“How—how about the girl?” Ryder asks. “Did you find her?”
My chest constricts. I can’t believe he’s bringing her up again.
Ying flips through her notebook. “I think she’s a prostitute. That’s probably how Michael got in touch with the gang. Through her.”
He raises his eyebrows. “She didn’t have a baby?”
“No, not that I know of.”
Nodding, Ryder looks down at the floor, lost in thought.
Ying continues asking questions about the whole ordeal, and we both try to answer them in as much detail as possible. But during the long, exhausting session only one thing occupies my thoughts: the girl from the video. Why did Ryder ask about her again? If nothing happened and she turned out to be part of the gang, as he claimed, he wouldn’t care less about her, would he? There must be something he is not telling me.
When the interview is over, Ying walks us back to the front desk where we say goodbye to her.
As we head towards the exit, I tell Ryder, “I still can’t believe he got away.”
He nods in agreement. “I know. I just want him locked up so he won’t ever hurt you again.”
“I’m sure that won’t happen.”
“No, it won’t.” A steely determination in his voice, Ryder slows his steps and stops. “Because I won’t let him. I’ll do anything to protect you. I’ll make sure you’re safe twenty-four seven.”
As he takes my hands in his, I am taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. “That’s what I’m worried about. You, being overprotective. Looking over my shoulder every single step I take.” I shrug. “Maybe I just need a bit of time. I still don’t know how I feel about all this.”
“Listen, we can work this out. We need to spend time alone, away from here. Just the two of us.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I need time by myself, to think.”
“If that’s what you really want.” He releases my hands and takes a step backwards. “If you insist, I’ll give you the space you need.”
Dropping my gaze, I swivel away from him, quickly moving towards the sliding doors of the exit before I change my mind. I’m furious with myself. Why can’t I just forget about what happened? Why can’t I just put all my trust in him? Deep in my heart I know he is sincere, but my mind keeps on telling me that I’m too gullible; that he’s a guy after all; that he couldn’t possibly love me enough to curb his urges.
The doors open, and I am about to step out when I hear a high-pitched voice behind me.
“Mr Ryder! Mr Ryder!”
I turn around, and a pretty Chinese girl, no older than eighteen and wearing a flowing, flowery dress comes running toward Ryder. To my shock, she flings her arms around him.
His eyes widen in surprise. “Meifen, is that you?”
My mouth drops open. That’s her—the girl from the video.
“Mr Ryder, I free now.” The girl flashes him a wide, beaming grin.
To his credit, Ryder stands motionless, his arms hanging by his sides.
“You? I thought—” A dazed, confused expression clouds his face.
“My baby free, too.” Spinning around, the girl points at a baby carriage behind her that is covered with a thin white blanket. Behind it stands an elderly lady—an older, gray-haired version of her.
Ryder stiffens. “So it’s true. You do have a baby. Michael said you’d lied to me about everything.”
With a shove, she releases her hold on him. “No. Everything I told you, it was true.”
“I don’t understand. He told me you were working with him. And I saw you with him. But you seemed, I don’t know—different.”
“It’s not me. Really.” The girl looks up in thought. “I think maybe my cousin, Meihua.”
Ryder’s eyebrow shoots up. “Your cousin?”
“Meihua bad girl. We look the same, but she different than me. Gangsters—they like her, not me, because she helped them. But now, she in jail and I free.”
Letting out a deep breath, Ryder shuts his eyes briefly. His shoulders drop, relieved of the heavy burden he’s been carrying. His gaze focuses on me for a few seconds before it slides back to her.
“You’re really Meifen.”
“Yes. Me.” The dazzling smile returns to her face. “I’m so happy, see you again.”
“So am I.”
He places his outstretched arms on her shoulders, and her upturned lips drop. “It’s because of you I’m free now. And my baby. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Tears well in her eyes, and she bends over in a bow.
