"Shadow Game" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feehan Christine)

Ryland steeled himself for the assault on his hearing, his emotions. The flood
of unwanted information he couldn't control. The bombardment of thoughts and
emotions. The disgusting depravity and avarice that lay behind the masks of
those facing him. He kept his features carefully blank, giving nothing away, not
wanting them to know what it cost him to shield his wide-open mind.
"Good morning, Captain Miller," Peter Whitney said pleasantly. "How are things
this morning with you? Did you sleep at all?"
Ryland watched him without blinking, tempted to try to push through Whitney's
barriers to discover the true character guarded behind the wall Whitney had in
his mind. What secrets were hidden there? The one person Ryland needed to
understand, to read, was protected by some natural or man-made barrier. None of
the other men, not even Kaden, had managed to penetrate the scientist's mind.
They couldn't get any pertinent data, shielded as Whitney was, but the heavy
swamping waves of guilt were always broadcast loudly.
"No, I didn't sleep but I suspect you already know that."
Dr. Whitney nodded. "None of your men are taking their sleeping meds. I noticed
you didn't either. Is there a reason for that, Captain Miller?"
The chaotic emotions of the group hit Ryland hard, as it always did. In the
beginning, it used to drive him to his knees, the noise in his head so loud and
aggravating his brain would rebel, punishing him for his unnatural abilities.
Now he was much more disciplined. Oh, the pain was still there, like a thousand
knives driving into his head at the first breach of his brain, but he hid the
agony behind the facade of icy, menacing calm. And he was, after all, well
trained. His people never revealed weakness to the enemy.
"Self-preservation is always a good reason," he answered, fighting down the
waves of weakness and pain from the battering of emotions. He kept his features
totally expressionless, refusing to allow them to see the cost.
"What the hell does that mean?" Higgens demanded. "What are you accusing us of
now, Miller?"
The door to the laboratory had been left standing open, unusual for the
security-conscious company, and a woman hurried through. "I'm sorry I'm late;
the meeting went longer than expected!"
At once the painful assault of thoughts and emotions lessened, muted, leaving
Ryland able to breathe normally. To think without pain. The relief was instant
and unexpected. Ryland focused on her immediately, realizing she was somehow
trapping the more acute emotions and holding them at bay, almost as if she were
a magnet for them. And she wasn't just any woman. She was so beautiful, she took
his breath away. Ryland could have sworn, when he looked at her, the ground
shifted and moved under his feet. He glanced at Peter Whitney, caught the man
observing his reactions to the woman's presence very closely.
At first Ryland was embarrassed that he had been caught staring at her. Then he
realized Whitney knew the woman had some kind of psychic ability. She enhanced
Ryland's abilities and cleared out the garbage of stray thoughts and emotions.
Did Whitney know exactly what she did? The doctor was waiting for a reaction so
Ryland refused to give him the satisfaction, keeping his expression totally
blank.
"Captain Miller, I'd like to present my daughter, Lily Whitney. Dr. Lily
Whitney." Peter's gaze never left Ryland's face. "I've asked her to join us; I
hope you don't mind."
The shock couldn't have been more complete. Peter Whitney's daughter? Ryland let