The man nodded. “Bao-Yu and our child are in the safe room upstairs. We were hoping to leave this evening. I’ve wired the house with explosives, primarily at the entrances. I was on watch till then.”
“Do you have to pack?”
“No.”
“Then we’ll wait while you fetch your wife and child from the safe room,” Webster said, politely. “We can talk on the plane.” Time enough then to discover the truth about any marital status.
While they waited in the entrance hall, Webster texted Rafe. Found your birthday present. Wait till we get there for the party. Call you soon.
A few minutes later, Bao-Yu and her daughter were escorted out to the car by three highly trained professionals, weapons drawn.
Seated in the back with her daughter on her lap, her hand in her husband’s, Bao exhaled softly as they drove away from the house. “Thank you so much. We weren’t sure you’d come for us.” She glanced up at her husband and smiled. “Li was more confident.”
“I’m able to monitor a portion of Zou’s communication. Enough to know of his campaign against Ganz. So we offered to leave Hong Kong for reasons of our own and Zou agreed for his.”
“Do you know what his reasons are for letting you leave?” Webster asked, looking up and down the road before pulling out of the driveway.
“One of them is what brought you and the others to Brisbane.” Li indicated his wife and child with a nod. “Zou’s adding extra work for his enemies. Whether Bao-Yu’s just a decoy or not is uncertain. Zou’s dealing with a tangled web of political opponents. What do you want, precious?” He leaned in to hear the little girl’s whisper. “Look, I have your kitty in my pocket.” He handed the little girl a small silky toy, then looked up. “Could we discuss this later?”
“No problem,” Gina said, half turned in her seat, her gaze on the cell phone the man was taking out of his pocket. “Do you mind?” She held out her hand.
“Don’t touch the Blue Sky app. Not yet.”
“If I do?”
“We’re not far enough away.” He raised his brows. “Flying debris.”
“Ah.” She handed the phone back. “I expect you’d like the honor.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“That your specialty?” Webster asked.
“No, just part of my current job. I was an English teacher a very long time ago.”
“You don’t fucking say,” Webster murmured. “Small world. I taught Chinese at UQ.” He shot a glance out the back window. “We’re far enough away now. No point in missing out on the fireworks.”
Before he finished speaking, a huge ball of fire rose in a massive cloud from what had once been Zou’s castle, the sound of the powerful blast arriving a second later. When a detonation is faster than the speed of sound, heavy explosives are involved.
Webster shot a grin over his shoulder. “That took a while to set up. I hope Zou was insured.”
“He won’t live to collect,” Li murmured.
“That’s what we’re hoping.”
Chapter 20
Rafe was just getting out of the shower when his phone pinged and Webster’s message came through. Relief washed over him. A major hurdle overcome. Whether Bao-Yu was important to Zou or not, she was at the very least a distraction better to have out of the way. He replied to Webster: Looking forward to the party. Then he sent Carlos a text with the news, toweled off, and walked to the bed with a smile on his face.
“You smell good,” Nicole murmured sleepily as he slipped under the covers and pulled her into his arms.
“Shampoo. You smell like the woman I love,” he whispered, dipping his head and kissing her cheek. “Ummm…candy sweet, a hint of roses. I could find you blindfolded in the dark.”
Twisting in his arms, she climbed up on his big body and kissed him, wet passionate kisses, little biting kisses, frantic, hot kisses. “If you’re too tired,” she breathed, nipping at his smile, “I’ll be good.”
He loved her wildness, her helpless need. “I’m not tired and I’m not looking for good.” He slid his hands down her spine, then cupped her ass in his large hands. “So what can we do for you?”
“I’m just so happy,” she said, a tiny hiccup in her voice. He was always willing to accommodate her, no matter his weariness. “And you should sleep. Really, give me a kiss and I’m content.”
He laughed, then his smile turned intimate and his voice was that of a man in love. “I’m here to make you happy, pussycat. I’m guessing I can do a little better than a kiss.”
Her smile was dazzling. “You’re so good to me.”
