Читать книгу Red-Hot Renegade - Kelly Hunter - Страница 7

IT was all about saving face. From the tailor-made dinner suit and austere white dress shirt he wore, to the antique gold cufflinks at his wrists, to his hard-won air of indifference. Every breath Jake Bennett took this evening was directed towards getting through his brother’s engagement party without incident and with honour intact.

‘Where’s your tie?’ murmured his soon-to-be sister-in-law as she stopped beside him, her eyes sharp and her smile wry. ‘The one I gave you earlier this evening. The one you’re not wearing.’

‘In my pocket.’ Where it was staying.

Not what Madeline Mercy Delacourte wanted to hear. ‘Something wrong with it?’ she enquired ever so sweetly.

‘Maddy, it’s lilac.’ He liked Madeline. He did. But lately she’d gone a little insane.

‘It’s lilac for a reason, Jacob. Seriously, if you looked any more formidable this evening I wouldn’t have any guests left.’

‘Well, I try,’ he murmured. ‘And stop trying to corrupt my apprentice.’

‘Po?’ Maddy’s eyes narrowed with concern. ‘What’s he done?’

‘You want to know what I found in the dojo showers this afternoon?’

‘Xena warrior princess?’

‘Soap.’

‘The horror.’

‘Lavender soap. Little squares of it, imprinted with fat naked cherubs. Have you any idea what sort of message soap like that sends a class full of black belts?’ A snigger from Madeline. Clearly she did. Clearly Jake’s formidable façade needed work. ‘Po said he got them from you.’

A peal of laughter this time. ‘Sorry,’ murmured Madeline once she’d managed to collect herself. ‘Have you enlightened Po as to the soap’s unsuitability for that particular bastion of rampant masculinity?’

‘I thought you might have a word with him.’

‘What? And deny you the opportunity? What sort of future sister-in-law would I be if I did that?’

‘A helpful one?’

‘That’s me,’ she said. ‘I’m all about the help. Tell you what. You manage a smile in the next twenty minutes and I’ll find Po and talk soap. Deal?’

‘Deal,’ he said and smiled.

‘Damn,’ she said, and Jake’s smile widened.

Shooting him a decidedly dirty glare, Madeline swanned off to mingle with the elegant throng gathered in the glittering cocktail bar of Singapore’s Delacourte Hotel.

That Madeline and Luke’s engagement needed to be celebrated in such moneyed style was a function of Madeline’s insane wealth and of a society that expected such an introduction to her betrothed as their due. The proud presentation of family, the underlying tow of big business, and, most importantly, the forging of profitable alliances—all would take place here tonight. Singapore demanded no less of its inhabitants and, for the chance to do business and grow rich here, Singaporeans willingly paid the price.

As far as the proud presentation of family was concerned, the Bennett siblings and their partners were here en masse. Tristan and Erin had flown in from Sydney. Hallie and Nick and their month-old daughter had arrived this morning from London. Serena and Pete had flown in from Greece early afternoon and hit the ground running. Serena was currently immersed in the crowd somewhere. As for Pete, he’d just moved silently into position at Jake’s side.

Did they think he hadn’t noticed the way they were shielding him? The way they’d taken it in turns to keep him company all evening? Monitoring his mindset and his attitude and heaven knew what else. Fussing over him, as if he couldn’t be trusted to take care of himself?

It was enough to give a man a stabbing headache.

‘Look,’ he said to Pete as another ripple in the evening air announced the arrival of yet more guests to the party. ‘I’m fine. Everything’s under control. She’s not even here.’

‘Nice if you were right,’ said Pete with a heavy sigh. ‘But you’re not. Jianne’s just arrived, along with her aunt and uncle if Luke’s description of them is anything to go by.’

Jianne’s aunt being married to Madeline’s most powerful business partner.

Jianne having recently settled in Singapore and Madeline having met her and taken a liking to her.

Jianne Xang-Bennett.

Jake’s estranged wife.

‘You want a beer?’ asked Pete.

‘No.’

