I sighed and chuckled, mostly to buy myself time to reset my body language and tone. “I’m not here to play games,” I said. “And I’m sure as hell not here to strip for you. I have a predator to kill. Give me my investigator, and I’ll let you all get into your cars and drive away.”
One of the gunmen drew his pistol and aimed it at me. It gave me goose bumps, but I kept my smile in place. Mr. Yin said something to him in Chinese. I couldn’t understand the words, but the tone said
Yin thought I was a peer, which meant he also thought I was damn near bulletproof. I’d hate for his bodyguard to prove him wrong all over the cheap carpet.
“You must understand,” Mr. Yin said. “I spent a hundred twenty-eight million dollars last night for the rights to that unusual creature. Then someone shot at us, allowing it to escape. I can’t allow you to kill my dog, Mr. Lilly.”
“You know it’s making people murder each other. Parents have killed their own children. Do you really want to bring that thing into your house?”
“Ah, but
His body language was still utterly self-assured, although he was wary of me, too. I knew my body language wasn’t as confident as his, and I knew he’d noticed that.
I looked over at the man who had drawn his gun. He hadn’t put it away. “What do you want for Catherine?”
The gunman and I looked at each other. He wasn’t impressed with me, and I wanted to punch him right in his stupid smirk. I hate to be afraid.
“I propose a trade,” Mr. Yin said. “I will return to you the woman, unharmed, if you will give me everything you brought with you for this mission: your computer, your files, your research books, and any enchanted artifacts you have on you.”
He wanted my ghost knife. “You have to be kidding me.”
“I also want safe passage out of the country and your personal assurance that you will not try to kill me or any of my descendants, ever.”
“Do you want my left foot, too?”
“If your left foot is of value, then yes, I want it. I want everything a man can want.”
He smiled, waiting for my answer. I didn’t have any research books, of course. I didn’t own a computer and I didn’t have any files.
And my ghost knife was a part of me. I
Mr. Yin fussed with the lapel of his jacket. “You appear distressed,” he said.
“Because you’re wasting my time with this MBA negotiating crap. This isn’t a boardroom where you ask for a long list of things you know you’re not going to get so we can whittle all the way down to what you actually want. You’re not getting away with the sapphire dog. The mayor has already asked the state police to block off the only two roads out of town.”
Two of the gunmen seemed nervous about that—he had only brought two English-speakers. Yin wasn’t nervous at all. “Another thing,” I said. “You’re not the only one out there looking for it. While we’re chitchatting, one of the other bidders could be capturing it right now.”
Suddenly Yin didn’t seem so smug. “The sapphire dog is mine. I paid for it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Keep telling yourself that, because I’m sure if one of the others had won the auction and then let the creature get away, you’d totally return it to them. Let’s cut the crap and get to what you really want for my friend.”
Yin smiled again. His contentment was like a suit of armor. “Your computer, your files, your research materials, your enchanted artifacts, your assurance of safety for my descendants and for me.”
Annalise would have already started killing. “Here’s my counteroffer: your life, and the lives of all your people, for as long as it takes me to have a turkey and ham at the Subway. I’m in the mood for pepperoncini. No guarantees after that.”
He turned his lapel over. There was a patch of white fabric pinned to the other side, and it had a sigil on it.
I blinked. For some reason I was staring at the carpet from just a foot away. My iron gate felt as though someone was pushing a needle through it.
I was on my knees. Yin had hit me with a spell, and like an idiot, I had fallen for it.
I felt hands patting me down. They were searching me very thoroughly. Two men grabbed my wrists and cuffed my hands behind my back. I was too woozy to resist.
“You are not a peer,” Yin said. His voice had a little twist of contempt. “At best, you are an apprentice, hm?” He kicked me in the shoulder, but my tattoos blunted the impact. “You dare try to bluff me? I admire your courage, but it will cost you your life.”
“Okay,” I said. “Okay.” I tried to lift my head, but any movement at all made me dizzy. Instead, I pressed my forehead against the carpet and dragged my knees under me. With my hands cuffed, it was a struggle to keep from falling over. Still, I managed it.
It was the perfect position for one of these assholes to put a bullet in the back of my head. Just the thought made my guts watery. “Okay,” I said again, looking up at Yin. “A sandwich and some chips. That’s my final offer.”
