She had barely put away her phone when Davis slipped his arm around her shoulders and started guiding her back toward Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street.
“We can’t stay here,” Davis said.
Instinctively Jordan pulled away.
“Listen,” he said, tightening his grip and bending his mouth so close to her ear she could feel his warm breath. “There are two Triad members coming up the street. We need to backtrack, now!”
She peeked over his shoulder. Two gang members moved swiftly in their direction. She wasn’t sure if the two men were dialed in on them yet, but it wouldn’t be long before she and Davis hit their radar. Then all hell would break loose.
Tucking her head against Davis’s shoulder to hide her red hair, she matched his stride toward Shangxiajiu Commercial Pedestrian Street.
Davis leaned in. “When we get there, you need to be quick. Turn right and try to blend in with the crowd, then when you get to Upper Ninth Road, hail a cab.”
Since when did he give the orders?
“What are you planning to do?” she asked.
“Run a diversion.”
His words caused her to slow her pace. “I can’t let you put yourself in danger.”
“Keep moving, Rae,” he said, guiding her forward. “I can handle myself.”
“Right, because all international correspondents receive specialized training.” Or because of the mentioned military background? When she had a chance, she would ask him about that.
“In my case, yes.”
They locked eyes, and she saw a sharpness there that made her believe it was more than a little. He had a look she’d seen in the eyes of agents and Marines prepared to put their lives on the line to protect those entrusted into their care. She’d seen the same look in Batya Ganani’s eyes when they were running for their lives in Israel, the same look in the captain’s eyes when they had come under attack outside Hoholeve. It was a look that belonged to someone with combat experience, someone on a mission, someone with training who had a plan.
She had a better view of the men now. Both were small and slight, the dragon tattoo curling around their biceps. “Maybe they can tell us what happened with Zhen?”
“Don’t even think it.” It almost sounded like an order.
Jordan peered up at him, but he never looked down, his gaze sweeping the crowd like a built-in sonar device. “If we work together, I think we could take them.”
“Please, can we just go with my way? Where there are two of these guys, there are more, and at the moment they’re not interested in me. It’s you they want to kill, and I’m not about to let that happen.” His tone had softened, but his voice still held an impervious quality that made her want to rebel and acquiesce at the same time.
“Since when did you become my guardian angel?”
He didn’t respond, but she felt his arm muscles bunch like a cat getting ready to spring. “We’re almost there. When I tell you, veer right and get to the end of the street. Catch a cab and go straight to your hotel, not the consulate.”
For a split second, she wondered if this might be a trap. Why was he waving her off the consulate, when Lory told her to go straight there?
Not that it mattered. There was no way Jordan was going to serve him up as a decoy.
Before she could come up with an alternate plan, they reached the intersection at Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street. “Listen to me, Davis.”
He ignored her, forcing his way into the passing throngs of people while keeping his arm firmly around her shoulders. Then as the crowd closed ranks behind them, he spun her away to the right and disappeared. Jordan found herself caught in the current of people, swooped away like a fish in a fast-running river. Managing to twist herself around, she stumbled along backward while moving sideways against the tide.
Focused on keeping her feet, it took her a moment to spot Davis. He stood a head above the crowd moving swiftly in the opposite direction. Then two gang members breached the crowd and loomed before her. They looked both ways before spotting Davis, then taking the bait, moved off in his direction. His gambit had worked.
Afraid of what might happen if the gangsters caught up to him, Jordan started following. Then suddenly, as if fulfilling a prophecy, four more gang members materialized. When two of them headed her way, there was nothing she could do except turn around and head for Upper Ninth Street.
She had almost made the taxis when someone grabbed her arm.
“Where you going, lady?” asked a recognizable voice. The man wrenched her arm, spinning her around. The gangster from Di Shi Fu Road, the one she’d stabbed with her tactical pen, grinned.
“Let me go.” She tried pulling her arm away, but he held tight. When she tried twisting out of his grasp, he laughed and clamped down harder.
“You’re not getting away this time, bitch.”
She saw light flash off a knife blade and noted the swoop of his arm as it skimmed toward her. She arched away, but there was nowhere to go.
Jordan braced for the strike. When it came, the blow knocked her down, but the only pain came from her elbow slamming against the ground. She moved her hand to her side. No blood.
It took her another beat to realize the gangster was laid out cold on the tiles beside her. The other gang members had scattered, and suddenly Davis loomed above her.
“Where did you come from?” Jordan sat up. Pain shot along her arm as she tried to plant her hand and help herself to her feet.
“I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to go!”
A crowd was gathering, forming a blockade around them, growing and tightening as people pressed close to see what all the commotion was about. From somewhere down the street, she heard a police whistle.
Realizing that getting caught like this, with a Triad member down, would do nothing to help her present situation, she reached for Davis’s hand. He pulled her to her feet.
“Ḿhgὁi, excuse me,” he said, plowing a path to the street.
There was no shortage of taxis at the corner and no hesitation on the part of the driver to spirit them away in the face of the descending police once Davis flashed a hundred dollar bill. Jordan gave the driver the address. Once clear of the area, she drew a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and settled back in the seat.
“Thank you for back there.”
Davis waved off her gratitude. “You would have done the same.”
“I would have thought about it.”
He grinned. “You know how you can pay me back.”
Jordan stole a look at him from the corner of her eye. From the way he’d disarmed the gangster and laid him out cold on the ground, it was clear he was more than just a news correspondent. Just like her father had been more than a hockey player. This man had skills. The question was how current they were and where they’d been acquired.
“With a story.”
“If that’s what you’re really after,” she said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” Jordan shrugged. “Except that once we’re free of this cab, I’ve got a couple questions for you.”