Page 109 of Cruel Devotion

Lei

I frowned, having so many questions.

Why hadn't he returned?

Where was the helicopter taking me?

And more important, where the fuck was my phone?

Pissed, I put the note on the table, rose from my chair, went to the tent's entrance, and peeked my head out.

Two of the five men had been talking. They stopped and turned my way.

“Hey.” I stepped outside. “I would like a phone. Can you bring me one? Or let me use yours?”

They exchanged glances.

Then, one man cleared his throat. “We are not authorized to give you a phone.”

“Why not?”

They remained silent.

“Lei told you not to give me a phone?”

No response came.

Sighing, I stepped back into the tent and frowned.

So. . .you're going to chase after your dead ex but also keep me trapped on your mountain?

I headed over to the table to grab the bottle of wine and spotted a little box next to it, wrapped in shimmering blue paper.

I quirked my brows.

So. . .a gift is supposed to make me forget this bullshit?

I picked it up, tore off the wrapping paper, and pulled the top away from the box.

A small pendant lay inside, shaped like four miniature aces cards, each fashioned from gleaming platinum. The cards were arranged in a subtle, interlocking design.

Embedded in each card were tiny diamonds.

I lifted it out of the box.

Surely, Lei wanted me to dutifully fasten the pendant around my neck and await his next orders.

Taking my phone is not cool.

I rolled my eyes, placed the pendant back in the box, and put it on the table.

Lei, you may be the Mountain Master but you have a lot to learn about women.

Sighing, I grabbed the bottle of wine, went over to the bed, and picked up the Four Aces' historical log.

This book ended up being equally absorbing. It was a meticulous record of the Four Aces' evolution, starting from its inception under Leo.

He'd arrived in the States, fleeing trouble in China with his brothers, sisters, and pregnant wife—a wife who had apparently been the girlfriend of a dangerous Triad leader.

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