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An image of Melody flashed through her mind—fresh-faced, laughing, filled with the kind of spontaneous joy Tori had never been allowed. The thought of how easily that could change sent her pulse racing. She had to get to her daughter. Had to grab the box and run as far and as fast as she could.
“Don’t even think about it.” His voice held quiet authority, his expression not changing as he tugged her closer to his side.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
“You were thinking about running. Save us both the time and energy—don’t bother.”
There was nothing to say to that, so she didn’t speak at all. Not that she had the energy to do more than keep up with Noah. He moved with a long, brisk stride, not slowing his pace as they stepped onto a narrow, paved road that led to the outskirts of Mae Hong Son. Rundown houses and faded buildings stood like weary sentinels to either side, their long shadows touching the road with darkness. In the distance, deep green mountains brushed the sky, shrouded in mist and mystery. A few people hurried along a cracked and broken sidewalk, too rushed to notice the strangers in their midst. Or maybe they noticed and chose not to show it. An odd thought, but one Tori couldn’t shake.
Nor could she shake the feeling that she and Noah were being watched, that every step they took was being monitored. She glanced around, tense with nerves, and was surprised by the warmth of Noah’s breath as he spoke close to her ear. “Relax. They’re friends. Of a sort.”
“Who?”
“The people watching us.”
So he felt it, too. Tori wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or even more worried. “Who are they?”
“No one we need to worry about. An acquaintance of mine owns some property around here. He likes to know who’s coming and going.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“It should. There’s no love lost between Hawke and Lao.”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me who Hawke and Lao are?”
“Hawke is a man I’ve worked with a few times. Lao is a suspected member of the Wa, a militia group based across the border in Myanmar. Lao’s the one you took the box from.”
“I didn’t take the box. I bought it.”
“You have the box. He wants it back.”
“Why? It’s a box. Pretty. Expensive. But just a box.” She expected him to ignore her question. Instead he stopped short, pulling her around to face him.
His face was granite hard in the fading light, his eyes the blue-green of angry ocean waves. “I’d like to think you believe that.”
“I do.”
He watched her, his expression unreadable, then turned and started walking again.
“I’m telling the truth. I saw a rosewood trinket box at a tourist shop when I was visiting Wat Doi Kong Mu. It was broken, so the clerk brought one out from the back.” The words spilled out, and Tori bit her lip to keep from saying more.
“And was killed for his efforts.”
“What?”
“Story on the street is he was robbed and beaten to death. Truth is, Lao doesn’t take kindly to having his plans ruined. Especially not when the Wa is involved. You might want to keep that in mind.”
The words might be either threat or warning. Neither was necessary. Tori knew the danger she was in, the danger Melody would be in if she had the box and the people who’d abducted Tori found out about it.
Lao. The name was unfamiliar, the taste of it bitter against Tori’s tongue. She raked a hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers caught in tangled curls. Nothing made sense. The well-ordered life she’d been living was suddenly a bizarre dance whose steps she didn’t know. She’d have to learn them fast if she was going to survive. And the only way to learn was to ask questions, get answers and weed out the truth from the lies. “Where did you say we were going?”
“A safe place.”
“Safe from Lao.”
“That’s right.”
“And will I be safe from you?”
“Safe enough.”
“Are you always so talkative?”
He shot her a sideways look meant to still her words. “Are you?”
“No.”
“Now would be a good time to go back to your old habits.”
He picked up the pace, leading the way through a dim alley, then across several narrow streets. Jaw set, he turned into a dark, dank walkway between two buildings. “Stay close through here. You get lost and you might never find your way out.”
“Right.” The word rasped out, the deepening shadows and dingy grayness of the surrounding walls enough to convince Tori that she should do as told.
The air reeked of sewage and rot. Bags of garbage overflowed with spoiled food and decaying trash. The ground teemed with living things, insects and lizards darting away as Tori and Noah moved forward. Geckos clung to the cinder-block sides of the buildings, their tan bodies scurrying into motion.
Not a place to linger. Especially not when insects and lizards didn’t seem to be the only creatures thriving in the garbage-clogged alley. Tori could feel the weight of human gazes following the progress she and Noah were making. She wondered who they were, where they were hiding, when they would show themselves. If they would show themselves. She imagined the whiz of a bullet, the pain she’d feel as it slammed into her flesh.
“This is it.”
Noah’s words pulled Tori from her macabre thoughts, and she turned her attention to the low stone wall and wrought-iron gate in front of them. Both looked new and well tended. The property that Noah’s friend owned? Probably. Tori didn’t know who the friend was, but the fact that he and Noah were pals had already biased her against him.
Noah put a hand on the gate and pushed it open. “Let’s go.”
He stepped through. Tori straightened her spine, clenched her jaw to stop its trembling and followed.
