What Doesn't Kill You

by Iris Johansen

“He’s here?” She shouldn’t have been surprised. If Hu Chang was important, Nardik would be determined to have everything go well. “Where’s he anchored?”

  “I couldn’t find out everything. I should get a call in about thirty minutes.” He gestured for her to precede him. “But I refuse to have him delay dinner. I have an idea he’s going to get in our way too much as it is. I figured we’d go downstairs and sit on the veranda facing the harbor. Who knows? We may see him streaming past us.”

  “Not likely.” She stopped at the elevator and pushed the button. “That’s not all, is it? What else did you find out that was upsetting you?”

  “Other than Nardik’s landing in our lap before we were expecting him? Not a thing.” He got on the elevator and punched the button. “Except he’s been exhibiting a good deal of interest in Catherine Ling. He has a dossier on you and has been asking questions.”

  “What’s unusual about that? It’s no secret that I’m close to Hu Chang. It would be stupid of him not to check me out. We’d do it.”

  “It’s not unusual. It just pisses me off.” He looked at her. “And don’t ask me to be reasonable about it. I don’t feel like being reasonable. Absurd as it might seem, I’m feeling protective.”

  It was totally absurd, but it still gave her an equally unreasonable rush of warmth. “That’s your problem. Get over it.”

  “I’m working on it. No one knows better than I do how capable you are.” He reached into his pocket and drew out his phone and handed it to her. “Access the photos. You probably already know what Nardik looks like, but he has an assistant slash lover who travels with him. Ken Fowler. Watch out for him.”

  She gazed at the photo. Blond, wavy hair, boyish good looks, and a South Beach tan. “Lethal?”

  “Cunning more than lethal. He likes to inflict pain, and Nardik uses him for that purpose. He’s totally devoted to Nardik.” He changed the subject. “How is your son doing?”

  “Very well. I phoned him while I was waiting for you. Our friend, Kelly Winters, was on her way from the airport. She’s staying with Sam and Luke this weekend. She’ll keep them both on their toes.” She smiled reminiscently. “I’m sorry I’m not there to watch her do it.”

  “I can see that.” He was studying her face. “You’re definitely wistful. If it wasn’t for Hu Chang, you’d have told Venable to go to hell.”

  “You bet I would. I’ve got a chance of having a home and family now. I don’t even know how that would feel.” She added wryly, “A very dysfunctional family, but I’m working on it. I’ve seen signs of promise with Luke. It always helps when Kelly is there.”

  “You regard her as part of your family?”

  “Why not? She has a mother who thinks she’s some kind of freak because she’s a genius. She just wants her to be normal or go away. That’s why Kelly spends so much time at school.” The elevator stopped, and she stepped out of it. “I met Kelly when I had to go in to rescue her and her father in South America. He was a coffee executive, and they’d been taken hostage by the head of a drug cartel. I was able to get her out, but her father was killed. It was hideous for her. She was fourteen, but she had more guts and endurance than a woman twice her age.” Her lips twisted. “And instead of wanting to bring Kelly home and comfort her, her mother wanted to send her to a rehabilitation home for therapy. It was less trouble for her.”

  “So you felt sorry for Kelly?”

  “Hell, no. I wouldn’t insult her like that. She was strong enough to fight her own battles.”

  He nodded slowly, studying her. “But you might have identified with her. Oh, I know your backgrounds were different, but you were both alone and forced to fight for survival at a young age. It would be natural for you to become close.”

  It was perceptive of him to connect the dots and come out with that conclusion. “Very natural. Just as it’s natural for Luke and Kelly to strike sparks off each other.”

  “Fighting for maternal attention?”

  She burst out laughing. “That’s the last thing either one of them wants from me. I’m having to work all the time to keep from intruding on their space. Neither of them looks on me as a mother figure. No, they strike sparks because they’re too intelligent, too independent, too sure they’re right. The last is typically teenage, and I welcome it.” She slanted a glance at him. “Why are you asking all these questions?”

