“I’ll be in soon,” Hu Chang said. “I believe there’s something that I have to discuss with Catherine. I’m guessing that you didn’t do it on the way here.”
“And interfere with your business? I wouldn’t do that.” His smile had an element of mocking mischief. “But get it over quickly. She’s been through a lot tonight.”
“I should have been with her. I was not pleased when you left here without saying a word.”
“If I’d needed you, I would have used you.” He entered the hut. “Turn off the headlights when you come in. I only left them on so that Catherine could—Ah, that’s what I was expecting.”
Luke had pushed past him and stood in the doorway. “Catherine?”
“Oh, my God.”
She stared at him, stunned. She felt dizzy, drunk … and terrified. She couldn’t breathe. “Luke. What are—”
“I can’t see you. The light’s in my eyes. Are you okay?” He was coming toward her. His hair was mussed, and his expression was strained. “Hu Chang said that we’d get you out safe but then Cameron left and I didn’t—”
“I’m fine.” She ran toward him. “You shouldn’t be here. You have no business—” She touched his hair. It was soft, warm from the fire. “It’s all wrong. You shouldn’t have let him bring you, Luke.” She looked over her shoulder at Hu Chang, and said fiercely, “Dammit, you knew better that to risk him. What insanity led you to do this?”
“He wanted to come,” he said simply. “Sometimes it’s best to follow desire instead of reason.”
“And sometimes it’s better to be responsible and do what’s right. I’m not going to forgive you for this, Hu Chang.”
“Then I must bear the pain.”
“No!” Luke said. “Stop it, Catherine.” His dark eyes were glittering in his taut face. “Don’t you blame Hu Chang. I’m the one who decided I was going to come. I would have come after you whether he’d brought me or not. You were in trouble, and you were alone. I needed to be with you.”
“Tell her why, Luke,” Hu Chang said.
“I can’t tell her what I don’t know. Hu Chang talked a lot of weird stuff about souls speaking and how I had to learn…” He frowned. “Well, I haven’t learned what he wanted me to learn. All I know is that I’m here where I should be, and I’m going to stay with you until it’s over.” He stared her in the eye. “You’re not going to send me away, Catherine.”
“Luke, this is crazy. You’re scaring me to death.” She stared at him helplessly. “You’re my son, you’re only a boy. I can’t stand by and let you—”
“I’ve tried to listen to you, Catherine. But you don’t know me.” He swallowed. “I know who you want me to be. I’ll never be able to be him. I can’t be anyone but me, what I am,” he said unsteadily. “Maybe you could get to like me that way, too. But you can’t do it unless you see me for who I am.”
She gazed at him, stricken. “Luke, I love you. I think you’re wonderful. I’d never want you to be anything you didn’t want to be.”
He repeated, “You don’t know me. If you let me stay, maybe you will. I promise I won’t hide anything from you.”
Oh, God, she had the feeling she was on the edge of a precipice. It could be a disaster, or it could be the beginning of something …
She didn’t know. She could only follow Luke’s lead. She was afraid to do anything else. “Look, I have to find a way to keep you safe. But I promise I won’t hide anything from you either.”
He smiled. “You don’t have anything to hide. I knew that from the minute you came to get me from Rakovac. It was all there out front.” He took a step closer and gave her an awkward hug. “I’m glad you’re safe, Catherine. Next time, I’ll be there to watch out for you.” He turned and started to trot back into the hut. He stopped and turned to Hu Chang. “You see that she gets out of the cold. Can’t you see she’s barefoot?”
“It’s been called to my attention.”
She watched as Luke disappeared into the hut. What had happened just now? She was bewildered and frightened, and yet, there was the tiniest seed of hope.
“I only wanted to do what was best for him. I wanted him to have a normal life after what he’d gone through,” she whispered. “But was I doing it for him or for myself? Have I been such a coward that I came close to losing him, Hu Chang?”
