Читать книгу Rescued By The Billionaire Ceo - Amelia Autin - Страница 14

Chapter 5

Just over two weeks later Alana and Jason stood on the sidewalk in the Ladies’ Market in the Mong Kok district, browsing the gaily colored scarves on display at a stall. “It looks like silk to me,” she said, stroking one that had swirls of amethyst fading into lavender blue, colors she loved. “But how can I really know?”

“Easy.” Jason took the scarf from Alana and rubbed it between his fingers. “Real silk will feel warm when you rub it.” He made a sound of dismissal. “This isn’t real silk.”

“It’s beautiful, though,” Alana said wistfully.

“Yes, but the price he’s asking is unreasonable. You need to bargain.” When Alana hesitated, because that wasn’t something she felt comfortable doing, Jason turned to the smiling shopkeeper, saying something in rapid Cantonese she figured was an offer. And from the exaggeratedly shocked expression on the shopkeeper’s face and a couple of words she recognized, it was a lowball offer.

“How much?” she whispered.

“Shhh. He probably knows more English than he lets on. Let me handle this.”

Five minutes of heated bargaining later, Jason drew a banknote from his wallet to pay for the scarf. “Wait,” Alana said, tugging at his arm. “I can’t let you—”

He ignored her protest, pocketed his change, then dexterously looped the scarf around her neck and tied it in a festive bow. He smiled down at her. “It’s less than the cost of our lunch,” he said patiently. “You didn’t say anything about that.”

“That was different.” She struggled to explain. “That was a...a date. Like all our other dates. This is a gift.”

He brushed back a lock of her hair that had fallen forward and tucked it behind her ear. “The scarf was made for you. It matches your eyes, you know.”

“Yes, but...”

“I paid a tenth of the asking price. Not so expensive.”

“Yes, but...”

“It gives me pleasure to see you wearing my gift, Alana. Would you deny me that small enjoyment?”

When he put it that way, she could only accept with as much grace as she could muster. “Thank you. It’s very sweet of you. I just don’t want you to think I expect...that is, I can afford to buy...I mean—”

“I understand. And I’ll answer the question you wouldn’t ask. I can afford it.” His smile was tender. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you picked the least expensive item on the menu at every restaurant I’ve taken you to these past two weeks?”

Now she was really flustered. “Oh, I...”

* * *

It was really quite endearing, Jason thought. But did she honestly not know he could well afford to buy her anything her heart desired? But you haven’t driven the Jag since you began taking her out, his conscience reminded him. You didn’t want her to know...

Alana came from money. Mei-li had told him all about it, including how Alana had ended up as Dirk’s executive assistant. But there was money...and then there was money. Millions versus billions. Just as he didn’t want Alana to confuse gratitude over her rescue with the attraction she felt toward him, he didn’t want her dazzled by his immense wealth, either. Which was why he’d rented a middle-class car for his dates with her. He didn’t mind her knowing he was comfortably well-off. He wasn’t going to pretend to a life of poverty. But he wasn’t going to flaunt anything, either; wasn’t going to announce that he could buy and sell her father’s company ten times over.

He took Alana’s arm and they continued strolling down the crowded street. They paused every now and then to look at something that caught her eye, but she wouldn’t let him buy her anything more even though he offered several times.

Jason was well aware he and Alana drew more than their fair share of interest from the people they passed. He was taller than most Han Chinese, for one thing. And he didn’t look Chinese. But cosmopolitan Hong Kong was used to British, Australian and American residents and tourists, so both of those things would have been quickly dismissed...if he hadn’t been with Alana.

Young, delicately beautiful, with long, dark hair, which she wore down, and those unusual eyes. Did she know her resemblance to her famous cousin Juliana—long acknowledged as one of the most beautiful women in the world—made both men and women give her second and third glances? Covetous looks from the men, envious looks from the women. She didn’t seem to be aware, and that intrigued him. He’d been with beautiful women before—his wealth drew them like bees to honey. But other than his mother and sister, he’d never known a beautiful woman who didn’t trade on her beauty. Who didn’t play it up every chance she had.

Until Alana.

She was wearing a simple lavender blue sundress today, which had been unadorned except for a simple silver locket until he’d bought her the scarf. Sandals on her slender feet meant lots of bare leg showing, which would have drawn comments of the wolfish variety in Cantonese...if Jason hadn’t been at her side.

He’d brought her here to the Ladies’ Market deliberately, although he hadn’t told her that. This wasn’t the same street from which she’d been abducted three weeks ago, but it was similar. And in a strange way Jason had wanted to make sure she wasn’t afraid to return to the scene of the crime, as it were. Hong Kong was his city. He’d spent years in England attending an elite boarding school like his father before him, then studying at Oxford. But Hong Kong was his home, and most likely always would be. He didn’t want one bad experience to taint Alana’s perception of the city.

