Barbara Faith - Kiss of the dragon (14 page)

"There's the market." Tiger started toward it. "I'll buy food for tonight and tomorrow."

Bethany followed him in silence, her head lowered so that no one could see her face, while he bought oranges and pears at one stand, then moved on to other stands. Past swimming eels, live frogs hooked together on a string and dead snakes, to buy buns, lotus nuts and roasted chestnuts. He handed all the bags to her and murmured, "It will look better if you carry them."

Bethany took them without speaking. Everything was strange. This was another world, a world she didn't understand. As she didn't understand this man who motioned her to follow him with a jerk of his head.

They found a room in a house a short distance from the market. It was a small room with two hammocks,
a
crude table, and no bathroom.

"The facilities are at the back of the house," Tiger told her.

Bethany didn't answer. She put the things Tiger had bought down on the table and moved to the hamnock. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and pretend she was somewhere else.

"Mrs. Weng will give us dinner," Tiger said.

"I'll just have some fruit."

He shook his head. "You need hot food. Come along, don't argue."

Bethany glared at him, but she had no choice. For
as
long as this trip lasted
she had to do as he said. But wh
en this was over, when they found the dragon, she'd
tel
l
Tiger what she thought of him.

She had no idea what she ate for dinner. Once, in a low voice, she asked, "What
is
this?" and Tiger replied, "Better not ask." She made herself eat most of k, choking it down with green tea. God, how she hated green tea! If she ever got out of China she'd never have a cup of green tea for as long as she lived.

Because there we
re no lights, the woman of the h
ouse gave them a kerosene lantern. "I'll bring some water in so we can bathe," Tiger said as they made their way to their room. He hesitated. "Would you like me to go with you out to the yard?''

"No thank you," Bethany said coolly. "I can find my way."

Tiger handed her the lantern. She held it aloft and resolutely made her way out of the house. The yard was dark, there was no moon to light her way. She stood for a moment, not knowing which way to go, then spotted
a
well-worn path. There, behind what looked like a lilac bush, she found a crude wooden structure. The facilities, she thought grimly.

When Bethany returned to the room Tiger took the lantern and left. He returned a few minutes later with a bucket of water,
a
piece of soap, and a towel. Si
l
ently he and Bethany undressed, she with her back to him. She bathed, put on her nightgown, and turned to the hammock.

She'd never slept in a hammock before and wasn't even sure how to get in one. Tentatively she sat on the edge. The other side rose in the air, almost throwing her out.

"Sit in the middle," Tiger said, "then swing your feet up."

Bethany tried it. Half on and half off she lay back and closed her eyes. She heard Tiger's footsteps cross to her and did not open her eyes.

"We must talk," he said.

"I'm tired."

"I know you are, but this is necessary." Bethany opened her eyes.

"You were shocked by what happened today, by the way I handled the man who had been following me."

"You could have killed him."

"No, I knew what I was doing."

"Because you've done it before?"

"Damn it, Bethany..." Tiger ran a tired hand through his black hair, then dropped to the floor beside her. "I've been expecting somebody to follow me from the time I left Tsingyun. After the attempt to kidnap you I knew we were being watched, that we would continue to be watched until we made some kind of a move. That's why I didn't want you with me. If the men who were after the dragon followed me then
you
would be safe. But you were determined to come with me, Bethany, and I am not sure whether it was because you wanted to be with me or because you didn't trust me."

"Not that," she said. "Never that."

Tiger went on as though he hadn't heard her. "What happened this morning was inevitable. I knew I would be followed, I knew there would be a confrontation. I didn't want you to see it."

"You would have killed him," Bethany said again. "I saw your face. I—"

"He had information I needed." Tiger's voice was cold. "He will go back to the man who sent him, to Weng Tsan Tsi. But don't think that because he has gone that another won't take his place. From now on we must watch every move we make. We must be ready to escape if escape is possible, to stand and fight if it is not. I didn't want you to come but you are here and I can't send you back." His voice tightened. "This morning I asked you to do whatever I told you to do. You disobeyed me, but you can't disobey me again. Both of our lives might depend on your obedience." He took her hand. "On your trust."

Bethany looked at him for a long moment. Then she took her hand away. "I'll do whatever you say," she said, "for as long as we are in China. But when this is over... it will be over.''