Shaking his head, Ryder straightens her up. “No, no, it wasn’t me. It was my girlfriend, Elle. She saved both of us.” His gaze lifts, falling on me. “Let me introduce you to her.”
He puts his arm around her and steps toward me.
“Elle, this is Meifen. She’s the girl—the girl I’ve been telling you about.”
I lift my hand. “Hi.”
A pang of jealousy hits me as I see the grin on Ryder’s face and his arm around her shoulders. The situation feels so awkward I feel like running away. But as always, he reads me like an open book and withdraws his arm, taking a small step sideways to distance himself from her.
“Meifen, this is my girlfriend. She’s the one I asked you to call on the phone.”
To my shock, the girl steps forward with a big smile and gives me a tight hug. My arms by my side, I stiffen, feeling uncomfortable in her warm embrace.
“Thank you so much. You are very good person.”
“You’re welcome, I guess.”
Letting go of me, Meifen looks me straight in the eyes. “You so lucky to have Mr Ryder.”
“Am I, now?” I can’t suppress the smirk that overtakes my mouth.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Ryder’s eyebrows lifting, but my sarcastic tone is lost on the girl, who puts on another bright smile.
“He save me. He save my baby.”
“I’m sure he did.” I spin around, heading for the sliding doors. The air is so stuffy; I can’t seem to breathe. I need to get out of here, now.
But before I take more than a couple of steps, I feel Ryder’s hand on my shoulder. “Elle, I told you already. Nothing happened between us. But I made the choice to pretend we did, so those bastards wouldn’t kill her or her baby.”
I slap away his hand. “Yeah, right. I’m sure you two have lots to talk about. I’ll let you guys catch up.”
I continue my march to the exit, secretly hoping Ryder will chase me, secretly hoping he’ll insist on giving me a better explanation. But the glass doors open, and when I step outside, I’m all alone, with only the hot, humid breeze for company.
Swallowing hard, I look around for a taxi. My mind is a jumble of thoughts. I don’t know who or what to believe anymore. I need time alone, to get away from it all. If I were in New York, I’d get on my bike and let the speed take me to another place, a place where I didn’t have to think.
A red taxi stops by the curb, its passenger door opening. I stride toward it, but before I reach the door, I feel myself being pulled back.
Meifen is standing behind me, and in her arms she’s carrying a rosy-cheeked baby, who is sucking a pink pacifier. “Miss, I need talk to you.”
I shake my head. “Nothing to talk about. It’s all good. I’m happy for you and your baby. You’re safe now. I hope you have a happy life.”
Ryder must have put her up to talking to me, letting her do his dirty work. But I’m not falling for it. I can’t deal with this right now.
I turn back to the taxi, but it’s too late—an elderly couple is entering it. Damn.
Meifen grips my arm. “No, no. You don’t understand. Mr Ryder good man. He help me.”
I stare at the taxi driving off, quickly disappearing from view. “Yeah, yeah. Sure.”
Yanking on my arm, she forces me to face her. “No, Miss. He pretend only. Doing with me,” she points at herself and shakes her head, “not real.”
Like hell it wasn’t.
A flame of anger flaring up, I let out a nervous snigger, but as soon as I do, the baby spits out the pacifier and starts wailing. Releasing my arm, Meifen holds her baby tight and bounces it up and down. She shushes a few times before she says in Chinese, “Hush now, baby. I have to talk to the lady. She doesn’t believe me. Please, let her see the truth.”
Miraculously, the baby stops crying. Its head turns, and its big dark eyes focus on me. I am mesmerized; it is as if they’re not a baby’s eyes, but deep pools of infinite knowledge that penetrate into my soul.
A realization slams into me—Ryder has been telling me the truth. He has never been unfaithful to me. He really did pretend, only to help her and the baby. It is true—I can feel it in every cell of my body.
