Chapter
14
Catherine checked her wristwatch.
Forty-five minutes.
They should be in the garage by now.
Forty-six minutes.
She felt tension grip her.
Soon.
Unless something had gone wrong.
An ambulance tore out of the garage, tires screeching, as it turned and barreled down the street toward the light on the corner.
Yes.
She put the Mercedes in gear and stomped on the accelerator. The car jumped forward, and she drove toward the garage entrance.
Come on, Cameron, I’m here for you. Where the hell are you?
“Right here.” He ran out of the garage and jumped into the passenger seat. “Let’s go!”
She was already moving. She glanced sideways at him as she went through the light on yellow. His eyes were glittering, his mouth taut, and she could almost feel the tension and excitement. He was loving this. “Everything went okay?”
“Right on schedule. Blake did very well. And with me helping with the transfer, we had Sen out of the garage two minutes early.”
“It must have been like the pit team at a car race.” She glanced in the rearview mirror. “We’re not being followed.”
“They’re still scrambling. There will be someone tearing out of that garage any minute. Turn left at the next street.”
She turned left. “Where do I go from here?”
“Set your GPS for Celia’s place. We should get off the street. Someone could have seen you scoop me up in that grand getaway.” He smiled. “You had a certain dash about you. Have you done this before?”
“Once or twice.” She set the GPS. “In Colombia. There always seemed to be a reason for a getaway down there.” She started following the GPS guidelines. “Were you really useful, or were you just enjoying yourself?”
“Both. They could have done it without me. But Kadmus’s local team had a man stationed down there waiting to see if someone would show. He came out from behind a car when he saw me disabling the security cameras in the garage and the elevator. He had a knife and an attitude. I took care of him and gave Blake a little extra time that bought them insurance.”
“And had a good time.”
“Life is always more exciting on the edge.” He glanced challengingly at her. “Isn’t it?”
She couldn’t deny it. She had lived on the edge all of her life. At one time, she had thought she wanted peace and normalcy, but that had faded into the background as life exploded around her. “As long as something is accomplished.”
“How very solemn and dutiful. But today you didn’t know exactly what could be accomplished, and you wanted to go with me anyway.”
“I don’t like to sit on the sidelines.”
“And I would have loved having you beside me,” he said. “Anytime. Any way. I usually have to fight alone, and I like it that way. But it would be different with you.”
It would be different with him, she thought. He wouldn’t try to keep her from doing what she’d been trained to do.
Or would he? He’d said he had highly protective instincts.
“You’ll have to see, won’t you?” he asked.
“Out,” she said succinctly.
He smiled. “I’m working on it.”
“And one other thing that’s puzzling me. Why didn’t you have one of Blake’s men come down earlier to disable those cameras?”
“I wanted to do it myself.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to make sure that those cameras showed what I wanted them to show. I disabled the ones that were trained on the elevator and the ambulance. I kept the one that showed me taking out Kadmus’s man and heading for the elevator.”
“That’s crazy,” she said, stunned. “You spend all your time trying to avoid being recognized or connected to anything that might have a police investigation.”
“There are exceptions to every rule.” He paused. “I had to show myself to distract Kadmus’s men when I was trying to get you off the mountain. A photo was taken, and by this time, he knows my face and name.”
“No,” she whispered.
“That’s what the committee says. They’re not pleased. But they can rectify the problem with a little high-priced erasure. But I might as well use the fact that Kadmus now knows who he’s looking for as bait.”
“You mean using yourself as bait.”
He nodded. “Before he had only Erin to go after here in San Francisco. But after he sees the security disks, he’ll know I’m here protecting her.” He glanced at her. “Don’t you think that might draw Kadmus out of his palace on the mountains to come here and go after me personally?”
“Yes. And he might not bring an army with him, but you can bet he’ll have enough firepower to be damn intimidating. Nagle will have to step up to the plate. But how’s he going to get hold of that security disk?”
“The police will pull the disks, and Kadmus will pay to get a copy of what’s on them. That’s what I’d do.”
“But you have unlimited funds for bribery.”
“Kadmus will pay whatever he has to pay to find Shambhala.” He tapped his chest. “And right now, he sees me as the key to Shambhala.”
“Does he really think of Shambhala as the proverbial pot of gold?”
“He sees the power, he’s been watching and knows that I’ve been plucking the brightest, the most talented brains in the world. That’s an incredibly valuable asset in itself. As for the myth that there are untold riches stored in a hidden city, perhaps he believes that, too. He certainly believes that he deserves to be emperor of his world, and the Shangri-La myth riveted his attention enough to invest a sizable amount of his ill-gotten gains in it.” He thought about it. “Yes, he probably does think there is an actual Shambhala.”
