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you.”
    “Not now.” He got to his feet and moved toward the French doors. He had to get out of here. The taste of this failure was bitter, and he needed to take it to his love, to share it, as he always had. “I’ll talk to you later.”
    The sun was on his face as he moved down the garden path. Hot. Soothing. The heat was making the blood pump in his veins. Taking away the coldness of defeat. Making everything exciting and right for him as he hurried to her.
    Just as she always had made it right.
    I’m here Delores. I’m coming to you. That fool, Nagoles, has upset me. I need you.
    Then he was there, standing before the grand granite tomb that was covered with bouquets of fresh roses.
    He immediately felt the easing, the feeling of coming home, of being welcomed into her arms.
    It’s only a slight delay, Delores. I know you would have told me to just kill that bitch, Ling. But I can’t do that. She has to suffer for what she did to you, what she did to us. She mustn’t die until she’s suffered as much as I did when she took you away from me.
    He looked at the names he’d written in black charcoal on the wall of the tomb. Slantkey, Petrov, Jantzen. He’d planned on adding Erin Sullivan today. Another surge of searing rage went through him. I didn’t mean to cheat you, Delores. Forgive me.
    I promise I’ll make it right. But first maybe we should let Ling anticipate what’s in store …
    *   *   *
    The Skype picture of Erin Sullivan was bright and clear and showed both the strain on her face and the blood on the front of her shirt.
    “What’s that blood?” Catherine asked sharply. “Hu Chang said that it was your leg that—”
    “For heaven’s sake, Catherine, it is my leg,” Erin said with exasperation. “And it’s only a flesh wound. I just bled a bit. This blood is from Les Caudell’s wound. I had to help him into the helicopter. They’re working on his shoulder now.”
    “And he’ll be okay?”
    “Eventually. Not for a long while. The pain was excruciating. He kept passing out on the way here.”
    Catherine bit down on her lower lip. “I’m sorry about this, Erin. I never dreamed that this would happen. It came out of the blue.”
    “Or out of the depths of hell,” Erin said grimly. “A young priest was killed back on the mountain. He was only eighteen and was going to Hong Kong to study teaching. That bullet was meant for me.”
    “If you’re looking for someone to blame, I come first on the list. I’m the prime target, Erin.”
    “That’s what Hu Chang told me when he was setting up this Skype. Why?”
    Catherine briefly went over both the facts and her own suppositions. “I’m thinking it’s Santos, but it could be someone else. Venable is trying to confirm.”
    Erin was silent, thinking. “Santos would have the money, power, and the killers needed to bounce all around the world as needed to accomplish those three kills. And the attempt on me wouldn’t have been easy. I was working on a mountain in Tibet. Not the usual target for one of Santos’s goodfellas. He had to be motivated.”
    “Santos can definitely motivate,” Catherine said. “And he’s not going to stop. He’ll try again, Erin. Stay with Chen Lu.”
    “Not likely. Chen Lu’s palace is beautiful, and she’s wonderful, but I don’t belong here. I’m coming to you, Catherine.”
    “Bullshit. Stay away from me.”
    “I can’t do that. You didn’t stay away from me when I was being tortured and hunted down like an animal.”
    “I was just doing my job.”
    “No, you weren’t. It might have started out that way, but by the end, you were doing it because you wanted me to stay alive. Life is a great gift. I won’t be cheated of trying to return the favor.”
    “Erin, I don’t—”
    “And I won’t be cheated of the justice that sniper deserves for murdering that village priest. As soon as I make sure that Les Caudell is going to be okay, I’m on the next plane to you.”
    “That’s not