“No, quite the opposite. I’m helping her do exactly what she wants.”
Howard nodded. “Okay. I believe you.” He headed out the door, then paused, glancing back. “You do know, don’t you, that she’s engaged?”
“I know.” Russell found a basket of potatoes and picked out the three biggest ones.
“The fiancé is a wealthy were-tiger prince,” Howard continued. “Rajiv wants the wedding to go through.”
“So?” Russell shot him an annoyed look. “You think I would mess that up for her?”
“I don’t know. You just squeezed a raw potato in half.”
With a muttered curse, Russell tossed the mashed potato into the nearby garbage bin, then selected another one.
“You like her,” Howard said quietly.
Russell shook his head. “Nothing will interfere with my mission. Once Han is dead, I’ll take her back to Tiger Town and leave China forever.”
“Famous last words.” When Russell scowled at him, Howard sighed and patted him on the back. “Believe it or not, I know what you’re going through. I lived for revenge once, too.” His gaze drifted to his wife, who was rinsing salad greens in the sink. “A life of hatred is worthless compared to a life filled with love.”
Chapter Eleven
After three more hours of hunting Han, dawn was approaching, so Russell teleported Jia to the last campsite they would check that night.
While she had enjoyed her dinner with Howard and Elsa, he had spent that time teleporting more food supplies to the bat cave and setting up an antenna in the tree next to the solar panels. Now when Jia called her cousin, she would get decent reception.
“Since this is our last stop, I’d better . . .” Jia motioned toward a thick clump of bushes.
“Right. I’ll be up the tree over there.” Russell pointed to a tall tree, then teleported to the top of it so he could look inside the camp.
He was surprised by what he saw. The soldiers were armed and rushing into position as their officer barked out orders. They peered over the battlements, as if expecting an attack. Russell scanned the surrounding area but spotted nothing except Jia emerging from some bushes. What had happened to put these soldiers on alert?
The sat phone in his pocket buzzed, and he checked the caller. Rajiv. The Grand Tiger might know what was going on, but Russell knew better than to take the bait with Jia nearby.
He teleported down to her. “Something’s got the soldiers agitated. They’re staying inside the barricade for now, so you’re probably safe out here to do your sniffing. Even so, I’m worried about leaving you alone.”
“It’ll take me only a minute,” she assured him. “I’ll be fine.” When his phone buzzed again, she gave him a questioning look. “You’re not going to answer?”
“Not here.” He touched her shoulder. “I put my number into your sat phone in case you need to call. Don’t answer your phone unless it’s me. Howard may have passed your number on to J.L. or Rajiv. They still think I kidnapped you, so if you call them at night—”
“Jin Long will try to rescue me,” she finished his sentence. “I know how they are. Go on, so I can sniff around.” She removed a knife from her belt. “I can take care of myself.”
His mouth curled up. “I know.”
She smiled back. “You’re the only one who does know. Everyone else thinks I’m a helpless princess.”
“You are a princess.”
She swatted him. “Go away, cowboy. You’re interfering with my nose.”
“I’ll be back soon.” He teleported to the glacier in the Himalayas. The instant blast of freezing wind nearly knocked him off his feet. Needles of sleet pricked at his exposed face and hands, and he gritted his teeth as he called Rajiv.
“The sun will rise soon,” Rajiv told him. “I want you to teleport Jia back home so she can spend the day here.”
“And then what?” Russell replied. “Will you let her go with me tomorrow night? Or do you plan to lock her—”
J.L. materialized beside him and gasped. “Holy shit!”
Russell smirked. “I knew you’d show up.”
J.L., dressed in trousers and a T-shirt, wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered. “What the hell is this? Antarctica? Where’s Jia?”
“Someplace a lot warmer.”
“What’s going on?” Rajiv demanded on the phone.
“I took a little trip before calling you,” Russell explained. “We’re high in the Himalayas.”
“N-not funny,” J.L. said, his teeth chattering.
“You’re not with Jia?” Rajiv asked. “Where is she?”
“She’s working,” Russell said. “At the last campsite we checked, the soldiers were on alert. Any idea why?”
“Angus and Emma have returned to Tiger Town with a bunch of the guys,” J.L. said, bouncing on his feet in an attempt to stay warm. “We attacked a camp tonight and took all the soldiers prisoner. There are thirty more supersoldiers in the clinic now getting returned to normal.”
“And Emma brought Winifred with her, the warrior woman who can talk to dragons and birds,” Rajiv added. “We’re hoping Winifred and the owl can figure out where the dragon boy is being held captive. And then we’ll know where Han is, too.”
“In other words,” J.L. shouted over the whistling cold wind, “we’ve got everything under control. You don’t need to endanger Jia any more. Angus wants you to return her.”
Russell snorted. “I don’t work for Angus. And neither does Jia.”
“You have no right to put her in danger!” Rajiv yelled over the phone.
“I won’t let anything harm her!” Russell shouted back. The frigid temperature was stiffening his fingers to the point of pain. “You have my word as a Marine. I will keep her safe.”
“If you don’t, you’ll have an army of were-tigers hunting you down!” Rajiv hung up.
Russell sighed, his breath frosting the air.
J.L. grimaced. “Why are you helping that poor girl with her obsession with revenge? Just because you’re obsessed too doesn’t give you the right to endanger her. You’re bloody crazy.”
“Is it crazy to think she should be allowed to accomplish something she feels passionate about? Am I crazy that I don’t believe in locking her up in a princess prison for the rest of her life? She has the right to be herself and find her own destiny!”
J.L.’s eyes widened. “You see yourself as her champion?”
Russell winced. “She doesn’t need a champion. She’s stronger, smarter, and braver than any of you realize. We’re in a business partnership. I need her help as much as she needs mine.”
J.L. inhaled a hissing breath as another shudder racked his body. “We all need the were-tigers. They’re our best ally. If we don’t stop Han and Darafer, they’ll keep taking over more and more territory and killing more humans. The alliance with Rajiv will be totally fucked up if anything happens to Jia—”
“Nothing will happen! I’ll keep her safe. Now get out of here so I can return to her and keep my promise.”
J.L. muttered a curse, then vanished.
Immediately Russell teleported back to Jia.
Five soldiers had gathered around her in a semicircle, while she faced them, her back to a tree. Two had pistols pointed at her; the other three, swords. Russell’s initial shock quickly morphed into rage, first at the soldiers, then at himself. He was the one who had left her alone.
Jia threw a knife at the nearest soldier holding a pistol, then dove to the ground to roll as bullets meant for her tore up the tree. Her knife thudded into the shooter’s chest, and he collapsed. Meanwhile, with vampire speed, Russell wrenched the pistol from the other soldier’s hand and punched him. He dodged a sword, clobbered the first swordsman, then spun around to land a kick on the second swordsman’s head. One soldier lay dead on the ground; three others were unconscious.
The last soldier had his sword lifted overhead, ready to swipe it down onto Jia. She rolled toward him, whipped out another knife, and plunged it into his leg. He cried out, dropping his sword. Russell leaped on him and snapped his neck.