“Venable says you’ve got something Nardik wants. A drug?”
“Go home, Catherine.”
“Don’t tell me that.” He was smiling at her, and she wanted to shake him. “You’re the most exasperating man on the face of the Earth. It’s no wonder you got shot. It’s only surprising it didn’t happen before.”
“I find it strange also. But I never had to deal with Lucifer before.” He turned to leave. “It may prove a challenge.”
“Wait. Don’t you dare leave, Hu Chang.”
His lips quirked. “But it’s the perfect opportunity. You can’t follow me because you’re forced to keep that pressure on your friend to keep him alive.” He looked back at Carmody. “He’ll probably curse me when he wakes. I didn’t tell him that the burning lasts for six hours or so.”
“Will he live?”
“Probably. I did.”
Her gaze raked his face. He appeared a little thinner than when she’d last seen him, but he moved with the same springy litheness. “And how are you now? Venable said you almost died.”
“And you’re concerned even though you’re sure I deserved it? How many times must I tell you that you must be harder?” He shook his head. “You’ll never learn, Catherine.”
“Not from you. You were the one who was lurking around the neighborhood like a cat burglar.”
He chuckled. “True.” His glance shifted back to her. “Go home to your son. That’s where you belong. How is Luke?”
“Fine,” she said curtly. “He’s reading that book you gave him.”
His brows rose. “Is he? Interesting.”
“Don’t change the subject. Let me help you, Hu Chang. Don’t try to handle Nardik by yourself.”
He turned away from her.
“You’re my friend, dammit.”
“Yes, I am. Good-bye, Catherine.”
The next moment, he was gone.
Her nails bit into the palms of her hand as she stared at the empty doorway.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
She wanted to jump up and run after him.
But she couldn’t do it. Hu Chang was right, she couldn’t leave Carmody until help came.
Clever Hu Chang, who knew her better than anyone in the world. Just by keeping Carmody alive, he’d made sure that she was held hostage here. As he said, he might have done it just because she’d asked him to save him. But she could never be sure what motivated Hu Chang at any given time. He was always a puzzle.
“I’m … going … to kill him,” Carmody whispered.
Her gaze flew to his face. His face was a little flushed, his lips no longer ashen. “Don’t talk. Venable will be here soon.”
“Hurts. Kill the bastard— Tortured me. You … let him do it.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Burning … me alive. Throat. Chest.”
“Six hours. He said it would be only six hours.”
“Kill … him.”
“Shut up. You’re alive, aren’t you? I would have bet you wouldn’t last this long. You should thank him instead of whining.” Perhaps that was a little rough. She shouldn’t take it out on Carmody because she was angry and worried about Hu Chang and impatient that Carmody didn’t realize how lucky he was that Hu Chang had been willing to help him. Hu Chang had a very high pain tolerance. If he said that potion was very painful, then it was probably excruciating. “Maybe it would be better if you try to go back to sleep. It will be over sooner.”
His eyes closed. “Burning…”
“Six hours,” she repeated. Come on, Venable. Maybe if Carmody got a sedative, he wouldn’t feel the effects of Hu Chang’s potion. Hurry.
But Venable and a team of local hospital EMTs didn’t arrive for another ten minutes.
“Good.” She sat back on her heels and got out of the way of the EMTs as they swarmed around Carmody. “I know he needs blood and something for pain. He was complaining of a burning sensation in his throat and chest cavity.”
“Burning?” Venable’s gaze narrowed as he turned to look at her. “What happened here, Catherine?”
“Enough to almost kill Carmody. You shouldn’t have assigned him to me, Venable.” She ran her hand through her hair. “The man over there is Kim Soo. There was another man, but he got away down the alley. His name was Jack Tan.”
“How do you know? I’m sure they didn’t introduce themselves.”