‘Something stronger?’

‘Later.’ A prickling sensation at the back of his neck almost caused Jake to turn around and see for himself what twelve years’ worth of living apart had wrought in his wife, but he resisted the notion as he’d resisted the thought of alcoholic fortification and endured the sensation of being observed as best he could.

Pete nodded unsmilingly, his piercing blue gaze stabbing across Jake’s shoulder. ‘She’s seen us.’

This was not news.

‘Madeline’s herding her towards Hallie and the baby,’ continued Pete as the prickling sensation at the back of Jake’s neck subsided and silvery laughter graced the room. ‘What is it with women and babies?’

‘Says the man whose niece had to be prised from his arms earlier this evening a full hour after she’d fallen asleep.’

‘Hey, just because she fell asleep on me and not you,’ said Pete. ‘Face it, you haven’t got the touch. Besides, it was my turn.’ More of that deliciously female laughter sounded in the background. ‘Jianne’s becoming better acquainted with our niece. Her niece too, come to think of it. You probably don’t want to look.’

‘You’re probably right.’ But Jake did turn and look, and cursed himself for his weakness as the image of an older, breathtakingly beautiful Jianne arrowed into his brain.

She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Flawless skin, with an abundance of glossy black hair piled high on her head, Jianne had been built slender and carried with her an air of innocent sweetness that Jake had worked hard to forget. Beauty aside, Jianne Xang had also been born into a family whose personal wealth surpassed that of small countries. A minor detail she’d neglected to mention until after they were married.

Not that he was resentful or anything.

It was just that had he known her background he’d have thought twice before asking her to share his common life. Too sheltered for the household full of motherless half-wild siblings that had been in Jake’s care. Too gentle to cope with the rawness of their emotions and his. They’d broken her.

He’d broken her.

It was a wonder she’d stayed as long as she had.

It wasn’t curiosity that made Jake keep watching her. Curiosity was a mild emotion, easily mastered. This need to drink down every tiny detail of Jianne’s appearance clawed at him with the strength of hauntings too long denied.

Jake watched in silence as baby Layla waved tiny fists at Jianne from the safety of her mother’s embrace. Jianne’s rosebud lips curved. Hallie said something and Jianne looked up, startled, and shook her head. No. Whatever the question, the answer was no.

He wanted to look away. He would look away. Soon.

And then Jianne turned her head and looked straight at him through the eyes of an enchantress. Dark as night and deeper than oceans, the western tilt to them a legacy from a great-grandmother who’d been half British on the outside, but on the inside wholly Chinese. Just like Jianne.

Jianne’s smile faltered. Jake couldn’t even begin to summon his.

He was only vaguely aware that beside him one brother growled beneath his breath, and that across the room another had stilled.

And then Luke stepped into the line of sight between them, bearing orange juice for Hallie and champagne for his guest. Attentive host or the first line of defence? Jake didn’t much care. The manoeuvre allowed him to breathe and regroup and smile tightly at Pete, who refused to smile back.

How long would he have to endure this party now that Jianne and her family had arrived? Fifteen minutes? Half an hour? Because he didn’t belong here in this rarefied world of extreme wealth and ever so polite society. He suffered it, that was all, while the beast inside him paced its cage and craved escape.

He looked to the vast wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, wishing for wings and for freedom from duty. He looked for a service entrance, another way out, though he knew he wouldn’t take it.

He needed to get this over with. Meeting Jianne. Conversing with her. A polite ‘how are you’—nothing less would do. An honest ‘you’re looking well’. Small talk about the weather. Something. Anything. And then he’d ask her the question that had taken hold of him and wouldn’t let go until he got an answer.

‘I told Madeline and Hallie that this was never going to work,’ said Pete from his post at Jake’s side. ‘I argued this not insignificant point at length but did they listen? No.’

‘I’m fine,’ said Jake, squaring his shoulders as the prickling sensation between his shoulders beleaguered him once more. ‘Everything’s fine.’

Pete scowled his dissent. But he said no more.

