Lights. Noise. Neon signs.
“Taxi,” Hu Chang said. “Now.”
“I’ll get it.” Luke stepped into the street in front of the wave of traffic.
“Luke!” Catherine started to go after him.
“Hey, I’m a kid. Sometimes it come in handy.” Luke grinned at her as he waved down a taxi. “No one wants to mow down a kid. Rakovac used me that way all the time.”
“Well, I’m not going to use you that way.”
“Get in the cab, Catherine.” Erin opened the passenger door. “The deed’s done. Argue later.”
Catherine was already heading for the cab. “I wasn’t going to stage a protest. I just had a—” She broke off as she heard the high keening of a siren. “What’s that?”
“The sound of foolish disobedience.” Hu Chang jumped into the seat beside the driver. “Get in the cab.” He turned to the taxi driver. “Chinatown. I’ll give you the exact address later.”
An ambulance and two police cars roared past the taxi as Catherine got in the back with Luke and Erin. “They’re turning in up ahead at the airport terminal,” Luke said. “I wonder…”
So did Catherine. Another ambulance roared by as the taxi started negotiating the traffic. She gazed at Hu Chang. “What did you mean about disobeying?”
“Jack Sen quite probably disobeyed Cameron’s orders. I was wondering if he would. I hope he survived.”
“What orders?”
“To lie low and call the police if there was a threat.”
“What threat?” Her gaze shifted to the airport entrance they were passing. “You’re saying that Sen—”
“I’m only saying Jack Sen had a weapon.” He gazed meaningfully at the taxi driver. “And that I will discuss it with you later.”
Catherine leaned back in her seat. She had a sinking feeling that Sen might be hurt or dead. But there was no way of knowing or even guessing until she could get Hu Chang to talk. And that wouldn’t occur until they had reached their destination and could have a moment of privacy. “Chinatown? Who’s in Chinatown?”
“Several million Chinese and other interesting cultural and racial blends.”
“Who are we going to see?” she asked impatiently.
“A woman of beauty and intelligence who is an old and valued friend.” He told the driver, “Just let us out at a restaurant on Clement Street. We’ll make our own way from there.” He turned back to Catherine. “To my friend, who might be persuaded to welcome us into her home.”
“Don’t you have any old and valued friends that aren’t women?”
“A few. But women appear to be drawn to me, and I find them fascinating. My relations with men always seem to have an element of antagonism. No doubt they recognize a superior male in me.”
“No doubt,” she said dryly. She looked back over her shoulder, at the flashing lights of the ambulance at the airport entrance. Had Jack Sen been hurt or killed? Perhaps there was something that she could have done. Hu Chang should have told her what was going on instead of rushing her away.
“He made a choice,” Hu Chang said as he saw her expression.
“But you didn’t let me make one.”
“I told Cameron I would keep you safe.” He looked at Erin. “And you were not the only one at risk. Erin and Luke—”
“I know.” She raised her hand to interrupt him. “And maybe you’re right. But I can’t be sure of that.”
“We will have a discussion when we arrive at Chinatown, and you can make a determination.”
“You promised Cameron?” Erin had focused only on that part of the conversation. “He reached you? He’s all right?”
Hu Chang nodded.
Naturally, Erin would zero in on the well-being of her superhero, Catherine thought. She had not had the same response. Somehow, she had felt she would have known if anything had happened to Cameron. Crazy, unreasonable, but perfectly in sync with everything else that had gone on since she had encountered him.
“That’s good,” Luke said. “I thought that he would be. Cameron is a cool guy.”
And maybe Luke had that same sense that he would have known that Catherine did. She hoped it wasn’t true. She didn’t want him to be that close to Cameron in any way.
Dangerous.
Dangerous for Luke. Dangerous for her.
CHAPTER
12
CHINATOWN
Bright lights.
Crowded streets.
The spicy sweet-sour smell of food.
A restaurant painted red with a gold dragon on the door.
“Let us out here. We will walk the rest of the way.” Hu Chang paid the driver and got out of the cab. “Come along. It’s not far. It will give my friend time to prepare for us.”
Catherine watched the driver negotiate his way through the busy traffic. “And the name of your friend?”
“Celia Mekong.” He was making a telephone call. “Ah, Celia. I have guests and perhaps a few problems. May I bring them to you? You have no commitments?” He smiled at her answer. “We will be there within twenty minutes.” He hung up. “She is bored and delighted to have our company.” He started down the street. “However, she must get rid of one of her commitments and prepare for us. So we will stroll slowly and enjoy people watching. The Chinatowns of America are like no others.”
Luke and Erin were already walking ahead and looking into shop windows.
“Commitment?” Catherine asked.
“Celia is a courtesan.”
Catherine’s eyes widened. “She’s a prostitute?”
“No, a courtesan. There is a vast difference. You will understand once you meet her.”
“I don’t have to understand. All I have to know is that Erin is safe with her.”
“As safe as the circumstances permit. Until Cameron takes care of the root of the matter.”
“Kadmus.” She said, “I’m not sure Cameron is going to take care of him. He told me that was on the forbidden list.”
“He may have changed his mind. I received that indication.”
“Well, I can’t rely on him. I have to be ready for Kadmus when he comes.” She gazed directly into his eyes. “Or his men come, as they did tonight. Why did we have to go on the run? Tell me what happened at the airport, Hu Chang.”
“What you’ve probably deduced, but I’ll fill in the details.”
She listened quietly, and when he’d finished, she didn’t speak for a moment. “And we don’t know if Jack Sen is alive or dead.”
“He didn’t have to confront Kadmus’s men. I told him that I believed Cameron was going to address the problem.”
“Would that have been good enough for you? It was his mother who was murdered, for God’s sake. It wouldn’t have been good enough for me.” She paused. “I need to know if there’s anything I can do for Sen.”
“I will contact the airport and local hospitals and try to find out where he was taken. Or I will have Celia call a few people she knows, and they will be able to tell her.” He smiled. “People are always eager to do favors for Celia.”
“Good.” She was silent. “Cameron said he was on his way?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know if I want him to come. I thought we might be done with him. He … disturbs me.”
“I know. Then you must decide if you’re willing to tolerate the disturbance for his help in keeping Erin safe.”
“I don’t need his help. All I need is a little time to work things out for her.”
“Kadmus isn’t going to give us time. And you have both Erin and Luke to protect. Help would not come amiss.”
“You want Cameron to come?”
“I want you to come to terms with him. Take what you need, give what you wish. But do not hide from him.”
“I’m not hiding.” Or perhaps she was. And perhaps Hu Chang was right. Confront Cameron and take what she needed.
What she needed …
Tingling heat.