  “Is it odd that I want to know about you? You’re a unique personality, and I’m intrigued.”

  “It’s not as if we’re strangers.”

  “But now I can delve into the details. In the past, we were too caught up in the events to have any time for anything but the basics. Though those were fascinating enough.”

  Basics. Sexual attraction. Fear. Suspicion. All the basic elements of the hunt … and even when the latter two were erased, the sexual attraction remained dizzyingly strong. Looking at him now she could feel the pull of that strength. “The details of my family life are hardly that interesting.” She stopped as they came to the entrance of the restaurant. “You already knew about my son.”

  “Yes, I’d like to meet him.”

  “Maybe someday.”

  “Soon.”

  She met his gaze. “Why are you being persistent?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t we find out together?” He turned to the maitre d’ who was approaching them. “I told them a table on the harbor. We should be able to see a fantastic sunset.”

  * * *

  “IT’S A WONDERFUL SUNSET,” Fowler said softly as he came to stand beside Nardik at the rail. “It reminds me of the one we saw that evening in Tahiti a few months after I came to work for you. Do you remember?”

  Fowler was always trying to jog his memory about the period when they’d been lovers, Nardik thought with annoyance. Usually, he let it go, but he was on edge tonight and wanted to strike out. “No, I’m afraid that I don’t. It must not have been that important to me.”

  Fowler stiffened. “It was important to me,” he said hoarsely. “And you know it.”

  “But I have more important matters to think about.” He had turned the knife enough and had received the required response. “What did you find out about Catherine Ling? Where is she?”

  Fowler didn’t speak for a moment. “The Princess Hotel. You’d think that she’d be nervous after that encounter with Jack Tan and go into hiding. She must be very stupid.”

  “Or very confident. There’s something very sensual about a confident woman. It makes one wonder how long it will take to rob her of that confidence. She’s being watched?”

  “Yes, she’s not had contact with Hu Chang. And she’s having dinner on the veranda overlooking the harbor with a man registered at the hotel. John Gallo.”

  He didn’t recognize the name from the report he had on her. “Find out more about him.” He was beginning to feel a rush of excitement as he stared out at the harbor. Ling was going to prove a challenge. He could feel it. These days, he relished a challenge that would break the boredom. He was glad he was here and able to ready himself for the battle that was looming ahead. He could scarcely wait until she knew that he was here. He had a sudden thought. Why not? he thought recklessly.

  He turned to Fowler. “Tell the captain that I want to move the yacht to a position near the Princess Hotel.”

  “Now?” he asked, startled.

  “Now. He doesn’t have to dock. But I want to be close enough for her to see us.”

  “She won’t know the Dragon King. It would be senseless.”

  “It would be senseless if it were you,” he said sarcastically. “But she’s very sharp. She’ll know about the yacht by now. It will have meaning for her.”

  Threat. Intimidation. Warning of what was to come.

  Yes, she would recognize the message and know that the game was about to start.

  * * *

  “HAVE YOU HAD DINNER HERE before?” Gallo asked. “Venable seemed to think you knew the hotel inside out.”

  “I
do, from necessity.” She lifted her wine to her lips. “But I seldom stay here. Most of the time I’m with Hu Chang. And no, I’ve never dined here. It’s beautiful.”

  She was beautiful, Gallo thought as he gazed at her across the table. She was dressed in a simple black dress with a boat neck and no sleeves. Her long black hair shone in the light of the setting sun, which also made her olive skin more golden. He had thought she was beautiful the first time he had seen her and had wanted to reach out and touch her. But even then, he’d realized how dangerous she could be, and that had been part of the appeal. He’d learned other things about her since, the honesty, the loyalty to her friends, the love she held for her son. All fine qualities, and they should have impressed him more.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  Tell the truth? Sure, why not? She was always brutally honest with him.