“And is there?”
He didn’t answer for a moment. “That’s been the argument for centuries. Is Shambhala an actual place? Or is it a mythical concept that philosophers developed of a perfect world that might save us all?”
“You’re not answering me.”
“No, I’m not, am I?” He leaned back in the seat. “Now chauffeur me back to Celia’s, and we’ll wait for Blake to call and tell me Sen is on a jet back to Hong Kong.” He added grimly, “And then we’ll start getting a plan together to bring Kadmus down.”
* * *
“Jack Sen had been taken from the hospital. Someone snatched him from beneath the police guard’s nose,” Brasden said as he hung up the phone. “And one of Nagle’s men was killed in the hospital garage.”
“Son of a bitch,” Kadmus said. “I don’t give a damn about that bungler. I told Nagle to stake out that hospital. He was supposed to either get his hands on anyone who tried to get Sen away from the police or follow them and try to get Erin Sullivan. Did they do either?”
“No.” He held up his hand as Kadmus started to curse. “It was evidently a crack team who did the job. The lookout in the garage was supposed to call upstairs to the lobby if he spotted anyone.” He shrugged. “But it seems someone spotted him first. The ambulance carrying Sen got away clean as a whistle. Nagle is outside the garage questioning everyone about what they saw at the time. He said two nurses saw a dark-haired man jump into a blue Mercedes that skidded to a stop near the garage entrance.”
“License plate?”
“Not so far. Listen, give me a minute. The police are pulling the video cameras out of the garage. That may tell us something. Shall I give Nagle the okay to spend the money to get a copy? It will be steep.”
“Get them,” Kadmus said curtly. “And get Erin Sullivan. I’ve got to have a bargaining chip when we locate Cameron. Have you heard anything about him yet? Do you even know if he’s still in Tibet?”
“No word. But we have the photo that we’ve been showing around. I’ll find a lead.” He paused. “Providing I have the motivation.”
Kadmus stiffened. “I’m tired of this, Brasden. I’ve put up with your damned arrogance for too long. One more word, and I’ll have you shot.”
“Not do it yourself? Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have been afraid to go after me. But you’ve changed. You’ve gotten softer.” He said silkily, “And I’ve gotten stronger. You’ve let me take over running your little army, and now they listen to me, not you.”
“The hell they do.”
“Would you like to call my bluff?” Brasden’s hand rested on the butt of the pistol in his holster. “Go ahead.”
The bastard was too sure of himself, Kadmus thought. He had been so absorbed in getting that crucial information from Erin Sullivan that he had ignored the possibility that Brasden could be insinuating himself into a leadership position. Had he really undermined Kadmus’s power with his men? Loyalty could be bought with promises and extra pay as well as intimidation. It was possible.
Be cautious until he could determine the consequences.
“Motivation?” he repeated slowly. “What motivation?”
“I’m tired of doing all the work and having you take the biggest percentage of the profits.”
“Percentage? You work for me. I hired you to do a job.”
“That’s not good enough any longer. I want 50 percent of every fee I earn for you.”
“Screw you.”
“And I want to start with the money you’re trying to squeeze out of Erin Sullivan … and this Cameron. You want me to find them? Then don’t make me go at it blind.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out something shiny and gold and very familiar. “I went through your desk last night and found this pretty piece.” He dangled the chain of the lotus necklace. “I remember you took it from that priest you killed three years ago. You were angry because you said he died too soon.”
“Give me that!”
“And then you had us take Erin Sullivan. You tried very hard not to let her die too soon. I want to know what we’re supposed to be looking for.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Tell me, Kadmus. I’ll still let you have half of whatever I find.”
And he was supposed to believe him? Kadmus hadn’t survived all these years by being taken in by a prick like Brasden. Play him, then take him down. He was silent a moment. “You have me over a barrel. We … may be able to work together.”
“Tell me,” Brasden said again.
“You won’t believe it. It takes a man with vision.”
“Tell me.”
“I’ve heard rumors for forty years about a city in these mountains that has a treasure trove of jewels and gold. At first, I didn’t believe it; and then I began to wonder why shouldn’t it be true when so many people I ran across thought it existed? After all, I’d always known that I was meant to rule. It’s my destiny. It could also be my destiny that I came to these mountains so that I’d find a place worthy of me. So I started searching for clues to find Shambhala.”
“The priest,” Brasden prompted.
