Your Next Breath (4 page)

“What do you think I’m doing? I’ll get back to you when I know something.” He hung up.

Santos. He still wasn’t a definite, but he was emerging as a clear favorite. Time to go over his history and favorite locations to see if something popped out at her.

She Googled his name.

A newspaper article and photograph popped on the screen.

Slick black hair, Castilian features, sensual mouth. He looked to be in his thirties, but she knew he was forty-four. A rap sheet that was violent and terrifying. He dealt out vengeance with swift and cruel efficiency. He’d risen from the gangs on the streets of Caracas as a child to head the most powerful crime organization in South America. His corruption of the political systems in Bolivia and Venezuela had kept him safe and at the top of the heap.

Where are you, bastard?

He’d spent a lot of time on the Riviera. He’d had a home on the coast in Bolivia, but that had been confiscated by the government when he’d been convicted. He’d also invested in a castle in Morocco, where he and Delores had entertained royally. Had that been taken away from him, too? She’d have to check into it. Not that he would be there now. He’d expect her to be on the hunt. Wherever he was hiding out, it wouldn’t be anywhere that was obvious. But he must have had other places that the government hadn’t been able to track down. She doubted if he’d establish himself at any totally new place. He’d want the comfort and protection of his own goons around him.

But he liked the sun, as demonstrated by the choices he’d made in the houses she knew about. Sun. Sea. Areas where he could control his surroundings. Helicopter pads? More than likely. She’d start checking into that possibility.

If she had time before Santos started moving against the people she loved.

“I brought you your tea.” Luke was standing in the doorway with a tray. “Hu Chang said he’d bring it, but I told him it was my job.” He came forward and set the tray on the coffee table in front of her. “
You’re
my job, Catherine.”

“I keep telling you, it should be the other way around.” She poured the tea. “You don’t have a duty toward me. You’ve got our relationship all wrong, Luke.”

“No, I’m starting to get it right.” Luke sat down across from her, his back straight, his dark eyes holding her own. “It took me awhile after you took me away from Rakovac. I wasn’t used to worrying or caring about anyone. It’s still … hard for me. But I’m learning, Catherine. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I can’t do that.” He grimaced. “Rakovac taught me all kinds of ugly ways that would prevent anyone from hurting you.”

“I know he did.” She felt the familiar rage soar through her. “That’s why I killed him. And I wanted you to forget that ugliness, not use it for me.”

“Too late. I’ve tried to tell you. I can’t change, I can’t be a normal kid.” His face was pale, grave. “But I can be your kid. Just don’t try to shut me out. Hu Chang told us about this Santos. I heard Sam on the phone, and he’s trying to build a wall around me.”

“Good.”

“But who’s going to build a wall around you?”

“At the moment, I appear to be last on Santos’s list. Maybe I won’t need a wall.”

“And maybe you will. But you’re not going to let me be there.” He was suddenly smiling recklessly. “But maybe I’ll be there anyway.”

“No!” Panic was soaring through her. “Let me work my way through this, Luke. It will be more dangerous for me if I have to worry about you. Can’t you see that?”

“But I want to—” He frowned. “Maybe. But I don’t like—”

“Forget what you don’t like.” She reached out and touched his hand. “You and Sam take care of each other, so I don’t have to be thinking about either one of you.”

“Someone has to protect you.”

“Hu Chang and I have gotten along very well for years protecting each other. You trust Hu Chang.”

“But Hu Chang lets you do everything that you want to do. He says it’s your right and privilege.”

“Thank God,” she said emphatically. “Which just goes to prove he’s the wisest man either one of us will ever know. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

“It tells me that I don’t think like him.” He smiled. “And he would say that’s my right and privilege.”

“You’ve been around him too long,” she said in frustration. “Promise me that you’ll do what Sam tells you to do.”

He was silent. “I’ll have to think about it. Maybe until I can’t do it any longer. If I see that no one is protecting you.”

And, hopefully, he wouldn’t be anywhere near her that he would be able to see that. But it just emphasized to her how quickly they had to catch Santos.

“Drink your tea, Catherine,” he said as he got to his feet. “And call me if you need me.”