“You will have to answer that for yourself,” he said quietly. “I can only say what I’ve told you before. He was born of a remarkable mother, and his hard life honed and sharpened him until he, too, is remarkable. You have to accept that remarkable people have to be allowed their space.”
“And all the rules and guidelines are thrown out the window? I tried so hard to let him know I didn’t want to smother him.”
“He knows that. He’s worked it all out for himself. He’s even put you both in a position where you’ll have to work the rest out together.” He smiled faintly. “You should be proud of him.”
“Proud? I’m terrified.”
“And proud.”
“Yes, I think so.” She was remembering Luke’s expression, his intensity, the sincerity. It had shocked her, but there had also been another sheer primitive emotion that could have been deep maternal pride. “I don’t know. The last thing I needed was to have to start reworking a relationship under these circumstances.” She whirled on him. “And you could have helped. You could have tried to persuade him to stay in Hong Kong.”
“I could have,” he acceded. “But he is your son. Would you have listened and obeyed?”
No, and neither would the boy she had faced tonight.
Hu Chang said softly, “He has been thinking, and waiting, and this was his time.”
“What about Cameron? He got you up here, didn’t he? Why did he permit it?”
“You will have to ask him.”
“But he did know you were bringing Luke?”
“I’m sure you’ve found that it’s difficult to keep anything from Cameron.”
“Why would he—”
“You’re having trouble blaming me, so now you attack Cameron?”
“Why not? He has broad shoulders. I’m sure he can take it.”
“Hu Chang!” It was Luke calling from the doorway.
“Ah, yes, the boy is still concerned about your bare feet.” He waved. “We’re coming. Catherine decided it wasn’t worth her time to chastise me. We’ll be right in.” He reached into the jeep and turned off the headlights. Darkness except for moonlight and the faintest light streaming from the tiny window of the hut. “You’d best hurry. Luke will be upset with me if you’ve developed frostbite. He had a lesson from Cameron earlier on resistance to the elements, but I don’t believe he relates it to you.”
“Cameron, again.” She moved quickly toward the hut. Her feet felt ice-cold now that she had become aware of them. “I don’t want Luke’s learning anything from Cameron.”
“You’ll have a hard time keeping Luke away from him. The fascination has started to take hold.” He shook his head ruefully. “Once that happens, it’s all over.”
“You’re speaking from experience?”
“Yes.”
“It would take a lot to fascinate you.” She stopped at the door. “I have to know about Cameron, Hu Chang.”
“You know more about him than a good many do right now.”
“Bullshit. Not enough. He can do anything with Erin, and he might be as dangerous as Kadmus to her for all I know. I have to know everything if I’m going to protect her.”
He stared at her thoughtfully. “Are you sure that’s all?”
“What do you mean?”
He tilted his head. “It’s no more than I expected. He’s curious about you. He’d naturally make an effort to draw you closer. Fascination…”
She stiffened. “No way. I just have to know. Will you tell me?”
“I’ll consider it. Although there could be some element of threat connected to it.”
“You mean that old chestnut about ‘if I to
ld you, I’d have to kill you’? Cameron’s already used that on me.”
“Really? He threatened you?”
“No, he said he’d try very hard not to kill me.” She smiled recklessly. “So you see, you have nothing to worry about.”
“I’m beginning to see many things.” He opened the door for her. “And one of the things is that you may need more knowledge than I thought necessary to get you through the next weeks.”
“Then talk to me, tell me about Cameron.”
“I’ll consider it,” he repeated. “Now go over to the stove and warm yourself while I go talk to Luke. He was rude to me just now, and that’s not to be tolerated. I must make it clear to him that emotions must be controlled.”
Catherine watched him move across the room to where Luke sat by himself on a pallet before she turned to the corner where Erin was settled. She, too, was lying on a pallet and still covered by the black blanket. But her underclothing had been stripped off and lay in a neat pile beside her.
