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When he glanced at Mei-li again she was still watching him with that solemn expression, and he suddenly realized the emotion he’d felt earlier, the one he hadn’t recognized, was...attraction. Not the sexual attraction a man might feel for a beautiful woman, but the emotional attraction a man would feel for a woman he recognized as a kindred spirit. The kind of attraction he hadn’t felt for a woman since—
Don’t go there, he warned himself. You’ve got more important things to worry about.
But even as he pushed that attraction to the furthest corner of his consciousness, he was forced to acknowledge it. And he knew that if the circumstances were different, he’d pursue it. Because there was more to Mei-li Moore than a beautiful face and a sexy body—a hell of a lot more. And what she had to offer was exactly what he’d been missing in his life.
* * *
An hour later they were all back in the Peninsula Suite, eating the breakfast that had just been delivered by room service. Dirk had called Hannah the moment he’d returned to his suite—to report there was nothing to report. Mei-li had listened to Dirk’s side of the conversation automatically, but only with half her attention. The rest was reserved for the others in attendance.
The suite’s dining table sat ten, and their small group had been increased by two, the other bodyguards who’d accompanied Dirk’s family to Hong Kong. Mike Beckett, who at six foot three was taller and broader than Dirk. And Rafe Johnson. They appeared to be genuinely incensed their charges had been kidnapped. Rafe in particular—a six-foot-five-inch ebony tower of a man—gave off a critical vibe about Chet’s performance the day before that pleased Mei-li. And she had a feeling that if Rafe had been on duty, the kidnappers wouldn’t have gotten away so easily.
Both men were insistent on being included in whatever the plan of action was, and Mei-li had one. But she wasn’t ready to share that plan with everyone. Part of it involved getting Vanessa and Chet out of the way for a while, at the same time keeping a close eye on them. But she was also conscious that not everyone in the room could be trusted, so she vetted her words carefully.
“The first thing you have to do,” she said, addressing Dirk at the head of the table on her right, “is make arrangements to have the money available.” It was the truth, but it was also something that would allay any suspicions on the part of the kidnappers...assuming they had a mole in their midst.
“Not a problem,” Dirk replied. “But how much? The kidnapper who called me yesterday wouldn’t say.”
“That’s not important...not yet.” She wrote a name and phone number on a piece of paper and pushed it toward Dirk. “That’s a Hong Kong banker I’ve dealt with in the past. Call him after nine. He’ll walk you through what you need to do.” She turned her attention to Vanessa on the other side of the table, next to Chet. “I know you’re still in shock after yesterday,” she said gently. “But we need your assistance.”
Vanessa looked at Dirk. “Whatever I can do to help Mr. DeWinter.”
Mei-li wrote a couple of names and addresses on another piece of paper, which she passed across to Vanessa. “First name on that list is a freelance sketch artist. You’re the only one who saw the kidnappers—”
“But they were wearing masks,” Vanessa protested. “I really didn’t see their faces.”
“Yes, but whatever you did see, we need to capture that while it’s still fresh in your mind.” She smiled encouragingly. “Don’t worry, Vanessa. Whatever you remember is more than we have now.” She switched gears. “Second on that list is a hypnotist.”
“A hypnotist?”
The appalled expression on Vanessa’s face only lasted a second and was quickly erased, but Mei-li had been watching closely for the other woman’s first reaction and wasn’t disappointed. She didn’t let on that she’d seen anything amiss, however. “Yes, a hypnotist. It’s possible you might remember something more than you told us yesterday, and my friend is quite skilled at hypnotizing witnesses to get at suppressed memories. It’s not admissible in court, of course, but we don’t care about that at this point. We just need whatever clues we can uncover.”
Vanessa stared at the piece of paper as if it might bite her. “How...” She faltered. “How do I find these addresses?”
“Patrick will take you.” Mei-li glanced at her cousin at the foot of the table, who immediately nodded. She’d already managed to speak to Patrick earlier, in private, and she knew he was on board with this part of her plan.