“As a matter of fact, I do need you.” She’d had a sudden thought. “Kelly. I’m having Venable assign an agent to watch over her, but I really want her with us.” Kelly Winters was only sixteen, but she was superintelligent and thinking out of the box and being able to detect patterns that no one else could detect had earned her a place in her university’s science think tank. But that also meant that she could be obsessive about her work. Not that being absorbed was usually bad for her. Hard work had saved Kelly after Catherine had saved her from being killed in the jungles of Colombia. “Can you persuade her?”

He shook his head. “She’s working on a special project for her think tank. It’s important to her. She said that it’s innovative and a groundbreaker. Maybe in a couple days. Unless you want me to tell her that she should drop everything and come and take care of you. Then she’d do it.”

“I’m tempted.” She thought about it. Kelly’s science think tank wasn’t turning out just student projects. They were occasionally written up in prestigious journals. She hated the idea of letting Santos destroy that for Kelly. “No, I guess not. She’s not actually family, and she isn’t able to come to see us very often. She’d probably be low on Santos’s list of priorities. And I already have her protected.” She frowned. “I suppose she doesn’t have to know about this until that damn project is finished. But do me a favor, keep in constant contact with her. Okay?”

“Sure. I’ve got a new game that’s pretty cool. It should be enough to tear her away from that project occasionally. You know how she likes games.”

“Thanks, Luke.”

“You’re welcome, Catherine.” He moved a step closer to her. “I don’t think you can use this now.” He took the scarlet chiffon hat from the table where she’d tossed it and smiled down at it. “Too bad. I liked the way you smiled when you saw yourself in the mirror.”

She made a face. “Because I looked ridiculous.”

He shook his head as he headed for the door. “No, because it was something we were sharing. You taught me that sharing is good, Catherine.”

She watched the door shut behind him. My God, she loved him. He had been damaged and suffered horribly from those nine years of captivity, but somehow he’d had the will to survive with a strength that often surprised her.

And exasperated her.

And scared the hell out of her.

KADMUS VILLAGE, TIBET

“Stop nagging me. I
am
hurrying, Les.” Erin Sullivan stopped packing to frown over her shoulder at Les Caudell, the CIA agent whose helicopter had suddenly appeared fifteen minutes ago on the plateau above the village. “You can’t just show up and expect me to drop everything and go with you. I had to explain to the elders and priests of the village that I wasn’t abandoning them. They went through a hell of a time living under the heel of that monster Kadmus, who took over their mountain.”

“So did you,” Caudell said grimly. “Torture. Captivity. God knows what else. I’d say the villagers got off lucky in comparison.” He grabbed her duffel. “And Venable does expect you to drop everything. I have my orders.”

“Venable doesn’t give me orders. He’s your boss, not mine.” But Caudell’s urgency had impressed her in spite of her words. She had known Caudell for years while she was a freelance reporter traveling from village to village in these mountains. Everyone in those villages knew that Caudell worked for the CIA and was keeping an eye on the Tibetan-Chinese conflict. But he had never been obtrusive or involved any of the villagers in U.S. political shenanigans. He had watched and waited and reported. She had never been able to do the same, she thought ruefully. She had become involved with the people and the mystical traditions of this austere land. There was such need and yet strength in these simple villagers. She couldn’t see how anyone could turn away from that need. Still, she had grown to like Caudell over those years of contact. “And it’s not as if there’s any real threat to me any longer. I don’t understand it.”

“Okay, you don’t want to listen to Venable. But Hu Chang was supposed to call you. Did he?”

“Yes, he said I had to go to Chen Lu’s. Something about Catherine Ling’s being in trouble.” She followed Caudell out of the hut. “But it’s all wrong. I should be going to Catherine, not Chen Lu. I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“You can call him from Chen Lu’s palace and make him pay attention. Right now, I have to get you off this mountain.” He was striding toward the helicopter a few yards away. “And if it will make you move any faster, it was Catherine Ling who said she wanted you under Chen Lu’s protection.” He opened the door of the helicopter. “Now will you—” He stopped as he saw a young priest in a yellow robe approaching Erin. “Oh, shit.”

“It’s just Kerak Li,” Erin said. “He works with me at the orphanage. I didn’t get a chance to speak to him. It will only take a moment.”

