Dangerous Journey (6 page)

“I don’t care. You looked like it anyway. No wonder you were tired! It’s astounding you’re not dead!”

“Such compassion,” Darius said to Jimmy, cocking his head in her direction. “Given a choice between the PRC and those boys in Macao, I made the right decision.”

Darius and C.J. moved toward the door, Jimmy just behind them.

“Darius, why don’t you two stay here until things die down.”

Darius shook his head. “I don't think that'll work.”

“At least get out of C.J.’s room. Use a different name and find a new one in the tourist area.”

C.J. couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All this time Jimmy had said nothing about her story, and now he was implying that he knew about it, and knew they weren’t safe. Darius told her this quest of hers was dangerous. She was finally beginning to believe him.

“Probably so,” Darius said.

“What will you do?” Jimmy asked with a frown.

“I’ll watch her,” he said, then hurried her out the door.

 She wanted to ask why Jimmy had said what he did, but before she could say a word, Darius was walking rapidly along the sunny, shimmering hillside toward the tram. She gasped “Wait,” a couple of times while halfway running to keep up with him, but he seemed completely lost in thought.

She was breathless by the time they reached the tram, but finally had a chance to step in front of him and ask her questions. “What did Jimmy mean? Why did he say my room wasn’t safe? Who are you going to watch?”

He looked at her as if surprised by her words. “You, of course.”

“Me? Why?”

“I’m sure it’s just a suspicion on Jimmy’s part. If he knew anything for sure, he’d tell us.”

“But why the suspicion?” she asked. “You two practically talk in code!”

“Maybe he’s worried because I’m with you,” he said softly. “They might see me and think you know a lot more than you’re pretending to.”

“What?” she gasped, growing increasingly agitated with every answer he gave.

“They might think there was actually some purpose to your crazy actions,” he added, then tapped the tip of her nose with a smirk.

“They? Who are
they
?”

“Who knows?” he confessed. “I suspect you never should have talked to me. And I shouldn’t have been so ready to accept all that you offered. If I’ve added to your troubles, I’m sorry.”

She was stunned by his words, not sure how to respond, when the tram’s arrival prevented her from having to say anything. She and Darius were swept along in the group of people getting on.

o0o

At the foot of the Peak they hurried to C.J.’s car and sped off toward the consulate. In a short while, Darius said, “Stay calm. It seems we’re being followed by a black Mercedes.”

“You’re joking,” she said as she peered at the side view mirror at the cars following. “There are lots of black Mercedes in Hong Kong, I’ve noticed.”

Darius turned left at the next corner. So did the Mercedes. He made another left after a few blocks, ditto the black car.

“Oh my God,” C.J. gasped. “What are we going to do?”

“It’s probably safer trying to lose them than to make a run for the consulate.”

She gripped the door handle, her face determined, her mouth dry. “Whatever you say, Dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

She hadn’t even realized she’d said it aloud. “The name suits you. Trust me.”

The black car was now out in the open behind them. “They know we’ve spotted them. Hold on, Carmelita!” He stomped on the accelerator while pulling out of his lane and into the oncoming traffic.

 C.J. cried out and clutched the dashboard.

Hong Kong traffic was, as usual, all but gridlocked. But Darius easily squeezed past a Toyota that had been ahead of him, then swung in front of it. C.J. didn’t even have time for a sigh of relief before she felt herself thrown against the passenger door as he spun into a right turn from the far left lane. It made her dizzy just watching the cars go by on the “wrong” side of the street, but when Darius threw in hopelessly reckless driving, she was ready for hysterics.

A string of blaring horns and blazing tempers followed in their wake.

She sat white-knuckled, clinging to the dashboard. Every so often she peeked at Darius, convinced she would see him with one hand on the horn and the other over his eyes so that he couldn’t see the close calls or the carnage around him.

They careened through the city, weaving wildly through the traffic, but the Mercedes was never far behind. She was giving serious contemplation to crawling onto the floor when he said, “I think we’re okay.”