I am still dazed from my revelation when the baby starts whimpering. Intense love fills Meifen’s eyes as she looks down at her, and I rub my hand across my face. I shouldn’t have doubted her. I shouldn’t have doubted Ryder. On impulse, I step forward and embrace Meifen and the baby. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”
“It’s okay. Mr Ryder very good man. And lucky, have you. Please, believe me.”
Tears well up in my eyes. “I believe you,” I whisper. “Thank you for letting me see the truth.”
My eyes fixed on the ground, I let go of her. She takes my hand and squeezes it before walking away from me. I lift my gaze to see her off, but someone blocks my view—Ryder.
His dark brows are furrowed, and a questioning look radiates from his eyes.
My pulse takes a leap as I take him in. Even in his disheveled state—his shirt rumpled, his hair tousled, his jaw stubbled—he looks as gorgeous as ever. The sincerity I see reflected in his eyes makes me realize how beautiful he is through and through, and I finally know what to do.
I need to follow my heart.
Chapter 19
Ryder
Elle is uncharacteristically silent in the limo back to the hotel.
My hand on her thigh, I lean back in the soft leather and turn my head to face her. Her gaze locks with mine, and the corners of her pretty pink lips turn up in a smile.
Her eyes light up, and in them I see nothing but warmth and even a hint of playfulness. Does that mean she has forgiven me? When I saw her embracing Meifen, I was harboring the hope that she’d finally understand. But she has been quiet since, her face blank.
Until now. Her gaze turns dark, sultry, and it looks like she is challenging me, daring me to make my move.
Damn, she is beautiful.
I can’t help but lean toward her and let my mouth slowly brush over hers. She doesn’t react, but lets me slide my hand across her jaw and into her silky hair. I pull her toward me, slowly deepening my kiss, and the sweet taste that is uniquely Elle makes me go insane with need.
My mouth devours hers, and she finally relents by crushing herself against me and kissing me back. A wave of relief floods my chest, the passion of her kiss threatening to burst my heart. But before I get lost completely, I soften my kiss, slowly breaking away from her.
I have to know what she is thinking. I have to know where we stand.
Her eyes still darkened with need, Elle arches her brow, and I am about to ask her the questions that are at the forefront of my mind, when my cell starts ringing. I try to ignore it, but she nudges me with her shoulder. “Shouldn’t you take that?”
With a sigh, I dig up my cell and check the display: Cecil.
Damn. I’ll have to take this call. He’s too important to my business, particularly in its current state.
I cast a sideways glance at Elle, expecting her to be ticked off by this rude interruption, but she places her hand on my arm. “It’s okay. Take it.”
Reluctantly, I swipe to take the call. “Cecil, hey.”
“I just heard what happened. How’s Elle?”
“She’s with me.” Meeting her gaze, I take her hand and squeeze it. “She’s fine. We’re about to go back to the hotel.”
“Good. Is there anything I can do?
“No, we’re okay.”
“Please call me if I can be of help in any way. If you want to get away for a few days, take her on my yacht, or stay on my private island, just let me know.”
To put this nightmare behind us, I would love to take her on a real holiday—that’s what Elle deserves. But I have to get back as soon as I can, to solve the computer issue. The holiday will have to wait.
“Thanks, Cecil, but we’re not intending to stay here much longer.”
“When are you flying back?”
“Tomorrow if possible. We’d be on our way to the airport right now, but Ying insists we should stay in Hong Kong until she gives the green light.”
“I see.” Cecil clears his throat. “By the way, my lawyer’s almost finalized our agreement. If we can’t meet before you go, I’ll email it to you.”
“Sure.”
“I’m excited to be working with you on this. The resort—it’s going to be fantastic. Exclusive, one of its kind, the ultimate in luxury, yet offering that sense of play, of adventure. I guarantee you, the Chinese super elite will eat it up.”
His enthusiastic tone is contagious, and even though I have other things on my mind, it’s hard not to get excited by his grand vision.
“It sounds great. Let’s talk more when I get back. We’ll keep in touch.”
I swipe off the call, just in time—we arrive at the hotel.
