away. “Mr. Kadam has made an important discovery and needs my help. Ren will be going with me. I’ll call as soon as I land.”
I called Jennifer and told her the same thing. She kept hinting that if I was eloping with Ren, I should just flat out tell her. Eventually, she believed the story and said she’d pass along the info to Li. I was careful not to mention the city or how long I’d be away. I tried to be as vague as possible.
When I hung up, Ren assured me that my family would be safe. He said that Mr. Kadam had arranged a surprise vacation for Sarah, Mike, and the kids. They were getting a three-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii, but only if they left immediately. They would be told that the trip was a prize from their favorite running-shoe company.
I kept looking in the mirrors the entire drive home, expecting black sedans to come barreling down on me with shady men shooting at us. To say I was scared was an understatement. I’d faced demons and immortal monkeys, but, somehow, it felt totally different to face modern-world bad guys. I could rationalize that demons weren’t real; therefore, even though they were chasing me, they weren’t really a threat, but actual men who wanted to kidnap and torture or kill seemed much more menacing.
When we got home, I pulled into the garage and waited in the car until the brothers checked the house. Returning about ten minutes later, Ren put his fingers to his lips and quietly opened my door. He had changed into dark clothing, heavy boots, and a black jacket.
“What’s going on?” I mouthed.
Ren whispered back, “Someone’s been in the house, both houses actually. Their scents are everywhere, but nothing’s been taken. No one’s here now, so go upstairs, and quickly change into dark clothing and running shoes. Then meet us downstairs. Kishan’s watching the doors. We’ll go out the back of the house, take the long way to Kishan’s truck, and head for the airport.”
I nodded, hurried into the house, and ran up the stairs. I washed my face, pulled on dark jeans, a long-sleeved black sweater, and sneakers. I grabbed my jacket and met them downstairs. Kishan led the way as we crept through my house and into Ren’s.
Both Kishan and Ren had armed themselves with weapons from my wushu box. The three-section-staff was folded and threaded through Kishan’s belt at his lower back, and Ren had tucked a pair of Sai knives through his belt loop. Ren and I continued to follow Kishan as he led the way outside and into the trees.
He stopped often to smell the air and look at the ground. We had about a mile to hike to the truck. Every noise, every pop and crack in the forest startled me, and I whipped around often, expecting an attack. I felt an itch between my shoulder blades like we were being watched.
After about five minutes, Kishan froze. He gestured for us to get down, and we sank behind some ferns. There was someone in the trees moving quietly, following in our tracks. Even I could hear him, which meant he was close. Kishan whispered, “We need to get out of here. When I say ‘now,’ go.” A few tense seconds passed. “Now,” he whispered.
He led us deeper in the forest at a faster pace. I was trying to move as silently as I could, but I was afraid whoever was behind us could hear me. My feet couldn’t seem to find the right places to step, and I often cracked branches and skidded on wet spots as I ran. We came upon a clearing, and Kishan froze and hissed back, “Ambush!”
We turned back. The man who was following us caught up and blocked our path. Kishan ran at him, closing the distance quickly. When he was just a few feet away, Kishan pulled out the staff, and whipped it overhead to gain momentum. I’d thought the weapon unwieldy, but in Kishan’s hands it spun like the blades of a helicopter. With a snap he swept the man’s legs out from under him, and then, he took a giant leap, twirled the weapon, and cracked the staff across the fallen man’s back and head. With a flick of his wrist, the weapon folded into his palm and he shoved it back into his belt. The man didn’t get up.
Ren grabbed my hand and yanked me behind him as he