Tiger sat back on his heels. "As you wish, Bethany."

Then he stood up and went to the other hammock. But it was a long time before Tiger slept that night. He knew he had been rough on Bethany and that she had been shocked by the day's events. Even as his hands had gripped his pursuer's throat this morning he'd been aware of Bethany's shocked gasp, the look of horror on her face.

Tiger closed his eyes. This was a dangerous game they were playing, she had to realize that. She wasn't in Ohio, she was in China. A lot of money was involved, money that men would kill for.

His mother had said that men had killed and been killed for the golden dragon. Tiger knew now that it was true. He knew too that he would have to be tough and resilient if he and Bethany were to come through this unscathed. He'd have given his soul to know that she was safely back in Tsingyun with his mother. And he knew that he would give his life to protect her.

With a sigh Tiger closed his eyes. Suddenly, for a reason he couldn't explain, he thought about the legend of the girl who had been Flowering Peach, and of her lover, the young poet who was turned into a dragon.

"The golden dragon is a symbol of love," his mother had said. "A love that will last forever."

Of a lost love. Tiger took a deep breath. He wanted to go to Bethany. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her he loved her. That if the dragon was going to come between them he didn't want it—he only wanted her.

But Tiger didn't go to her. Instead he closed his eyes and thought of the next day's journey.

Chapter 14

T
iger was not in the room when Bethany awoke the next morning. She yawned, stretched, then made the mistake of rolling over... and rolled right out of the hammock. She was still on the floor, trying to gather her wits, when Tiger opened the door.

"What happened?" He put a package on the table. "Are you hurt?"

Bethany looked up at him as she ran a hand through her tousled hair. "I fell out of bed, I mean out of the hammock. I just turned over and the next thing I knew I was on the floor."

Suppressing a smile, Tiger helped her up. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"No." Bethany stepped away from him. "What time is it?"

"A little past seve
n. I've arranged a ride to Wenz
hou. We have to leave at eight."

"In a truck?"

Tiger nodded. "But this time we ride in the front." He handed her the package. "I bought you a cheong-sam. I thought it would be cooler than the pants and jacket you've been wearing. You must still wear the hat of course."

Bethany opened the package and removed the dark-blue Chinese dress. Tiger was right, it would be cooler than the pants and jacket.

"Thank you." Her voice was still formal and withdrawn. "That was thoughtful of you."

"And here's a thermos of hot tea. I'm afraid that's all we have time for."

"Green tea." Bethany sighed as she opened the thermos and filled the cup.

"We can have the fruit and bread later, on the truck. Wenzhou is less than a hundred miles from here. Once we're there we'll get a train to take us to Hangzhou, then on to Nanjing." Tiger hesitated. He wanted to tell her how he felt, how he didn't want it to be like this at all. He knew it was difficult for her. He'd try to make it as easy for her, but he had to be strong and make Bethany strong or they'd never come through this.

Instead he told her not to take too long dressing, and that he'd be waiting outside.

The cheongsam was tight across her bust, but aside from that it fitted. Bethany applied her makeup, tied her hair back and put on the coolie hat. Just before she snapped her mirror shut she looked into it again, into the face of a stranger.

"I'm Bethany Adams," she whispered to the mirror. "I'm twenty-four years old and I live in Tiffin,
Ohio." She took a deep breath. "I'm an American," she said.

The rain started an hour after they were on the road. Tiger and the driver sat in the front of the cab; Bethany sat behind them on a jump seat next to the suitcase. Tiger and the other man talked. Bethany looked out of the window at the rain.

The road was rutted, and the rain only made it worse. They passed through several villages similar to the one where she and Tiger had spent the night. There was almost no traffic on the road, only an occasional handcart and one or two bicycles. Bethany ate an orange and tried to sleep.

By the time they reached Wenzhou the rain had slowed. Tiger asked directions to the railroad station, then said to Bethany, "We will ask if there is a train to Chinhai this afternoon."

Bethany waited while he went to the ticket window to inquire. There were only a few people in the musty-smelling station: a woman with a red-cheeked baby, a husband and wife with a little boy who watched Bethany's every move, and a young man in a blue coolie suit and Mao cap who glanced away when Bethany looked at him.

When Tiger returned he said, "We're in luck. The train for Chinhai leaves in an hour. We'll spend the night there and take the train for Hangzhou and Nanjing in the morning."