C.J. pried her stiff fingers off the dash and twisted this way and that to look around. The black Mercedes was gone. “Thank God! Shall we try the consulate now?”

“Sounds good.”

He turned onto Garden Road where the American Consulate stood, and immediately made a U-turn. She was flung back against the seat, the car leaping to life as Darius gunned the motor.  “I saw it, too,” she said. A black Mercedes had been parked just outside the consulate. Was it the same one? She had no idea, but agreed with Darius that it was best not to chance it.

“We’ll go to the hotel,” he said. “I’ll help you pack up and find another place to stay. Use a different name and you should be safe.”

She stared at him. “What about you? Will you also stay at the next hotel?” she asked.

He gave her a quick glance, and turned back to the road.

“No.”

“Where, then? Why not stay where I am?”

“That might not be a good idea.”

She nodded. How could she have forgotten? “Right, you have a life. I just sort of barged in and took over, didn’t I? God, where’s my head? You’ve got other things to do! Important things…like your counterfeiters in Macao.”

“Listen, the safest thing for you to do is to go back to the U.S. Let the police do their job. Jimmy warned us. There’s something big going on here. Bigger than either of us knows.”

“That scares me, I’ll admit it. But I’m not going home until I find out what has happened to my brother.” As she spoke, she stared straight ahead, not wanting to look at him, not wanting to admit to herself how after less than twenty-four hours with him, the thought of leaving was difficult. But she always was a silly sort of person that way. “If Jimmy Lee learns anything, will you at least let me know?” Somehow she managed to keep her voice calm.

“C.J., you need to leave here, you really do.” He touched her hand as he looked at her, and almost immediately realized that pleading for her safety wasn’t going to work. “All right, if anything turns up, I’ll contact you.”

He pulled into a parking space near her hotel. They cross the lobby to the elevator in silence.

“We have to get out of here fast,” Darius said as they got off at her floor.

She nodded, feeling strangely abandoned, even as she derided herself for those emotions. She could handle this quite nicely all by herself. Just as she had been doing before Dangerous Kane entered her life. Or, had she?

Darius held out his hand for the key to her room. She couldn’t keep her eyes from lingering a little too long on his hand, tanned and rugged, yet with fingers so sensitive they had made some of the most beautiful music she had ever heard.

She shook her head, kept the key and stepped in front of him to the door. She squared her shoulders as she slid the key into the lock, determined to pack quickly, get out of here and be on her own again—away from this man and his disturbing presence.

But when she opened the door and stepped into the room, she gasped in shock.

“Oh no!” She cried as she stormed inside. She heard Darius cry out, “Wait!” But she was too busy looking at her belongings on the floor, at the overturned bureau drawers, and emptied closet.

From behind the door, a hard, viselike hand gripped her arm while a heavy blanket was thrown over her, cutting off all light and air. She gasped in shock as a thick arm circled her waist and lifted her as if she were a rag doll. Someone pushed the blanket hard against her face, muffling her scream of terror.

She fought wildly to be free. Her arms were pinned down, but she kicked as hard as she could.

Suddenly she was flung roughly aside, helpless to stop or protect herself, and came up against something solid.

Her mind went black as she fell in a heap to the floor.

Chapter 5

“C.J., are you all right?” Fresh air filled her lungs as Darius untangled the heavy blanket and lifted it away from her.

“Oh God!” She sputtered as she sat up. “What happened?”

“A couple of men grabbed you before they noticed me in the doorway. That’s when they pushed past me and ran. Since one of them had a gun, I wasn’t about to argue.”

“A gun? Here? In my room?” She felt even more light-headed than when the blanket was over her.

Gently, he pushed her hair back from her face and ran his fingertips along her cheekbones and forehead, his face filled with concern. “Does it hurt anywhere?” His voice was hushed, full of worry.

“No, I’m okay.” She tried to stand, but was so woozy that before she got very far he scooped her up in his arms. Shocked, she put her arms around his neck as he walked toward the bed.

“Put me down! I don’t need to be carried! I’m too heavy!”

“Don’t be silly,” he said softly. He held her as if she were a child, then lowered her to the bed and sat by her side.

