Live to See Tomorrow (18 page)

Cameron was gently drying her hair and looked up at Catherine. “You took long enough. How are your toes? It doesn’t take long to get frostbite up here.”

“Cold. A little numb. But I’m beginning to feel them again.” She made a face. “Everyone seems to be worried about my feet, even my son.” She came closer and looked down at Erin. Her eyes were closed, but they opened, and she smiled.

“Hi, how are you doing, Catherine?”

She smiled back at her. “Better than a couple hours ago.”

“Me, too.”

“Hu Chang will be over here to take a look at you in just a minute. He’s a wonderful physician, and he’ll fix you up. He had to go over there and give a stern reprimand to my son for not being respectful to him.” She chuckled. “With all hell going on around us and Kadmus licking at our heels, he still felt bound to teach Luke.”

“He’s right,” Cameron said. “Discipline is important. You can’t let it lapse just because the battle hasn’t started.”

“That’s your son?” Erin was looking across the room at Luke. “He’s beautiful, Catherine.”

“Yes, he is.”

Erin’s face was troubled. “But he shouldn’t be here. I told you what happened to Jafar.”

“And it scared me to death.” She looked at Cameron. “But the death of children doesn’t seem to bother Hu Chang or Cameron. They’re the ones who decided that he should be here.”

“Cameron?” Erin was looking at him. “Is this the way it has to be?”

“The boy will be safe, Erin,” he said quietly. “I promise you.”

She gazed at him a moment, still frowning. Then she nodded. “Then I know it will be okay. But it still worries me.”

Cameron gazed quizzically at Catherine. “And you?”

Did he expect her to give him the same trusting reply just because he’d made a promise? Yet, for some strange reason, that promise had given Catherine a sense of security and relief that had no basis on reality. “I don’t know it will be okay. But Luke and I will get through it together.” She fell to her knees and took Erin’s hand. “And we’ll take you with us, Erin.”

Cameron chuckled. “You notice she’s leaving me and Hu Chang behind in the dust. She’s not any more pleased with us than you are.” He looked beyond Catherine’s shoulder. “It seems that Hu Chang is finished with your son and is coming to tend Erin. She won’t need you. Why don’t you get out of those clothes and warm up?”

She didn’t move. “When will you have word about Kadmus?”

“Soon. I’ll let you know.”

“We should take turns standing guard.”

“We’ll discuss it later,” he said firmly. “I had the pilot who flew Hu Chang in bring you and Erin clothing. It’s on the chest over there. You can’t fight for Luke or Erin or anyone else bundled up in that blanket.”

She hesitated and got to her feet. “You’re right.” She turned toward the chest. “But it’s a very good blanket, Cameron. Fantastic. I’m still curious about your friend who gave it to you.”

“Among a thousand other questions,” Hu Chang said as he stopped next to her. He gazed down at Erin. “So you’re the woman who has been causing so much trouble. Now it seems I have to put you back together.”

She smiled. “If you think it’s worthwhile.”

“You are worthwhile. I made that decision before I even started on this endeavor.” He knelt beside her. “And since Catherine has seen fit to champion your cause, I have no choice.”

“You make your own choices.” Catherine looked over her shoulder. “But Erin and I will be glad to have you along.”

Cameron gave a mock shudder. “I appear to be in isolation.”

She didn’t answer as she moved toward the chest. She was still angry with both of them, but Hu Chang belonged to her. She had to forgive and work with him. Cameron was an entirely different matter.

Different. Oh, yes, he was definitely different.

However, the gleaming white cold-weather gear that he had ordered for her was the best quality and worthy of the slopes of St. Moritz. Glamorous as was the outerwear, the undergarments were the same practical issue that Venable had ordered and that she was now wearing.

The first priority was to get out of the wet clothes she was wearing and into the clean dry garb. Privacy was not an issue. There was none in this tiny hut. Forget about it. The only person she might be concerned about was Luke, and he was turned on his side and clearly dozing. She dropped the blanket and stripped off the wet clothes in two minutes. It took her less than that to replace the bra, T, and tights. She towel-dried her hair, then rubbed her feet vigorously until it revved up the circulation. She put on the rest of the clothes except her boots.

