Your Next Breath

“But of course I can. Erin Sullivan is very stubborn, but she has a great regard for my vast intellect.” He smiled. “Is this what they called in the Old West encircling the wagon train?”

“That sounds very strange coming from you. Yes, approximately. I’ll call Eve Duncan and give her a warning. If Joe’s at the lake house, that will be security enough for her.”

Hu Chang nodded. “Joe Qui

“Exceptionally. He’s an ex-SEAL and a police detective. That’s an effective combination.” She picked up her phone. “Get busy, Hu Chang. You forced me to mentally go over those scumbags who want to see me dead, and I’m tied up in knots. All these years, I’ve managed to block them out of my mind and forget them, but that’s gone now. I can’t have any other deaths.”

“You’re calling Eve?”

“No, not right now. I changed my mind. I’m calling Joe Qui

“Wise.” He turned toward the door. “And I will go call Chen Lu and tell her to circle her particular wagons and prepare for visitors.”

“Good.” Joe Qui

“Eve and I don’t play those games,” Joe said quietly. “She wouldn’t thank me.” He was silent. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Just take care of Eve.”

“No one will touch her,” he said flatly. “She’ll probably call you back. You’re her friend.”

“I thought as much. I just wanted to be sure that you were on top of it.”

“I’ll contact Venable and see if I can do anything to help out.”

“If you do, it’ll be from behind a desk or at your lake cottage. I don’t want you more than a few yards from Eve.”

“Bossy female.” There was a hint of amusement beneath the grimness in Joe’s voice.

“You bet. Bye, Joe.” She hung up.

CHAPTER

2

Catherine took a moment after talking to Joe, then dialed Venable.

“I expected to hear from you before this,” Venable said testily when he answered. “When I turned that information over to Hu Chang, it didn’t mean I was opting out. Jantzen was a good man, and I’m mad as hell.”

“Yes, he was, and so am I,” Catherine said. “Any more news about Slantkey?”

“A gold dog tag with your name in the pocket of his motorcycle jacket. He’s definitely one of yours.”

One of hers. One of the victims killed in her name. The casual words were cold, the responsibility even more chilling. “Hu Chang told you about Olena Petrov?”

“Yes, definitely a pattern.” He muttered a curse. “Jantzen was smart, he wouldn’t have walked into a trap if the bait hadn’t been presented with a cleverness that was impressive. It was a tip on an arms shipment that came out of the blue. It didn’t have anything to do with the mission he was currently working on.”

“And Olena wasn’t clever at all. She’d made wrong choices all her life. Maybe she felt safe in that home we’d given her and just threw open the door for her killer. Either way, they were both victims, and I have to find the bastards who killed them.”

“We have to find them,” Venable said. “I told you, I won’t let them kill my people and just walk away.” He paused. “And you’d be hard to replace. It would be easier just to take the son of a bitch down.”

“Sentimental, as usual. I’m touched.” She and Venable had been together since she was fourteen and selling information on the streets of Hong Kong and he was a CIA agent trying to strike a balance between the British and Chinese. He had trained her, schooled her, but he had never pampered her. She was an agent and took her risks. She would have thought it bizarre for him to do anything else. The job was everything to Venable. “I’m glad we’re thinking along the same lines. I came up with two names, Corliss and Santos. Give me an update on them.”

“Good choices,” he said dryly. “You pissed both of them off royally.”

“Corliss?”

“He’s off the list. He was killed in Pakistan over a month ago.”

“Then, Santos. He’s still in that prison in Caracas?”

“He was until three days ago.”

She went still. “What?”

“He received a release because two witnesses who testified at his trial recanted their testimonies.”

“Why didn’t I hear anything about it? Santos is big news.”

“Money, influence, threats. I’d make a bet both the witnesses and the judge who issued the release were scared shitless and wanted only to do what they were told, then fade into the woodwork.”

“But you knew about it?”

“I was there at the prison when they let him go. I felt helpless as hell.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was busy. I had an agent down. Jantzen was more important to me at the time.”

“Do you know where Santos is now?”

“I tried to get a trace on him, but it was a no-go. We think he left South America but don’t know where he was headed.”

“What about Manuel Dorgal? He’s practically Santos’s shadow.”

“He didn’t meet him at the prison.”

“No?” she said grimly. “He was probably busy with Olena Petrov and couldn’t get back for the grand occasion.”

“You’ve zeroed in on Santos?”

“Until I hear something different. Santos has been in that prison for two years, but the killings didn’t start until he was certain he was going to get out. He didn’t want to miss any of the fun. He’s been plotting and pla

“Ready for you?”

“Eventually. Hu Chang thinks that he’ll want to hit a few more people I care about before he gets around to me. I tend to agree. I saw his face after I shot his wife. He’ll want me to suffer.”

“Crazy son of a bitch.”

“That goes without saying.” She was trying to think. “But if he wants me to suffer, he’s going to want to taunt me, to take credit. It’s what I remember about his psychological makeup. He’ll call me or send me an e-mail or something. Put a trace on all my electronic devices.”

“Okay. But he’s not stupid. We may not get anything.”

“It’s the only thing I can think to do right now. Except warn the people I care about. I just called Joe Qui

“Why don’t you call on your friend Cameron? He knows Tibet like the back of his hand. As I recall, there was a co

“They’re … close.” Co

And Catherine had become caught up with both of them while freeing Erin from the warlord. Erin had become her friend. Cameron had become … she still didn’t know what Cameron had become to her.