  “I was thinking that I was a shallow son of a bitch because I couldn’t appreciate your sterling qualities.” He lifted his glass to her. “And that it was your fault because I look at you and all I want to do is take your clothes off and to hell with anything else.” He added softly, “You shimmer in this light. There’s a balcony upstairs in the suite. You’d look wonderful stretched out with the light on you … and me over you.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion.” Her tone was cool, but he could see the pulse pound in her throat. He was always aware of her responses, and those responses drove him crazy.

  “Yes, but I can’t get the thought out of my head.” Back off. He was talking too much. And, dammit, he was getting hard just looking at her. “I think that you’re having a few problems with that, too. Just what is your opinion, Catherine?”

  She looked out at the harbor. “That we shouldn’t be talking about anything that doesn’t pertain to finding Hu Chang.”

  But she wanted it, she wanted him. He could feel it, sense it in every move she made. Lord, and he wanted her. It had been like this between them for too long. They needed it, dammit.

  But not now. She might be lured to bed, but she’d resent it later. Cool down. It would come in time.

  “Whatever you say.” He drew a deep breath. “But you’ll have to be the main contributor to the conversation. I’m having trouble concentrating. Hu Chang. Do you have any idea where he could be in the city?”

  “Of course not. If I did, I’d be there.” She frowned, thinking. “He’s a will-o’-the-wisp when he wants to be. We won’t be able to find him. He’ll have to come to us.”

  “And how will you draw him?”

  “He worries about me. That’s why he came back to the shop when he heard I was staying there. He was watching me then. I’d bet he’s watching me now.”

  “So all we have to do is wait until he thinks you’re in danger?”

  “We may not have to wait long. You said that Nardik is here in Hong Kong now.” She shook her head. “But I don’t like that idea. If we draw Hu Chang to me, then we’re setting him up for Nardik. That’s probably why they’d be tailing me anyway, hoping we’ll lead them to Hu Chang. No, we have to go at it another way.” She took another sip of her wine. “I was thinking about what Venable told me about the night they rescued Hu Chang off that island. He slipped away from the Special Ops guys before he went to the helicopter. He told Venable he had something to do. What could be so important that he risked his neck to do it? That delay could have been suicide. Hu Chang isn’t reckless.”

  Gallo was thinking, too. “He was either searching for something.” He paused. “Or he was hiding something.”

  She nodded. “He wasn’t sure that he’d get away, and he didn’t want Jack Tan to find whatever he was looking for when he was torturing him.” She was taking it step by step. “And he didn’t have it on him when he got to the helicopter. He was wounded, and Venable had to do first aid and would have known.”

  “Then it’s on the island. If Hu Chang hasn’t already gone back to retrieve it. He would have had time since he left the shop after Agent Gregory’s murder.”

  She nodded. “But if he thought it was safe, then he might not have wanted to risk being followed back to the island. Or Jack Tan could use that cottage on a frequent basis and still have men stationed there.”

  “We’re saying ‘it.’ What are we looking for, and how can we find it?”

  She shrugged. “A drug, a formula, the name and address of the place that either could be found. Or something else entirely. I have no idea. But we do know that Hu Chang didn’t have much time to get elaborate when he was hiding it.”

  “You told me that he was a genius. It might not take much time if he had made contingency plans.”

  “We can guess until we’re blue in the face. This is all supposition.”

  “And you intend to go to the island anyway. In spite of what Hu Chang might have decided was best to keep Nardik off the trail.”

  “Hu Chang won’t work with us, so we have to work around him.” Her lips tightened. “We’re going to that island, Gallo.”

  “It’s going to be dangerous as hell. We have to get in and get out without being followed.”

  “Then we have to make sure that we have a sure exit strategy.” She lifted her glass to him. “You said that you’d obey orders, Gallo. Let’s see you do it.”

  “In other words, you’re going to shove all of us under the bus and expect me to put on the brakes.”

  “Can’t you do it?” Her dark eyes were gleaming, teasing him. “And I thought I could trust you. We played this game before when I was on the hunt for you. Have you gotten soft, Gallo?”

