“Right.” Stone checked his directory and started to dial. “Would I be out of line to ask for a name? It’s not for Agent Ling?” He grinned. “I’ll volunteer to personally escort her. God, she’s gorgeous. I picked her up from the airport in Atlanta once, and it was a memorable experience.”

And Venable remembered how impressed Stone had been. He was sharp and enthusiastic but young enough to be dazzled.

“Oh, she’s memorable all right,” Venable said. “And very magnetic. But I don’t have to remind you that Jantzen just got killed because Ling got a little too close to him.”

“Not her fault,” Stone said. “I’m glad you’re pulling out all the stops to protect her.”

“The lift is for Erin Sullivan,” Venable said curtly. “And, of course, I’d protect Ling. She’s one of us. Do we have any more information about Santos?”

“Not yet.” He broke away and spoke into the phone for a few moments. He turned back to Venable. “There’s a plane leaving Hong Kong four hours from now. Okay?”

“We’ll make it okay.”

“Confirmed,” Stone said to his contact on the phone and hung up. He looked at Venable. “Anything else?”

“No.” He changed his mind. “Yes. Check and see what’s the latest we have on Richard Cameron.”

Stone accessed the computer. “Not much. He was under surveillance in Copenhagen, but he disappeared from there two weeks ago. We think he may be in Beijing.”

“Oh, shit.”

“A problem?”

“Cameron is always a problem. I’d hoped he was still in Europe.”

“We have no record of his contacts in Europe. But then we didn’t start shadowing him until he was in San Francisco.” He frowned. “I wasn’t with you in San Francisco. I was still in the Atlanta field office.” He was reading the screen in front of him. He gave a low whistle. “He blew up a fireworks factory in the middle of the city and walked away without even being charged? Did we intervene?”

“No, Cameron appears to have much more influential friends in his corner,” Venable said sarcastically. “Which is why we may have to take him down. Too much power corrupts.”

“What friends? I don’t see anything here that spells out much about—”

“Because we don’t know much. For years, we’ve just been hearing vague reports about Cameron from our agents in Tibet and India. It’s all guesswork and trying to put vague stories together.”

“So why are we even interested?”

“Because Catherine Ling is interested. Because Cameron got her and Erin Sullivan out of Tibet after Ling rescued Erin from that prison at Kadmus Palace.” He shrugged. “It seemed impossible at the time, but he did it. When we went in later and started asking questions about Cameron, I became … intrigued. He appears to be some kind of bandit or warlord or mystic who moves from place to place in the mountains. He has commando units and sophisticated weapons at his disposal. There are rumors of kidnappings of young, brilliant technicians and a few killings of Chinese agents.”

“Only rumors?”

“That’s all anyone has on Cameron. Here’s another one: He’s supposed to be backed by a huge conglomerate that has world political ambitions and put him in charge of the security of their operation. He’s known as the Guardian.”

Stone chuckled. “Shades of Marvel comic books.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’m glad you find it funny. Catherine Ling does not. The Agency was supposed to drop all protective services for Erin Sullivan when she arrived safely in the U.S. Catherine wouldn’t do it, and she teamed with Cameron to give Erin protection.”

“And it worked?”

“If you call blowing up half a block of prime real estate working. But Cameron managed to bribe his way out of trouble.” He grimaced. “Which has a significance that’s intimidating. I don’t like anyone who has that kind of power. With backing like that, you can fund revolutions and hire armies. That’s why I decided to take a closer look at Cameron.”

“Why not let Ling investigate him?”

“I might, but not until I have something concrete to show her that he’s a threat. She wasn’t pleased when she had to do without our help in San Francisco.”

“But she’s only an agent, sir. You’re her superior, and she should be guided by you.”

God, he was young.

“Absolutely right. Next time you see her, remember to tell that to Catherine Ling.”

CHAPTER

3

“Catherine?” Sam knocked on the door of the study, then opened the door. “Sorry to disturb you, but I have orders from Hu Chang.” He smiled. “And I’ve learned that it’s always wise to obey him. Otherwise, I tend to have egg on my face. He said you need an intervention.” He came into the room and studied her face. “And this time I believe he’s right on. You’ve been in here going over those Santos files for four hours. You need a break. Why not let me take a turn at the computer? You can rest your eyes and your brain and spend a little time with Luke.”

She glanced out the window and realized it was already dusk. She had been so intent on researching Santos that those hours had flown. “Why didn’t he come and tell me that himself?” She rubbed her eyes. “Is he with Luke?”

“No, he just left. He said to tell you that he was on his way to San Francisco to meet Erin’s plane. He said something about meeting the challenge.” He held up his hand as she opened her lips. “Luke’s not alone. The extra agents I called in are here. I’ve told them that Luke’s never to be left alone. They’re very good men, Catherine. I’ve sent their qualifications to your computer, and you can check them out.”

“But they’re not Hu Chang, and they’re not you. I want someone who cares. It could make a difference.”

He nodded. “Okay, I’ll go back to him right away. But there’s no reason why I can’t do research while I’m with him. Tell me what you need.”

Why not let him help? She was getting more and more frustrated going at this blind. “I’m gathering info about Santos’s possible residences, any of his men we can squeeze to tell us anything. Any weakness of any sort. He thought of his wife as a strength, but he was obsessed with her. That could also be a weakness. I’m looking into their relationship.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m looking for. I just have to find him. I just need to do something.”

“Got it.” He smiled. “Now go to the kitchen and have a bite to eat with Luke. He’s rising to the emergency and made you a fantastic lasagna straight from the freezer. Then go to bed and try to nap. It’s better than being bleary and missing something you should catch about this Santos scumball.”

Her brows lifted. “Is all this Hu Chang’s orders?”

“Let’s call it a combined effort.” He turned to leave. “After all, I have to keep you sharp. Hu Chang tells me that I’m on your list of people who it would hurt you to lose and therefore a target. That makes it doubly important that you’re in the best shape possible to get this asshole. It’s sheer self-preservation on my part.”

“Yeah, sure.” She added quietly, “I’m really sorry, Sam.”

“We’ll get through it.” He turned at the door and inclined his head. “And may I say I feel honored to be included on that list?”

Then he was gone.

And she was sitting there with stinging eyes staring after him. Sam O’Neill was a good guy, and she was lucky to have him in her life as well as Luke’s.

And Santos wanted to take him away from her, too. One by one, he wanted to strip away the people she cared about and leave her in pain and defenseless.

No way.

But the reminder of that threat sent a bolt of panic through her. She wanted to reach out and touch, hold those she cared about tight and close.

Luke.

She jumped to her feet and strode toward the door.

She needed to see him, sit across the table from him, watch the expressions on his face, have him smile at her as he’d done over that silly hat.