“That priest I took the necklace from told his children about a wonderful place he would take them to one day. Yes, where there were jewels and gold and wonderful, wise people. He said that he was one of the chosen, and he’d been given the pendant by one of the wise ones who would lead him to the place of wonder.” His mouth twisted. “Old fool. He only talked about it. He stayed in his sod hut in that village when he could have gone to Shambhala.”
“Shambhala … I’ve never heard of it.”
“Because you’re an ignorant fool. Like that priest. He didn’t die quite right away. Not before he told me that those who were given the necklace were the sanctioned who would be permitted to join the wise ones in Shambhala. It was given to him by a man, a Westerner, but I wasn’t able to get a name. He kept calling him the Guardian. And I couldn’t get any other information out of him. I would have done it if I’d only had the time. But he cut his throat with a knife one of the villagers slipped him.”
“You actually believed him?”
“It’s true,” he said fiercely. “There’s a Shambhala, and it was meant to be found by me.”
“Or me,” Brasden said. “If it exists.”
“It exists. Find Cameron, and he’ll take us to it.”
“Us,” Brasden repeated. “That sounds like a partnership.”
“I’m not a fool.” It would be a partnership until Kadmus rooted out any Brasden supporters among his men and destroyed them as well as Brasden. “There’s kingdom enough to share in Shambhala. Just find Cameron.”
Brasden stared thoughtfully at Kadmus, then contemptuously tossed the lotus necklace to him before he turned on his heel. “I’ll find him.”
* * *
Erin and Hu Chang were the only ones in the library when Catherine and Cameron got back to Celia’s house.
Catherine felt a jolt of anxiety. “Where’s Luke?”
“In the kitchen with Celia,” Erin said. “He’s helping her with the dishes. I offered, but she chose Luke. They seem to have bonded.”
“Did you really think that I’d let anything happen to him?” Hu Chang asked. “He wasn’t at all happy that you left without him. I thought it best to keep him busy.” He glanced at Cameron. “He wants to believe in you, but Tashdon made that hard. I’d go and reinforce to him that you’ll never hurt Catherine.” He paused. “If that’s possible?”
“Not only possible but certain.” He turned and headed for the door. “Tell them about Sen, Catherine. I’ll go make sure that we don’t have any trouble with Luke.”
“I should be the one who—” But he was gone, and Catherine shrugged and turned back to Erin and Hu Chang. “Jack Sen is on his way to an airport outside the city, where he’ll be put on a flight to Hong Kong,” she said curtly. “Everything went well. Except Cameron killed one of Kadmus’s men staked out in the garage.” She told them briefly about the security cameras and Cameron’s decision to let himself be recognized. “Now we’re waiting for word that Jack Sen is on that flight.” She added, “And then we wait to see if those security-camera videos are compromised and will target Cameron. Cameron said Blake has contacts in the police department who might be able to let us know.”
“It appears that Cameron is changing his modus operandi,” Hu Chang said dryly. “Exposing himself on camera is most unlike him. And so is guaranteeing your safety. Life and death are always ebb and flow depending on his duties as Guardian.”
“That doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind,” Catherine said. “But perhaps it does mean that he’s thinking that his precious committee isn’t always right.” She looked at Erin. “He must have gone through a lot with you. He’d have to be completely callous not to have it affect him.”
“It did affect him,” Erin said. “I could feel his pain as he did mine. But he won’t betray what he believes in. I wouldn’t want him to do that.”
“Erin, I don’t know what to say to you,” Catherine said helplessly. “What the hell is so worthwhile to you that you’d go through what you did to keep from sacrificing it? I can’t comprehend it.”
“I think you know more than you did when you left here this morning,” Erin said shrewdly. “Cameron has a way of blowing away the mist and making things clear.”
“That’s Cameron. He’s in a class by himself. I’m talking about you. What makes it that important to you?”
“The dream,” she said softly. “And the people who are willing to work and sacrifice to keep it alive. I wasn’t brave enough to do it. What Cameron goes through must be terrible at times. I think that’s why I wore the lotus necklace when I knew I shouldn’t. I wanted to show support even though I didn’t have the courage to become one of them.” She met Catherine’s gaze. “You’d have the courage. I can see you and Cameron together fighting for a cause.”
“Only if I believed in it.” She added gently, “And you have an enormous amount of courage.”
“I have endurance. It’s different from having the guts to take a step into the unknown.” She paused. “But I’ve been thinking about it, and I may have grown during the last months. I hope that’s true.”
“You didn’t need to grow. You’re a person who—”
“I just talked to Blake,” Cameron said as he strode into the library. “Sen’s flight took off ten minutes ago. He’ll arrive in Hong Kong in eighteen hours and be taken to a secure hospital just across the Tibet border. We won’t know about the security disks for several hours.” His eyes were glittering, his face taut. “But by that time, we should have most of the preparations made.” He looked over his shoulder. “Isn’t that so, Luke?”