Done.

She sat down before the stove and tried to finger comb her hair but it was too stiff from the chemicals of the hot springs to behave. She looked like a wildwoman and stank like rotten eggs, but this was the best she could do.

“And a very good best it is.”

Her gaze flew to the other side of the room. Cameron was leaning against the wall, sitting slightly apart from where Hu Chang was attending Erin.

“Peeping Tom, again? This time in more ways than one, Cameron.”

“It interested me that you had no false sense of modesty.” His smile was purely sensual. “And so I decided to benefit from it. Rotten eggs or not, you’re fantastic, Catherine.”

Heat. Her breasts swelling, tightening. A tingling in her palms and between her thighs.

“Not me,” he answered the question she hadn’t asked. “You’re a very responsive woman. I was lucky enough to strike the right note.”

He was probably telling the truth. She couldn’t deny that he’d had a strong sexual effect on her from the beginning. How could she when the bastard could read her mind? “I’ll get over it. That note will get very sour the longer you mess with my head.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. I find I’m reluctant to have you get over it. Suppose I guarantee that I won’t ‘mess’ with you unless I find it necessary to save you or Erin? It worked pretty well traveling through the hot springs, didn’t it?”

“No, I always knew you were there.”

“Only because that’s what I wanted. I thought it might give you a feeling of safety. I didn’t want you to feel alone.”

“Look, I don’t need you to make me feel safe. In the end, it always has to come from me.” She added, “And it’s totally ridiculous for you to try to seduce me when we’re struggling just to get Erin out of here.”

“It’s not actually seduction. I’m just paving the way.”

“Then, stop. Go find out what’s happening with Kadmus.”

“In a few minutes. I have one of the villagers on the way up to the hut now.”

“How did—Never mind.” She paused. “Then let’s concentrate on Kadmus and forget about your libido.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my job. I was even considering devoting myself entirely to boring duty and discipline. But that was before I spent so much time with you. I’ve been entirely too good for too long. I’ve decided I need a reward.”

“And I’m the prize? Screw you, Cameron.”

“Oh, I do hope so.” His smile lit his face with mischief and humor. “And now I’ll bow out and leave your mind alone.” He got to his feet. “But you may find that you miss that kind of contact. It’s much more efficient.”

“Not a chance.”

He shrugged as he slipped on his parka. “Hu Chang did miss the contact after our time together several years ago. But he’s more cerebral and less emotional.” He headed for the door. “We’ll have to see.”

Catherine watched the door close behind him and felt an odd sense of loss. More mental hijinks? Or was that a natural aftereffect of dealing with a man who bewildered and challenged her more than anyone she had every encountered?

Hu Chang did miss the contact after our time together several years ago, Cameron had said.

Which meant that Hu Chang had become closer to Cameron than she had imagined.

And that Hu Chang was the one who could probably answer most of her questions.

And she wanted those answers now.

She got to her feet and crossed to where Hu Chang was still kneeling by Erin.

“How is she?” she whispered as she looked down at Erin. There was a faint flush on her cheeks, and she appeared asleep. “She looks better.”

“Of course, she’s better.” He closed his leather medicine duffel. “I’ve healed everything physical I can heal. She will need rest and perhaps a little additional surgery. He was very cruel to her. Her mind will take longer, but she’s very strong.” He drew the cover higher about her throat. “And Cameron will help her. Just being with him is a healing factor for her.”

“I noticed.”

Hu Chang tilted his head, his gaze on her face. “And you do not like it.”

“No more than I like his influence on Luke.” She met his gaze. “Or you.”

“Why?”

“It frightens me. Luke is a child, and there’s reason for him to fall under Cameron’s influence. But not you, Hu Chang.”

“You have nothing to fear. Cameron and I have an understanding. He won’t break his word unless I do something that threatens his objectives.”

“What word? What objectives? I need to know more, Hu Chang. Don’t push me away. Tell me.”

He stared at her for a moment. “You are very weary. You need to rest.”

