“Well, it didn’t work.”

“I’ve kept him alive so far, haven’t I?” He paused. “I won’t let him be hurt, Catherine. I made you a promise.”

“You keep that promise,” she said fiercely. “But I’m not relying on you. How close is that scumbag following Luke?”

“Very close. And Luke is thinking about doing something rash. I’m trying to keep him—”

Cameron was no longer there.

Panic.

Catherine tore across the street and down the alley.

Luke.

Oh, God, she could see Luke at the far end of the alley. But he wasn’t running, he was standing still, slightly crouched.

On the attack? He was just a boy. But he had attacked Tashdon on the helicopter. No, Luke, please don’t do—

Too late.

A man in a yellow jacket had rounded the corner.

Luke sprang forward and gave him a karate chop to the neck.

But the man recovered and whirled away from him.

He was cursing as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Luke.

“No!” This was a nightmare. She jerked her own gun from the shoulder holster. Let her be in time.

Cameron.

Suddenly there, out of the darkness, incredibly fast.

He dove between Luke and his attacker.

A shot.

Cameron jerked.

Had he been shot?

No, Cameron leaped on the man in the yellow jacket and with two moves stunned him with a blow to the neck before slicing his throat.

Cameron pushed him off and turned away as the man fell to the ground. He turned to Luke. “Are you okay?”

Luke nodded, his eyes on the dead man. “You did that very well.”

“And you need a few lessons,” he said grimly. “I’ll have to see to it.”

“Luke.” Catherine was beside them. She wanted to yell and hug him and slap him and—“You’re sure that you’re—” She lifted a shaking hand to her temple. “You shouldn’t be here. This was the wrong thing to—”

“Move.” Cameron told Luke as he started back down the alley. “You, too, Catherine. Kadmus is going down, and we don’t have time for anything but making sure of that. She’s right, Luke, you shouldn’t be here. But you are, and we can’t leave you here and have Kadmus or one of his crew get his hands on you. You’re coming to the factory with us.” His tone was cold and sharp. “And you’re going to obey orders, and you’re going to help blow Kadmus and his team to kingdom come. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Luke said. His eyes glittered with excitement. “That’s all I wanted. I’ll do what you say. Come on, Catherine. Let’s go. Where is this place? I got all turned around in these alleys.”

“But you got here,” Cameron said. “You go on ahead with Catherine. I’ll watch your back.”

“You’re giving a hell of a lot of orders,” Catherine said, looking over her shoulder as she reached the end of the alley. “And what if I don’t want to go on—” She stopped as she saw a spreading stain on the side of his shirt. “Blood. Is that your blood or his?”

“Probably a little of both.”

“He did shoot you.”

“Flesh wound. It’s not bleeding much. I’ve had worse. Nothing to worry about.” He added, “And we don’t have time for you to give me first aid. I’m figuring we have eight minutes tops before we have to deal with Kadmus.” He smiled. “And now that you have Luke here, you’ll want to put him down as soon as possible. Catch up with him. Get going.”

She took one last look at the trickle of blood seeping from Cameron’s wound. The wound that he had taken to save Luke. There was no way she’d let that blood be spilled for nothing. She whirled and started running after Luke. “I’m going. Don’t you dare bleed to death, Cameron.”

*   *   *

“We’ve got the trace.” Brasden handed the map that he’d circled to Kadmus. “It’s a fireworks factory on Clement Street.” That’s where Ling took the call.”

“Yes.” Kadmus’s hand clenched on the map. “Get Nagle and his men over there. Seal off all the entrances. But I don’t want anyone touched until I get there. What do you hear from Ellis about the boy?”

“He was still tracking him when he checked in ten minutes ago. He said that the kid was sharper than he’d thought he’d be but he thinks he’ll have him soon.”

And Kadmus would probably have taken the boy’s mother even before Ellis grabbed the kid.

“How long will it take me to get to that factory?” he asked.

“Five, six minutes, maybe. It’s quicker to walk than to go get the car.”

Kadmus started down the street in the direction of Clement Street.

Did you hear that, Ling? You have six minutes. Then you’re mine.

CHAPTER

18

“Up,” Catherine said curtly to Luke when they reached the fire escape. “The third-floor window is open. Hurry.”

Luke was already climbing, not looking back as he moved swiftly up to the third floor.

Catherine gave a glance at Cameron, who was several yards behind them. She couldn’t tell if he was really watching their backs or if that wound had weakened him. She couldn’t worry about it now. She was right behind Luke and reached him just after he’d ducked through the window.

“I was beginning to worry, Catherine.” Hu Chang stepped out of the shadows as she jumped to the floor. “You didn’t mention that you’d planned any extracurricular activities before I left with Erin.” He glanced at Luke. “But plans have a habit of changing when Luke appears on the scene. How did that occur?”

“He eavesdropped on our conversation when we were discussing the factory this afternoon,” she said curtly.

“Yes, I’ve spoken to him about that grievous character flaw before,” Hu Chang said. “I was hoping that our discussion had solved the problem.”

“You shouldn’t have tried to keep me from going with Catherine,” Luke said fiercely. “I’d do it again.”

“No, you won’t. But that’s not important now,” Catherine said. “Is Erin safe?”

“Yes, I slipped her out of the building to the restaurant Cameron had set up to take her in. She’s safe.”

“Good, then you can take Luke out the same route.”

Luke adamantly shook his head. “No, Catherine.”

“Don’t argue. There’s no time to—”

The sound of splintering glass from the first floor.

“It appears time has run out,” Hu Chang said quietly.

Her cell phone rang. It had to be Kadmus. She punched the access.

“I’ve found you, Ling,” Kadmus said. “Did you hear that glass breaking? My men are pouring into the building. I’ve told them to search every nook and cranny until they find you and Erin. Then we’ll have a discussion about what I’m going to do to your son if you don’t give me Cameron.”

Kadmus obviously didn’t know yet that his man was dead and he had no chance to get his hands on Luke. No chance? Luke was right here in front of her, and Kadmus was breaking down the doors.

She had to play him, keep him thinking that was true, lead him into the trap. “You’ll lose men if you have them come after me. I won’t go down easily. I won’t let you take Erin.” She paused. “But I can’t let you hurt my boy. Perhaps we can come to an agreement.”

“Agreement?”

“I won’t give you Erin Sullivan, but if you promise that my Luke won’t be hurt and will be returned to me, I might be able to tell you where you can find Cameron.” She could hear shouts and loud footsteps coming from the second floor, and she said quickly, “But you have to call off your men and come to talk to me yourself.”

“I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do.”

“The hell you don’t. I’m very good at what I do, Kadmus. I’ll not only kill off enough of your men to discourage them, but there’s even a chance I’ll be able to get out of here. At the least, I’ll cause enough of an uproar to have the police crashing in here to see what’s happening. Make a deal, Kadmus.”