Maid for the Billionaire(26)

Scott said and Abby smothered an involuntary gasp with both of her hands.

"Did Dominic know that you were already on his tail before he asked you to come with him?" It gave Abby no comfort to hear her surprise echoed in the voice of the other guard.

"I'm pretty confident that he had no idea," Scott said with confidence.

"Are you still reporting to Jake?" one of them asked him.

There was a long pause before Scott reluctantly answered, "Yes."

"Oh, man, he'll kill us if he finds out."

The sound of feet shuffling was followed by what could have been the slam of a body against a wall. Abby‘s hands shook against her mouth, but she could not force herself away from the rest of the conversation.

"He's not going to find out." Scott‘s easy manner slid away, revealing the cold voice of a man who didn‘t make idle threats.

"I don‘t want to be buried in some Chinese rice field,‖ the man said in defense.

"Will you shut up?" Scott threatened, but in a lower voice as if just remembering Abby‘s presence in the other room. "There is no one who could tell. You two have as much to lose as I do. Jake won't go up against Dominic. There is no one who would tell him. So stop worrying."

Abby stepped away from the door, suddenly a lot less sure of what she was going to do that day.

Stopping on the highest part of the Seventeen Arch Bridge, Abby leaned between two white lion statues and looked across the peaceful Kunming Lake at the ornate Long Corridor that wound along the shoreline. The sheltered passageway had led her most of the way from the Summer Garden‘s East entrance to the Marble Boat where she‘d taken the Dragon Ferry to the small island behind her. The weight of her thoughts had dimmed the pleasure of walking beneath the thousands of ancient paintings. She‘d stopped at each of the season pavilions along the way, but even their beauty had failed to hold her interest.

Lucky arch number nine. I could use some of your luck today. A masculine and powerful number in China; nine symbolized both fortune and safety on a bridge that some said looked like a magical rainbow from a distance.

As Dominic had instructed, Scott and his men had retreated a slight distance when she‘d claimed a headache, but their presence was a constant reminder of how vulnerable she really was. Did they suspect that she had heard them? If so, how far would they go to stop her from revealing their secret?

She had to tell Dominic – and soon, but she had no idea how he would respond to the news.

Because I barely know him. Her stomach flipped uncomfortably at that thought.

What kind of business was he involved in? For all she knew, it was illegal and Jake was collecting evidence he could use in his own plea bargain when the Feds came for them.

Criminals didn‘t discuss their plans with government officials. Did they?

They do if the officials are also involved in the deal.

When one of the guards had said that Dominic would kill them -- had he meant figuratively, through their careers, or actually help them go into the light kind of kill? Did she really want to find out while she was in a foreign country with no money, no passport, and no friends to help her get away if the situation turned ugly?

She should have followed her instincts and gotten off the plane in New York. She could be back in her old life right now.

Safe.

Bored.

Half alive.

Half alive is better than dead.

Abby shuddered and rested her hand lightly on the neck of one of the lions. I wouldn‘t mind a little of your protection today.

Whether the answer came to her from the ancient guardian or from a revival of her own inner fortitude, the result was the same. She resolved to trust Dominic and tell him everything she knew as soon as he returned to the hotel. Fear is not going to rule my life anymore.

A petite Chinese woman stepped out of a crowd of tourists and stood next to Abby. In thickly accented English, she said, "Excuse me, Miss Dartley?"

Before she even had time to turn fully, Abby sensed her bodyguards closing ranks around her. "Yes," Abby said, amazed that someone here would know her and wondered if it was someone from the hotel staff. Did she have a message from Dominic?

"Zhang Yajun would like to meet you for tea at your hotel lounge," the woman said with a slight bow of her head.

Abby sought advice from the only person she had to rely on. "Scott?"

He assessed and dismissed the risk. "She is one of the most influential women in China. She made her money in real estate and food essences, I believe. I don't think there is any harm in meeting her in a public place.‖

―I don‘t--‖ Abby started to disagree, then stopped herself. If this trip was really the jumpstart to the next phase of her life, then it was high time she started embracing opportunities as they came. How often did one get the chance to meet one of the most influential women in China? "Do I have time to change?" Abby asked the woman.

"She waits for you as we speak," the woman said apologetically. "She requests just a few minutes of your time."

Tea sounded pretty harmless. People who were going to kidnap you or threaten your life probably didn't offer you such a soothing beverage, did they? Should she call Dominic and tell him where she was going? By now he could be meeting with the Minister of Commerce, how insane would she sound interrupting that to ask if she should meet with a woman who was probably just curious about Dominic's choice of companionship?