By the Horns (22 page)

“Okay, thanks.” She nodded at Price as he withdrew from the cabin.

Kassian didn’t glance in her direction as he passed the binoculars to her. Funny. He hadn’t greeted her either. Not even after what they’d done together the night before?

Her pride took the blow and her spine stiffened. If he regretted last night, she’d not be the one to bring it up. She was an expert at shoving things behind her—and into the past—where she didn’t have to deal with them.

“What is that ship?”

“Fuck me.” Kassian peered through his binoculars, lowered them and squinted, then brought the binoculars back to his face.

“What?” Her impatience augmented, twisting her insides.

“Mei.” He whispered her name as though Monkey might hear him.

Nat jerked her focus to the ship’s deck and looked through her binoculars. A smaller vessel approached the larger cargo ship and anchored near its side. Three figures climbed aboard using the ladder. She scanned the scene. Two men and a young woman crossed the deck to stand beside the dozens of stacked crates.

A sailor from the cargo ship met the newcomers and, after a quick nod, left them alone with the shipment. The three went straight to work, cracking open the crates and tossing the vaccine overboard.

Her stomach lurched as the glinting vials sailed into the ocean. Kassian’s white knuckles gripped the binoculars in his lap, the metal creaking. A tic worked his jaw, outlining the grim set of his mouth.

“Why are they doing that? Why is she—”

“Don’t.” He cleared his throat. “Just don’t.” His voice still came out hoarse.

She frowned back at the ship. Mei used Monkey’s sharp claws to peel open the crates. The claw marks they’d noted earlier weren’t a fluke.

Nothing made sense. Mei had engineered the vaccine. From what the others had told Nat, Mei was damn proud of the accomplishment. She’d also joined Zhao’s posse. The only reasoning? Mei had no choice. She’d been thrown in as a mole. As such, she had to play along—or die. Nat had been in that position before, many times. Besides, Snake’s instincts confirmed her conclusions. Everything in her gut told her Mei was playing the part.

Kassian’s hardened features indicated he didn’t register the circumstances. He’d concluded one thing—betrayal.

Nat tried to soften the blow. “Kassian, look. Really
look
at her. That’s not the Mei you know, right? She’s a mole, and if she doesn’t follow orders, she’ll be found out.”

“She was supposed to be kidnapped by them. Not fucking working with them.”

She huffed. “She wouldn’t get anywhere by playing the victim. They’d keep her locked in a cell. She’d never be able to infiltrate their layers and dig up the real dirt. If it costs a few crates of the vaccine—”

“Oh, hell no, you didn’t. A few crates?” His words grated and his hands fisted even tighter. “She knows the route of the cargo ships. She didn’t have to give them
that
. Something else. Anything else. Would Mrs. Chen agree with you?”

Nat stiffened and bit back the sharp reprimands jabbing into her brain. Kassian was hurt and lashing out. Fighting him wouldn’t settle this. She had to convince him Mei was doing the right thing.

She exhaled long and slow. “You have to trust her. Even when it seems she’s broken your trust.”

“Oh.” He shoved to his feet beside her. “Easy for you to say. Your life is one big lie. Mei’s wasn’t. She was innocent, and if she’s become like you?” His lip curled in a sneer.

She winced at the stab of his words, but brushed them off. His low opinion of her stung, but she owned who she was. “You’re right.” Standing, she straightened her spine. “I use deception all the time, but I use my skills against the bad guys, not the good. I don’t deceive anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I do it all,
everything
, to protect the people who need me. I might never even know their names, but I own who I am. That’s something you can’t say about yourself.” She poked his hard pecs.

His nostrils flared and Ox cloaked him. Kassian’s quick temper sparked like a sizzling fuse. She braced for the detonation. After a minute of glaring at her, chest heaving, he glowered at the ship instead.

She exhaled in relief.
Whew.

She’d narrowly missed being gored.

Chapter 19

Kassian clenched and unclenched his fists, struggling to bring his temper under control. His mind churned over Nat’s words, and he kept tripping on one tiny nagging conclusion.