“It gives me pleasure,” he said, this man who’d faced the world largely alone since childhood. “You’re a part of me now, pussycat.” He ran his palms down her back, gently cupped her bottom, and thought for a brief moment of how his love for her tempered his life, his immediate future. Perhaps added to his risk when his focus should be single-mindedly on survival.
But he shook away all the uncertainties and lifted his head to kiss the woman who gave him such pleasure. Who could make him forget his unprosperous odds, the entire world when he held her in his arms.
Toward morning, Rafe’s phone pinged. Reading the text, he carefully slid from the bed in order not to wake Nicole, walked into his dressing room, shut the door, and called Carlos. “Did you sleep?”
“Unlike you, I did,” Carlos said, a smile in his voice.
“If you have a problem with me fucking, I’ll find you a therapist.”
“Find me a good-looking one and I’ll think about it. Good news though. Bao-Yu et al are airborne. Webster just called. But I have even better news for your shiny new love life. Zou stopped two hours ago.”
“That is good news. Any idea why?”
“He entered a compound crawling with men, although from the signs of activity, I’d guess they’re not ready yet to take the offensive. If I had to bet, I’d say Zou’s there for a few days at least.”
Rafe laughed. “Jesus, is it my birthday?”
“It is for a minimum of two to three days anyway. Then, if Bangkok’s their mobilization zone, that’s another day or two drive. Additionally, they’ll have to space out their arrivals to mask their numbers.”
“If we have eyes on them though, what about Zou’s enemies? Those upper ranks have to have access to satellites. That’s gonna widen the battlefield.”
“Or give us a miracle. Someone might take him out before he reaches Bangkok.”
“Wouldn’t that be sweet. In the meantime, keep me up to date.”
“You still have to ration your playtime. We need you too.”
“I’ll be down at night for sure, more often if possible. Thanks, Carlos.”
“You got it. Have some fun today. We’re all taking a breather.”
It turned out to be more than a day. Zou didn’t leave the compound, although the level of activity monitored by the satellite was intense. Trucks coming and going, men arriving—it was clear that he was preparing for a sizable campaign.
Zou hadn’t tried to contact Bao-Yu. A blessing for her, a mystery to those on the island. Both she and Li, who had turned out to be her husband, had been debriefed when they arrived. The little girl was theirs. Perhaps Zou had discovered the subterfuge; perhaps he’d known it all along. Although others hadn’t, or her apartment wouldn’t have been trashed, nor would a hit team have been sent to Brisbane.
All Bao-Yu and Li had been able to verify was that their flight to Brisbane had been arranged by Zou, and he’d offered them the use of his home there. The reasons were still not clear. Li had helped compile a list of Zou’s enemies along with their capabilities. And he’d offered to accompany them to Bangkok. Ganz wasn’t the only one with a vendetta against Zou.
The small family was staying in an apartment in the palazzo distant from the day-to-day activities. Rafe didn’t want Nicole to see them and ask questions he couldn’t answer.
Zou was continually under surveillance by satellite and on the ground.
Arrangements for flights to Bangkok were in train. Everyone on the island was only waiting for Zou to move.
Until then everything was on hold.
Chapter 21
After a late-morning swim and a luncheon al fresco, poolside, Nicole and Rafe lay side by side on a sun-faded chaise, the too-tender-to-touch happiness they were feeling underscored by small stirrings of melancholy. After eight days in their own special paradise, they both knew time was running out.
The shadow of fear sent a shiver down Nicole’s spine.
Rafe felt it and looked down. “You okay?”
No. She hated feeling this way: restless, stifled, powerless against the future. Not knowing what was real and what was skidding mist. But the blue of her eyes suddenly flashed spotlight bright as she turned her face up to his. “Tell me we can stay here forever.” A familiar echo of defiance rang in her voice. “Just you and me. Say it.” A ferocious stare. “Officially.”