“One minute,” Caudell said.

Or as long as it took, Erin thought. She smiled at the young priest, and said in Chinese, “You’ll have to take over for me for a little while. I’ve been called away.” She bowed ceremoniously. “I know you’ll be able to—”

Kerak Li’s head exploded!

“My God!” Caudell pulled Erin to the ground and covered her with his body.

She couldn’t breathe.

Shock. Horror. Sickness.

Another shot.

“Get off me,” Erin pushed Caudell away. “Get under cover, Les. Get to the helicopter and—”

She saw blood blossom on the shoulder of his brown jacket.

“No.”

She was on her feet, pulling him up and half dragging him the few feet to the helicopter.

A bullet burned by her cheek as it buried in the open door of the aircraft.

She pushed Les inside the cockpit and dove into the backseat.

Pain.

Her calf …

She struggled to shut the door. “Les, are you able to fly this thing? If not, can you tell me how to do it?”

He was already starting the rotors. “If the bastard doesn’t shoot the gas tank … I’ll drop off the mountain and worry about altitude later.” The helicopter was plunging erratically even as he spoke.

Another shot.

“The shooter’s on that cliff to the north,” Les said. “We’ll go south. Did he shoot you?”

“Just my calf.”

“Bleeding?”

“A little.” Actually, quite a bit. She was getting dizzy. Fight it. She couldn’t let herself go unconscious. Les might need her.

And that shooter was still firing.

Stay conscious.

Help Les.

Oh, God, they both needed help.

The helicopter was plunging toward the rocks in the valley below.

She couldn’t count on staying conscious.

They were going to die.

Unless she could get the help to stay alive.

Unless
he
could help her.

“Cameron!”

*   *   *

“Erin Sullivan has reached Hong Kong,” Hu Chang told Catherine. “But she’s not at Chen Lu’s palace yet. Venable is having her and Les Caudell taken there now.” He paused. “There were problems.”

“Problems?” Her gaze flew to his across the library. “What do you mean problems?”

“It seems that she was already targeted by the time Caudell got to her. There was a sniper.”

Catherine’s heart leaped. “Erin?”

“Leg wound. Caudell has a shattered collarbone. Unfortunately, a village priest was killed.”

“My God.”

“But Erin and Caudell are alive and will remain alive,” he said. “They’ll be safe with Chen Lu.”

“Maybe.” She felt sick. “I need to talk to Erin.”

“I’ll let her know that is your wish. Right now, it would not be wise.”

“Because she’s already been shot, dammit.”

“And you’re angry and want to reach out and punish Santos.”

“You’re damn right I do. I’m feeling helpless. That’s not going to go on. What about that sniper? Can Venable catch him before he gets off the mountain?”

“There was no other helicopter except Caudell’s on the mountain. That means the sniper’s on foot or in a vehicle. It’s a possibility we can catch him, but it appears to be doubtful considering the time lapse. Still, there may be an alternative. I will see what we can do.”

“No, I’ll see what we can do,” Catherine said. “He’s our only lead, and I’m not going to let him get away.” She got to her feet. “I’m out of here.”

“As you wish. May I ask where you’re going?”

“I’m catching the first flight for Hong Kong, then on to Tibet.”

“May I suggest you wait until you talk to Erin? She told Caudell she wasn’t staying at Chen Lu’s. She’s coming to you.”

“No! She can’t do that. I don’t want her anywhere near me.”

“That’s not going to happen. She’s your friend and feels she owes you a great debt. You saved her life.”

“It was my job. I had to get her out of Tibet and away from that bastard, Kadmus.” She looked him in the eye. “Or you would have done it yourself. I’m CIA. I was trained to do it. You might not have made it.”

“Oh, I would have survived. But it’s true that you’re more competent than I at killing and mayhem.” He paused. “But I would have had help from someone who is your equal, if not your superior. It was only fair that he be involved, since he was the one who brought Erin to my attention.”

Cameron. He was talking about Richard Cameron. She couldn’t argue that Cameron was a superb fighter as well as having other psychic talents that were fairly incredible.

And sexual skills that were absolutely mind-blowing.