.

Middle windows either floor. If I was Whitney, and I knew what Gideon and Ethan are capable of, I’d choose second story and my escape route would be the far fire escape away from this warehouse where neither has a shot.

Jaimie, Marc will take over in there. I need you at the computer. Check the recent rentals on the building across the street, Mack ordered. Paul, go too, just in case I need Marc in the field.

Immediately there was a flurry of activity as if Jaimie had called both Marc and Paul because Brian had taken a turn for the worse. Whitney would recognize the two of them as healers and believe something had gone wrong.

Jaimie, the consummate actress, backed out of the tent in full view of the camera and then went around the corner, behind the tent, to her bank of computers.

“I keep an alert on the real estate agency that handles that rental property. It flags all new tenants.” She was all business, settling in front of her bank of computers, fingers flying over the keyboard.

Rose was fascinated—actually a little awestruck—at the amount of information pouring over the various screens in front of Jaimie. There were ten large computer screens, and data flowed over each of them, coming in from various sources and agencies around the world. She was certain much of what she was looking at was data that was all at a security level far beyond hers. Her existence might be top security, but she obviously didn’t have the kind of clearance Jaimie and the others had—not yet. More than ever she wanted to be an official member of the team.

Jaimie glanced over her shoulder. “You are official, or you wouldn’t be looking at this data. The word came through a little while ago. With everything going on, there was no opportunity to tell you.” She flashed a mysterious grin. “Mack is officially your boss, poor girl.”

“Isn’t he yours?”

Jaimie tossed her head. “Not hardly. I’m an analyst, not a soldier.” She winked. “He’s really mean. Ask any of the men.”

“Jaimie,” Mack made a growling noise in the back of his throat. “I really need that information.”

“It’s coming up now, Mr. Impatience. You have three on the second floor and two on the third. The Williams family moved into apartment 224, one of the windows facing directly toward us. A couple with two children. A Donald Martin is in apartment 225 right next to the family, and the third one is on the other side of the building, so I doubt he’s your man. On the third floor, both apartments recently rented face our building. A Charles Laudry and Tisha Phillips in 334 and Seely Thompson . . .” She broke off, looking up at Mack.

“What is it?”

Jaimie shook her head. “An alias, definitely not Whitney. Rhianna uses that when she sends me personal email. It’s always encrypted, a program I wrote especially for the two of us to use. No computer is going to break it easily.”

“So Rhee is already back,” Kane said.

Rose caught the relief on Kane’s face and the affection in his voice, but she didn’t ask questions. Mack was already relaying the information Jaimie had given him about the other tenants to his team.

“We can’t destroy the camera or take out the ones in your home, Rose,” Mack said, “until we go after Whitney. This might be our best chance at him. Stay here with Sebastian, out of sight behind the tent.”

Rose nodded and looked up at Kane. She wanted to go, but she hadn’t trained with them yet. She knew she’d only get in their way. “Good hunting.”

Use alternative ways to leave the building. If Whitney spots us leaving en masse, it will tip him off that we’re on to him. Right now he’s feeling very superior that we didn’t find his camera. I’m heading into the tent as if to check on Brian. From there I’ll leave out of his sight and meet you all outside. Stay to cover. Kane and Javier, take the second-floor rooms, and I’ll take the third floor with Lucas. Gideon, can you see into the windows?

Doing my best, Top. There’s someone moving around in three of the apartments facing us from the third and second floors.

Kane caught Rose’s face between his hands and kissed her thoroughly right there in front of everyone. Her eyes went wide and shocked, and he grinned at her before brushing a kiss on top of Sebastian’s head. “They may as well know I’m crazy about you,” he whispered overly loud in her ear, watching her blush with rising satisfaction.

He loved that slightly bemused, flustered look she got when he was publicly affectionate.

I have no idea what to do when you put on public displays.

Manly displays, he corrected. That’s me beating my chest and claiming you.

She frowned at him, and he was tempted all over again to kiss her fantasy mouth. Just how long are you going to keep that up?

“Forever, sweetheart. For always. And that’s the damned truth, Rose,” he said and turned abruptly to uncover the escape door situated close to the bank of computers where Jaimie always had a fast exit, should one become necessary. The opening revealed a very narrow entrance with a built-in slide that took him straight down to the wharf side of the warehouse. He pushed open the door to exit into the alley in front of the wharf itself.

The wind blew in from the ocean, and fingers of fog stretched greedily toward the buildings. Sheets of mist blew in rapidly, a thick veil difficult to penetrate. The cover would help the team members as they spread out and went into the building across the street by several different entrances. Ethan and Gideon, the spotters on the rooftops, however, would have a much more difficult time.

Kane, Gideon spotted movement in three of the apartments. Are you in a position to see into the apartments?

Give me three, Top. I’m coming to the corner now. Javier, we’ll need your boys.

Roger that. They’re already on their way. Someone just told them about the SUV parked on the street with the keys still in it.

