Cameron smiled as he brushed back his parka as he came into the hut. “No problem,” he said softly as he moved toward her. He fell to his knees and held out his hands to the fire. “I was tempted to give you warning while I was coming up the road, but I did make you a promise.”
“Yes, you did. What about Kadmus?”
“He and Brasden are scurrying around on the other road leading from the hot springs. That should give us the time we need.”
“Should?”
“Kadmus is pushing hard. He’ll have his men searching all night. And he may be exploring all his maps and local contacts to see if he can find anyplace you could be hiding. He knows these mountains, and lately he’s been making an effort to know them a hell of a lot better.”
“Why?”
He shrugged but didn’t answer.
“Is it because he knows you’re in these mountains?”
“Perhaps.”
“Why is he so fanatical about you?”
“He’s a madman. Haven’t you noticed?” His lips twisted. “He has a passion to be king of the universe. Evidently, he has an idea that if he could get his hands on me, I could help him.”
“Could you?”
“Possibly. But it wouldn’t come to that.”
“Why not?”
“I’d be allowed to kill him.”
“Allowed?” Her eyes widened. The word opened an entirely new avenue of thought that she didn’t like. “Oh, for God’s sake, you’re playing games with Kadmus.” The anger was searing through her. “That conglomerate you work for is using him in some way. Just like Venable. He could have sent Special Forces to take Kadmus out, but he was ‘useful’ on occasion so it never happened. He didn’t want to lose a valuable contact. That’s what’s happening with you, isn’t it?”
“In a broad sense.”
“Hu Chang says that you could have gone in and gotten Erin out. He said he’d seen you do it before when he was with you. Why didn’t you do it? Oh, yes, you couldn’t risk your valuable hide. But it was more than that, wasn’t it? Your precious committee didn’t want you to offend Kadmus.”
“‘Offend’ is not the word.”
“So you let him torture Erin.”
“Yes, and there’s nothing I can say that would absolve me of that in your eyes.”
“You bet there’s not. Balance a woman like Erin’s suffering against corporate greed? How could you live with yourself?”
“The way I live with all the decisions I make every day,” he said quietly. “And it wasn’t a question of any deals or bribes to keep Kadmus in our pockets. We’ve never had any dealings with Kadmus. It was just a committee decision that I wasn’t able to argue. Under the circumstances, I couldn’t go after Erin.”
“Why not? What stopped you?”
“Unless I went in alone as you did, I’d have no choice but to confront Kadmus.”
“And that wouldn’t be according to committee rules, would it? You might damage yourself.”
“I’m trying to be patient, Catherine.” His words were slow and precise, but his blue eyes were glittering in his taut face. “I’m not accustomed to having to explain myself.”
“Because you think you’re master of all you survey? You and Kadmus have a lot in common.”
“You do manage to make me—” He was silent a moment. “You’re right, I have to think twice about risking myself. It’s a rule. And if I organized a raid, I knew what the result would be.” He paused. “To save Erin, I would have had to kill Kadmus.”
“Good. Then it would all have been over.”
“Not for me. Not for the committee,” he said. “It would have caused a chain reaction that would not have been beneficial.” He shrugged. “Or so the committee decided. I didn’t agree with them. I think we can work around it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And you’re too angry to care. Actually, there’s only one thing that you should accept and understand. Until I persuade the committee to my way of thinking, I cannot kill Kadmus.”
“But you hoped that I would do it.”
“As you said, it would have all been over.”
“If you believed you were right, you should have done it.”
“I also believe in discipline.”
“Those monks who trained you weren’t necessarily correct.”
His brows lifted. “You and Hu Chang evidently had a talk while I was gone.”
“You knew I’d ask him about you.”
“And that he’d answer as long as it was safe for you. He must have decided that I wouldn’t harm you if I could help it.”
“Was he right?”
His gaze moved slowly from the top of her head, down her face, throat, and breasts. It was unbearably intimate, searingly sexual. “Not unless you ask me to do it.”
Heat.
She shouldn’t be feeling this sudden surge of sexuality. She was angry with him. She didn’t understand half of what he had told her, but she knew she would probably disagree with every word.