Good God, Catherine thought as she watched Luke come into the room. Her son had the same expression of barely restrained excitement as Cameron.
Luke smiled at Catherine as he stopped beside Cameron. “He’s trying to make you think that he and I are planning this together. It’s not true. But he promised to make sure I’d be part of it.” His smile lingered as he looked up at Cameron. “And that’s enough for me.”
Cameron returned his smile. “Smart boy. You see right through me.”
“No.” His brow furrowed. “But it’s funny you should say that. I’ve been thinking that sometimes I get a crazy feeling that you see right through me.”
Cameron’s smile faded, and he gave a low whistle. “You might have to give him to me for a few tests, Catherine.”
“No way,” she said flatly.
He shrugged. “We’ll talk later.” He turned to Hu Chang. “The first thing to do is get the Mercedes away from the front of Celia’s house and placed in a spot that will throw out a red herring for Kadmus to pick up as soon as the Mercedes is identified from either the security cameras or any witness accounts. I’ll take care of it. By now that cabdriver who brought you to Chinatown will have given a description of all of you to Kadmus’s men. We don’t want you to be seen again until the right time. Stay here with Celia.” He glanced down at Luke again. “Take care of Catherine. I’ll be back soon.”
“You told him that before. We’ll take care of each other. Just as we always have,” Catherine said coolly. “Where are you going to drop the Mercedes?”
“I’m not sure. I have an idea, but I’ll have to call and have a little research done.” He smiled as he turned and headed for the door. “But I’ll be sure and ask your approval.”
Bastard, she thought as she watched the door close behind him. What research? She hated that he had left her behind. He was right that it wasn’t smart that they be identified, but that hadn’t stopped him from practically yanking her out of this house this morning.
But that hadn’t had anything to do with cool calculation. That had been fire and smoke and lust that had driven both of them to the brink.
She could feel her body start to ready as she remembered just how intense that lust had been.
No. Don’t think of it. Particularly with Hu Chang’s gaze fastened on her. Cameron wasn’t the only man who could read her emotions. She turned to Luke. “I haven’t had breakfast yet. Cameron and I were a little busy. How about going with me to the kitchen while I fix something?”
He nodded. “Cameron told me how good you were at being a getaway driver.” He followed her out of the library. “He said he thought you enjoyed it.”
“Did he? It was serious stuff.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Maybe. A little.” He was looking at her. “Okay, maybe a lot. But it’s not something that most people with any intelligence would want to do.”
“But you’re very intelligent.”
“You’re grinning. Are you making fun of me?”
“Yes.” He paused. “And I like it that you told me the truth. Truth is important.”
“And do you think that Cameron told you the truth?”
“Yes, there are things he’s hiding, but he’s mostly telling the truth.”
“You might have to give him to me for a few tests, Catherine.”
Oh, shit. It’s not going to happen, Cameron.
“And do you trust him?”
“I believe that he won’t let you be hurt.”
“I’m not the only one involved in this, Luke.”
“I think everyone else will be all right, too. I just know that you’ll be okay, and Hu Chang is always fine. And that’s the only thing that’s important to me.”
“Then widen your horizons.” She stopped at the kitchen door. “Erin is very—”
“I thought you might be coming for a snack.” Celia smiled from where she was standing by the AGA stove. “Cameron said that you hadn’t eaten. I tried to convince him to let me fix him something, but he was in a hurry. But now I have you.”
And Catherine had forgotten that Celia might still be in the kitchen. She could feel herself instinctively tensing. “Thank you, but I can fix myself something to eat. We’ve troubled you enough.”
“I wouldn’t think of it.” Celia’s smile was both brilliant and genuine. “I love to cook. I took a Cordon Bleu course in Paris, and I scored off the charts. You can’t cheat me out of the satisfaction. Luke will tell you how good I am.”
Luke nodded. “Breakfast was great.”
“You see, and he’s a very tough critic.” She turned to the refrigerator. “I’ll make you an omelet par excellence. Luke, please go out to my herb garden and pick fresh rosemary and bring me a garlic bulb.”
He nodded and moved toward the kitchen door.
“He’s a sweet boy,” Celia said as she took out eggs and milk and set them on the granite bar. “And very smart. If I was able to have children, I’d wish for a son just like your Luke.”
“You can’t have children?”
“No.” She shrugged. “When I was sold into that whorehouse in Calcutta, they performed an operation that made it impossible. Pregnant whores are not commercially profitable, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know.” She was appalled. “I’m sorry.”