Was he upset at Mei’s deception…or Nat’s?

He stared across to where the three bandits completed their task. Those floating, bobbing vials would be swept out to open water, or caught in the currents and smashed against the shore. The hard work their
Kongsi
did back at the lab would be for nothing. No lives saved. More people would get sick. More people would die. How could Mei live with that?

Part of him was desperate to remove Mei from the bloody ship. Who cared if he broke her cover? He’d have her back, safe at Kek Lok Si. The Matchmaker could find another damn sacrificial lamb.

His mind wandered back to Nat’s other jab. That he wasn’t being honest with himself. What the fuck? He owned his vows. They brought him clarity.

Right?

Fucking right.

He’d had a temporary lapse in judgment about wanting to be intimate with Nat, but after her comments, the moment had passed. It wouldn’t be anything more than one night with her. He refused to live with that deal.

He released a breath, long and slow. Beside him, Nat stared out the window, but she didn’t appear to be focused on anything. He shifted his attention to the cargo ship. Mei had unloaded most of her vials. He pressed his lips together.

“I know it hurts you to see her like this.” Nat sighed. “You have to trust her.”

He jolted as her warm hand slipped into his. A peace offering from Nat? Or was she playing him? How could he believe someone who was never herself? Regardless, he squeezed her hand. The two males on the cargo ship climbed back onto their small vessel. Mei followed them, but as she spun to slap the last lid on the top crate, her hand shifted behind her back.

Mei flipped him the bird.

“Holy fuck.”

Nat gasped at the same time he cursed. Mei sensed they were spying!

He exchanged a shocked glance with Nat, and by the time he refocused on the ship, Mei had climbed onto the smaller vessel. It took off at a high clip, bounding through the waves.

The cargo ship carried onward with its empty crates. He cut his gaze from the fading ship and searched Nat’s expression. What did that mean?

“No.” She slid her hand from his and paced the tiny cabin. “The others with her didn’t detect us. The signal from Mei—”

“You mean her telling us to fuck off?” He shook his head at Nat’s delicate interpretation of the situation.

“Well, it was the clearest gesture. She probably sensed Ox’s anxiety and had to tell you to back off. Hey.” She snatched his arm as he made to storm out the door. “Aren’t you the one who declared Mei to be a freaking genius? I bet she has a plan in place and is afraid you’ll screw it up.”

The door banged as Price strode into the cabin. “So what’s the game plan? Should we trail the motorboat back to its origins?”

“We won’t be able to match their speed or maintain our anonymity.” Nat shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. “Let Mei go. We should report this to the Matchmaker and let her decide.”

Price crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. His blue eyes narrowed as if he contemplated Nat’s plan. He whistled low. “Well, if that’s what you choose.”

“It bloody well isn’t,” Kassian grumbled.

“If you have a better plan—one that won’t get Mei harmed—I’m listening.” Nat tapped her fingers on her hips.

“How about we grab a lifeboat and follow them while Price reports to the woman upstairs?”

“That would work too.” Price grinned.

Hmm
. The man might grow on him.

“Okay, fine.” Nat tossed her hands. “We maintain a sizeable distance and pull off if anything seems suspect.”

He nodded. “After Price informs the Matchmaker, we’ll follow her instructions.”

“Okay.” She huffed her acquiescence. “Price, where’s the boat?”

***

After they’d retrieved their duffle and hopped into the small motorboat, Price lowered Nat and Kassian into the water. Mei’s vessel had a huge lead on them. Nat doubted they’d be able to catch up or even maintain a decent tail, but getting into the boat seemed to calm Kassian. He sat in the back, steering and glaring at the horizon with a fierce determination.

Scratch that. They would catch up. At this speed, the boat nosedived from one wave to the next. The vessel wasn’t made to handle this rough water, so each bounce rattled Nat’s bones. Salty spray whipped around them, making conversation impossible.

