on—”
“It’s over,” she said curtly. “And the last thing I want to think about right now. I have more important concerns.”
“What can I say? I’m only a man, and there are no more important concerns than sex. Well, maybe long-term, but never on the current scale.” His smile faded. “Okay, let’s get down to it. Why did you phone me four times?”
“Why did you ignore me four times?”
“I don’t like cell phones. I was irritated with you, and I wasn’t ready to make contact.”
“You mean in your own special way, where you have all the advantages?” she asked sarcastically. “But you slipped up, that’s a very crude set you’ve created for me. Was it supposed to bring up thoughts of rough, tough cavemen?”
“No, I wasn’t in the mood to play games. I just brought you to where I am.”
She went still. “And where is this cave?”
“Tibet.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “I thought you were in Copenhagen. Didn’t your committee send you there?”
“That was an easy problem to solve. I went straight from there to Beijing.”
“Why? Did they have a few brilliant computer whizzes you wanted to ‘liberate’?”
“Perhaps. Whatever I was doing is classified, Catherine.”
She dismissed the question. “Venable will find out. So what are you doing in a cave in Tibet?”
“I’m waiting for a helicopter to land to pick up our shooter. He’s on a plateau about five minutes from where I am.”
She inhaled sharply. “You found him?”
“I sent my men out questioning and searching the minute I got Erin to Hong Kong. I put an urgent on it. And I boarded a flight out of Beijing within the hour.” His brows lifted. “Would you expect anything else? Erin is one of mine. No one is permitted to touch her.”
“I’m afraid she doesn’t accept that designation,” she said dryly. “She’s an independent journalist and belongs only to herself, not to you, not to your committee.”
“And we respect both her independence and her vision. It’s what made her a Pulitzer Prize winner. It’s what made us have an interest in acquiring her for our project.”
“She turned you down, Cameron. She doesn’t want to be part of your ‘perfect’ future world.”
“Not at the moment. But as she becomes more discouraged and disillusioned at what’s happening around her, she might change her mind. She came close a few months ago.” He shrugged. “If she doesn’t, so be it. I still chose her, and I have to protect her. It’s my job.”
“As the Guardian?” she said mockingly.
“It’s what I am,” he said simply. “It took me a long time to decide I’d accept the responsibility. I take it seriously.”
“I’m sure you do. Everything from killing and blowing up fireworks factories to rescuing idealistic reporters from the bad guys.” She changed the subject. “Does this shooter have a name? Venable hasn’t been able to trace him yet.”
“Carlos Nagoles.” He smiled teasingly. “And my techs were able to track and identify him within eight hours. It’s wonderful what you can do without government red tape. He’s a killer for hire who works principally out of Hong Kong and Beijing. Very efficient. Very expensive.”
“You’re sure he’s the sniper?”
“Quite sure. I don’t make mistakes like that, Catherine,” he said gently.
“I thought he might have ties to the South American drug cartels.”
“And he might, but he’s freelance.” He paused. “You thought he might be connected to Santos.”
Her eyes widened. “How do you know about Santos?”
“Erin didn’t know enough about what was going on with you, so I had to tap Hu Chang. I would have gone to you, but I was pissed off that you hadn’t told me yourself.” He paused. “I’m still pissed off.”
“And, of course, Hu Chang told you everything he knew.”
“He’s a wise man. He wanted to enlist all the help he could to protect you. But we’ll go into that at another time.” He
“It’s over,” she said curtly. “And the last thing I want to think about right now. I have more important concerns.”
“What can I say? I’m only a man, and there are no more important concerns than sex. Well, maybe long-term, but never on the current scale.” His smile faded. “Okay, let’s get down to it. Why did you phone me four times?”
“Why did you ignore me four times?”
“I don’t like cell phones. I was irritated with you, and I wasn’t ready to make contact.”
“You mean in your own special way, where you have all the advantages?” she asked sarcastically. “But you slipped up, that’s a very crude set you’ve created for me. Was it supposed to bring up thoughts of rough, tough cavemen?”
“No, I wasn’t in the mood to play games. I just brought you to where I am.”
She went still. “And where is this cave?”
“Tibet.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “I thought you were in Copenhagen. Didn’t your committee send you there?”
“That was an easy problem to solve. I went straight from there to Beijing.”
“Why? Did they have a few brilliant computer whizzes you wanted to ‘liberate’?”
“Perhaps. Whatever I was doing is classified, Catherine.”
She dismissed the question. “Venable will find out. So what are you doing in a cave in Tibet?”
“I’m waiting for a helicopter to land to pick up our shooter. He’s on a plateau about five minutes from where I am.”
She inhaled sharply. “You found him?”
“I sent my men out questioning and searching the minute I got Erin to Hong Kong. I put an urgent on it. And I boarded a flight out of Beijing within the hour.” His brows lifted. “Would you expect anything else? Erin is one of mine. No one is permitted to touch her.”
“I’m afraid she doesn’t accept that designation,” she said dryly. “She’s an independent journalist and belongs only to herself, not to you, not to your committee.”
“And we respect both her independence and her vision. It’s what made her a Pulitzer Prize winner. It’s what made us have an interest in acquiring her for our project.”
“She turned you down, Cameron. She doesn’t want to be part of your ‘perfect’ future world.”
“Not at the moment. But as she becomes more discouraged and disillusioned at what’s happening around her, she might change her mind. She came close a few months ago.” He shrugged. “If she doesn’t, so be it. I still chose her, and I have to protect her. It’s my job.”
“As the Guardian?” she said mockingly.
“It’s what I am,” he said simply. “It took me a long time to decide I’d accept the responsibility. I take it seriously.”
“I’m sure you do. Everything from killing and blowing up fireworks factories to rescuing idealistic reporters from the bad guys.” She changed the subject. “Does this shooter have a name? Venable hasn’t been able to trace him yet.”
“Carlos Nagoles.” He smiled teasingly. “And my techs were able to track and identify him within eight hours. It’s wonderful what you can do without government red tape. He’s a killer for hire who works principally out of Hong Kong and Beijing. Very efficient. Very expensive.”
“You’re sure he’s the sniper?”
“Quite sure. I don’t make mistakes like that, Catherine,” he said gently.
“I thought he might have ties to the South American drug cartels.”
“And he might, but he’s freelance.” He paused. “You thought he might be connected to Santos.”
Her eyes widened. “How do you know about Santos?”
“Erin didn’t know enough about what was going on with you, so I had to tap Hu Chang. I would have gone to you, but I was pissed off that you hadn’t told me yourself.” He paused. “I’m still pissed off.”
“And, of course, Hu Chang told you everything he knew.”
“He’s a wise man. He wanted to enlist all the help he could to protect you. But we’ll go into that at another time.” He
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