He heard the small twitch of fear beneath the hard ding of her words, knew what she was asking, and he cared enough to lie through his teeth. “Why do you think I brought you to my hidden lair, Tiger? So you can’t get away.” Lightly tracing the delicate arch of her brow, he wondered if he’d ever be this happy again. “Just you and me forever.” His smile was a blaze of beauty. “That’s the plan.”
It was too late for anything but lies.
There was no forever.
The statute of limitations had run out.
Even knowing their world was being shaken to the core, a rush of gladness shone in Nicole’s eyes. “That works for me.”
Rafe’s face closed over for a moment, before he smiled. “We’re a good pair, pussycat. Right from the beginning. A triumph of serendipity over reason.”
“And me not taking no for an answer without a hissy fit,” she said, all playful sass, sure again.
“Yeah, that too.” A wolfish glint darkened his amber eyes; he wasn’t so sure he would have let her walk away. He suddenly stifled a yawn. “Sorry.” His voice was thick with fatigue.
“Poor baby,” Nicole murmured. “You’re not getting much sleep.” Rafe was often gone when she woke in the middle of the night, his schedule brutal. “Don’t feel you have to entertain me. Go take a nap.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks. We’re just dealing with the fallout from the Geneva attack. Nothing to worry about. I’ll sleep when it’s over.”
“You’re bringing in an awful lot of men.” Security was visibly ramping up, Leo had taken to frowning more or less full time, and while she understood she was being protected from the war plans, something beyond ordinary defense was in the works.
Rafe smiled. “Okay, it’s major fallout. But we weathered their twelfth attack, so I’ve been to this dance before. It’s pretty routine. More wine?”
“Sure. A little.” She gave herself points for responding like a mature adult. Rafe didn’t wish to discuss the subject. She understood. “Lunch was fabulous, as usual.” She waved at the debris of their meal on a nearby table.
“Henny’s behaving himself and Teresa’s a gem. I’m lucky to have her,” Rafe replied blandly, levering upward in a supple flex of abs to reach for a bottle of local rosé.
Nicole picked up her wineglass from a small mosaic table beside the chaise, then quickly set it down as tears suddenly welled in her eyes and all her stiff-upper-lip intentions melted away. “Oh hell,” she whispered, incapable of Rafe’s cool control with farewell and loss twisting her gut. “How much longer before—”
Dropping the wine bottle, Rafe swung back and put his finger over her mouth. “Come on,” he said softly. “Don’t rain on my parade. I like feeling happy.”
Sucking in a deep breath, then another, she finally managed to conjure up a wobbly smile. “Gotcha.”
“There you go.” He gave her a sweetly wicked wink. “Compliance. That’s what I like.”
Cautioning herself not to ask for more than Rafe could give when he was only looking for a degree of normalcy in the eye of the coming storm, she grabbed handfuls of his sleek, black hair and pulled him close. “Then you better make it worth my while, Contini. Got it?”
“So you give the orders now?” A slow lazy smile, an eyebrow lift.
“Was I somehow not clear?” she purred.
His grin was bad-boy perfect. “Just checkin’.” He’d been on his best behavior the last few days, wanting to offer Nicole unalloyed pleasure, wanting what they had to matter somehow, wanting it to be better and brighter and sharper, so even when the lights went out and the signals were lost, the memories would still be vivid. He had two, maybe three days of sweet, urgent happiness left. “Okay, now don’t give me any shit, but my orders first. Shut your eyes.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Seriously?”
“Seriously the orders or seriously shutting your eyes?” Not that it mattered; he knew how to make her obey.
“What if I say both?”
He smiled. “It’ll just delay your orgasm.”
“Hmmm.”
He knew that sound and look. “Ready to move on? If so, I apologize for the cliché, but it’s something I want to do.”
“Do what?” she asked warily.
“I said clichéd, pussycat, not depraved. Trust me.” He waited calmly.
She finally shut one eye.
He flashed her a wide grin. “You have trust issues, Tiger?”
“Maybe.”
“Do what you’re told,” he drawled. “You get the prize.”
“I’d better,” she said in her bossy little bitch voice that always made him smile.
He leaned forward a little, giving her a small intimate smile. “Have I ever let you down?”