They were all of them here—the Bennett siblings Jianne had once tried to nurture as if they were her own. Every last one of them, here in this room. Jianne had hoped, had clung to the hope, that time and maturity on her part would lessen the daunting impact they had on her, but that wasn’t to be. Jianne watched them exchange glances at the sight of her. She watched them move to protect what was theirs.

Jacob, the centre. The heart of this family. The strength, first son.

First love.

The man she’d once given her body to and with it her heart and her soul.

Jacob, with his back turned towards her.

Current husband, a dozen years estranged.

They didn’t know, no one knew, how hard it was to put one foot in front of the other and enter that room with her composure in place. Timid rabbits had no place in a room full of watchful waiting tigers. Not if they wanted to survive.

I’m not a rabbit. Not a rabbit. Jianne closed her eyes and let the silent litany wash through her before opening her eyes again and pasting a smile on her face as her aunt and uncle moved to her side and Madeline came forward to greet them. Madeline welcomed Jianne’s aunt and uncle first, hierarchy understood and respect given, before turning to Jianne and drawing her into a perfumed embrace.

‘You look stunning,’ said Madeline approvingly.

‘Thank you.’ The strapless floor-length ivory and blood-red gown, made from the finest silk, was a gown meant for extroverts, not wallflowers. The saleswoman had assured her that the wearing of such a gown would give Jianne all the confidence she needed and more, no matter how awkward the social encounter. The saleswoman had been dead wrong. ‘I shouldn’t have come,’ murmured Jianne. ‘This wasn’t a good idea.’

‘Stay,’ coaxed Madeline softly. ‘I happen to think it’s a very good idea. Come, I’ll introduce you to the newest Bennett warrior. The Bennett uncles are still in shock.’ Smiles came easily to Madeline these days, and Jianne made an effort to respond in kind. ‘It’s a girl.’

Baby Layla was a tiny darling with sapphire-blue eyes, alabaster skin, and a shock of auburn hair. Hard to stay distant when a baby smiled a toothless smile and promptly filled her mouth with her fist.

‘Layla, this is your auntie Jianne,’ said Hallie with a courtesy Jianne hadn’t expected. And to Ji, ‘Would you like to hold her?’

‘Me?’ Jianne blinked. ‘Yes! I mean, no! I mean…what if she cries? That wouldn’t be good.’ A vision of her cradling a wailing Layla while all around her wrathful Bennett uncles closed in on them was not an image she wanted to make reality. ‘Your brothers would descend.’

‘They wouldn’t dare,’ said Hallie, shooting at least two of them a warning glare. ‘They promised me their best behaviour this evening and there are wives enough here to ensure it.’

The notion that those wild-edged Bennett boys had finally allowed themselves to be tamed held a great deal of appeal for Jianne, but as she glanced away from baby Layla and scanned the room she figured Hallie’s statement for optimism rather than reality.

Tristan watched her coolly from his position by the window. Pete stood beside Jacob, his expression grim. As for Jake…Jacob wasn’t looking her way at all, and because of it Jianne allowed her gaze to linger.

Jacob’s suit clung to broad shoulders, powerful legs, and a lean and elegant torso—a testament to the glories of dedicating oneself to the martial arts. His hair was still thick and black and cropped shorter than ever. The lines and planes of his profile had grown sharper but it was still a face to put angels to shame.

From him came an almost visible aura of raw power kept on an incredibly tight leash. Undiluted power had always been an intrinsic part of Jacob’s make-up.

The leash was new.

She looked away, just for a moment, just to regroup, and when she looked back Jacob’s gaze clashed with hers, those vivid blue eyes of his coldly dismissive and his face set and stern. Jianne stilled, a rabbit caught in a hunter’s crosshairs. She wasn’t wanted here. She didn’t belong here. She’d been wrong to come.

‘Stay.’ A broad-shouldered man stepped in front of her and broke her eye contact with Jacob. Luke Bennett, Madeline’s intended, those golden eyes of his warmly encouraging as he handed her a glass of champagne. ‘Please.’

