LITMIR.BIZ

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staggered to his feet. He held out his hand to help his brother from the floor. ‘Sorry about that.’

      ‘It’s fine,’ murmured Luke hoarsely as Jake hauled him to his feet. ‘I’m fine. Are we done yet?’

      ‘Yes. You staying for breakfast?’

      ‘Only if it comes with painkillers.’

      ‘Wimp.’ As they hobbled towards the door.

      ‘Moron.’

      Jake slid his brother a sideways glance. ‘That bruise on your cheek is never going to clear in time for your wedding.’

      ‘Dimwit,’ muttered Luke. ‘Idiot.’ And after a couple more shuffles towards the door, ‘So you’ll be seeing her again, then. Calling her. Asking her along to some highbrow show or charity do?’

      ‘She’ll never agree.’

      ‘Not if you don’t ask. Maybe I’ll get Maddy to call Jianne this morning,’ said Luke as they hobbled towards the kitchen. ‘See if she’s had any unexpected callers. Or gifts. Jianne’s suitor’s big on gifts, according to Maddy. A week ago he sent Ji a wedding dress. Custom made by some fancy fashion house to her exact measurements. She sent it back to him by courier.’

      ‘He sent her a wedding dress?’

      ‘It gets better,’ said Luke. ‘The courier company said they couldn’t deliver it because they were told that no one of that name lived at that address. Ji checked with friends in Shanghai. Her gift giver hasn’t moved house. But the dress is back with her because the courier company is no longer willing to deliver it. Ji’s uncle reckons he’s going to hand deliver it. He’s currently debating whether to slice it to pieces first.’

      ‘What’s to debate?’ rasped Jake. ‘The size of the scissors?’

      Luke smiled ever so slightly. Jake scowled and turned to the fixing of breakfast. ‘Jianne doesn’t want my help. Besides, her uncle’s looking out for her. So’s Madeline. And so are you. What more does she need?’

      Luke reached for a couple of mismatched coffee cups and the tin of instant coffee. ‘Some would say you.’

      Luke headed out of the dojo some time after nine, fully fed and limping only a little. Jake closed up behind him, for the dojo was closed to the public on Sundays. Nothing to do with prayer and everything to do with rest and retreat and time he could call his own. The dojo phone rang not ten minutes later. Hallie trying to organise a Sunday evening meal for the Bennett clan before everyone headed off to their various destinations the following day. Then it was Madeline on the phone arranging an impromptu lunch at her place. When the phone rang for the third time Jake glared at it and almost didn’t pick up, but Tris and Pete were around too and they hadn’t checked in yet this morning and like as not they would.

      Jake loved his siblings, unconditionally and always, but when everyone got together it reminded him of days long gone when his first priority had been to keep them together and inevitably his thoughts would turn to Jianne and then the guilt would kick in that he should have done more, that he could have done more to help her fit into the chaos that had been his life.

      When he picked up the phone and Jianne said hello he almost dropped it. When she said hello again because he still hadn’t spoken he put his fingers to his temple and summoned a reply. ‘Are you in trouble?’

      ‘Is that a regular greeting for you?’ came the softly spoken reply.

      ‘Regular enough.’

      ‘What’s the usual answer?’

      ‘It’s usually a variation on “I’ve met this woman and she’s messing with my head.’”

      ‘Well, I haven’t met this woman,’ said Jianne, and lapsed into silence.

      ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘Are you safe?’

      ‘I’m outside your dojo,’ she said, with a quiet dignity that only Jianne could wield. ‘And I’d like to come in.’

      He was at the door within moments, opening it and stepping back to allow her entry, glancing past her to see what trouble might have followed in her wake, but the street was quiet, and the faces on it familiar ones. He shut the door behind her and turned around warily.

      She looked breathtaking in a lemon coloured sundress that fell in soft waves to her knees. Her hair had been pulled back from her face with ebony combs, and she clutched her handbag in front of her like a shield.

      He gestured for her to precede him through the entrance foyer and on into the training hall, and closed his eyes and prayed for mercy when he saw the length of her hair. She’d kept it long, a glossy rippling river than ran almost to the base of her spine. Once upon a time, Jianne’s hair had framed their lovemaking like a silken shroud. It still would.

      His body approved of the notion, even as his mind shied away from it. Surely he’d learned his lesson the last time Jianne had come into his life? Some things were simply too fragile for a man like him to touch.

      ‘What did he do?’ he said harshly, bringing his thoughts back to now and the possible reasons for Jianne’s visit. ‘Your unwanted beau.’

      ‘How do you know that’s why I’m here?’ she said as he walked her through the training hall and out into the tiny kitchen area. He didn’t have a sitting room. He didn’t have a rec room either. Just a few sparsely furnished bedrooms out back for occasional guests and visiting students, and a loftlike crib of his own above the training hall.

      ‘Why else would you be here?’ he countered. ‘Last night you considered my company the greater of two evils. This morning, here you are. The balance has changed and I didn’t tip it. So what did he do?’

      ‘You always tip the balance, Jacob. It’s what you do.’ She looked at the shabby table and chairs and remained standing.

      ‘You want to sit?’ he offered, belatedly remembering Jianne’s reliance on protocols and manners and his general lack of them. ‘Something to drink?’

      Jianne sat at his shabby Formica table. She decided against refreshment. Jake crossed his arms, leaned against the counter and waited.

      ‘He’s here,’ she said quietly. ‘Zhi Fu. An invitation arrived from him this morning to his house party here in Singapore.’

      ‘So he followed you.’ Jake didn’t like this latest development but, given the man’s obsession with Jianne, he wasn’t overly surprised. ‘You had to have known it was a possibility.’

      ‘I had hoped Zhi’s business ties would prevent it,’ she murmured. ‘I was counting on it.’

      ‘So what now?’ he asked somewhat more gently.

      Jianne shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I was going to refuse his invitation, I always refuse his invitations, but then my uncle suggested that a stronger message might be warranted. He suggested I attend Zhi’s house-warming party. With you.’

      ‘Aggressive,’ murmured Jake. ‘I like it.’

      A tiny smile from Jianne. ‘You would.’

      ‘Was that a compliment?’ he asked silkily. ‘I don’t think it was.’

      ‘Suit yourself,’ she murmured. ‘The thing is I find myself in need of a protector. A Shaolin in the purest sense, and I’ve only ever come across one of those in my lifetime. You. Zhi Fu’s here in Singapore. He’s renting the home directly across the road from my aunt and uncle’s house. He’ll be able to monitor my every move, just as he did back in Shanghai.’

      Protectiveness kicked in hard, and with it a cold hard rage at the man’s predatory behaviour.

      ‘My uncle thinks that getting my own place in some other part of Singapore would be unwise,’ continued Jianne. ‘He thinks Zhi Fu would follow.’

      ‘Your

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