None of it mattered.
The heat was there and would not go away.
Tingling.
Swelling breasts.
Breathlessness.
She could feel that same heat flush her cheeks. Why the hell did he have this effect on her? It was pure mindless lust and moments that seemed to strike out of nowhere.
“I won’t ask anything of you. Particularly not S and M.” She steadied her voice. “But what I will ask you is how soon we can get off this mountain. Kadmus isn’t standing still. We shouldn’t either.”
“We’re not standing still. We’re conserving our resources and bandaging our wounds.”
“When?”
“Tashdon, my helicopter pilot, will be arriving here at about eight in the morning. We’ll start down to the plateau at five.” He checked his watch. “Six hours to sleep. You’d better get some rest. The descent isn’t as bad as going up, but it’s still rough.” He glanced at Luke. “He did very well. You’d have been proud of him.”
“I
am
proud of him.”
He nodded. “I could see you in him. The fire. The stubbornness. I was harder than I needed to be on him. I wanted to see what he was made of.”
“And you found out?”
“Just you. And the backbone and ferocity of a tiger.” His expression was suddenly shadowed. “He reminded me of another young boy I knew once.” He got to his feet. “And now I think I’d better go tell Hu Chang when we’re leaving and see if he has any warnings or threats to impart regarding you. He’s been discreetly restraining himself from glancing at us, but I can feel the disturbance.”
She could feel it, too. Hu Chang was sitting quietly beside Erin, but Catherine could read the body language.
She watched Cameron cross the hut and begin to talk to Hu Chang. Hu Chang did not relax, but there was no antagonism in his demeanor. There was obviously a strong bond that had been forged during that time at the monastery. Two strong men with superb intelligence and skills. It was natural that they would become close.
He reminded me of another young boy I knew once.
What boy? Or had he been talking about himself as a youngster? What had Cameron been like when he was Luke’s age? He must have had a huge number of mental and emotional problems due to that freakish gift. Had there been someone by his side to help him through it?
And why in hell was she worrying about Cameron’s childhood traumas? She had not had a great childhood either. You just had to survive and learn from it. He had clearly fought through the pain as she had done.
She lay back down and cradled her head on her arm as she gazed at Luke again.
Six hours to sleep. Six hours before the running and the danger began again. You shouldn’t be here, baby. No matter what you say, the young should never face that kind of danger. They should only know joy.
But Cameron promised he would keep you safe, Luke. I’ll hold him to it. I’d like to say that I could do it alone, and I’ll try. But there’s no way I’ll turn down help from Cameron or Hu Chang or anyone else who will lend a hand.
You’re going to live through this no matter what I have to do.
CHAPTER
9
“Those passes up there are like a rabbit warren, Kadmus,” Brasden said as he looked down at the map on the hood of the jeep. “There are twice what this map indicates. We could spend a week exploring all of them.”
“We don’t have a week,” Kadmus said curtly. “Have you found any more tracks?”
He shook his head. “No, they disappeared about two miles up the mountain. The roads are almost pure stone from then on.” He added, “But we’ll get them. It may take a little more time.”
“You’d better get them. You let them escape from Daksha. I won’t tolerate any more mistakes.”
He moistened his lips. “We have to consider that this may have been an alternate plan that Ling put together in case she didn’t make the helicopter. Somehow, the CIA must have found out about those hot springs and the connection to this mountain.”
“With no records on any scientific chart or historical document?”
“But the tire tracks indicate that they were met when they reached here. Ling had help.”
“But not necessarily CIA help.”
Brasden frowned. “Who else?”
“Perhaps one of Erin’s close and intimate friends,” Kadmus murmured. He had been considering that possibility since he had reached this hot spring and seen the tire tracks. It had been hell taking that path from the mountaintop down to the hot spring in the bowels of the Earth. Ling and Erin must have known what lay beyond it, or they would never have made the attempt. How had they known? The old lama that he shot had only a sketchy knowledge. To move as fast as Erin and Ling had, they must have had a firm idea of their direction and destination. “And he could be leading us down the garden path. Ling is going to be frantic to move Erin away from here as soon as possible. Where could a helicopter land on this mountain?”