‘Please,’ echoed Hallie anxiously. ‘Jake needs to see you again. He does. He just…he doesn’t quite know it yet.’

‘Perhaps you could give me a call when he does,’ said Jianne with a strained smile. ‘I really don’t see what a forced meeting will achieve. Not harmony.’

‘Harmony’s overrated,’ said Luke. ‘Occasionally it’s best just to step back and let it all explode.’

‘Luke defuses bombs,’ said Hallie by way of explanation. ‘Or not.’

‘I’m sure you know what you’re doing,’ Jianne told Luke politely. ‘Just as I’m sure you know what happens to those at the centre of such explosions.’

‘We can protect you,’ said Luke.

‘I don’t doubt it.’ Certainty enveloped her and firmed her footing. Here at last in this place that glowed with new life and promise was old familiar ground. ‘But you won’t.’ They’d act instinctively to shield the one they loved. They’d shield Jacob. And Jianne would bleed.

‘Trust us,’ said Luke.

But Jianne was no longer the hopeful young bride who’d once thought she could shower love on a wild and broken family and receive love in return. ‘Trust must be earned,’ she countered quietly.

‘All right, don’t trust us.’ Grim determination replaced Luke’s earlier encouragement. ‘But stay, and watch us do everything we can to make you feel welcome here this evening.’

Jianne stayed, and before half an hour had passed Tristan had greeted her and introduced her to his wife, Pete had done the same, and the small Chinese youth in the smart western suit, who seemed to be being passed around from Bennett to Bennett, had found his way to her side.

‘Hello,’ she offered warily.

After careful appraisal the boy decided to speak. ‘I’m Po. The sensei’s apprentice,’ he said in flawless Cantonese. When she didn’t reply at once he repeated his introduction in Mandarin.

‘Which sensei would that be?’ Jianne chose English as her language of reply and the boy did not disappoint.

‘Sensei Jake.’ And when again she didn’t reply immediately, ‘Bennett.’

‘And does Sensei Jake Bennett also teach you English?’

‘I know it already,’ said Po. ‘And Tamul. And some Malay.’

‘I’m impressed. How do you come to be fluent in so many languages?’

Just like that the boy’s openness disappeared. ‘I just do.’

‘Well, then.’ She offered up a smile. ‘Hello, Po. I’m Jianne.’

‘Hello.’ Fathomless black eyes regarded her steadily. ‘You’re prettier than your picture.’

‘Thank you.’ Coherent thought followed the automatic reply. ‘What picture?’

The light from a nearby lamp dimmed as someone moved into place beside her. Jianne knew before she looked up that Jacob had joined them, a silent brooding presence bringing new tension to her already overloaded senses.

‘Hello, Jacob,’ she offered, and if her voice shook, and her insides trembled, well, it was only to be expected. He always had been able to unnerve her. ‘I’ve been making the acquaintance of your apprentice.’

‘So I see.’ Jacob turned his gaze on the boy. ‘What picture?’ he echoed grimly.

Po hesitated as if caught between devil and demon. Jake’s gaze hardened. ‘Po?’

‘The one in your wallet.’

‘You’ve been in my wallet?’

‘I didn’t steal anything,’ the boy said hurriedly. ‘It was ages ago. The day I came to the dojo. I—’ The boy stuttered his way to silence beneath the weight of his sensei’s glacial glare. ‘I wanted to know more. About you. Wallets are good for that.’

Boy and man stared at one another in fraught silence.

‘You dishonour me,’ said Jacob finally, in a flat, measured voice.

With a stricken glance for Jianne, Po bolted into the crowd. Jianne stared after him, wishing she could do the same.

‘He’s yours?’ she asked tentatively.

‘After a fashion.’

Not Jacob’s by blood for the boy was wholly Chinese, but there were plenty of other ways a child could become a man’s responsibility. Po’s mother could be dead. Jacob could have been seeing her, living with her even, and then when she died…and in the absence of other relatives…responsibility for Po could have fallen to him. ‘How?’