“Who was that?” Elle asks while we walk into the lobby, my hand on the small of her back.
“Cecil.”
After all we’ve been through, I have to come clean to her. Once we are back in New York, she is bound to discover the precarious financial situation my business is in. It will devastate her to find out that the homeless project she is so passionate about may be in jeopardy. But I’m sure she won’t forgive me when she realizes I have kept it from her, deliberately.
As we enter the elevator, I take a deep breath. “Remember the meeting I went to just before I was kidnapped? It was with Cecil and some other members of his club. They agreed to make an investment in my business, in exchange for my help to build a holiday resort in the US.”
The doors close, and I turn to face her. It’s now or never.
“We haven’t been doing too well lately. A problem in the computer system has made us lose clients, lose money. It—it’s not good.”
Elle raises her hand to stop me from talking. “I already know.”
I lift my brows in surprise. “You do?”
“Alex told me. I know why you had to organize this trip—to get new clients. Without them, it could be the end of your business. You could lose it all.”
I swallow. “Yeah. So you understand why I had to have a meeting with Cecil and his associates. Thankfully they agreed to make a substantial investment. And this could save it, but only if we manage to get the IT system back up and running.”
“That’s good, right?”
I nod. “It is.”
The elevator dings for our floor, and I let out of a small breath of relief. I don’t know if I’m ready to explain to her that my problems are far from over, and what their effect will be on us both.
Her hand in mine, I lead her down the long hallway to our room. After what happened, I thought it’d be best to move out of the presidential suite. And although the hotel offered a free downgrade to another suite, I arranged for an ordinary room, where I know Elle would feel safer.
The uniformed security guard positioned beside our door greets us. He’s new—the hotel has fired the other guard after they found out that straight after he had let Michael in, he’d taken a prolonged cigarette break.
I hold the door open for Elle and let her go past me into the room while I retrieve my cell from my pocket. A glance at the screen tells me I have a ton of emails. One of them is marked urgent, but I don’t recognize the sender—some ‘Lance Henley’—so I switch off my phone before I hand it to the guard.
“We don’t want to be disturbed.
” I wink at him, and he nods back.
“Of course, Sir.”
Softly, I close the door behind me and watch Elle standing beside the queen-size bed.
“What do you think, beautiful? Too small for you?”
Her hand pushes down on the mattress, and she smiles. “It’s perfect.”
I sidle up behind her, slipping my hands around her waist. “I just thought you’d feel safer here.”
“I do.”
I spin her around in my arms, looking into her eyes to find the answer I’m looking for. “I need to know, Elle. Do you forgive me?”
She raises her brow. “What is there to forgive? I believe you, Ryder. And all I want is to put everything behind us.”
An unexpected surge of emotion washes over me, and I swallow hard to keep it under control.
She believes me.
What a relief—it seems we can finally, finally move on. And this time, I won’t let anything stand between us, no matter what. Even if I have to bring up what might well be a deal breaker for her.
“I have to tell you something.” I take her hands in mine, my solemn gaze conveying the gravity of the situation. “Even with the funds Cecil is investing, it’s still possible that my business will go bust. And you know what that means, right? That I’ll be flat broke. But not only that. My staff will lose their jobs. The charity projects I support will have their funding cut off.” I drop my gaze. “Including—the development project in Chelsea to support homeless families. Without my contributions, I don’t know if it can proceed. And if that’d happen, those families out on the streets may never have a roof over their heads.”
She nods. “I know.”
Furrowing my brow, I look up into her eyes, but they are devoid of the disappointment I expect to see in them. “And? You’re not upset? I thought that development meant the world to you.”
“Yeah, it’s going to help people who really need it, give them a chance in life they’d never have otherwise. But you know what means a lot more to me?” Her warm hand cups my cheek, and I lean into it.
“You.”
“Elle, I—”
Shaking her head, she withdraws her hand and holds up a finger. “But.”
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