Cameron was gently drying her hair and looked up at Catherine. “You took long enough. How are your toes? It doesn’t take long to get frostbite up here.”
“Cold. A little numb. But I’m beginning to feel them again.” She made a face. “Everyone seems to be worried about my feet, even my son.” She came closer and looked down at Erin. Her eyes were closed, but they opened, and she smiled.
“Hi, how are you doing, Catherine?”
She smiled back at her. “Better than a couple hours ago.”
“Me, too.”
“Hu Chang will be over here to take a look at you in just a minute. He’s a wonderful physician, and he’ll fix you up. He had to go over there and give a stern reprimand to my son for not being respectful to him.” She chuckled. “With all hell going on around us and Kadmus licking at our heels, he still felt bound to teach Luke.”
“He’s right,” Cameron said. “Discipline is important. You can’t let it lapse just because the battle hasn’t started.”
“That’s your son?” Erin was looking across the room at Luke. “He’s beautiful, Catherine.”
“Yes, he is.”
Erin’s face was troubled. “But he shouldn’t be here. I told you what happened to Jafar.”
“And it scared me to death.” She looked at Cameron. “But the death of children doesn’t seem to bother Hu Chang or Cameron. They’re the ones who decided that he should be here.”
“Cameron?” Erin was looking at him. “Is this the way it has to be?”
“The boy will be safe, Erin,” he said quietly. “I promise you.”
She gazed at him a moment, still frowning. Then she nodded. “Then I know it will be okay. But it still worries me.”
Cameron gazed quizzically at Catherine. “And you?”
Did he expect her to give him the same trusting reply just because he’d made a promise? Yet, for some strange reason, that promise had given Catherine a sense of security and relief that had no basis on reality. “I don’t know it will be okay. But Luke and I will get through it together.” She fell to her knees and took Erin’s hand. “And we’ll take you with us, Erin.”
Cameron chuckled. “You notice she’s leaving me and Hu Chang behind in the dust. She’s not any more pleased with us than you are.” He looked beyond Catherine’s shoulder. “It seems that Hu Chang is finished with your son and is coming to tend Erin. She won’t need you. Why don’t you get out of those clothes and warm up?”
She didn’t move. “When will you have word about Kadmus?”
“Soon. I’ll let you know.”
“We should take turns standing guard.”
“We’ll discuss it later,” he said firmly. “I had the pilot who flew Hu Chang in bring you and Erin clothing. It’s on the chest over there. You can’t fight for Luke or Erin or anyone else bundled up in that blanket.”
She hesitated and got to her feet. “You’re right.” She turned toward the chest. “But it’s a very good blanket, Cameron. Fantastic. I’m still curious about your friend who gave it to you.”
“Among a thousand other questions,” Hu Chang said as he stopped next to her. He gazed down at Erin. “So you’re the woman who has been causing so much trouble. Now it seems I have to put you back together.”
She smiled. “If you think it’s worthwhile.”
“You are worthwhile. I made that decision before I even started on this endeavor.” He knelt beside her. “And since Catherine has seen fit to champion your cause, I have no choice.”
“You make your own choices.” Catherine looked over her shoulder. “But Erin and I will be glad to have you along.”
Cameron gave a mock shudder. “I appear to be in isolation.”
She didn’t answer as she moved toward the chest. She was still angry with both of them, but Hu Chang belonged to her. She had to forgive and work with him. Cameron was an entirely different matter.
Different. Oh, yes, he was definitely different.
However, the gleaming white cold-weather gear that he had ordered for her was the best quality and worthy of the slopes of St. Moritz. Glamorous as was the outerwear, the undergarments were the same practical issue that Venable had ordered and that she was now wearing.
The first priority was to get out of the wet clothes she was wearing and into the clean dry garb. Privacy was not an issue. There was none in this tiny hut. Forget about it. The only person she might be concerned about was Luke, and he was turned on his side and clearly dozing. She dropped the blanket and stripped off the wet clothes in two minutes. It took her less than that to replace the bra, T, and tights. She towel-dried her hair, then rubbed her feet vigorously until it revved up the circulation. She put on the rest of the clothes except her boots.