“No time for introductions.” She stood aside as the EMTs carefully put Carmody on a stretcher. “But you have an ID, and you should be able to find out more about them.” She glanced at Venable. “They were the ones who grabbed Hu Chang and ended up shooting him.”
“Really? And did you find that out before you encountered these hoods or after the fact?”
“After.” She met his gaze. “I think you know Hu Chang was here. You were with him after he was shot, and he told me he took the same medicine as he gave Carmody.”
“Well, it was bonanza night for you, wasn’t it? You got Hu Chang and these slimeballs. You must be pleased with yourself.” His lips tightened. “Why the hell didn’t you keep him here?”
“I was busy.” She stood aside as the EMTs took Carmody through the door. “In case you didn’t notice.”
“Okay. Okay. Do you know where he is now?”
“No, he told me to go home. Idiotic bastard. Who does he think he is? Who does he think I am?” She drew a deep breath. “Carmody. He has a divorced wife and a little girl in Sydney. Maybe you should let them know and bring them here if he has to be in the hospital for long. If he manages to get through the next couple days.”
“What did Hu Chang give him? Orange liquid in a clear vial?”
She nodded. “I told him to give him something, anything. Carmody was dying, Venable. He still may be dying.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But I think I’ll see if I can arrange to bring his wife and kid right away. That stuff Hu Chang brews up is pretty heavy. I was impressed. Do you know what it is?”
She shook her head. “And he may not ever repeat that exact recipe. He’s never satisfied. He gets bored and tries to do something different, something better.”
“I’d be satisfied with that one. And I’d bet that Carmody is going to be satisfied, too.”
“Not for the next six hours.” She turned and started toward the back sleeping areas. “There’s no use my staying here now. I’ll go get my bag, and you can drop me off at a hotel.”
“Which one?”
“The Princess.” Her lips twisted. “It will bring back memories. You were staying there when I first met you.”
“Sentiment, Catherine?”
“No, but I remember that in order to impress you with my value so that you would take me on, I did a complete security check of the hotel. I even told you how an assassin could get at you.”
“And you were right. You were only a fourteen-year-old kid, but you brought up holes none of my men had thought of.”
“If I can find Hu Chang again, I’ll take him there, and he’ll be as safe as I can make him. If the stubborn bastard will let me.” She turned before she opened the door. “Hu Chang said Nardik is Lucifer. He never exaggerates, so that must be a good description. I may not be able to get Hu Chang to cooperate, so I may have to go directly after Nardik. Did you get me my agent who has experience with him?”
“I have a possibility.” He held up his hand as she started to speak. “Leave me alone. I’m getting there, Catherine. I’m close.”
It was the best that she could hope. “I can’t wait much longer. Hu Chang isn’t going to stay in hiding. I’d bet he’s already got a plan, and it doesn’t include me. So I’ll have to go after Nardik on my own if you can’t get me help.”
“What about me?” he said dryly. “I’m not entirely unskilled.”
“But you go by the rules when you can, and Hu Chang doesn’t understand rules except in nature.”
“I might bend the rules in this case,” he said soberly. “The circumstances might warran
t it.”
Her gaze narrowed. “You’ve heard something else.”
“Just rumors.”
“That you’re not going to tell me?”
“They might just be rumors. But it’s from a source I respect, and it scared the hell out of me. And if they’re not rumors, I may have to do something that I wouldn’t like, that you wouldn’t like.”
She stiffened. “You’re talking about a sanction on Hu Chang, aren’t you? No way, Venable.”
“If I don’t think I can keep Nardik from getting that potion from Hu Chang any other way, I’ll remove the possibility of their connecting.” He added grimly, “So find Hu Chang, Catherine. Find him and make sure I don’t have to do something I don’t want to do.” He turned. “I’ll wait outside in the car for you to pack. After I drop you off at the hotel, I’ll go to the hospital and stay with Carmody until I’m sure he’s out of danger.”
“If he’s out of danger, it’s because Hu Chang helped him. But that doesn’t make a difference, does it? Hell, you’d probably send Carmody after him.”