He’d considered bringing her here on their first date two Saturdays ago, but had rejected that as a bad idea since her abduction had been too fresh in her mind at that point. So he’d taken her to another tourist destination instead, the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. He’d been so—he couldn’t think of a better word than enamored—of her after their first date that he’d invited her to spend the next day with him, as well...an invitation she’d promptly accepted.

She doesn’t play games, Jason had reminded himself then and several times since, loving Alana’s open delight in the sights she’d visited with him, as well as being in his company.

He’d monopolized her free time the past two weeks, but he hadn’t so much as kissed her for one critical reason—once he started, he didn’t trust himself to stop. And he’d promised her she’d be as safe with him as she wanted to be. She was a temptation he didn’t want to resist, but he’d given her his word...and he always kept his word. Until Alana gave him the green light, it was easier not to start than to stop partway.

But that meant he’d spent nearly every moment with her in a constant state of semiarousal. Painful, but it wouldn’t kill him. At least that was what he’d told himself...repeatedly. Problem was, the ache only grew stronger and more urgent the more time he spent in her company. Jason knew the day was not too far off when something would have to give.

* * *

They finally reached the end of the long street, and Alana said abruptly, “I’m hungry.”

Jason smiled. “Not surprising, given how little you ate at lunch.”

“Yes, well...” She didn’t want to revisit that discussion. “All this walking has given me an appetite.” She pointed to the McDonald’s across the street and halfway down the block. “I’d like one of those taro pies. Do you mind?”

Alana stepped back on the sidewalk to allow three young women chattering away in Cantonese to pass them, and Jason did the same. Then she continued, “I know fried anything isn’t all that healthy for you, but I don’t care. I love the little fried apple pies at McDonald’s in the US, but the taro ones here in Hong Kong are to die for.” She put her hand on her purse. “My treat, okay?”

He’d just opened his mouth—probably to argue with her—when it happened. A white van screeched to a halt in the middle of the cross street, and the side door slammed open. Alana watched in horror as two men wearing black masks jumped out and grabbed the smallest and prettiest of the three women who’d just passed them on the sidewalk. One of the men held a white cloth over the woman’s nose and mouth. She struggled for a moment, then sagged limply against her attacker. The other masked man pushed the woman’s two companions to the ground, then he joined the first, and together they began dragging the unconscious woman toward the white van double-parked in the road with its engine running.

For a split second déjà vu held Alana frozen, then she darted forward. “Stop!” She grabbed the arm of one man and kicked at the legs of the other. “Let her go!” she screamed. “Help!”

She saw the fist aimed at her head and flinched, but it never made contact. Jason was there parrying the attacker’s arm, then delivering a flurry of punishing blows to the man’s midsection. The second masked man dropped the woman he was holding and produced a switchblade knife. He lunged at Jason, who danced back, out of danger. Then the man grabbed his fellow attacker and bundled him into the van, which roared away even before the side door was closed.

“Oh, my God, Jason, are you okay?” Alana launched herself at him, running her hands over his body to make sure the knife hadn’t made contact. Reassured when she found no blood, she swung around to the unconscious woman lying in the middle of the street, whose two friends had already recovered enough to be huddling around her. One woman had her cell phone out, she saw with relief, probably calling for the police and an ambulance.

Suddenly Jason was there. “Let’s get her out of the street,” he said, and such was his air of authority that when he barked a command in Cantonese, two bystanders moved in to help.

Now Alana could hear police sirens in the distance, and the adrenaline that had allowed her to fight to prevent another kidnapping drained away, leaving her shaking and cold. The memory of her own abduction swamped her...especially those moments of near-despair on the cot in that horrible apartment, and she sank to her knees, hugging herself for warmth. “Oh, God,” she whispered to herself. “Oh, God.”

Jason had his back to her, but when she glanced up she could see he was talking into his cell phone. Then he turned around, saw her and disconnected almost immediately. He was at her side in an instant.

“Alana?” She knew he meant, “Are you hurt?” by the way his face contracted with concern, the way his hands touched her so gently yet with implacable purpose.

“I’m fine,” she managed, trying desperately to catch her breath.

He drew her to her feet and pressed her head against his chest, then his arms closed around her. “It’s okay,” he soothed as if he realized exactly what she needed to hear. “Just breathe. That’s right. Just breathe.”

His body heat transferred itself to her, dispelling the chill. But it was his embrace that truly gave her what she needed. Safe, her frantic mind reassured her, just as it had during her dramatic rescue three weeks earlier. Jason’s rescue. You’re safe.

* * *

Jason took charge at the police station, refusing to let Alana be questioned and insisting Detective Inspector Lam of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau be called in. “Miss Richardson was abducted the same way three weeks ago,” he explained. “He’s already working the case.”