Bethany nodded without speaking.

"We have time to find a restaurant and have lunch," he said. "Or if you prefer we can eat the fruit and bread I bought yesterday."

"The fruit and bread will be fine." Bethany glanced up at him as she spoke.

"Keep your head down," Tiger warned in a low voice. He took the fruit and buns out of the straw bag she carried, casually glancing around the room as he did, past the woman with the child, the husband and wife, the young man in the Mao cap whose nose was peeling from a fading sunburn.

Tiger handed Bethany a pear and said, "I'm going to buy a newspaper."

Bethany nodded without speaking. She felt curiously enervated; she didn't want to eat or move or think. It was as though all of this strangeness and the difficulties with Tiger had suddenly become too much for her to cope with. She was bereft, tired in mind and her body, and very, very alone.

"You're not eating," Tiger said when he returned.

"I'm not hungry."

"At least have some fruit."

Bethany took a bite out of the pear.

When they boarded the train the young man in the Mao cap followed them into soft class. Tiger continued reading the newspaper, preoccupied with the thought of the monsoon and that in another day or two he and Bethany would have to find a boat to make the trip up the Yangtze to Chungtai. If there was a storm the trip would have to be delayed. That thought didn't please him. He wanted to get this over with as soon as he could. Maybe when he and Bethany had the golden dragon and were on their way back to Hong Kong things would be better between them.

Tiger thought of how it had been on the boat, of the long love-filled nights, of the sunny days... Suddenly his back stiffened. Sunny days! The young man who had boarded when they did had a sunburned nose. That was strange, as there hadn't been much sun in this part of China for the past week or two. At any rate the Chinese weren't sun worshippers like the Americans or the Europeans. When they went out they wore hats to protect them from the sun. Even fishermen who spent their lives on the water usually had a protective canvas to shade them from the sun. But a man on a pleasure craft—like the craft that had pursued them on their journey to China—didn't worry about exposure to the sun.

Was this young man in his Mao cap one of the men who had pursued them?

Tiger debated about telling Bethany, and decided he wouldn't. She was having a difficult time coping; he didn't want to add to her worries. And very likely he was jumping to a false conclusion. But just in case, he'd keep an eye on the young man.

It was late afternoon when the train chugged into Chinhai. It had been raining for over a hour and as Tiger and Bethany walked through the small station they saw that the rain had increased. Tiger looked around. The young man was nowhere in sight. He felt a momentary sense of relief, sure now that he'd been wrong, that his imagination had been working overtime.

"Wait here," he told Bethany. "I will ask about a hotel and see if I can arrange for a taxi or a pedicab." He put the suitcase and the basket of food at the foot of a pillar.

Bethany nodded without speaking, tightening her hands on the small case she carried as she watched
Tiger disappear in a crowd near the door. She hoped tonight they would be in a hotel with a bed. Two beds. She was bone weary and discouraged. All she wanted was a cup of tea, even green tea, a hot shower, and a bed. She—

"Excuse me." The young man with the Mao cap stood in front of her. In careful English he said, "Your husband asked me to tell you he has a taxi waiting." He picked up the suitcase and the basket and started back into the station.

"Wait," Bethany said. "Where are you going?"

"Your husband is at the rear door, madame." He smiled a youthful smile. "The rain has worsened, he did not want you to get unduly wet."

Bethany looked around uncertainly. "My...my husband told me to wait here."

"But the cab is waiting around the corner. If you do not come it will go away. Your husband said that you must hurry, that is why he sent me to get you, rather than leave the cab."

"All right." Bethany nodded. "Let's go." Her heels tapped on the cement floor of the now empty station. She looked beyond the young man, hoping to see Tiger waiting for her at the entrance. But the entrance was empty. She peered out into the rain. A gray car was parked at the curb but there was no sign of a taxi.

Bethany turned to the young man. "Where...?" she started to say, then gasped as he grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the car. She whirled around and cried out, trying desperately to break away from him. But it was too late. The back door of the car swung open. She was thrust inside, the young man jumped in
behind her, the tires screeched and the car pulled away from the curb.

Because of the rain it took Tiger longer than he expected to find a cab. He went two blocks before he found one and when he did he said, "I want to go to a hotel, a good one."