Kassian’s jaw tightened as he shifted forward. She twisted in her seat. In the distance, a blotch of land came into view. He leaned harder on the motor. The gears chugged in protest, threatening to give out, and he eased back on the lever. The black motorboat floated into view.

If Nat detected them, Mei and the two men could see her and Kassian.

She closed her eyes and searched for Monkey’s presence. From what Kassian had told her, the spirit animals didn’t talk, but they did sense each other’s emotions and could send calming waves. Snake sent some to Monkey, because, right now, Ox’s vibes would be anything but soothing.

As they approached the port, Mei’s motorboat slowed and Kassian cut the power to their motor, too. They bobbed in the ocean, waiting to follow in the direction of the other vessel.

It veered left and disappeared amongst dozens of other watercraft near the dock.

Kassian paused for a few minutes before proceeding. He tied off several docks from where Mei’s motorboat was moored, his sights targeted on her and her companions.

Mei strode, flanked by the two men, toward a trio of motorcycles parked beside a warehouse. After one of the men gave her a curt nod, she stepped aside and hustled inside the open doors of the warehouse.

The little girl’s room trick, maybe?

Kassian pounced forward at the opportunity to catch Mei alone, but Nat held him back by pressing her palms to his chest. Mei’s guards had apparently read the handbook. They followed her and stationed themselves at the doors to the warehouse. Kassian couldn’t traipse in there unrecognized. One glance and Mei’s guards would know he hosted Ox.

No one would identify Nat as Snake.

He shook his head as if he’d read her thoughts. “I have to speak with her.”

“No. If you do, you’ll get caught. Mei will be in danger. You don’t know who else is lurking around. Zhao might conjure a whole demon army.”

She braced her hand on Kassian’s arm and stepped out of the boat. “I’ll talk to her.” She didn’t wait for his permission because he had to acknowledge the truth. Combing her fingers through her hair, she strolled toward the open warehouse. These men had never seen her before and no one would associate her with a Chosen spirit.

Yet. She still had a few precious days or weeks of anonymity.

One of the men jabbed the other in the side as she approached. She winked and flashed them a seductive smile. This would be a piece of cake. She might look like she’d leapt out of an airplane—wind whipped hair, salt-sprayed wet clothes—but these men only viewed her as a piece of ass.

They gawked as she swayed her hips. Zhao ought to hire a more professional breed of thugs. These were too easily distracted. If she had the intention, she could’ve offed them with her fan in two seconds.

Nat sashayed past the two hulking men and scanned the inside of the warehouse. Dozens of crates were scattered in piles, warnings of “flammable” and “dangerous explosives” in Chinese characters stamped on their sides.
Hmm. Fireworks.
Her gaze landed on a sign indicating the ladies’ room and she headed up the small steel staircase toward the restroom. The second she pushed through the door, the glowering, blue face of a Chinese golden monkey greeted her.

“What the fuck?” Monkey uncloaked, and the young woman’s exclamation echoed, making Nat cringe.

She reined in Snake while waving her hand for the girl to be quiet. “Quiet.” Nat tensed, listening for signs of whether the men downstairs had overheard them.

Silence prevailed. She pressed one finger to her lips. “They followed you. We have to be quick.”

Spirit animals sensed when another of their kind came into their vicinity. Cloaking increased the sensation. To protect their anonymity, they had to keep their animals out of this. Even though Snake begged to say hello to Monkey.

Nat tilted her head and perused Monkey’s host. The girl was about twenty. Her long, chocolate-hued ponytail grazed her slim waist. A pair of sexy librarian glasses framed her dark eyes. Although her features were classically Chinese, she had an exotic look about her, suggesting she had some Malay in her heritage.

Mei was a pretty, slight little thing. Big, burly Kassian would definitely feel an urge to protect her.

Kassian didn’t get it. Slivers were damned hard to get out from under one’s skin. Nat would bet Mei had already caused a whack load of damage to Zhao’s schemes…and that Zhao had no clue about any of Mei’s handiwork.