Done.
She sat down before the stove and tried to finger comb her hair but it was too stiff from the chemicals of the hot springs to behave. She looked like a wildwoman and stank like rotten eggs, but this was the best she could do.
“And a very good best it is.”
Her gaze flew to the other side of the room. Cameron was leaning against the wall, sitting slightly apart from where Hu Chang was attending Erin.
“Peeping Tom, again? This time in more ways than one, Cameron.”
“It interested me that you had no false sense of modesty.” His smile was purely sensual. “And so I decided to benefit from it. Rotten eggs or not, you’re fantastic, Catherine.”
Heat. Her breasts swelling, tightening. A tingling in her palms and between her thighs.
“Not me,” he answered the question she hadn’t asked. “You’re a very responsive woman. I was lucky enough to strike the right note.”
He was probably telling the truth. She couldn’t deny that he’d had a strong sexual effect on her from the beginning. How could she when the bastard could read her mind? “I’ll get over it. That note will get very sour the longer you mess with my head.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I find I’m reluctant to have you get over it. Suppose I guarantee that I won’t ‘mess’ with you unless I find it necessary to save you or Erin? It worked pretty well traveling through the hot springs, didn’t it?”
“No, I always knew you were there.”
“Only because that’s what I wanted. I thought it might give you a feeling of safety. I didn’t want you to feel alone.”
“Look, I don’t need you to make me feel safe. In the end, it always has to come from me.” She added, “And it’s totally ridiculous for you to try to seduce me when we’re struggling just to get Erin out of here.”
“It’s not actually seduction. I’m just paving the way.”
“Then, stop. Go find out what’s happening with Kadmus.”
“In a few minutes. I have one of the villagers on the way up to the hut now.”
“How did—Never mind.” She paused. “Then let’s concentrate on Kadmus and forget about your libido.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my job. I was even considering devoting
myself entirely to boring duty and discipline. But that was before I spent so much time with you. I’ve been entirely too good for too long. I’ve decided I need a reward.”
“And I’m the prize? Screw you, Cameron.”
“Oh, I do hope so.” His smile lit his face with mischief and humor. “And now I’ll bow out and leave your mind alone.” He got to his feet. “But you may find that you miss that kind of contact. It’s much more efficient.”
“Not a chance.”
He shrugged as he slipped on his parka. “Hu Chang did miss the contact after our time together several years ago. But he’s more cerebral and less emotional.” He headed for the door. “We’ll have to see.”
Catherine watched the door close behind him and felt an odd sense of loss. More mental hijinks? Or was that a natural aftereffect of dealing with a man who bewildered and challenged her more than anyone she had every encountered?
Hu Chang did miss the contact after our time together several years ago, Cameron had said.
Which meant that Hu Chang had become closer to Cameron than she had imagined.
And that Hu Chang was the one who could probably answer most of her questions.
And she wanted those answers now.
She got to her feet and crossed to where Hu Chang was still kneeling by Erin.
“How is she?” she whispered as she looked down at Erin. There was a faint flush on her cheeks, and she appeared asleep. “She looks better.”
“Of course, she’s better.” He closed his leather medicine duffel. “I’ve healed everything physical I can heal. She will need rest and perhaps a little additional surgery. He was very cruel to her. Her mind will take longer, but she’s very strong.” He drew the cover higher about her throat. “And Cameron will help her. Just being with him is a healing factor for her.”
“I noticed.”
Hu Chang tilted his head, his gaze on her face. “And you do not like it.”
“No more than I like his influence on Luke.” She met his gaze. “Or you.”
“Why?”
“It frightens me. Luke is a child, and there’s reason for him to fall under Cameron’s influence. But not you, Hu Chang.”