Chapter Three
Thick mist shrouded the courtyard, making monsters out of shadows and trees, and painting the world in eerie light. Noah led Tori to the front of a two-story stucco building and pounded his fist against a faded wood door. Then they waited. Tori stood close beside him, her tension obvious in the soft, quick gasp of her breath. When the door swung open, she started, her hand grasping his arm, then dropping away as if she’d suddenly realized what she was doing.
“Come on.” He pulled her inside a dark room, felt more than saw someone move to close the door. Then the hard barrel of a gun pressed tight under his jaw. He didn’t flinch, didn’t try to pull his weapon. Just waited.
“Sawatdee khrap, my friend.” The words were spoken in rapid-fire Thai.
Noah answered in the same. “If we’re friends, why the gun?”
“Precaution. Why are you here?”
“Hawke owes me a favor. I’ve come to collect.”
“We’d heard you retired.”
“Depends on who you ask.”
The gun dropped away and a light flicked on.
A Thai man leaned against one wall, his expression more curious than suspicious. Not Hawke. Apirak Koysayodin—one of the few men Hawke trusted.
“Who’s the woman?”
“She’s a friend.”
“Hawke won’t like that you’ve brought her here.” There was no heat in the words or in the dark gaze he swept over Tori.
Her fingers tapped a fast rhythm against her thigh. Her gaze darted from Apirak to the door. Probably wondering how easy it would be to bolt across the room and escape.
Noah grabbed her hand, holding her in place as he turned his attention back to Apirak. “Sometimes we have choices, sometimes we don’t. My friend and I need some information.”
“You want to know about the snakes that are slithering through Mae Hong Son.”
“That’s right.”
“There aren’t many. Ten. Twelve.”
“What are they hunting?”
“A woman. An American with red hair and brown eyes. It seems she took something from Sang Lao. Something he’s desperate to retrieve.”
That confirmed what the DEA’s informant had reported. A local businessman, Lao had been suspected of drug trafficking for years. So far he’d eluded the DEA and the Royal Thai Police. It looked like his luck might be running out. “What about the Wa?”
“We’ve yet to see any of them.”
“That’s something to be thankful for.”
“A small thing. And something much bigger to worry about.”
“What?”
“There’s a price on your friend’s head. Fifty thousand baht.” Again he glanced at Tori, his eyes speculative.
“A lot of money.”
“Yes, but most people here despise Sang Lao and wouldn’t help him for all the riches in the world.”
“It’s the rest of the people I’m worried about. We’ll need an escort out of town.”
“It’s been arranged.”
“Hawke’s ahead of the game.”
“Your people are not the only ones who want to bring Lao down. Hawke has been patient. It seems his time might be at hand.” Apirak spoke as he stepped to the door and pulled it open. “There’s a car waiting for you at the entrance to Market Street. It will take you wherever you want to go.”
“Tell Hawke we’re even.”
“It will take more than this for Hawke to think he’s repaid the debt he owes you.” With that, the light went out and Apirak disappeared.
“What’s going on? What did he say?” Tori’s words were just above a whisper.
“Not here.” Noah tugged on her hand, pulling her outside.
“Well?”
“There’s a price on your head. Fifty thousand baht.”
If the news surprised her, she didn’t show it, just nodded, her dark eyes shadowed. “Now what?”
“We go meet our ride.”
“Ride?”
“We’re going back to Chiang Mai. It’s time for you to go home.”
If he wanted a reaction, he got one. Her body tensed, and he thought she might run. Instead, she nodded. “Good idea.”
The words were hollow, empty of enthusiasm.
“For someone who’s running for her life, you don’t seem very happy about getting an escort home.”
“It’s the escort I’m opposed to. Not the trip home.”
“Sorry. You’re stuck with me.” Until you decide to make your move. He didn’t say the last part, though he was thinking it. If Tori was guilty, she’d make a break for the box eventually. When she did, Noah would be right behind her.
They moved back into the dank walkway, the silence heavy between them. Tori fought the urge to break it, afraid if she started talking she’d say too much, reveal more than she should. With her wrists throbbing, her head pounding and what few ideas she had muddled by fatigue, Tori figured the best she could offer herself and Melody was silence.
Noah glanced her way, his face cold and unyielding. “It would save us both a lot of trouble if you’d tell me where the box is.”
“I already told you—”
“I’ve heard that story before. Why don’t we try a new one?”
“Why don’t you try telling me who you are and why you freed me? Why you want the box and what you’re going to get out of having it? Maybe then we’ll have more to talk about.”
Noah smiled, a feral curve of his lips that sent a shiver down Tori’s spine. “Seems we’re at a stalemate.”
She shrugged, determined not to waste more time talking. Her energy was waning and she still had a long way to go.
“Nothing to say, Red?”
“Tori.”
