Good, he’d managed to distract Kadmus’s troops and given them the time they needed, Cameron thought. Now to get rid of those missiles.

He aimed carefully.

The first shot took out the soldier loading the missile.

The second shot took out the other soldier.

The third shot hit the gas tank.

The jeep and missiles exploded!

No more missiles.

He glanced at the helicopter. It was still within range of a good shot. More distraction needed. He took his AK-47 and sprayed the oncoming soldiers who had reached the lower boulders below him.

Then he started moving higher on the rocks, deliberately showing himself.

Shouts.

Bullets.

But they were both in his direction, not the helicopter.

Another glance showed the helicopter out of range.

He ducked back behind the boulders and kept on climbing.

*   *   *

“Kill that son of a bitch!” Kadmus shouted.

He could feel the heat of the flames from the exploded missile singeing his back as he ran toward the plateau.

Gone.

Erin Sullivan whisked away from him by Catherine Ling. Rage was tearing through him. He had been so close, and she had still managed to make a fool of him.

No, it hadn’t been Ling by herself. The man who’d done this damage was still on the mountain. He’d caught a glimpse of him only minutes ago. He’d squeeze his throat until—

Control the anger.

This could be the man he’d been searching for. It’s what he’d been suspecting, and the way he’d decimated his men added credence to the suspicions. Now he had to capture him to confirm it.

“Find him,” he called to Brasden. “But keep him alive. Do you hear me? I need him.”

“I hear you.” Brasden was starting up the boulders. “And if I can’t get my hands on him right away, I may still get him. I took a photo with my phone when we got a glimpse of him a minute ago.”

Clever. He wouldn’t have thought Brasden would be that clever. “Don’t rely on a damn photo. Get him now.”

“I’m not relying on anything. You’ve always told me to have a backup plan. The photo is my backup plan.” He stared grimly down at Kadmus. “And I got a photo of the helicopter as it took off. Complete with registration numbers. It could help. Could you have done better?” He turned away and started climbing.

Arrogance, Kadmus thought, trying to stifle his rage.

And he would punish that arrogance as Brasden deserved.

As soon as he could do without the asshole during these next crucial days.

Use him, then kill him.

*   *   *

“Don’t touch him, Luke.”

Hu Chang’s voice, Catherine realized hazily.

“I said, get away from him,” Hu Chang ordered.

Get away from whom? she wondered. It didn’t matter. Hu Chang sounded … stern. She had to open her eyes and make sure Luke was all right. “Luke…”

Luke was not all right.

His eyes were blazing with pure, searing anger. His entire being appeared to be sending off sparks. His lips were pulled back from his teeth. “Let me go.”

Then she saw that Hu Chang was standing in front of him, blocking his way.

And the pilot Hu Chang had called Tashdon was lying on the floor of the copter.

“Luke!” She scrambled to sit up. “What’s happening, Hu Chang?”

“Ask your son,” he said dryly. “Luke, get away from Tashdon and go see if your mother needs water or an aspirin. That’s the only help she needs from you right now.”

Luke hesitated, and the stormy expression gradually abated. He crossed the copter and fell to his knees beside her. “Is Hu Chang right?” he asked jerkily. “Do you need something? Water?”

“I need to know what happened.” She lifted her hand to her temple. The helicopter. They were on the helicopter. They must have gotten away from the mountain. The last thing she remembered was trying to jump out to get to those missiles. They’d been all over Cameron, and he’d—

“Cameron.” Her eyes widened. “What happened to Cameron?”

“Cameron will be okay.” Erin was suddenly beside her with a bottle of water and two aspirins. “We saw explosions while we were taking off. You don’t have to worry about Cameron.”

“I wasn’t exactly worried. I just didn’t want to leave a man behind.”

“And you were right,” Luke said fiercely. “If you wanted to go get Cameron, then Tashdon should have let you. I would have gone with you.” He was glaring over his shoulder at Hu Chang, who was helping the pilot to his feet. “He shouldn’t have touched you.”

“The pilot.” She had to struggle to remember the name Luke had called him. “Tashdon hit me?”

“He had no right to hit you,” Luke said. “No one has a right to hurt you.”

“You made your opinion clear on that subject, Luke,” Erin said dryly. “However, it might be wise to talk before acting.” She turned to Catherine. “But I don’t believe he’s going to listen to anyone but you, and he’s been edging toward Tashdon again.”

“Why? What happened to Tashdon?”

Luke didn’t answer.

Erin shrugged. “Tashdon hit you with the shaft of his gun when you were trying to jump out. Then he took a step back, closed the helicopter door, and tried to say something to Hu Chang.” She made a face. “He didn’t get the chance. Luke tackled him, then was on him like a cat. He bloodied his nose and gave him a karate chop that put him out. I don’t know how much more damage he did before Hu Chang pulled him off.”

“Considerable,” Tashdon said. “I wasn’t expecting it. Keep him away from me.”

“He’s only a boy,” Catherine said. “He’s eleven years old.”

“Who is almost as tall as me,” Hu Chang said. “He doesn’t have a man’s strength yet, but he has skills that made up for it. He was all ferocity and very intimidating. He knew what he was doing once he got his hands on Tashdon.” He looked at Luke. “Didn’t you?”

“Karate?” Luke shrugged. “Of course I knew. Rakovac wanted me to know anything that had to do with killing. He wanted me to kill. But I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do anything he wanted me to do.” He looked at Tashdon. “But I wanted to hurt him, and it was easy for me.”

“You don’t kill someone just because you can,” Catherine said.

“He hurt you.” He paused. “And I didn’t kill him … quite.”

“I have to go back to the cockpit,” Tashdon said. He turned to Catherine. “I’m sorry I hurt you.” He added ruefully. “In more ways than one. I was trying to explain to you when I struck you.”

“Not the time for explanations,” Catherine said. “And I may disapprove of Luke’s taking you down, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t do it myself.”

Luke took an eager step toward him.

“No, Luke, not you.” She said coldly to Tashdon, “Make your explanations and get out of here. It was Cameron?”

He nodded. “He was sure at some point you would … opt to stay and join the fray. He said to be prepared and not let you do it when that time came.”

“He told you to knock me on the head?”

“He told me to stop you. I couldn’t think of any other way to do it. I didn’t mean to knock you out. I just wanted to give you a glancing blow that would get you away from the door.” He gazed sourly at Luke. “I’m a pilot. I don’t know any of that other stuff. Cameron wanted it done. So I did it.”

“It’s not always wise to obey blindly,” Hu Chang said. “I heard what you said before you struck Catherine and deduced the reason.” He added coolly, “Otherwise, you would have had to contend with me as well as the boy. You would have found me even more lethal. Luke knows the method but is obviously controlled by passion. That’s sometimes counterproductive. He will have to be mentally and emotionally schooled before he’s fully effective. But you might be a good subject on whom he can practi—”

“Stop, Hu Chang,” Catherine said. “Let him go fly the damn helicopter. And you will not school Luke in anything lethal. It’s bad enough that I’m always worried about you and those poisons.”