Page 27

CHAPTER 27

“ T his the place?”

My eyes fly open when the driver speaks, my head lurching from the headrest as my body screams back to life. Backseat. No hotel, no Nick. Dark lanterns crisscrossing above the street. I check the time: 1:18 AM. Six hours since I left Nick bleeding in the hotel room. Six hours since Su Ling rushed me out a back entrance of the hotel. Six hours since I called the police. Six hours is enough time for Nick to wake up and send people after me. Or my family. Or Marcus.

But…It’s also enough time for him to get arrested.

I can’t take any chances. I haul my voice up my throat, “Yes, thanks.”

The driver scratches his arm. “Someone coming to meet you or…?”

Yes. Nick will be here if the police don’t find him. I just need Guo Mama to help me figure out where to go. I dial her number, squeezing the phone so tightly my fingertips tingle. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,

“Xiao Mei?”

Tears fill my eyes but before I can respond, Guo Mama shuffles to the shop door, phone at her ear. I disconnect the call and shrug out of the driver’s jacket, handing it to him over the seat before grabbing my bag and throwing open the car door.

Guo Mama’s eyes land on me and go from tired to afraid as I hold up my dress and stumble toward her. She thanks the driver before sweeping me inside and locking the door behind us.

My legs wobble, but her arms circle around me as she leads me through the store and into the breakroom. She pulls out a chair and holds onto me as I ease into it, then hurries back through the curtain and returns with a silk robe. She drapes it around me, before scurrying to the stove.

I pull the robe around me, letting the ripped dress slump to my lap while I stare at the linoleum, my mind unraveling as she works in silence. Every few seconds, she glances over her shoulder and a few minutes later, she takes my hands and wraps them around a steaming cup of tea.

“Drink. It will help.”

I stare at the rippling black pool, then tip the cup, the liquid scalding my throat, warming me for the first time in days.

“I’m sorry to wake you. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“You did not wake me. I have been waiting to hear from you for hours.”

My eyes hold hers, too many questions swirling in my head and jamming my throat to get words out, but Guo Mama answers. “Su Ling called your mama. Your mama called me.”

“She knows?”

“Yes. She is waiting for my call.” She closes her eyes. “Thank the gods you are here and safe, Xiao Mei.” When she opens her eyes again, she studies me, her jaw set. “What happened? Actually, no.” She waves her hand to dismiss her comment and closes her eyes for a few seconds. “Never mind. I know what, and I am so sorry.”

I shake my head, then stop when it hurts. “I’m so, so sorry to put you in danger. I don’t know where to go.” The words scratch out of me. “I saw Su Ling in L.A. She helped me escape. I told the police where they can find her. Nick’s there, too. But if they don’t find him, he’ll come for me.”

“You are the one who told the police about Nick?”

I drop my face in my hands and shake my head. “I was too scared. I hope if they find her, they find him.” Bleeding on the hotel bed.

Her hand rests on my shoulder. “I will help you find a safe place.” She nods, her eyes searching my face. “But first, you need a warm shower. Then we can talk about where you will go.”