Free Your Next Breath by Iris Johansen Page A

care about first.” She sighed. “Think of yourself as bait. Joe can spring a trap and save you and me at the same time. Does that work for you?”
    “No.”
    “I didn’t think it would. But there’s still value in the idea. Talk to Joe about it.” She added firmly, “Because it’s all you can do for me. Stay where you are. I’m not letting anyone who might be a target near me. Santos would love to kill someone I care about in front of me.”
    “Yeah, I’ve been doing some research on him. He’s a nasty piece of work.” She paused. “Is Hu Chang with you?”
    “Not right now. He’s trying to stave off Erin Sullivan from doing the same thing that you want to do. She’s flying here from Hong Kong.” She paused. “And she’s already been wounded. Apparently, she was next on Santos’s list.”
    “Is she okay?”
    “Yes, but it could have ended differently. She almost ended up dead. You could end up dead, Eve.” She shivered as she said the words. “Anyone who I care about, anyone I love. I thought I was pretty alone in the world, but I’m finding that I care about a lot of people. And that scares me. Santos has evidently spent a lot of time doing his research. I don’t know where he’ll strike next.”
    “Then I should be there to—”
    “No, Eve. I don’t need you. I have guards all over the place. Do you think I wouldn’t protect Luke?”
    “No.” Eve was silent. “You call and tell me that Hu Chang is back with you, and I might wait. I’ll give you until tomorrow.”
    “He may not be back by—”
    “Tomorrow.” Eve broke the connection.
    Catherine grimaced as she hung up the phone. It was no more than she had expected. It was what Catherine would have done in the same circumstances. But she’d hoped that maybe Joe would be able to keep Eve from acting. Evidently, he’d had some success but not enough.
    “Eve is upset?” Sam poured Catherine a cup of coffee before sitting down across the kitchen table from her. “You’re lucky she’s not mounting her trusty steed and riding to rescue you.”
    “I think Joe is holding the keys to the stable at the moment.” She lifted her cup to her lips. “But that’s not going to last long. Tomorrow. She doesn’t like the idea that Hu Chang isn’t here.”
    “And I’m chopped liver?” Sam asked mockingly. “I’m insulted.”
    “You shouldn’t be. Hu Chang left you to guard Luke. That’s a compliment beyond price.”
    “He also told me to keep an eye on you, or I would end up dying a very slow and painful death.” He took a sip of his coffee. “And from what I gathered, he’s fully qualified to make that happen. Is he really a master poisoner?”
    “No, but he’s magnificent at creating them. He’s been known to sell certain of his poisons for fabulous amounts.” She shrugged. “But only to those he chooses and who meet his code. I don’t know if he started out as ethical as he is today. I’ve never asked him. He’s my friend, that’s enough for me.”
    “A strange relationship.”
    “Why not?” She smiled. “It goes with the territory. Hu Chang and I are both a little strange. Haven’t you noticed?”
    “‘Unique’ is the correct word. Do you want breakfast?”
    “Just orange juice. Where’s Luke?”
    “In the library. He was up at six and ate his breakfast then. He’s playing an online video game with Kelly Winters. She beat him last time, and he’s out for revenge.”
    “He’ll have his work cut out for him,” she said dryly. “You’ve met Kelly when she’s visited here. She’s not in that think tank at the university for nothing. She may be only sixteen, but she’s extraordinarily intelligent.”
    “But so is Luke,” Sam said. “They’re a good match. He has trouble adjusting to kids his own age, but he has no trouble with Kelly.”
    “Because she’s smart about people, too. I’ve tried to get her to come here to study, but she likes the professors at her school in Virginia.” She shook