“I got a message for you.” She pulled out her phone.
“Wait, what?” That didn’t make sense.
“It said it was for you, so I didn’t listen. It must be someone at school.” She brought up her voicemail and handed the phone over with a smile.
Frowning, I put the phone up to my ear.
“Hello, this is a message for Lily Harris.”
The accent was so stereotypical that I froze. It couldn’t be…
“Miss Harris, this is Sheng-li Tat.”
I swallowed convulsively.
“You’ve been asking some questions, I hear. You’ve been looking for some information.” The voice was far, far too pleasant. “I hope you understand what it is you want to know—and what the consequences might be for everyone if you were to learn something you shouldn’t.”
The message ended and I fought to breathe. Bei was in the kitchen, making tea, and I knew I needed to look pleasant when she got back.
I had to get out of this—now. Because, as Sheng-li had just so elegantly demonstrated…he wasn’t afraid to hurt other people.
And, as I put down the phone, I had to face one fact above all: only one person knew I had been asking questions. And that was Donovan.
Book 4: Sinful Lust
Chapter 21
Lily
“Lily?” Bei was staring at me. “Lily? Are you all right?”
“Yes.” I put the phone down and considered. “No. No, I’m not. I have to go.”
“But I was going to make lunch. It’s almost one.” Bei held up bags of groceries.
My heart squeezed. She had been trying to take such good care of me, cooking the sort of time-consuming foods her mother made for special occasions, when she should have been focused on her studies.
“I’m really sorry,” I told her. “But you’ve been doing so much. You don’t need to make me dinner, too. Look, why don’t you have a snack, and then when I get back, I’ll make you waffles.”
“Oh…” Bei’s eyes got wide.
I hid a smile. Waffles were her kryptonite. She would stare mournfully at them and talk about carbs, but it was clear from the faint desperation in her tiny, polite bites that she wanted to eat as many as she could, as fast as she could. I had introduced her to the food at one of Shanghai’s western themed restaurants, and she had fallen in love with them.
“I’ll make a fruit salad, too,” I told her. “So you’ll have something healthy.”
She wavered, but there was no resisting waffles. “Okay. And I suppose that means you’ll be home soon.” Her relief was palpable.
“I will,” I promised. I grabbed my bag and shot her the sunniest smile I could. “You just worry about studying and I’ll be home as soon as I can be.”
I didn’t let myself think about what I was doing. Some distant part of me knew that it was unforgivably stupid, but I didn’t listen to that part. This was like some sort of nightmare where I was getting drawn into things that were worse and worse and worse—but I was awake, and I had no intentions of letting people get away with bullying me and my friends.
I hopped out of my cab at the Chinatown gates and made my way into the bustle. I’d forgotten that today was Saturday, and the tourists were out in force. It made things somewhat safer, of course, but it also made it difficult to stand out.
I’d been counting on standing out.
I pushed my way through the crowd like a Shanghai native, and disgruntled Americans fell out of my way with glares. I could only roll my eyes. They were lucky this wasn’t actually China, or they’d be getting jostled every which way. Americans walked so slowly.
The bar was packed when I got in, and I looked around a bit helplessly. What did I do now? Just sit in one of the window seats and wait for Sheng-li to come to me? That had been my plan, but I was beginning to realize that, while it would probably work, it would probably also take a while.
I didn’t want to wait. I took a deep breath and pushed my way into the back hallway, where a waitress made to pass me with a tray of drink.
“Excuse me,” I said, in what I hoped was still passable Shanghainese.
“Yes, miss?” She responded in English.
I swallowed my pride. I hadn’t practiced in months and this was no time for me to be working on a language out of nostalgia.
“When you get a moment, could I speak to Sheng-li, please?”
Her face, already pale, went dead white, and she swallowed. She clutched the edge of the tray, eyes fixed on my face.
“Why do you—”
“He’ll know why,” I said, as airily as I could. “I’ll be at the bar.”
“Miss…” She trailed after me. “Miss, please. I don’t think this is a good idea. You should go home.”
“I have to speak to Sheng-li,” I said flatly. “Can you help me?”
“You should go home,” she insisted.
“I’ll only ask someone else,” I warned her.
Her shoulders sagged. “I will tell him you are at the bar.” Her voice was a whisper. Before she left, she leaned forward, eyes intent. “You should go home,” she said fiercely. “It is too dangerous. I will tell him, but you should leave.”
She was trying to help. I sighed.
“I know,” I told her. It was all I could say. I couldn’t explain any of the rest of it.
I ordered a beer I had no intention of drinking and sat, jiggling my leg awkwardly, until Sheng-li himself appeared by my side.
“Miss Harris.”
I jumped. “Hello.” I gave a cautious glance around and noticed that every single waiter in the restaurant was keeping an eye on the man.
“I heard you wanted to see me.” Sheng-li gave a smile that was no less brilliant for its insincerity.
“Yes.” I wasn’t going to think about it, I told myself again. I was just going to act. Act, not think. I raised my chin fractionally. “You are not to contact any of my friends, ever again. I do not appreciate you using them in your games. I do not appreciate your attempts at intimidation. Do not bother my friends.”
