Jia nodded, her heart pounding. Thirteen years of planning and training, and it was finally happening. Not only would she have her revenge but killing Han now would also keep him from attacking Tiger Town. She could save all her friends and family there. But why was it so important to Russell?
“We’ll teleport five miles out and do a loop around the camp. Ready?” He grabbed her shoulders.
“Wait. I—” She took a deep breath. “If I’m going to help you kill someone, I deserve to know why.”
Russell gave her an impatient look. “You know why. He killed your family.”
“Yes, but what did he do to you?”
“You’re wasting our time.”
“He put you in a coma for thirty-nine years. What else happened?”
Russell gritted his teeth. “I don’t explain.”
She swatted his shoulder just before he teleported her away. When they arrived, they looked around. Dirt, rocks, a few scraggly, parched trees.
“Can you smell anything?” he asked.
She couldn’t but didn’t want to tell him. “I’m going on strike until you talk to me.”
He groaned. “We don’t have time for this. We have a lot of territory to cover.”
“Then you’d better start talking.”
He scowled at her. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“Ha! You’ve been driving me crazy for a week!”
“You’ve known me for only a week.”
“Exactly.”
He crossed his arms, glaring at her.
She crossed her arms and glared back.
“I’ll take you back to Tiger Town.” He reached for her. “The partnership is over.”
“No!” She jumped back. “You need me to find Han. Come on. Tell me what he did to you.”
“Dammit, woman!” Russell reached for her again. “Why do you need to know?”
She moved out of reach. I need to understand you. She gave him an entreating look. “Please.”
His arm dropped to his side, and he stared at her a few minutes before letting out a resigned groan. “You know what he did. He put me in a vampire coma for thirty-nine years.”
“Why? Why did he leave you like that for so long?”
Russell snorted. “I’ve been wanting to ask him that since the minute I woke up.” A pained look crossed his face. “While I lay there in a cave like a helpless lump of meat, everyone I cared about died. My parents died believing both their sons were dead.”
Jia swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
With a sigh, Russell turned away from her. “I was on leave in Phuket when I received the news that my brother was missing in action. I made plans to go to Saigon to see what I could find out, but something happened.” He shook his head. “I don’t remember. I just remember waking up in a cave in Thailand.”
“You don’t know how you got there?” Jia asked.
“No. But we know it was Han’s cave. Inside, he’d put hundreds of men into vampire comas and encased them in clay. They were laid out in a huge cavern like a burial ground of terra-cotta warriors. I was the only one who survived. For some reason, Han had separated me from the others. I was in a small cave by myself.”
Jia tilted her head, considering. “He took extra care with you. He must have thought you were special.”
Russell turned back to her with an exasperated look. “If I was so bloody special, why did he leave me for so long? While I was there, my men in Vietnam were drawn into an ambush. Every one of them slaughtered! If I had been with them, I might have—”
“You can’t blame yourself for that,” she interrupted.
“I should have been with them!” he shouted. “And I should have gone home. I was gone so long, my wife—”
Jia gasped. “You’re married?”
“I was. She had me declared dead.” Russell waved a dismissive hand. “She waited seven years before remarrying. I don’t blame her. I checked up on her when I finally made it back to the States. She has children and grandchildren. She’s happy. She’s better off thinking I’m dead.”
Jia winced. “I see.”
“But she had a daughter.” Russell’s eyes glimmered with tears. “Our daughter. I was scheduled to go home to meet her after she was born, but I never made it. She grew up without me and died of breast cancer at the age of forty.” His hands clenched into fists. “I never got to meet her!”
Jia’s chest constricted as she felt his pain, and she pressed a hand to her heart. “Oh, God.”
“Now you know.” He blinked away tears. “I lost my daughter. My parents. My brother. My men. My mortality. Even the fucking ranch is gone. I lost everything, thanks to Han.”
“I’m sorry.” With tears in her eyes, she ran up to Russell and placed her hands on his face. “He didn’t take everything. You still have your honor and courage. You’re still a good man.”
He snorted. “Does a good man kill for revenge?”
“A good man seeks justice.” She gave him a tremulous smile. “A good woman does, too.”
A corner of his mouth curled up, and he cradled her face with his hands. “Jia, what are you doing to me?”
“I’m trying to be a good partner.” She patted his shoulder. “We’d better get back to work.”
He studied her quietly a moment, then kissed her brow. “You’re the best partner a man could hope for.”