“Cold-weather protective gear for both you and Sullivan, Emergency equipment, first-aid pack, radio, usual weaponry. Have you ever been on your own in conditions like that?”

“Not in those mountains. I’ve been working in South America lately. Four years ago, I was on a mission in Mongolia. I nearly froze to death before I got to the rendezvous. Not pleasant.”

“You’ll find it less pleasant to be stranded in Kadmus’s little kingdom.” He docked the speedboat at the heliport. “You’d better hope you get out of there in time for a pickup.”

“I haven’t been hoping anything else since I told Venable I was on board.” She jumped out of the boat and followed him to the cream-and-tan helicopter. “What info does Kadmus want from her? You must know something.”

“He wants to find a man. He thinks she knows where he is.”

“Find whom?”

“How the hell do I know?” he asked harshly. “I told you, she won’t tell Kadmus. But he won’t give up.”

“No names?”

“No names.” He opened the door of the helicopter. “If you get her out, you can ask her yourself.”

“I will.” She got into the helicopter. “Because, unless I kill him, Kadmus is just going to go after her again if he still thinks he can get what he wants.”

Who the hell was the man Kadmus wanted to find?

And what was his value to the son of a bitch?

A friend asked me to bring her out, Hu Chang had said.

Why? Because he was the same man for whom Kadmus was searching? Was he was afraid Erin Sullivan would break and reveal his location?

Or maybe Hu Chang’s friend was just some charitable philanthropist who had been touched by Sullivan’s plight.

He’s probably the most dangerous man either of us will ever meet. That didn’t sound like anyone who might be driven by humanitarian aims.

Guesses. With Hu Chang, one never knew.

“Let’s get moving.” What she did know was that Hu Chang was not going to be pleased when Chen Lu handed him her note in the morning. By that time she had to be deep in Tibet.

GOLDEN PALACE

Hu Chang recognized Catherine’s handwriting at the first glance. Forceful, scrawling, every stroke finished but impatient and brimming with vitality.

“Catherine gave the note to her maid last night and told her to give it to me at breakfast,” Chen Lu said. “And you’re not to scold the poor lass. She just obeyed orders.”

“I would never be so rude. Obedience is a fine quality.” He tore open the envelope. “One that Catherine has never developed.”

“And you would be disappointed if she did.” Chen Lu poured tea into a cup. “You like her just the way she is.”

“Not entirely.” He quickly scanned the note. “She still has much to learn if this is any sign.” He kept his face totally expressionless as he tossed the note on the table. “Where is Luke?”

“In the garden. I thought there might be a disturbance, so I sent him on an errand with the head gardener.” She met his gaze. “Is there a disturbance, Hu Chang?”

“Oh, yes. On the scale of an earthquake.” He rose to his feet. “I think that I will go and make adjustments to accommodate it. Tell Luke I will talk to him soon.”

He moved quickly down the hall toward the library. Keep control. Don’t let emotion interfere with intellect. Do not think of Catherine at Daksha Palace.

Not possible. He could do that with anyone else but not with Catherine. She was too much a part of him to block her out.

He sat down in the executive chair at the desk and reached for his phone. He quickly dialed Venable. “Where is she now?” he asked bluntly. “Has Catherine contacted you since she left here?”

“You sound a bit upset,” Venable said. “My, my, and you’re usually so serene.”

“I told you that she was not to be involved in this. Have you heard from her?”

“They should be arriving at Daksha Mountain at any moment. My pilot will contact me when she starts for the palace.” He paused. “And I will not cancel the mission, Hu Chang.”

“As you wish, but all actions have consequences.”

“Threats?”

“Statement.”

“I take it that you just found out about it. A note?”

“A very brief and concise note.” He quoted, “‘I’m on my way to get Sullivan out. It shouldn’t take long. Take good care of Luke, or I’ll never forgive you.’”

“Not exactly touching or sentimental. Typical Catherine. She stated her purpose, then tried to tie your hands and protect Luke at the same time. Did she do it?”

He didn’t answer. “Does she have a chance?”

“Catherine always has a chance. It’s at least fifty-fifty. I’d give her better odds if she wasn’t on her own once she reaches the palace. If she gets back to the helicopter in one piece, she’ll be home free.”

“You will call me the minute she takes off from the mountain.” He paused. “You threw too many ifs into that answer. I do not like ifs, Venable. I will not tolerate the idea that poor planning or rashness would cause me to lose her. You would not like my response to that possibility.”

“Threats, again? This is Company business. We’ll do what we have to do.”

“And so will I.” Hu Chang hung up and leaned back in his chair. Stifle the anger unless it was needed. Difficult. Very difficult. Anger was burning inside him, and he wanted to embrace it. Anger against Venable, against Kadmus, against a world that had created a special creature like Catherine, then tossed her into an existence where she could be destroyed at any moment.

Accept.

Release.

Consider consequences and look beyond the present to how to save the situation if it became necessary.

Catherine should have landed by now and be on her way to the palace.

The chances are fifty-fifty.

The muscles of his stomach clenched.

Banish fear. Look beyond.

And summon help.

His lips twisted as he looked down at his phone.

Modern technology at its best.

And not worth anything to him at the moment.

He closed his eyes.

Concentrate.

Look beyond.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Beyond …

He was there.

Cameron!

CHAPTER

4

She couldn’t breathe.

This damn altitude.

Catherine took several deep breaths to fill her lungs as she moved up the slope toward the palace. It was still dark and snowing. Both good things to hide her from the sight of the guards. She’d slipped the white protective parka and suit on in the helicopter, and she hoped she blended into the landscape. She’d also memorized the guard stations as well as the layout of the palace. There should be a sentry a hundred yards around the next bend …

Go around him or kill him?

It would be easier to avoid, but she might have to face him on the return trip to the helicopter with Erin Sullivan.

Get rid of him now.

No gun. Silence. Knife or injection.

He’d be dressed in the same layered garb she was, and injection would be too chancy. She took out her knife and glided toward the bend.

There he was, holding an AK-47 and facing the road leading down the mountain. Tense, huddled with cold, standing near the rocky path to the palace. He was probably wishing he was the hell out of this weather and back at his quarters.

Move silently. Unless his instincts were superb, he shouldn’t know she was behind him.

His instincts sucked.

Three minutes later, she lowered the guard to the ground and wiped her knife on the snow before she returned it to her holster. The guard wasn’t supposed to be relieved for another forty-five minutes. It should give her enough time.

Maybe. No place to hide the body anyway. Just his absence from his post would set off an alarm.

She set off up the path. The wall to the north was the least guarded according to Caudell. Climb it. That would put her into the courtyard. Get rid of the guard at the steps leading to the roof. There was another staircase across the roof that led down and emptied into a hall approximately ten feet from Erin Sullivan’s quarters.