“I don’t think that sniper will be around much longer.”

“Erin.”

“Les kept blacking out on the way to Hong Kong.” She moistened her lips. “And I don’t know how to fly a helicopter. I had to find a way for both of us to survive.”

Catherine knew what was coming. “So you asked for help?”

Erin made a face. “Cameron. I yelled his name like a banshee. Just the way I did when I was being tortured by Kadmus. I was praying he was still linked to me.”

It was one of Cameron’s bizarre and annoying psychic abilities to be able to go into a mind if he chose and either read or take control. He had been able to do that with Erin when she was being tortured, to keep the pain at bay. “You should have known he would be.” She made a face. “He considers you one of his chosen ones whom he has to guard.”

“Things could have changed. I never accepted what he had to offer. I was lucky he was there for me before when I needed him.”

“And how did he help you this time?”

“I told you, I don’t know how to fly a helicopter. Cameron came in and took me through every motion, everything I had to do to get us to Hong Kong. I couldn’t count on Les. Though he did manage to land when we got to the city. Cameron was able to leave me about five minutes before that time.”

“Came in” Catherine knew what that meant. Erin was telling her that Cameron had linked with her mind and virtually took over, as he’d done when he’d made Erin impervious to pain while she was undergoing those months of torture when she was being held captive by Kadmus. Cameron was probably the most skilled and talented psychic that either of them would ever encounter. Catherine had had experience with the psychics the CIA had recruited. She’d even attended a workshop in Rome to teach her how to deal with foreign agents who might possibly be able to read minds. None of Venable’s parade of gifted psychics could hold a candle to Cameron. He was totally unique in that area. Not to mention having several other lethal talents that were exceptionally intimidating. “He took over right away?”

“Yes, thank God. He told me exactly what to do. I was pretty scared, Catherine.”

“Since you were probably bouncing around on air currents and dodging mountaintops, I can see that you might be,” she said dryly. “So you think that in between making sure that the two of you got safely to Hong Kong that Cameron was gathering information about how you got into that position?”

She shrugged. “Cameron always knew what I knew when we were linked before. This time I know he was angry. I could feel it.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s going after that shooter.”

“It doesn’t mean he’s not or sending someone else to intercept him. He has a good many men in Tibet.” She added quietly, “It would be a waste of your time to come here. It’s a very long trip, it will all be over by the time you get off that plane.”

She was probably right, Catherine thought with frustration. Particularly if Cameron was as disturbed as Erin had said. No one could take action with more lethal efficiency than Cameron. “I don’t want that shooter dead. I need information. Cameron will ruin everything.”

Erin was silent.

What could she say? Catherine thought. They both knew Cameron would do exactly as he wished. “Can you reach him?”

Erin shook her head. “Only if I’m in need. Otherwise, the contact always comes from him.” She paused. “Can you? Most of the time after the two of you came together before, he contacted you, not me.”

“Because we were both in warrior mode trying to keep you alive.”

“Really.” Erin’s brows lifted. “I suppose that was part of it. Try it. He might be willing to listen.”

“I will.” She grimaced. “It would be pleasant if I could just pick up the phone and call the blasted man. But he probably wouldn’t answer his phone unless it suited him. And it wouldn’t suit him if he thought I’d be interfering in what he thinks is his business. I hate this psychic crap. I’ve told him I don’t want to deal with it.”

“Evidently, you may have to.” She looked over her shoulder. “I think the surgeon is finished with Caudell. I’m going to go and get a report. I’ll call you later from the airport.” She disconnected, and the screen went blank.

“I assume you are not going to Hong Kong,” Hu Chang said, as Catherine closed the computer. “And that Erin is not being cooperative and obeying you. Unfortunate, but I’ve always told you that you can’t run quite all the world to suit yourself.”

“The pot calling the kettle,” she said through clenched teeth. “And I needed Erin to do just this one thing, so I could stop worrying about her ending up dead.” She added, “But she’s heading for the airport as soon as possible. So we have to make it as safe as we can. I’ll call Venable and have him assign an agent to her from the moment she leaves Chen Lu’s palace.”

“A commercial flight is not wise. Have him get her passage on one of the military planes heading for the States,” Hu Chang said.

Catherine nodded. “And then you meet her flight and find a way to keep her as far away from me as possible.”

“Not an easy task.” He held up his hand as she started to protest. “But I’m superb at meeting challenges.” He turned and headed for the door. “However, I believe I will leave the challenge posed by Cameron in your hands. Unless he proves a danger to you. Then I’m at your service.”

Cameron was dangerous but not to her, she thought as the door closed behind him. To her he’d been more troublesome than a danger. Though their encounters, admittedly, had an element of threat to both her physical and mental well-being. Their sexual chemistry was too raw and wild, and he had made her feel possessed, almost … weak. She had never felt like that with a man before. It was one of the reasons she had been glad Cameron had been called away and out of her life. Not that she wouldn’t have been able to handle it. It was just easier this way.

But Cameron was back, and nothing was going to be easy.

He was angry, Erin had said.

So what? She didn’t need to worry about what he was feeling when her world was falling down around her.

Screw you, Cameron.

She punched in Venable’s number to try to set up a way to keep Erin safe from that disaster.

*   *   *

“Dammit, I’ll do everything I can,” Venable said sourly. “It’s not easy to get a civilian on a military flight at the last minute. Get her to stay with Chen Lu.”

“That’s not going to happen. Keep her safe, Venable.” Catherine paused. “Or Cameron will do it. You don’t want him to intrude on your space. All your control will be out the window.”

Silence. “Cameron is involved?”

“You didn’t get Erin off that mountain without incident. You should have known he’d be upset.”

“Ask me if I care. I’ve got more things to worry about than whether your old friend Cameron is going to get in my way. It may be time to take him down anyway. The only reason I haven’t done it yet is that his aims usually coordinate with the Company’s.”

“And you’ve found him annoyingly ghostlike when he’s in action. Look, neither of us wants to have to deal with Cameron. So get Erin into the U.S. and keep her from being taken under Cameron’s protective, big-brother wing.”

“It might be possible.” He knew damn well he’d do it, but he didn’t want Catherine calling the shots. She had a tendency to always want to run the show. He hadn’t known when he’d picked her up from the streets of Hong Kong and trained her as an agent that she’d be this dominant. Though he should have realized that when he saw how brilliant and intuitive she was in every aspect of the job. She was his best agent in the field, and he found it worthwhile to put up with her total independence—most of the time. “I’ll assign an agent to her right away and try to set her up on a flight.”

“Do that.” She hung up.

Which sounded remarkably like an order, he thought. So much for letting her think she wasn’t calling the shots. He turned to Agent Jed Stone, who was on the computer at his desk across the room. “I’m going to need passage for a civilian out of Hong Kong right away. Get me Colonel Radcliff.”