"I know the best. I will take you there."

"First we must go back to the station. My wife is waiting there because of the rain." Tiger got into the cab and closed the door. When the driver pulled into the station entrance Tiger got out. "I will be only a moment," he said.

Tiger ran through the rain into the empty station. He stopped, at first bewildered, then angry because Bethany wasn't where he had left her. He stood for a moment, uncertain. Where had she gone? Where in (be hell... ? Then a cold knot of fear formed in his stomach and he raced forward, uncertain, frantically searching the now empty station. Then, at the back, he saw a flash of blue. A blue cheongsam, a blue cap.

Though he was halfway into the station, Tiger could see out the door. He saw the gray car and heard the screech of tires, and a fear such as he'd never known before clutched at his insides. With a muttered oath he turned and sprinted back the way he had come. When he reached the cab he threw open the door and shouted, "Around the
corn
er. A gray car. Follow it!"

"But sir..."

Tiger threw a wad of money into the front seat.
"
Follow that car!" he shouted.

Tires screeched as the cab driver gunned forward, spun on two wheels around the corner, righted. Ahead
through the rain Tiger saw the car. "Bethany!" his mind screamed. "Bethany!"

The young man holding her wrists yelled something to the driver, who stepped sharply on the gas, skidding wildly as he rounded a corner. Bethany screamed and he said, "Shut up!"

She tried to break away and he struck her a blow on the side of her head that dazed her. He looked behind him, swore, then leaning toward the front, shouted again at the driver. They rounded another corner, passed a green-roofed pagoda, entered a market section. The street narrowed. An old man with a pushcart stepped from the curb. Face frozen with fear, he saw the gray car and jumped back out of the way. The car smashed into the cart, as fruits and vegetables flew up over the hood of the car and out onto the street.

Bethany's captor released her to lean over the front seat and scream at the driver. She huddled in the corner of the car, hanging on to a strap, bracing her feet on the floor boards. Suddenly ahead of her she saw a pedicab swerve into the street. Horror stricken she watched as the man driving it saw the gray car. Even through the rain she could see his eyes widen in fear.

The driver yelled out in frustration as the car swerved. He missed the man by inches, but not the pedicab. It flew up into the air, over the hood, as the car careened wildly, out of control. The young man in the blue cap screamed. The driver fought to control the car.

Bethany was thrown to the floor when the car bounced up over the curb, through a row of fruit stands, and slammed into a low wooden structure.

The car came to a stop. She sat up. Her captor lay half over the front seat, feet dangling, silent. The driver moaned, then said something Bethany didn't understand or didn't wait to hear. Her hand was on the door handle, she rolled out of the car and staggered to her feet.

People appeared in the street. They pointed at the car, they shouted at her.

She stood there, dazed, disoriented, as a taxi screeched to a stop.

"Bethany!" Tiger ran toward her. He grabbed her arms. "Are you all right, Bethany?" he cried. "Answer me!"

"Yes, I..." She sagged in his arms.

Tiger picked her up. He ran back to the taxi and put her inside, then ran back to the gray car. The young man he'd seen on the train lay sprawled over the front seat. Tiger reached in, found his wrist, and knew the man was dead. The driver was unconscious. Tiger hesitated only a moment before he went back to his taxi. "Let's get out of here," he said tersely.

His driver looked pale and shaken. "Yes, it is better not to wait for questions from the police." He backed up the car, drove cautiously around the crash scene, then sped off.

Tiger took hold of Bethany's shoulders so that he could look at her. She had a small cut on her cheek and her eyes were dazed. She'd lost the coolie hat.

"That man," she managed to say. "The one with the blue hat. He told me you'd sent him to get me. He said you were waiting with a cab. It was the young man from the train
. I thought it was all right...I
know you
told me to wait and that you're angry, but..." She began to weep.

"Don't cry," Tiger said as he drew her into his arms. "It's all right, Bethany. I'm not angry. It wasn't your fault. All that matters is that you're all right."

"Do you want to go the hotel now?" the driver asked nervously.

Tiger hesitated. If there were others here in Chen-hai who were associated with the men who had tried to kidnap Bethany, the first place they would look would be in a hotel. He couldn't risk it. "No," he said, "not a hotel. Do you know of a guest house, someone who would rent a room? I would pay very well."