CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER
WALTER NASH STARED UP FROM his bed at a ceiling that was a frothy shade of seafoam green. It was so calming and neutral that he almost forgot he was in Hong Kong and that his life was in serious peril.
Almost.
It was two in the morning local time. He had been asleep for only three hours and now was wide awake. And it had nothing to do with jet lag. The reason was two floors above him in the penthouse, where, he assumed, Victoria Steers was sleeping just fine in her bed.
Nash had no idea what they’d done with Ryder’s body, but he was certain that if he didn’t do what Steers wanted him to do, he would be taken to China and charged with Ryder’s murder.
But rescue her mother from a prison in another country? How the hell are we supposed to do that?
Yet he had one thing going for him: His Army veteran father had had an unstoppable motor, powering through every obstacle to reach his goals under the most hellish of conditions.
And though he and his father had been estranged for over half of Nash’s life, he had apparently inherited this attribute from him.
He listened for sounds from the adjacent bedroom where he knew Temple was sleeping. His boss had mentioned he was looking for an exit from this nightmare with Steers. However, Nash thought it far more likely that they would both leave Hong Kong in body bags.
But her mother being in a prison did answer the question of where Masuyo Steers had been all this time.
His thoughts next turned to his wife, Judith.
She was in FBI protective custody after Nash had saved her life from Steers’s killers.
Judith had initially believed he had sexually abused and then killed their daughter, Maggie, until the FBI had released proof that he had been framed.
This was a plan that Steers had come up with to destroy Nash’s relationship with the FBI, who had recruited him to help bring down Steers’s criminal empire.
Well, I might have a new goal now that is not aligned with the FBI’s.
Killing Victoria Steers. And if I get the chance I need to take it. So my being here so close to the woman might be a good thing.
He slept fitfully for a few hours, rose from his bed, showered, changed into a clean set of clothes, and joined Temple in the small kitchen, where a breakfast had been laid out by a woman who never made eye contact or spoke a word.
Both men ate their meals in silence, lost in their own dismal thoughts.
After Temple finished his coffee he said, “Jesus, I can’t believe she just shot Ryder like that. And she seemed to like her. So God help us.”
“You ever see her kill someone before?” Nash asked.
“I heard her order someone to be killed. And I’ve seen some of her handiwork.”
“Don’t know how you kept all that to yourself, Mr. Temple. Although I guess you had no choice.”
“Look, Dillon, like I said before, I’m sorry you got sucked into this.”
“I sort of insisted, Mr. Temple. Although I have to say I didn’t foresee this.”
“I. . .I never should have come, either. I should have run for it. But Steers would have found me. And she would have killed my stepmother, Mindy, and her kid, and my siblings, too. My father took the easy way out by jumping off his balcony.”
Nash strongly suspected that Temple had killed his father, Barton Temple, but that didn’t matter right now.
Maybe one day the son would be held accountable for his father’s death if he had indeed murdered him.
But right now Nash needed to worry about himself.
One small misstep and his cover might be blown.
He had done well up to this point in keeping the truth from Temple.
But with Steers on the scene, tomorrow was simply another day to make a critical mistake. And then he would be dead.
“Any idea who the hell her mother is?” he asked.
Nash actually knew some things about the woman, only because the FBI had filled him in. But the extent of his intel was limited, and he wanted to know whatever else the other man did.
Temple said, “Steers has never mentioned her parents to me, but I found out some details from other sources. Her mother’s name is Masuyo.
Her husband was a Navy guy from England who stayed in Japan after he got out of the service.
He wasn’t any sort of criminal, at least I don’t think so.
But Masuyo had the connections, brains, and cunning that pushed the empire she created to a truly global level.
” Temple paused and then said, in a resigned voice, “You should know that Steers killed all her siblings in order to take over the business in some sort of survivor’s contest. I mean, how sick is that? ”
“She mentioned turning us in to the Chinese. Is she tight with them?”
“I don’t know for sure,” said Temple. “But I do know she’s dangerous and all the guys who work for her could kill us with their pinkies.”
Nash suddenly thought of something he should have before. He rose, grabbed a piece of paper and pen from a drawer, wrote something on the paper, and slid it across to Temple. When the man read it, he looked up, utterly terrified.
Nash had just suggested that the apartment was bugged. He said, “I guess we just wait until she tells us the plan.”
“Right,” said Temple as he tore the paper into strips and threw them into the trash. Then he put his face in his hands and moaned.
A knock on the apartment door a minute later caused both of them to jump.
“I guess it’s time,” said Nash.