‘Ask Madeline.’

Hardly a comprehensive answer. ‘Will you punish him?’

Jacob’s lips tightened. ‘He took my wallet and went through it. He deliberately invaded my privacy. You don’t think he should be disciplined for that?’

‘Yes, but…Jacob, he’s just a child.’

‘What? No beating him?’ The deadly edge in Jake’s voice flayed her. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t breathe. Jianne ducked her head and stared blindly at her champagne glass.

‘For heaven’s sake, Jianne, I’ve never raised a hand to either a child or to you and I don’t intend to start now. So why don’t you just drink your champagne and stop behaving as if I’m about to crucify you? I’m not. I won’t. And the sooner you and everyone else watching us realises that, the better.’

Jianne lifted her glass to her lips and sipped. It seemed as good a suggestion as any. Another sip and her champagne half gone while she tried to think of a way to rescue a conversation that had plunged to hell with effortless inevitability.

‘You look well,’ she offered. Nothing but the truth. ‘More formidable than ever.’

‘Was that a compliment?’

‘I meant it as one.’

‘I don’t think it was a compliment.’

More champagne seemed as valid a response as any. ‘Congratulations on your successes,’ she said next. ‘The world titles. The master classes. Madeline tells me students come from all over the world to learn from you.’

‘You hate karate.’

No, she’d hated the time he’d dedicated to karate. She hadn’t realised that, for some, karate was a way of life that bordered on religion or that without it there would have been no way for Jake to restrain the fire that raged inside him. ‘I don’t hate it. I just never quite understood it. There’s a difference.’

‘And do you understand it now?’

‘A little.’ For what it was worth. Nowhere for this topic of conversation to go but downhill so she tried another tack. ‘Madeline and Luke seem well suited.’

‘They are.’

‘And your other brothers…and Hallie…They all seem so civilised now. You did a good job with them.’

‘It wasn’t my doing.’

Well, it certainly hadn’t been hers. She dragged her gaze away from Jake and scanned the room. So many eyes upon them. Not one person inclined to join them.

‘Excuse me,’ she said after an eternity of silence. ‘I think my aunt’s looking for me.’ She started to walk away.

‘Wait,’ he said gruffly.

One word, with nothing to follow, but she stayed her ground and waited. Obedience or curiosity? Courage or self-destruction? She did not know.

‘How are you enjoying Singapore? Are you settling in?’

That was his question? He’d held her back for that? ‘Singapore’s lovely,’ she said warily. ‘And I’m settling in well enough.’

‘Your aunt told Luke that you had an unwanted suitor.’

Her aunt talked too much.

‘She implied that he’s pressuring you into considering his offer of marriage.’

‘Jacob, I really don’t see how this is any of your business.’

‘You don’t? How very blind of you. Wife.’ His voice was soft and measured and fooled her not. Beneath the surface calm Jacob Bennett simmered.

‘Thing is, I’ve only heard from others that you have no interest in marrying this man. Maybe you do want to marry again. Maybe I’m just standing in your way.’ Jacob looked down at her with those arctic eyes. ‘Do you want a divorce?’

‘No!’ Her reply came too fast, too frightened. While the estranged husband she’d never quite managed to cut from her heart watched her through narrowed eyes. ‘I mean…Do you? Po’s mother—’

‘Is a woman I’ve never met and Po never mentions. Po’s a pickpocket, one of Madeline’s strays. She brought him to the dojo so that he’d at least have a roof over his head and a skill to learn.’

‘Oh.’ Po mystery solved, with Jianne none the wiser about Jacob’s current romantic entanglements.

‘Your aunt seems to think that if this man doesn’t get what he wants, he could become a danger to you,’ continued Jake. ‘Madeline thinks the same. They’re concerned for your safety.’

‘They really shouldn’t worry so much.’ Jianne had done enough worrying these past few months for all of them.

‘Has he followed you to Singapore yet?’

‘I haven’t seen him here.’ Yet. No need to burden her husband in name only with the knowledge that Zhi Fu had indeed tracked her down. That the unwanted gifts just kept coming.

