“We were in a hurry. You wanted to know what condition would keep me from being able to help free myself.” She looked her in the eye. “Nothing would have kept me from doing that. If I’d had a broken leg, I would still have made it here. I didn’t have the slightest doubt that I’d hold out until we were safe.”

Catherine grimaced. “I would have had a small doubt or two if I were you. Why were you so certain?”

Erin shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew I’d do it.”

“Adrenaline?”

“Maybe something like that.” She added quietly, “And, besides, I wouldn’t want to let you down. You seemed very passionate about getting home to your son. I’m sorry that everything went wrong.”

“So am I. But we’ll work through it.” She got to her feet. She shrugged off her backpack and dropped it to the ground. “But right now I’d better go back and erase any sign of our footprints. When Kadmus figures out that we definitely weren’t on that helicopter, he’s going to go on the hunt. He may have started already.” She started toward the cave opening. “I should be back in thirty minutes or so, and I’ll see what I can do about that shoulder and finger.”

“Be careful.”

“Always.” She smiled grimly back at her. “There’s no way I’d let Kadmus catch us now. You’re out of that hellhole, and you’re not going back.”

“No, I won’t let myself be taken. Not again.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t hurry. I’ll just sit here and rest until you come back.”

The finality of Erin’s words sounded ominous. She had no doubt undergone mental as well as physical torture and would take any other path rather than go back to it. Who could blame her? Catherine would feel the same. She just hoped that Erin meant that she would not give up her life but would be determined to take Kadmus’s.

“I won’t be long.” Catherine strode out of the cave and picked up a branch from beneath one of the sparse trees in the grove. She pulled out her knife and cut it down to a manageable size for her purpose. She moved swiftly back up the path.

Keep busy. Work fast. Do the job at hand. Don’t think of that bastard or what he had done to Erin Sullivan. Venable had told her that there was torture involved, but it was always different when you actually met the victim. It was doubly upsetting when the victim was Erin Sullivan, and the courage shone beacon-bright through that hideous darkness surrounding her.

“I was right to come, Luke,” she whispered as she started carefully brushing the traces of their footsteps from the stony path. “I didn’t want to leave you. I thought I’d be back almost before you missed me. But it was right that I got her out.”

But Erin Sullivan wasn’t out yet. Now they had a long, difficult way to go before they escaped. She mustn’t think of Luke or Hu Chang or anyone else right now. She had to concentrate on a plan to get them through the mountains to a point where Caudell could pick them up.

If the helicopter hadn’t been blown to kingdom come.

She didn’t think that last shot had gotten Caudell, and she hadn’t heard any more explosions as they had hurried down the path toward the village.

So assume that Caudell was alive and had told Venable that Erin was alive and free and running for her life. Catherine could not use any electronic device to request pickup unless she knew that Caudell was in the immediate area. Surely, they would stay close in case she was able to communicate.

She couldn’t assume anything except that while she remained on this mountain, Kadmus would be able to zero in on her if she tried to reach anyone. She’d have to get off this mountain, and even then, it wouldn’t be certain.

Think about it. Work it out. She was competent, and Erin Sullivan was not going to be a handicap. They’d get away from this mountain that Kadmus thought he ruled.

She just hoped she got the chance to kill the bastard before they did it.

CHAPTER

5

DAKSHA PALACE

“They weren’t on the helicopter,” Brasden said as he strode into Kadmus’s library. “I’ve interviewed several of our men who had different vantage points, and none of them saw anyone but the pilot on board. That means they’re still on the mountain.”

“I told you that was what happened,” Kadmus said impatiently. “That pilot was behaving like an asshole. He was trying to divert our attention.” He gazed coldly at Brasden. “And he was successful. You were a fool.”

“The helicopter was the biggest threat. I had to focus attention first on—” He stopped as he saw Kadmus’s expression. “I sent men to search every cranny of the mountain as soon as I suspected that they were—”

“And you haven’t found them.”

“Not yet.” He moistened his lips. “But we’ve started to question the villagers. So far we haven’t had any luck, but—”

“Luck?” Kadmus repeated harshly. “I don’t pay you to rely on luck. I want answers. Naturally, you wouldn’t get answers from those villagers. I’ve taken care over the years to make sure that they wouldn’t do anything that would be against my interests. They’d turn Erin Sullivan over in a heartbeat if she’d gone there.”

“I thought that boy you killed was—”

“He wasn’t from my village. I own this mountain.”

Kadmus believed he owned the whole damn world, Brasden thought sourly. And, if he had his way, given time, he’d do it. That was okay. Brasden would ride on his coattails and eventually find a way to steal it away from him. Right now, he’d have to play meek and subservient. He’d screwed up royally by letting Sullivan be taken away. “I thought as much, but I thought it would do no harm to interrogate a few villagers. There are a few monks and the old lama who are still there.” He paused. “I told you that it was a woman who got Sullivan out. The bitch was very, very tough. Do you have any idea who sent her?”

“I have an idea or two. Yes, she was tough. She made you look like a weakling.”

Brasden choked back his anger. “I know you’ve been questioning Sullivan about the man who gave her that necklace. Do you suppose he sent the woman and the helicopter?”

“It’s possible. Not likely. He would probably let Sullivan die before he risked himself. It’s rare that he makes any contact at all. Sullivan was the exception. If he’d sent two more people to free her, that would be two more people I could possibly break. He wouldn’t permit himself to be that vulnerable.” His hand knotted into a fist. “But I could have made Sullivan talk. I just needed a little more time.”

“I’ll get her back.”

“Yes, you will,” he said with soft menace. “Or I’ll toss you off this mountain.” He frowned. “It could be CIA who sent her. We’ve been hearing that they’ve been investigating her disappearance.”

“It was dangerous to take an American citizen. Naturally, it would cause an uproar.”

“It was safe enough for me. No one has been able to touch me in all these decades. I had to have her.”

“Why?” He paused, then said persuasively, “Perhaps it would help if I knew what value she has for you. Who are you trying to locate?”

“The only person that knowledge might help is you, Brasden. And I’m not sharing this with you.” Kadmus gave him a cold glance. “I’ve told you that my dealings with Sullivan are personal and private. Don’t ask me again.”

Brasden backed off. “Just trying to be helpful.”

“Then find her and the woman who took her. I want constant electronic surveys of the entire area. Send out patrols to monitor any possible transmissions.” He added through his teeth, “Bring her back to me. Now get out of here and find them.”

*   *   *

“That’s done,” Catherine said as she came back into the cave. She carefully rolled the boulders back in front of the opening. “It wasn’t that difficult. The path was almost pure stone and—” She stopped. “Were you sleeping? Is the cold getting to you?”