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.”
Silence. “I’ll talk to you. Where are you?”
“Third floor.”
“Brasden and I will be on our way up in a few minutes.” He added mockingly, “You remember Brasden, don’t you, Ling? He has very vivid memories of you. He can hardly wait to see you again.” He hung up.
She whirled on Luke and Hu Chang. “Get Luke into that storage closet across the far wall. Right now.”
Luke was frowning. “Catherine, I don’t—”
She turned on him, and said fiercely, “Luke, don’t argue with me. I’ve been trying to do what you want, be what you want. I’ve been almost afraid to do anything for fear of losing you. Well, that’s over. You say I don’t know you. Maybe that works both ways. But it’s time you got to know me and what I do. In situations like this, I’m the one who runs things. Now do what I tell you.”
Luke stared at her, then turned on his heel. “Come on, Hu Chang.” He said over his shoulder, “But if I see you having trouble, I’m not going to stay there, Catherine.”
She could hear the elevator begin to move. “Go!” She glanced at the window. Cameron should have been here by now, but who knew what Cameron would be doing at any given time? She would have to run her own show.
The elevator stopped just before it reached the third floor. “I have an AK-47,” Kadmus called. “Throw down your weapons on the floor, or I’ll blow you to hell, Ling.”
“No way. I’d be helpless.”
“Put them down.”
There wasn’t much she could do with her .38 against an AK-47 anyway. She would still have the knife in the holster on her calf. “You win.” She put her gun on the floor. “My gun is on the floor in front of me.”