Kane stayed close to the wall, his clothes blending into the walls of the warehouse as he rounded the corner. It was three steps to the shadowed alcove. They’d taken advantage whenever an apartment had been vacant to study the vulnerabilities of their own warehouses, finding each blind spot from the windows and marking them for future use.

Negotiations so far had proved to be nearly impossible in acquiring the apartment house. The corporation owning the building steadfastly refused to sell. Jaimie was peeling away the layers in an effort to find who actually owned the corporation. The fact that the building had recently been sold quietly, without advertisement, along with the property managers being deliberately evasive had raised suspicions that either Whitney or another enemy had bought up the building.

Kane waited in the alcove, hearing the crowd of boys coming up the walkway, trash-talking loudly. They shoved one another, leapt over a fire hydrant, and threw several rocks at a stop sign. The sound, much like a series of gunshots, was loud despite the blanket of fog.

Movement at the window on second floor, Gideon reported.

One of the boys kicked the SUV as they surrounded it. The others laughed. Swaggering up to the passenger windows, the boys peered in. More fog poured into the street, swirling around the buildings, a moving, living veil.

Kane stepped into the darkened doorway that was one of the best blind spots available. Set back from the street, the deeper recesses allowed someone able to blend into shadows to disappear. Kane did so, steeling himself to use his particular talent. It was wrenching to use his vision, seeing through the walls inside the actual rooms.

The buildup of energy radiated heat in the small confines of the doorway. The building across from him shimmered, the thick walls undulating as if not real, the solid matter no longer solid. He felt the wrenching in his gut, the lurching of his stomach, and fought down the bile. Pain sliced into his head. He ruthlessly pushed the side effects down. Each time was different, but he had noticed some time ago that the salt air and fog seemed to make the initial penetration a little more difficult.

He took a breath and swung his gaze up toward the second floor. The walls fell away, giving him a dizzying moment, but he rode it out, setting his teeth, ignoring the commotion in the streets as the boys tried to enter the bloodstained SUV to steal it. They’d found the pool of blood and had exited fast, yelling. The world dropped away until there was nothing left between Kane and the occupants of Room 224.

Someone sitting in a chair facing the window. He isn’t moving, just staring out. No woman. No children. He’s in a perfect position to be observing a camera. Gideon?

I have him, Gideon acknowledged. I have a shot.

Check Room 225, Mack ordered.

On it, Top. Kane shifted his gaze to the next apartment. Jaimie had said a single male had moved in. A man moved through the apartment fast, away from the window. The male in Room 225 is armed. There’s a second male standing by the door, armed as well.

I have the first male, Ethan said, second is out of my sight.

It’s a drug deal. Man with briefcase just walked in. Kane moved on to the next floor.

Checking the third floor. Room 334. Kane looked up to the top floor. The walls dropped away, leaving the occupants exposed. A woman lay on a bed motionless, her head tilted at an odd angle. The man was at the side of the windows in the front room, staring at the street below and the chaos the boys were causing as they ran from the SUV. The male glanced toward the bedroom, seemed to say something, and then walked into the kitchen to open the fridge and pull out a bottle. Can’t rule out. One male moving around. Female in bedroom, lying on the bed.

Check the roof again, Gideon.

Roger that, Top. Gideon complied.

Moving position, Kane said.

It always took a few moments to recover from using his gift. His body felt weak and shaky, his stomach churning. He dropped his head down to suck in as much air as he could to counteract the dizziness. It only took seconds, but he was running out of time.

While he still had the cover of the boys, he had to quickly get across the street. He slipped from the doorway and, hugging the shadows as best as possible, pulled a hat low, drooped his shoulders, and changed his gait. He appeared shorter and thinner than he was just by changing his posture and the way he walked. Hurrying, he crossed at the crosswalk, sending nervous, furtive glances at the boys, never once looking up.

Roof is clear, Top, Gideon reported.

Javier was already inside, and the two of them went up the stairs toward the second floor. Mack and Lucas had come in from the back and were already on the third-floor landing. Kane signaled to Javier, and they went into the hallway, guns out and ready, senses flaring out to find an enemy. They moved in silence, approaching apartment 224 first.

Gideon, do you have eyes on our man? Kane asked.

He hasn’t moved. Not so much as a change in position.

Kane nodded to Javier. Javier knelt and quickly worked the lock. He eased the door open. There was no chain in place, and icy fingers slid down Kane’s spine.

Going in. He knew Gideon would take the shot if necessary, but there was something else, some awareness that kept the adrenaline pumping through his system. He could almost smell Whitney’s presence.

He signaled again, and Javier dropped low to cover him as Kane went through the door and stepped to the left, clearing the room. The man in the chair didn’t move, didn’t turn his head. It was possible he hadn’t heard their entrance, but even when Javier moved to visibly clear the other small rooms, the occupant of the apartment was unnaturally still.

Kane glided up behind him, finger on the trigger, but still the man didn’t move. Kane could see why when he approached from the side. Eric Lambert sat grotesquely sprawled out in the chair, drink near his hand, throat cut open, shirt soaked in blood.