“I just had the wind knocked out of me, I guess.” She tried to smile, but found she couldn’t—her heart was pounding too wildly. Between her fright and being in Darius’s arms, she didn’t know which made it harder for her to breath.

 “Dr. Kane says a little rest is called for.”

“Shouldn’t we get out of here right away?” Her eyes darted toward the door, as if she were expecting to see a bunch of maniacs burst through it any moment.

“You have time to calm down. They won’t be back that soon.”

“Did you recognize them?”

“They looked like a couple of standard issue thugs. Hong Kong, like any big city, is full of them.”

“You think it was just a random burglary, then?” She hoped he would say it was.

“No, but don’t worry about that for now. Just rest. You’re very pale. It won’t do your brother any good to have you ill.”

At the mention of Alan, a wave of fear swept over her. If people were coming after her on the off chance she might lead them to him…

She turned her head away from Darius and shut her eyes tightly, raising one hand to cover them, as she willed the scared, sick feeling to pass.

He took the hand she had raised and held it between both of his. “C.J.,” he said. “Is there anything, anything at all, about this situation that you haven’t told me?”

“Of course not,” she said, trying to free her hand, but he only held it more firmly. After a moment she added, “It’s just that hearing Jimmy Lee’s warning, then the car chase, and now those men, right here in my room, I can’t help but think that something. . .” She paused, lifting worried gray eyes to his green ones. “What if something…terrible…happened to Alan? What if he’s…”

“Hush, C.J. There’s no indication of anything like that. He’s fine, I’m sure. You’ll find him.” He continued to hold her hand and she found her fingers tightening on his as if they had a mind of their own.

She tried to believe his words, to drive the horrible thought from her mind, but the more she tried, the more persistently it clung. Alan, her big, strong, wonderful brother, might be in real trouble, hurt, even—
No!
She groaned.

Darius, trying to calm her, placed his hand against her cheek. His touch was like fire, and it was all she could do not to reach out for him. Instead, she sat up quickly, then turned and place her feet on the floor; firmly on the floor.

“I don’t know what more I can do,” she whispered.

“You’ve tried,” he said. “But this place, this situation is too dangerous. You’re just not the sort of person who should get mixed up with thugs and low-lifes. You’re such an innocent.”

She looked up at him. His gaze was soft and gentle, and far, far too kindly. Quickly, she stood and took a few steps away from him, folding her arms.

“I won’t give up, Darius.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I guess that means we’ll have to find him.”

She faced him again, unable to believe she had heard him correctly. “We?” she whispered, remembering his insistence about leaving her.

He stood as well and stepped closer. “Yes.”

If only I understood you, she thought, trying to ignore the flutter in her breast. “Thank you,” she whispered, thankful she didn’t have face these dangers, this strange, foreign, frightful area alone. His nearness soothed her, filling her with unexpected warmth.

Alarmed at her increasingly strong reaction to this man, this
stranger,
she reminded herself, she began to hurry around the room picking up belongings strewn on the floor, doing whatever she could not to think about Darius Kane. It was safer that way. The ever-present, practical creature who lived in her head forced her away to keep moving, to not stop, to not let herself feel. She was a loner, would always be one, and had long ago accepted that about herself. To think otherwise, especially about a man like Darius Kane, would only cause her unhappiness.

He lifted her suitcase onto the bed so that she could begin to pack it, an odd expression on his face. She prayed he hadn’t realized the turn her thoughts had taken. If he had, she was quite sure he would be appalled by any such romantic notions on her part.

She was simply “good old C.J.,” the down-to-earth one everyone else went running to when they had difficulties, the one everyone leaned on, needed...used. She had to be tough when those around her were falling to pieces, practical when they were lacking caution. The role didn’t put her in a position to be the object of many men’s desire. Many? Hah…not any man’s desire. Or, at least, not any man she would have given a second thought to. Combining no likely man, with no second thoughts, she found herself, at age 28, in a laughably inexperienced state.

Darius had called her innocent. If he only knew!