“The best place would be right here beside the hot spring.”
“What’s a possible, not the best, place?”
Brasden looked down at the map. “The road widens four miles up from here, and that would support a landing?” His index finger jabbed at another spot. “Or this plateau on the other side of the mountain. But that wouldn’t be anywhere close to the direction the jeep was going.”
“How do you know? As you said, it’s a rabbit warren up there. It could lead anywhere. How long will it take us to get to that plateau on the other side of the mountain?”
He shook his head. “It’s rough country. Four, five hours, maybe. We’d only be able to take the vehicle part of the way. The rest of the trip would be on foot.”
“Then let’s get started.”
“There’s no proof that they’re going to use that plateau.”
“There was no proof that they’d use that passage down Daksha Mountain, but they did. Sometimes you have to rely on your gut instinct. I think whoever met them here at the spring decided to try to keep us busy and out of his way.”
“The answer could be so much more simple.”
“Only for someone who has no feeling on how to grasp the big picture. I know what I’m doing.” He stared out at the high ridges of the mountain. “And so does he.”
I can feel you out there. Have I at last lured you out of hiding? All those months of toying with Erin, and you wouldn’t make a move. But Ling stirred you up. I should thank the bitch. I may do it after I give her to my men, then tear her breasts off. First things, first.
He turned away and strode around to get into the driver’s seat of the jeep. “Come on. Leave a token force to guard this road but hold off on searching this area for now. We’ll come back here if—”
“You find out you’ve made a mistake,” Brasden finished slyly.
“I’ve not made a mistake,” he said coldly. “The only mistake I may have made is hiring you. It’s up to you to prove I didn’t.” He put the jeep in gear, and the vehicle lurched forward as his foot hit the accelerator. “Get on the phone and start giving orders.”
But Brasden would not even do that with the authority that Kadmus would. Some men were born to rule, and Brasden wasn’t one of them.
Kadmus looked up at the plateau in the far distance. He felt as if he could almost see a shadowy face in that pale, icy mist. Soon, there would be no almost about it. He would be able to confront that son of a bitch who had eluded him for so long. He would bring him to his knees and make him beg to give Kadmus what he wanted.
Perhaps it was meant to be that Erin had been taken from him. Now everything would fall into place, and he would be able to move forward.
Do you hear me? he asked that ephemeral figure in the mist. You’re nothing to me. That priest I killed called you the Guardian. But you’re just an errand boy trying to keep me from my destiny. You think you can whisk those women away from me, then fly away yourself as you’ve done before.
Not this time.
The only difference is that I’ll have two bitches instead of one to play with. And you to watch what I do to them.
Did you give Ling a pretty gold lotus necklace, too? So childish …
And so helpful to me …
* * *
“It’s time to leave,” Catherine whispered to Erin. “Do you need me to help you dress?”
Erin shook her head as she sat up. “My shoulder is okay. Just a little sore. Otherwise, I feel … good. Your Hu Chang did a terrific job. What time is it?”
“A little before five. Cameron left a few minutes ago with Hu Chang. I think they’re checking the trail.”
“I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” She threw back the cover. “Go take care of your son.” The rosy light from the stove glowed on Erin’s gold necklace as she put on her bra and T-shirt. “I slept well. I have a good feeling about today.”
Catherine leaned forward and touched the lotus. “You were right, you didn’t lose it. It must have a very strong chain.”
Erin nodded and smiled. “Yes, it’s very strong.” She added, “And so am I. And getting stronger all the time.” She was quickly throwing on the rest of her clothes. “Could I have one of those nutrition bars? I’m hungry.”
“Sorry. We left them on the bank when we went into the hot spring.”
“I have something, Catherine,” Luke said.
She turned to him. “I was just going to wake you.”
“I’ve been awake.” He opened his backpack. “Hu Chang gave me these when we started out.” He pulled out two nutrition bars. “Give them to her.”
“I will.” She smiled. “This is Erin Sullivan, Luke.”