Man down, Top. Whitney was here.

Kane could smell the pipe tobacco, Whitney’s special blend. Bile reached his throat and he choked it back. He remembered that appalling scent as he came up from loving Rose. The man had made certain Kane and Rose had mated. Kane had ruined his cameras, so he’d come to see for himself. Kane had never detested a human being more than he did that poor excuse for a man. He would have killed him right there had he not been locked in a cage. The only thing he could do was cover Rose’s body with his own, shielding her from a monster’s smug, satisfied gaze. They’d looked at each other through the bars. Whitney had seen the resolve there, knew Kane wanted him dead. He’d simply, arrogantly, removed the pipe from his teeth and nodded before walking away. As if they had been in some hellish pact together.

“He left you a note.”

Kane had seen it. That blood-spattered paper placed carefully and conspicuously beside the dead doctor. Cursing beneath his breath, Kane edged the envelope with his name on it out from the dead man’s hand.

Top, Whitney was here. Eric Lambert is dead. He couldn’t have left too long ago. The scent of the tobacco made him sick. Kane reluctantly opened the envelope.

So you have finally won our little game, Kane. Your reward is this apartment building. I have signed the deed over to you. You are indeed worthy of keeping the boy. Eric Lambert betrayed you as he betrayed me. Had he gotten your son’s blood, he would have given it to your enemy, a group dedicated to wiping every GhostWalker from the planet and undoing years of my work. You prevented him from doing so by your vigilance. I commend you. They will pursue you, all of you, but you have the intellect and the training to keep them from succeeding in destroying you. Congratulations on your win. I would like to get Rose back. She did a superb job of producing a child. You must keep me informed of his progress. Rose can be tiresome in her rebellion, but her genetics are priceless. If you tire of her, get word to me, and I will make you a further trade.

Kane almost crushed the note in his hand. Tire of her? As if Rose had little worth beyond giving birth to a child. Did Whitney despise and loathe women so much? He certainly enjoyed seeing them suffer. He had enjoyed Rose being forced to accept a man.

“Damn you, Whitney,” he muttered aloud. He looked down at the last paragraph.

I warned McKinley about Javier Enderman, but he refused to listen. Enderman is a psychopath. If you all continue to trust him, he will be your downfall. Kill him now before he destroys you all. I should never have enhanced him, but his loyalty and protective instincts fooled me into believing he could be useful. He is not. I am not infallible, it seems. I have chosen the best, the absolute best of the genetic pool I could find for my mission. Weed him out so that he doesn’t poison it. He has one weakness that will bring you all down. He can be bought ...

Javier was looking over Kane’s shoulder, reading the letter. He looked at Kane with flat, cold eyes and shrugged. “He’s right, you know. I do have a weakness.”

Kane shook his head. “Don’t let him throw you.”

“It isn’t the first time I’ve been called a psychopath.”

“Don’t let him throw you,” Kane repeated. “You don’t break. I’ve known you since you were a child, Javier, and you’re no psychopath.” He knew Javier had been called that on more than one occasion. It had hurt, whether Javier admitted it did or not. He was very careful not to appear sympathetic. “We all have a weakness. Mine is Rose and now the boy. Whitney profiled each of us, and what he perceives as our weaknesses are actually our strengths. He’s never understood loyalty. He tries to separate us, because he thinks we make one another weak. He’s alone, and he thinks he’s greater and stronger than all of us. He doesn’t understand, and he never will, that together we’re unbreakable.”

“Fuck him. I could care less what that monster calls me.”

“Rhianna is back, Javier.” If Javier had one weakness, one thing that could make him lose the ice water running in his veins, it was Rhianna.

Something dangerous moved behind those dark eyes. “When?”

“I just heard. She has an apartment in this building.”

Javier shook his head and turned away. “We’ll need a cleaner up here.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do with this deed?”

“Is it legal?”

“Looks like. Jaimie can find out for us,” Kane replied.

“We’ve wanted the building. Jaimie said she was pretty certain Whitney was responsible for the quick sale of the building out from under us.”

Kane flashed a small grin. “We’ve got it now, don’t we?” But he didn’t want any part of Whitney’s gift. It made him feel he was being rewarded for taking Rose’s choices from her. He glanced at Javier’s set face. “I’m signing the damn thing over to you. You can figure it out.”

“What?” Javier stepped back. “You can’t give me the building.”

“I own the warehouse with Jaimie and Mack. I don’t want this from him, but we need it to secure the entire two blocks. We’ll have the bay on two sides of us, and we’ll only be vulnerable to the city side. We can set up security.”

“I’ll think about it.” A slow smile took some of the shadows from his eyes. “I could kick Rhianna’s little ass out onto the street.”

“Don’t start a war with her again,” Kane cautioned. Before Javier could answer, he indicated a sweep of the room. “Look for anything else the bastard might have left behind. He’s gone and we’re not going to find him tonight, but we’ve gained more than we lost. He just doesn’t know it yet.”