A second later her eyes closed and he gave himself a moment to relish the lush image of her lying on his chaise, eyes shut, her skin warm and golden, her opulent form on almost full display in a tiny red polka-dot bikini, her beauty so precious she took his breath away.
And she was his, at least for now.
Sitting up, he stretched out his arm and plucked a plump, red cherry from the bowl on the table. Turning back and holding the cherry between his thumb and index finger, he said, quietly, “Open your mouth. Uh-uh, you can’t look yet. Trust, okay?” He waited until her eyelids drifted downward again, then waited a fraction of a second more—committing to memory the sweetly erotic picture of her waiting open-mouthed and expectant—before he lowered his hand.
The instant the cherry touched her tongue, her eyes flew open and her giggle warmed his heart. “See, perfectly innocuous,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Am I a good boy or what? Now bite.”
“You’re a romantic, too,” she teased, giving him a poke in the ribs. “How hard should I bite?”
He laughed. “Goddamn sex fiend. No wonder we get along.”
“Did you ever doubt it?”
“Jesus, and I thought you liked me because I made you laugh and we both enjoyed walks on the beach.”
“Fuck you.”
“All in due time. You gonna eat this cherry or what? Or would you like it somewhere else?”
She grinned. “Same old pervert.” But she pulled the cherry off the stem and began to chew.
“Yeah, well, men are fucking predictable,” he said, holding out his palm for the pit. “Feel like another one in a different place?”
She took in his playful leer. “So I have choices?” she said with a tantalizing glint in the blue of her eyes.
He chuckled. “You always have choices, Tiger. The menu’s large and my dick and I are always on board for whatever you want.”
“The tower room.”
He laughed. “Walls twelve feet thick—your kind of perfect. No one can hear you scream.”
She grinned. “Do I detect a note of censure?”
“Hell no. Your enthusiasm is music to my ears.” He held out his hand. “Want me to carry you? Don’t answer. I’m carrying you.” His need for her burned hotter with each passing moment, the thought that he might never hold her aga
in so sharp it hurt.
Nicole pressed her hand to her chest as though he’d spoken aloud, as though his thoughts had scalded her skin, as though mental telepathy were real and not just coincidence. “I don’t want to leave,” she blurted out, her eyes huge, pleading. “Tell me I don’t have to. Oh God, I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have said that—no I’m not!” Her voice pitched high, she stared at him with heated challenge in her eyes. “I’m not one bit sorry! And I’m not going!”
He couldn’t think of anything on earth he’d rather hear, nor anything more impossible. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he whispered. Leaning in, he slid a finger under her chin, dipped his head, and kissed her gently. “You don’t have to leave,” he lied. “No way.”
He felt her smile on his lips, heard her soft, “Thanks,” and, easing back, met her warm, sunlit gaze.
“Fairy tales really can come true, right?”
“I’ll make sure they do.” Three days tops, he thought, giving her a reassuring smile because she was watching. Although there was a chance he might win this crapshoot. “Since you walked into my life, I’ve become a believer in miracles. So why not a few more?” His smile was heartbreakingly beautiful this time. “Are we all good now?”
Swallowing her tears, she nodded.
He kissed her cheek. “That’s my girl. Now let’s check out the view from the tower room. We’ll slam the door on the world; you give orders this time, I’ll take them,” he said, sexy and low as he started to lift her up, “and we’ll just play.”
When they reached the inner tower, she shut her eyes and held on tightly as he carried her up the narrow, winding staircase.
“You can look,” he said. “I’m not going to drop you.”
“I know that,” she said, not looking. “I’d just rather wait until we’re inside.”
“You afraid of heights?”
“Let’s just say I don’t stand on the edge of cliffs.” Nor consider myself invincible like you.
“Okay, just thirty or so more steps and you’re safe.”
He started running, making her squeal, and the minute Rafe dropped her on her feet inside the tower room door she pummeled him in an explosive flurry of punches and verbal fury while he stood motionless, smiling faintly, until she was out of breath.