His smile only widened. “Why, my dear Miss Harris, you have only to say the word. It has always been in your power to ensure that.”
My eyes narrowed. I just knew that he didn’t mean anything close to what I was hoping for. He didn’t say anything more, however, and so I was forced to make the next move as well. “So you’ll stop?”
“Of course, Miss Harris, of course.”
I was getting tired of hearing my name. “What’s the catch?”
“But I thought I was very clear in the message.” He tilted his head and regarded me with a suspiciously friendly smile. “All you have to do, my dear, is stop asking questions—and, of course, stop answering them.”
My lips pressed together in a tight line. All I could think of to say were inanities: that I was in law school, that I knew my rights, that I would not be intimidated. That I refused to let him bully me, and that I could turn him in if I wanted.
He wasn’t afraid of that, thought—not even close. He knew how to get around the cops; it was most of his job to know that. I looked into his eyes and felt chilled down to my bones.
But how could I swear to something when I knew that all I wanted was to find the truth? When I was afraid that if I didn’t seek the truth out, more people would die?
He saw my reluctance.
“Perhaps, Miss Harris, there is another way we might help one another.” His eyes narrowed slightly in contemplation.
“How?” I was going to regret this, but I told myself I just wanted to know what he would say.
“You see, I have some questions about the first night we met.”
“You tipped your hat at me. I’m sure I have more questions about that than you do.”
He didn’t even bother to respond to that. “You see, someone very…precious…to me went missing that night, a woman named Chun-mei.”
I froze.
“I have questions about what happened to her. Do you know, Miss Harris?”
I could see her body in my mind’s eye, wrapped in canvas and borne between Donovan and another man in a suit.
She’s dead.
“I don’t know,” I said automatically.
The justifications flashed through my head: I couldn’t be sure it was her in that tarp, and even if it was her, I had no idea what had happened before that or where they took the body after.
“Of course. But you know someone who does.” Sheng-li’s gaze had not wavered from my face for a single moment. “And if you were to help me find out what happened to Chun-mei, I would certainly be in your debt.”
I barely even hesitated. I wanted to know, too.
No, that wasn’t right—I needed to know. I needed to find out if what Donovan said was true, or if Officer Moua was right. I needed to know, and I didn’t have to tell Sheng-li when I found out the truth, after all. I could tell the police—and Bei would be safe in the meantime.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll help you find your friend.”
His eyes flickered at my choice of words, but he only nodded his head.
“I look forward to working with you, Miss Harris. I’ll be in touch—and don’t worry, on your phone this time. And don’t worry. I’ll handle Mr. White. He will soon give you the perfect opportunity to ask for just the information we both want.”
Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he was gone.
Chapter 22
Donovan
“What the hell did you tell her?” Hayden burst into my office mid-morning, his eyes narrowed.
I repressed a sigh, and, for the fifteenth time, wondered just how Hayden had secured his place in Sheng-li’s inner circle. A man who was easily led was an asset, no one could deny that—but Hayden was too easily moved to emotion, as well, and too unpredictable when it hit.
I sat back, folded my hands together under my chin, and waited for him to explain.
“Your precious Lily has been in Chinatown.” Hayden spat the words at me.
I tried not to show him the flicker of discontent. “Oh?”
“Yes.” Hayden took a seat, uninvited. “Asking questions.”
I froze.
“I knew it.” Hayden’s voice was thick. “What did you tell her?”
“I told her nothing,” I said automatically. My mind was racing, confirming what I had said. I had told her no more than she needed to know, of that I was certain. But if she was asking questions… “How did you know she was in Chinatown?”
“Sheng-li called me, how else?” He sounded annoyed. “Jesus, Donovan, I said to get over Evangeline, not—” He broke off when he saw the look in my eyes. “Not do this,” he finished lamely.
“You’re the one that seems to keep bringing Evangeline up.”
“It’s worth thinking about!” His voice rose, and then dropped to a furious whisper. “She’s dangerous. You should never have let her know who you were. Haven’t you heard of one night stands before?”
“Do you have a point?”
He sighed and let his head drop back. I could see that he hadn’t actually wanted to say whatever it was out loud, and my gaze sharpened.
“Hayden.”
He picked his head up and met my eyes. Was there pity there? “Sheng-li wants to know how much she knows. He wants to make sure she isn’t going to cause…complications. He wants to ask her some questions.”
“No.” My answer was immediate. “I’ll question her.”
“This isn’t the time to be messing around,” Hayden hissed. “It’s her, or us. Let him question her.”
“No.” I refused even to entertain the notion. “I’ll do it. Tonight, if he wants.” He would, the bastard. “But I am doing this, not him. Tell him if he goes near her…” I saw his grey face and cursed. Hayden would never risk saying something like that to Sheng-li. “Tell him I will ask questions tonight, and make sure she doesn’t know anything…untoward.”
“And if she does…” He swallowed.
“If she does, we’ll deal with it. But I want to know why she was asking questions as much as Sheng-li does.” Perhaps more. “Until I have a chance to talk to her, he will leave her alone. Are we clear?”