“I wouldn’t be that lacking in intelligence. Carmody wouldn’t be a good choice. You have some time, Catherine. Not very much, but it may be enough.” As he went out the door, he added grimly, “You let Hu Chang get away tonight. Don’t do it again. I don’t promise it wouldn’t be a fatal mistake.”
Vancouver, Canada
“FOOL.”
Nardik pushed viciously at the disconnect button on his phone and turned to Fowler. “Jack Tan blew it. I’m going to castrate the son of a bitch. He not only didn’t get Catherine Ling, but he lost a man and got himself shot up.” Through clenched teeth, he added, “And we still don’t have Hu Chang.”
“That’s not good.” Fowler frowned. “You’ve made promises. Or at least I’ve made them for you. There’s a time frame, and they want a test case first.”
Nardik whirled on him. “I never promised anyone a test case. I thought it was a done deal.”
“They said there’s too much in the balance. They won’t take our word.”
“Screw them.” Political assholes, out to cover themselves and leave him out to dry. Someday, he’d control all of them, make them toe the line. But first he had to have Hu Chang. “What time frame?”
“Fourth of July.”
“That’s less than a week away. I’ll need at least another month.”
“It has to be that weekend. They say if we can’t deliver, they’ll find someone else to do the job.”
“They’re bluffing.”
“Do you want to risk it?”
No, he didn’t want to risk it. He could use Hu Chang’s drug in another situation, but this was the ideal showcase for other similar jobs. He’d been looking at the Mideast, which was in constant turmoil. Hell, give him another few years, and he’d rule the whole damn area. “No, we’ll give them their son of a bitchin’ time frame. But they can’t have their test case. I may have to use the dose of the drug I have on hand for the actual kill if I can’t get my hands on Hu Chang in time.” He turned away and opened the folder on the desk. Catherine Ling’s face seemed to jump out of the photo, and he once more felt that intense surge of lust. It seemed he was going to be able to toy with her after all.
Okay, you’ve been playing with amateurs, whore. I hope you enjoyed yourself with Jack Tan. He’s nothing, less than nothing. Wait until you see how a real man operates.
“You should tell them to go to hell,” Fowler said. “You’re too important for them to try to set the rules. Arrogant bastards.”
“No.” He would be diplomatic although it gagged him for them to think he was only another one of their underlings. Perhaps it was going to be good that he’d have Catherine Ling on whom to expend all his rage and pent-up sexual energy. He could hardly wait to get his hands on her. “Tell them we’ll give them what they want except for the test case. They won’t argue. They want it too much.”
“Whatever you say.” Fowler shrugged. “But I suppose I’ll have to stall. They can’t know you’re not absolutely sure that the drug will work on their target until we get hold of Hu Chang.”
“Of course you’ll have to stall.”
“Shall I call Jack Tan back and give him any orders?”
“No, tell him that I’ll be there myself to take over the search.” He strode toward the door. “And order my yacht in Macau moved to Hong Kong harbor. We’ll be flying there tonight.”
Hong Kong
DAWN WAS RISING OVER THE HARBOR when Catherine finished her shower and shampoo and walked out onto the small balcony at the Princess Hotel. It had been a long, frustrating night, and the morning breeze felt good as it stroked her cheeks. She’d always liked this hotel for reasons other than the one she’d told Venable. It was an older skyscraper than the other hotels along this stretch of harbor. Not nearly as grand as the behemoth Ritz-Carlton down the street, yet it had a flavor she identified as quintessential Hong Kong. Her hands clenched on the rail as she gazed down at the junks, barges, and ferries on the bay far below.
Where the hell are you, Hu Chang?
Don’t think about him. Go to bed. Get the sleep you need to function efficiently and start out a new day.
Her phone rang, and she took it out of the pocket of her terry robe.
Venable.