Alana allowed herself to be seated in the tiny interrogation room, moving on autopilot. A second of near-panic was dispelled when Jason dragged his chair over to sit next to her. His strong arm drew her to his side. “You’re okay,” he reassured her in the same calm voice he’d used in the aftermath of the attack.

She struggled against the fog that seemed to envelop her. “I know. It’s just...remembering...” When his arm tightened around her shoulders, she added disjointedly, “The scene today. That’s exactly... In broad daylight. In the middle of a crowd. I couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe it was happening.” She buried her face against his shoulder. “I was terrified,” she confessed.

“But you fought them. Three weeks ago and today.” Admiration colored his words.

“But—”

He stopped her before she could continue. “No buts. You fought, Alana. That woman today is safe because of your quick thinking.”

She shook her head slightly, unwilling to leave the comforting shelter of Jason’s embrace. “No. She’s safe because of you. I couldn’t stop them. I just—”

“Delayed them long enough for me to intervene.” Something brushed against her forehead, and Alana realized it was Jason’s lips. His first kiss, her brain recognized, and she hugged that knowledge to herself like the precious memory it would always be.

“She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” she asked.

“I don’t see why not. Chloroform doesn’t leave any lasting effects—you know that. She was taken to hospital, but I doubt they’ll keep her once she regains consciousness.” His voice roughened. “I’m sorry.”

She raised her head to look at him. “For what?”

“For putting you through that experience again.” The corner of his mouth twitched against strong emotions held firmly in check. “I brought you there on purpose today, but I would never have done that if I had any idea...” When she just stared at him in incomprehension, he explained, “I didn’t want one bad experience to color your perspective of Hong Kong.”

She blinked. “Why?”

He didn’t respond at first. Then, his dark eyes full of meaning, said, “Because this city is my home.”

He didn’t say anything more. It took her a minute, but eventually her eyes widened in dawning comprehension.

She almost blurted it out, but stopped herself in time, instead saying, “I’m glad you brought me there...whatever the reason. Yes, it triggered all those bad memories, but I’m so glad we were able to save another woman from being abducted. Remembering my own similar experience is a small price to pay.”

Their gazes locked and held, and another nonverbal message was exchanged...this one momentous. Then a brisk knock sounded on the interrogation room door, breaking the spell, and the door opened to reveal Detective Inspector Lam.

Alana straightened and made as if to pull away from Jason, but he refused to let her go. She knew from the deliberately impassive expression on Detective Inspector Lam’s face that he’d put two and two together, but had no intention of raising the issue since it wasn’t germane to the situation.

“Miss Richardson, Mr. Moore,” he acknowledged smoothly. “Sorry to meet you again under these difficult circumstances.”

* * *

Two hours later Alana and Jason were free to go. Detective Inspector Lam ordered a squad car to take them back to where Jason’s rented car was parked. “Home?” he asked her when they were standing on the sidewalk.

She shook her head emphatically. “Not unless you want to. I’m not ready for this day with you to end.”

Pride in her surged through him. The same pride he’d felt during the attack today. The same pride he’d experienced listening to her steady answers to Detective Inspector Lam’s questions, despite the latent fear he’d known still held her in its sway.

Pride? he asked himself suddenly. Why pride?

The answer, when it came, jolted through him like an electric shock. Alana wasn’t his, but he wanted her to be. And that blew him away. You’ve only known her three weeks, the rational side of his brain protested. You haven’t even slept with her, for God’s sake!

But none of that seemed to matter. It was as if he recognized in her the mate he’d been searching for these past ten years. A woman who cared as passionately as he did about right and wrong, about protecting the innocent, no matter the cost. A woman who would sacrifice everything, even her own life. Not just for someone she loved, but for a stranger.

Just as he would.

* * *

Jason’s smartphone sounded as he and Alana were sitting down in McDonald’s with their somewhat-delayed taro pies, and he answered it with, “Wei?” He listened for a moment, then replied in staccato Cantonese too quick for Alana to decipher. She’d been taking lessons since she’d first arrived less than two months ago, but so far she’d only really mastered the basics that any tourist needed to know, like “bathroom,” “train station,” and “Star Ferry”—the most common way to cross from Hong Kong Island to the mainland if you were on foot. When Jason disconnected she raised her eyebrows in a question.

“The license plate on the van was stolen,” he admitted.

“Detective Inspector Lam told you?”

“No.”

Just the one word, but Alana wasn’t stupid. “RMM.” She nodded to herself. “That’s who you were talking to on your cell phone earlier today, right after it happened. I should have realized, but I...I wasn’t quite myself at that moment.”

Jason didn’t confirm or deny, but there was something in his eyes that made her feel she’d earned his approval again.

She opened the end of the cardboard container holding her taro pie and stared at it for a moment. Then she raised her gaze to Jason’s. “Would you tell me something?”

He hesitated. “If I can.”

“How did you become involved with RMM?”