  He chuckled. “That’s not a word you can ever use in our relationship.” He was feeling the familiar surge of tension and excitement that was always present when Catherine was issuing a challenge. “Oh, I can do it. But it may mean blowing up the bus. Will that be all right with you? I don’t believe I can arrange for an F-16 to zoom to the rescue as Venable did.”

  “Really? I’ll be disappointed, of course. Hu Chang will rub it in that he was important enough to rate a jet, and I couldn’t—” She stopped, her smile vanishing. Her head lifted as she sat up straighter in her chair. “Someone is watching me.”

  “Every man in the room who isn’t blind or gay.” But his gaze was darting about the restaurant. Catherine had wonderful instincts, and she would know the difference between casual lust and something more threatening. “You said that Hu Chang would probably be watching you. Can you spot him?”

  She shook her head impatiently. “He wouldn’t be that obvious.” She paused. “And it’s not Hu Chang. I’d know it if it were.”

  “Then maybe it would be a good idea if we went back to your suite and had our dinner sent up.” He added grimly, “You’re a target out here on the veranda.”

  “The hell we will.” She rubbed the nape of her neck before turning to look out at the bay. “It’s somewhere out—” She stopped, her gaze on a yacht that was some distance offshore. “What was the name of Nardik’s yacht?” She answered herself. “Dragon King.”

  Gallo muttered a curse as his gaze followed hers to the white yacht. The damn ship was close enough to read the name emblazoned on the side. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Don’t be rude to a guest when he’s come calling. He obviously wants to call attention to himself. I don’t doubt that he has his binoculars trained on me this minute.” She pushed back her chair and stood up. “Stay here. Let’s give him a better look.”

  “Catherine.”

  She wasn’t paying attention. She strolled slowly over to the ornate wrought-iron railing that overlooked the bay. She turned and looked directly at the Dragon King.

  Shit. Was she close enough to be picked off by a rifle? Gallo calculated. No, but he wouldn’t have been able to stop her anyway without knocking her unconscious.

  God, she was magnificent. Her slim body was warrior-straight, her chin lifted with defiance, her dark hair tossed back. She was smiling and she lifted her glass in a mocking toast to the man on the Dragon
King. She held the glass high for a full half minute, took a sip of wine, then hurled the glass to splinter on the rocks below.

  Without another glance, she turned on her heel and sauntered back to the table.

  “Satisfied?” he asked, through set teeth. “Now that you’ve pissed him off and made yourself number one on his kill list, may we leave?”

  “No.” She sat back down. “We’ll finish dinner and have dessert, then an after-dinner coffee, I think. Why make him think he’s of any importance?”

  “And you want to rub his nose in the fact that you certainly don’t think he is. One thing I found out when I was researching him was that he has a gigantic ego.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. Hu Chang called him Lucifer.” She watched the waiter set down a fresh glass in front of her and poured the wine. “Lucifer had a very good opinion of himself, too.” She looked at him across the table. “You’re annoyed with me.”

  “You could say that.” He was also on edge and scared shitless. She had caught him off guard and had set off a chain of imagined scenarios that had shocked him. He should have been cool and admiring, even amused. He could even see himself making that same taunting gesture under other circumstances.

  But this wasn’t him, this was Catherine. And that protectiveness he felt toward her that they had both found so strange was now raising its head again.

  Crush it down. Lust was fine. And he could handle gratitude. But this overwhelming desire to take care of Catherine could tear him apart. She would not accept it, and he could probably not keep himself from doing it.

  “Screw you,” Catherine said gently. “I did what I wanted to do.” She lifted her wine to her lips. “And it felt good.”

  “Did it? Then that’s all that’s important.” He lifted his wine. “I’m making a list of the things that make you feel good. I’m hoping it will come in handy.” He looked out at the Dragon King, sleek on the blue waters of the bay. “That’s an interesting name he chose. Do you suppose he thinks of himself as a fire-eating dragon?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Would it make you feel good if I lay the head of the dragon at your feet? I might enjoy that, too…”