Hayden sighed and nodded, and I watched him leave with thinly veiled contempt. He was growing more useless by the day—and I was getting tired of it.
This game was too dangerous for that.
Chapter 23
Lily
“Hello?” I pushed open the door of Donovan’s apartment and frowned. “Is anyone here?”
“Hello.” Donovan strolled out. He’d been boxing again; I could tell by the faint ease in his demeanor. He smiled lazily at me in a way that set my pulse pounding. “There’s a surprise for you in the bedroom. I’ll send Colton with the car in a bit.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“There are some things that require my attention.” His face didn’t even flicker. He picked up his suit jacket from the back of the leather couch and jerked me close for a kiss, laughing when I moaned. “I will see you at dinner.”
“Uh-huh,” I managed. I bit my lip as he strolled away without a backward glance.
A surprise for me in the bedroom. The back of my neck prickled, especially when I heard what sounded like someone moving around in there. I cocked my head to the side. No, make that two someones.
What was Donovan playing at? I thought seriously for a moment about turning around and leaving, and then told myself not to be such a wimp. He didn’t know about my bargain with Moua. He didn’t know about my bargain with Sheng-li. This would be exactly what he said it was: a surprise.
Guilt wormed cold within me and I tried not to pay heed to it. I crossed the room quickly and gave a little gasp when I came around the door.
“Hello.” A woman with bright pink hair and a whole sleeve of tattoos looked up from a desk that had been transformed into a hair and makeup station. She smiled at me and her eyes took in my long black hair appreciatively. “You must be Lily. I’m Sarah. We’ll do your hair first, then get you into that dress. Or…would you like a shower?”
I wasn’t even paying attention. Every thought had gone out of my head when I saw the dress on the bed. It was deep blue, the same color as my eyes, and long enough that it would almost sweep the ground even on me. The silk fell over my hands like water, and there was a necklace and bracelet to go with it, both set with diamonds. The shoes were as simple as the dress, no ruffles or accents, a black leather that, to my surprise, fit my feet well.
“I, uh…” I looked over at the hair stylist, and the confession just burst out of me: “I’ve never worn anything like this.”
“You’re going to look beautiful,” she assured me. “Mr. White said you’d want everything to be very simple.”
I blinked. He was correct, though how he’d known that about me—
I looked down at my plain clothes and tried not to sigh. This wasn’t my world.
I had enough time to dream that it could be, though, and I found myself doing just that as Sarah did my makeup and styled my hair. My eyes, she set off with just the faintest touches of brown, but my lips were a brilliant red. I stared back at my reflection, awestruck by the doe-eyed, red-lipped woman I saw looking back at me. Gradually, my hair transformed from straight and boring into the soft waves of a blow out, and when I stepped into the dress at last and had her zip me up, I felt my mouth drop open at the sight of my own reflection.
“That can’t be me.”
“Oh, it is.” Sarah gave a pleased nod, but her smile was wry. “I didn’t even do too much, you know. Maybe next time we can put your hair up. The line of your neck is so lovely.”
“It is?” I craned to look in the mirror. Underneath the makeup and the dress, I was beginning to see myself again: gangly, awkward. “I feel…a little like a fraud. Where am I going tonight, do you know?” Panic seized me. “Oh God, it’s not a charity dinner or something, is it?”
“No, no. I don’t think so, anyway. And here. Ah…Okay,
lift here.” Her fingers touched my chin. “No, lift with the top of your head. Drop your shoulders. That’s it.”
“But I’m so tall…”
“What, and you think no one will notice if you slouch?” She gave me a grin. “You move well. Wherever you go tonight, you’ll have just as much right to be there as anyone else.”
“But I’m not…” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t be this woman. I don’t think I can, anyway. If he wants to turn me into…I don’t know.”
She tilted her head to the side. “If it helps, that’s not at all what he said.”
I stopped. “What did he say?”
“He said that you deserved to feel as beautiful as you were,” she said, with a smile. “And I hope you do.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but my cheeks flamed, and she laughed.
When the doorbell sounded, she ushered me out into the main room. “That will be your ride. Have a lovely night, Lily. It was nice to meet you.” She opened the door to reveal Colton, and waved as she went back to pack up her tools.
Colton just stared, his eyes wide. “Wow,” he managed finally.
“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?”
“Are you serious? That’s a good wow. Uh…” He hesitated, then held out his arm. “I feel like I should walk you down in style.”
I laughed and looped my arm through his. “So where are we going?”
“Just you wait.” He gave me a meaningful look. “You’re going to love it.”
“So…I really hope that means it’s not a charity ball.”
“Oh, no.” He shook his head. “Donovan hates those. The board used to make him go, and he finally wrote letters to the charities himself, explaining hat he would give them more money if they just sent him a request rather than an invitation. No, you wouldn’t catch him dead at one of those things.”
He kept me entertained with a steady stream of jokes and observations as we crossed the lobby of the building, and opened the door of the town car for me grandly. Our drive was quick, and Colton craned his head back when we stopped.
Dark Lust: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Books 1-5) Page 10