“I just thought you’d like to know that Carmody is going to pull through,” he said when she picked up. “They’re still running tests, but they got out all the bullets and there doesn’t seem to be major damage except for the wound in his chest.”
“That’s good. Send him home to Sydney and let him work out what he wants from his life before he loses it. He came close this time.”
“I agree.” He paused. “I meant what I said about Hu Chang, but I wouldn’t want to do it, Catherine.”
“I know. You make hard choices, and at least you gave me warning, so that I can stop you in your tracks. I won’t let you kill him no matter how necessary you think it would be for the whole damn world.” She didn’t give him a chance to answer. “I’m hanging up now. If you can offer me help instead of threatening Hu Chang, call me.” She hung up and shoved the phone back in her pocket.
The sad thing was that in spite of his ruthlessness, Venable was one of the good guys. There were so few good guys in her world, and it was one of the things that had made her become a CIA agent. There was a chance to make a difference in a world that was getting dirtier by the day.
But she wouldn’t allow Venable or anyone else to kill Hu Chang in the name of making civilization a better place. Who was anyone to judge him who did not know him? She knew him and was aware that Hu Chang was far from pure in thought or action. Money would not tempt him, but a challenge might lead him into all kinds of trouble. But if Hu Chang was being tempted by his Lucifer counterpart, then she would step between them. She would not allow anyone else to get near him.
She was getting upset again just thinking about it. Calm down and give yourself time to plan, she told herself.
Call Luke before she went to bed? No, she refused to lie to him, and what she could tell him? That Hu Chang was looking completely well, but that there might be a sanction placed on him at any moment? No, she’d give herself time to work this out before she talked to Luke.
She turned and went back into the bedroom and drew the blackout curtains over the French doors. That was another thing she liked about the hotel. It was tastefully luxurious but not ostentatious, and it catered to businessmen who did not necessarily operate nine to five. Casino employees, restaurateurs and—she smiled sardonically as she ended the mental list. And CIA agents like Venable and Catherine Ling.
She climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and stared into the darkness.
Are you still watching me, Hu Chang? I bet you have friends in this hotel, too. You have friends everywhere. Well, maybe not friends, people who owe you, people who fear you, people who want something from you. You’re very selective about your friends. Well, so am I. And I won’t le
t you go.
So go ahead and have anyone you wish watch me and report back to you.
I’m not going home.
* * *
SHE WOKE SEVEN HOURS LATER, and was instantly awake.
Spice with the faintest hint of lemon.
The scent was teasingly faint yet so familiar that she would have identified it if she’d smelled it in the middle of a crowd the size of the Super Bowl.
Not here in this room. Not on the balcony.
That elusive scent was coming from the sitting room.
Her heart was pounding as slipped out of bed and put on her robe. The next moment she was throwing open the door to the sitting room.
The man who was sitting in the chair near the door, with his legs stretched before him, smiled at her. “Hello, Catherine. I tried not to wake you.”
John Gallo.
CHAPTER
9
SHE FELT THE BREATH LEAVE her body as she stared at him. He was just the same, tall, dark eyes, a faint indentation in his chin, a thread of white in his dark hair … and the powerful magnetism that made his stunning good looks pale in comparison. It was because she hadn’t expected Gallo that she was feeling this shock, she told herself. It wasn’t because of the sexual tension that always seemed to be present whenever they were together. She had that under control and never allowed it to interfere. But it was interfering now, she realized. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, and she hadn’t been sure that she’d ever see him again. Their relationship had been full of distrust, at one time she had even thought him a murderer. Yet that fear of betrayal hadn’t been able to smother the fact that she was physically drawn to him. “How did you get in here, Gallo?”
He nodded at the door. “The usual portal but not necessarily the usual manner. It took me a little while. You had it booby-trapped.”
“You could have called me. Or would that have been too easy?”
He smiled. “It would have spoiled the challenge. And I regarded it as kind of an audition.”