Russell had no memory of how he’d ended up in a vampire coma, but he’d been found in Han’s cave with Han’s tattoo of ownership on his right wrist. It could only mean that Han had attacked him, sucked him dry, then stashed him away for thirty-nine freakin’ years.
Russell’s theory had been confirmed when he’d met Han and the bastard had declared that Russell belonged to him. Russell had known then and there that Han had to die. But if possible, he had one question to ask Master Han before killing him. Why? Why did you leave me there for thirty-nine years?
During that time, Russell had lost everything. Unlike Jia, he had nothing left to lose. There was no family, no home, no future. Nothing and no one.
That was the way it needed to stay. He had to work alone. A partner would slow him down. Make him feel responsible. Make him . . . feel. Feelings would make him weak. And weakness would make him fail.
“Tenzen!” Rajiv called over one of his uncles. “Will you take Jia to her room?”
The princess’s eyes blazed with anger, and she aimed a molten-gold glare at Russell. “See what you’ve done? I’ll be a prisoner!”
Tenzen took hold of her arm, and she shook him off. “I know the way.” With a lift of her chin, she started across the courtyard.
Her dignified exit was somewhat marred by the squishing sound of her wet boot, but even so, Russell was impressed by her refusal to appear defeated. Was she really a prisoner? He winced at the sight of her uncle and two guards following close behind her.
“Jia, thank God you’re back!” J.L. Wang grinned at her as he approached. “Are you all right?”
Russell’s eyes narrowed. J.L. was the vampire she’d called her friend, using his full name, Jin Long. As a former special agent for the FBI, J.L. had fit right into MacKay Security and Investigation. Officially, he was head of security for the West Coast Coven, headquartered in his hometown of San Francisco. But recently, he spent most of his time in China, where his knowledge of Chinese was helping the good Vamps in their fight against Master Han.
Jia lifted a hand in greeting, then marched right past J.L. without a word. As J.L.’s smile faded, a pang of satisfaction reverberated in Russell’s chest.
J.L. jogged over to Rajiv and Russell. “What happened?”
“Russell found her and brought her back,” Rajiv replied.
“Thank you.” J.L. gave Russell a quick smile. “We were worried about her.”
Russell’s hands curled into fists. “Then why weren’t you with her? You call yourself her friend but leave her alone to face danger?”
J.L. stiffened. “What’s gotten into you?”
“She wasn’t alone,” Rajiv explained. “At least not at first. My brother’s wife has recently given birth to twins. Jia offered to be our emissary to deliver gifts and assist with the care of the babies. She set off a week ago with a small caravan. Five guards. Just across the border in Thailand, she managed to sneak away in the middle of the night. The guards searched for her but couldn’t find her. So they rushed on to my brother’s village, and he called tonight with the news that she was missing.”
“We were about to search for her,” J.L. added. “Where did you find her?”
Russell shifted his weight. He wasn’t sure if these guys knew about Jia’s plan to assassinate Master Han. Even though he should warn them, he found himself strangely reluctant to tattle on her. “I’m not sure. Someplace in northern Myanmar.”
J.L.’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Master Han has a camp there.”
Russell shrugged. “He has camps all over.”
“Was Han there?” Rajiv demanded. “Was she trying to kill him?”
So they knew. Russell sighed. “Yes, she tried and came damned close to succeeding.”
J.L. sucked in a hissing breath.
Rajiv grimaced. “I strictly forbade her to go anywhere near Han or his camps.”
J.L. shook his head. “She’s too impetuous. She’ll get herself killed.”
A surge of anger shot through Russell. “At least she’s doing something! She had the courage to go after him, which is more than I can say for the two of you!”
Rajiv’s eyes flashed with anger. “If you know where Han is, tell me and I’ll gladly kill him. I promised Jia I would avenge her family. And since you found her, you must have been near Han, too. Why didn’t you kill him?”
Russell’s jaw shifted as he ground his teeth.
“Do you think we’re doing nothing here?” J.L. glared at him. “In the last two months, we’ve attacked six of Han’s camps and taken his supersoldiers. They’re in the clinic now, being changed back to normal.”
“We’ve whittled Han’s army down to three hundred and twenty,” Rajiv added.
Russell scoffed. “Instead of saving soldiers, we need to kill Han. Once the head is dead, the body will wither away.”
“Then the next time you see Han, call us,” J.L. growled. “We’re on the same side, dammit.”
Russell stepped back to teleport away. “Later.”
“Wait!” J.L. held up a hand. “We need to know more. Is Han still in Myanmar?”
“He left.” Russell scowled. “There’s no telling where he is now. And he had the dragon boy with him.”
“Xiao Fang?” Rajiv asked. “Is he all right?”
“He appeared to be.”
“Let me get you a sat phone,” J.L. said. “The next time you see Han—”
“I have a phone.”
“But the charge—”
“It’s fine.” Russell visualized his underground lair, ready to teleport there. Our secret hideout, the princess had called it. Was it true what she had said? “Is she really a prisoner?”
Rajiv glanced in the direction of the houses next to the courtyard. Jia had disappeared down one of the narrow alleys. “She’s exaggerating. She’s free to go about Tiger Town as she wishes.”
Tiger Town was small. Russell tamped down on the anger that still sizzled inside him. How dare they keep down a fighting spirit like hers?
“If she still wants to visit the were-tigers in Thailand, I’ll teleport her there,” J.L. offered.
Russell snorted. Did the fools think she wanted to babysit? She was probably sharpening her knives right now and planning her escape. She had one thing on her mind—killing Han.
And he needed to beat her to it. Russell teleported away.
Jia slid the bolt across her door. The last thing she needed now was someone barging in while she checked on her hidden stash of weapons. She dashed across the dark room and opened the shutters to the back window. It had been overcast in Myanmar, but here in the Yunnan province of China, the sky was clear. Countless stars and a quarter-moon shone through the window. With her excellent night vision, there was enough light for her to see.
As the granddaughter of the late Grand Tiger, she’d lived in Tiger Town since the age of eight, moving there after the deaths of her parents and brother. She’d been trained in all the intricacies of courtly life and its elaborate ceremonies, but here in the privacy of her room, she’d always maintained a Spartan existence. As long as her family cried out for vengeance, she couldn’t afford to grow soft.
Her room took up half of a building situated on the bluff overlooking the beach and Mekong River. Down by the river, she could see lights in the windows of houses and stores built up on stilts. Most of the villagers of Tiger Town lived along the river and worked as fishermen or merchants. Up here on the bluff, the royal residences and guesthouses sat next to the courtyard and palace.
Her sensitive hearing caught the sound of a boot scraping along the stone alleyway outside her door. The guards were still there. Dammit. How dare that vampire bring her back to Tiger Town? She’d clearly told him anywhere but here.
She darted over to her wooden chest and dug beneath the embroidery supplies to find her hidden stash of knives. Still there, thank God. Apparently Rajiv hadn’t ordered her room to be searched when he’d learned she was missing.
After pulling out the leather parcel, she untied the strings to unroll it on the floor. Ten perfectly balanced knives lay in a row, their handles nestled into narrow pockets, their blades gleaming in the moonlight. She retrieved a knife from each of her boots and a third one that was lashed to her calf underneath her trousers. She lifted her baggy pants higher to uncover the short, emergency dagger strapped to her thigh.