“I’m tired and pissed off, and I’m worried. I won’t be able to rest until I get rid of two of the three.”

His gaze shifted to the door. “Where did Cameron go?”

Her gaze narrowed on his face. “Why do you think I should know?”

“He was joined with you while I was working on Erin.” He smiled faintly. “I’m familiar with Cameron when he’s in the joined state. I was with him for a number of months and allowed to get to know him fairly well. He was not joined with me or Erin. Therefore, it must have been you.”

“It was,” she said curtly. “He went to meet with the villager he’d set to watch Kadmus and his men.”

“And managed to irritate you exceedingly before he left.”

“He does that very well. I think he enjoys it.”

“He enjoys
you,
” Hu Chang said softly. “Beware.” He rose gracefully to his feet. “But since he will be gone for a while, we will have time to talk.” He moved to the stove and sank to the floor in front of it, his legs crossed tailor fashion. “Come. Sit with me.”

She sat down beside him. “Not too close. I still stink from the hot springs.”

“Yes, you do. Ask me if I care.”

“No.” The warmth of the fire. The closeness that always bound them together. She felt herself begin to relax. “But it scares me to risk offending you. You might throw it in my face someday.”

“That is true. But it is a poor weapon and not likely to be of value.” He looked away from her and into the leaping flames in the stove. “Ask your questions, Catherine. I will answer what I know and what I consider safe for you.”

“Let’s begin with how you came to know Cameron. You never mentioned him to me.” She added ruefully, “Not that you’re ever very communicative. When did you meet him?”

“Several years ago at a monastery in Amdo Province. And I did not mention him because silence was part of the agreement I made with him. It was one of the more important demands he made. I was not to mention him or anything that I saw or experienced at the monastery.”

“Yet you’re willing to talk to me now.”

“Cameron has interfered with your life. He almost took your life. You have a right to know why.”

“What did you have to do with that monastery?”

“I had heard stories that the monks of this particular monastery had been formulating rare herbal mixtures for close to nine hundred years. I wanted to learn what they were and if I could use them in my own potions.”

“I should have known.” She shook her head. “Well, was it worth your while? Did you find a brand-new poison?”

“That was not what I was seeking.”

She stiffened. “Hu Chang…”

He nodded. “Life not death. At that time, I had not yet found the final ingredients for the potion I gave to Chen Lu to extend and reverse her cell regeneration. It was frustrating me. I thought that the monastery might be the answer.” His lips twisted. “But I couldn’t get permission to study with the monks. The monastery was completely isolated, and the lama would permit no one, not even other monks from the area, to visit it. I had to find some way to go around the lama. I was getting quite desperate.”

“I’ve never seen you desperate.”

“But it was to be such a magnificent potion. An elixir that would extend life fifty to a hundred years? It was exciting even to me. I had to get in to see if those monks had some ingredient I didn’t. I stayed there in the province and began to research a way to do it.”

“Richard Cameron?”

“Yes, I watched, I listened, and I found Cameron.” He smiled reminiscently. “Though one who was not as dedicated as I would not have been so fortunate. I just heard a word here and there about the Westerner who moved around the mountains and villages. Strange words … about a Guardian, a protector, a warrior … But those words held boundless respect and an element of fear. Then I saw him at the monastery with the lama. I saw the same respect from the lama and no fear. Most unusual from a religious figure that prestigious. Over the next weeks, I found that Cameron held a special place in the affections of the lama and those monks.”

“And you decided to use him.”

“That was not possible. I had already taken Cameron’s measure and knew that he was an extraordinary man. I knew I would have to negotiate.” He grimaced. “If I was to avoid having to plead. So I went to him as he was leaving the monastery. He was as tough and sharp as I thought he would be. It took me three days to persuade him to even consider interceding for me. On the fourth day, he started asking me questions about myself. I had no idea about his gift at that time. If I’d lied, I would not have stood a chance. I did not lie. On the fifth day, he said that he would persuade the lama to let me have access to records and the herbs the monks used … on condition.” He smiled. “And so it started.”

“What conditions?”