“So was I.” She broke a egg into the bowl. “Not at first. The last thing I wanted was to become pregnant by any of those men who used me. But later, when I was in control of my life, I felt cheated. No one had a right to take that from me.”
“I would have been furious. I would have killed someone.”
She nodded. “I was angry and sad. But I couldn’t let it dominate my life. It’s not who I am.” Her glance shifted to the door through which Luke had vanished. “But every now and then, the sadness comes back.” She stirred the second egg into the mixture. “You’re lucky, Catherine.”
“I know that.”
Celia raised her gaze. “But you may not be lucky with Richard Cameron. Be careful.”
Catherine stiffened. “It’s obvious you were lovers.”
“I’m sure that Cameron told you that it was a sexual liaison only.”
“Why do you assume that?”
“Because I saw him with you. I can read his expressions, his movements. I studied him for a long time when I was with him. He became something of an obsession with me because I couldn’t get him to commit.”
“You mean that you couldn’t control him.”
She nodded. “He’s fantastic sexually.” She made a face. “I hate to admit it, but maybe better than me. I might have given him a second week free if he’d agreed to—Nah, that wouldn’t have been professional. I keep personal and business strictly compartmentalized.” She glanced at Catherine. “But I could handle Cameron. I don’t know if you can. You’re strictly an amateur, and I’ve never seen Cameron as aroused as he was with you this morning. It was … unusual.”
“Most people are amateurs compared to you.”
“But most people don’t have to deal with Cameron.” She frowned. “Look, don’t fight him or push him away. It will only make him more intense and determined to get his own way. Just take him and enjoy it.” She added ruefully, “And I promise you will enjoy it, Catherine.”
“Thank you for the advice,” she said reservedly.
“Which you’re not going to take.”
“I have other things to do than worry about Cameron’s sexual needs and attitudes. That’s not why we’re here, Celia. The entire world isn’t about sex.”
“No, but it rules.” She added softly, “Everything else comes and goes, but sex and passion are always there. For a moment, an hour, a decade.” She repeated, “It rules, Catherine.”
“I don’t agree.”
“You will.” She stirred the mixture. “You have your son here in the house. There’s a summerhouse on the other side of my little garden that will allow you and Cameron privacy. You’re welcome to use it. I’ll tell Cameron.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I always dare. It makes life more interesting.” She turned to Luke as he came into the kitchen. “Ah, you’ve brought some fine specimens.” She took the garlic. “Could I talk you into eating another small omelet, Luke? Your mother won’t want to eat alone. That’s one of the things that I learned in cooking school. Everything tastes better in good company.”
He nodded and sat down at the table. “I’m hungry again.”
“Young boys are always hungry,” Celia said. “Or so I’ve been told. It will just be a few minutes…”
DAKSHA PALACE
“I’ve just heard from San Francisco.” Brasden threw down a photo. “No word on the interior security cameras yet. But this was taken by the outside camera by the garage entrance. Nagle was able to negotiate a copy on this one while the police are examining the others. It’s a shot of the car that pulled up shortly after the ambulance took off. It’s a little hazy and dark from the rain. Familiar?”
“Cameron.” Excitement was soaring through him. “The bastard looks like he’s having a hell of a good time.” He looked closer. “And the driver is Catherine Ling.”
“Right.”
“Did you get the license?”
“It didn’t show up in the videos, but it’s a rental car. We’re checking.”
“Find it. Find him. You were looking in the wrong place. He’s not here in Tibet.” His hand crushed the paper on which the photo was printed. “He followed Erin Sullivan. She must mean more to him than I thought. She was free of me. Why go after her?”
“But he’s with Catherine Ling,” Brasden pointed out. “Maybe he has business with her and not Sullivan.” He smiled. “Or not. She’s a beautiful woman. Not everyone is obsessed by your mystical city.”
“But Cameron is obsessed by Shambhala. No woman could take its place.” He glanced at Ling. “Still, it would do no harm to probe a little deeper into Ling and see if we can use her as a weapon. See to it.”
“Please,” Brasden said. “Say please, Kadmus.”
Restraint. He had been looking into Brasden’s claim that he could take over his forces at any time. There was some evidence that Brasden did have some influence with the men and he had to be careful. He did not want an uprising at this crucial moment. But he had already started to reinforce his power, and he wouldn’t have to put up with Brasden for much longer. “Please, see to it.”
“I’ll do it right away.”
“And arrange for me to get to San Francisco right away. I’m not going to trust anyone else to zero in on Cameron.” He smiled gently, imagining all the torture he was going to inflict on this a*shole. “If you please, Brasden.”