‘Jianne, is this man a danger to you?’

‘In all honesty, I don’t know. He never does anything wrong.’ Frustration had crept into her voice, she knew it had, and she tried to bring her demeanour back to even. ‘He plays games, that’s all.’

‘What kind of games?’

But Jianne had said far too much already. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘Mind games?’ Quiet. Lethal.

‘Jacob, this isn’t your fight.’

‘You don’t think that it’s up to me to protect my wife from a stalker?’

‘Estranged wife,’ she said softly. ‘Twelve years estranged.’

Jacob’s lips twisted bitterly. ‘So you want the protection my name affords you and nothing else. Nothing else from me.’

It sounded so wrong when he put it like that but that was exactly what she wanted. She’d thought, hoped, that everything could stay the same and that their travesty of a marriage could continue on as before. She hadn’t once considered Jacob’s needs. ‘Jacob, if you want a divorce just…get one. If there’s someone else…’

He stared at her broodingly. ‘What would your unwanted paramour do if he knew you were free of me?’

‘I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it. If you want a divorce, do it. You shouldn’t have to consider my needs in this.’

‘You know, one of these days, Jianne, you’re going to realise that martyrdom isn’t what people want from you,’ he said with quiet viciousness. ‘That it’s perfectly okay to state your needs and expect them to be considered.’

‘Okay, then.’ She took a steadying breath and stated her needs straight. ‘I do need to stop Zhi Fu’s pursuit of me. Coming to Singapore has helped with that. I’m staying with my aunt and uncle, and they’re not inclined to encourage his pursuit. He’ll not have the access to me here that he had in Shanghai. He’ll tire of his games soon.’ Surely he would tire of his games soon. ‘And I’ll be free of him.’

Jake stared at her broodingly.

‘Jake, I’d rather not involve you. Not unless I absolutely have to.’

He didn’t like that. He jammed his hands deep in the pockets of his dress trousers, ruining the line of his suit or enhancing it, depending on one’s preference. He looked away, to the window. He looked anywhere but at her. ‘Will you at least call someone if you think you’re in danger and need help?’ he said finally.

‘I will. I have my cousins and my uncle to call on. Maybe even Madeline or Luke. But I’d rather not call you. Surely you can see why it can’t be you?’

‘Because I’m as unwanted as he is?’

‘What? No! For pity’s sake, Jacob. You and Zhi Fu are nothing alike. Him, I don’t want at all, whereas you…you I once wanted too much.’ It was hard to admit that. Her failings. Her flaws. But he deserved that courtesy from her, this husband who asked if she was in danger.

‘Do you think I can’t protect you?’ he said next.

‘Have you always been this self-effacing?’

‘It’s new,’ he said grimly. ‘I hope to hell it’s temporary.’

‘I’ve seen you fight to save your family, Jacob. I’ve experienced firsthand what you can do, and will do, to protect the people in your care. I know you’d protect me if I asked it of you.’

‘But you won’t ask.’ He looked at her then and she gathered her courage and held his gaze. Timid rabbit, staring down the tiger.

‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’ Always such absolute focus on the issue at hand or the person he was with. When he’d taken her in his arms and made love to her, ecstasy had rained down on them from the heavens. And when his attention had shifted to other responsibilities, Jianne’s demons had surfaced and demanded their due. Obsessive love was like that. Incandescent. Unforgettable. And ultimately destructive. ‘Jianne, I need a reason. Why won’t you let me help you?’

‘How? By pretending to be the happily reunited couple? By bringing you back into my life again until Zhi Fu goes away?’

‘If that’s what it takes,’ said Jake. ‘We could set boundaries.’

Jianne smiled mirthlessly. ‘So we could.’ And she would break them. ‘Have you ever been so addicted to something that it nearly destroyed you to give it up?’ she asked gently. She held his gaze. He didn’t hold hers.

‘Yes,’ he finally muttered.

‘So have I.’

This time when she moved away he made no move to stop her.