Page 130 of Say I Do

And I was left picking up the pieces while I was still a shattered bit of broken glass myself.

Never again.

My heart clenched thinking about Harlow. The way he smiled, the smart-ass way he talked, the soft way he touched me. It was everything I could want in a partner, everything I craved. Not just sweet bullshit, but hard edges that could handle mine and give just as good as what was given. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get close to him. It was too big of a risk, and I didn’t do fucking risk. Not anymore.

I grabbed my cell phone and forced myself to get back to work. There was no time for me to sit around wallowing about the past when I needed to focus on the future. I dialed Chelsea and sighed with relief when she picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, Benito. I was just about to call you.”

“What did you find?”

“I found out who those numbers belonged to. One was for a Darla Shamers, and the other was for someone named Qiang.”

I froze. “I know that name.”

“You should. He’s been all over the news. He’s known in Chinatown as the shade or the shadow, something like that in Mandarin. The man has a hell of a reputation. Mostly he scares the shit out of everyone, even the cops. No one wants to fuck with him.”

“Where is he?” I asked.

“I traced the phone to the most frequented place he visits in Chinatown. Some restaurant. I can send you the address, but I don’t recommend going there. I mean, there’s no way in hell it’s not full of people just waiting to kill you.”

“Thanks for the advice,” I muttered. “Text me the address.”

Chelsea groaned. “It won’t be easy to see him. He’s very secretive. Are you sure you want to—”

“Address,” I said again as I stood up. “Don’t make me ask again.”

“O-okay,” she muttered. “Sending it over now.”

“Thank you.”

I hung up and shoved my phone into my pocket. I grabbed my jacket, keys, and wallet before I let my assistant know I’d be back tomorrow. Whoever that man was, Harlow knew him. Harlow had slept with him. What did they mean to each other? I had to find out, or I would go insane.

* * *

I haveway too much to deal with already. Why am I doing this?

I stared at the restaurant. People moved in and out of it, slipping around each other as they tried to get past. The place was packed. I shuffled inside, leaving Tony behind. He’d wanted to come along, but I wouldn’t let him. If something happened to me, at least my family would know who to come after. If I walked inside and just disappeared, they’d have no idea what went down.

As I stood there waiting in line, someone tapped my arm. I spun around. A dainty woman in a tight black dress smiled up at me.

“Please, follow me.”

I stared. “What?”

“Mr. Qiang will see you now.”

Shit. I glanced around, but no one stared at me. There were glances, sure, but no one stood out from the crowd.Does he have eyes on me already? Are there cameras?I did one more look around the room before I glanced down at the woman who waited for me patiently. I had no choice. Either I followed her, or I wouldn’t get any answers.

“Lead the way.”

Her smile grew, and the unease disappeared. I realized she was waiting for me to follow. If I didn’t, well, there was no telling what would happen to her. She slipped through the crowd. I followed behind her, my eyes shifting back and forth as I tried to categorize my surroundings and all I saw. We moved through the kitchen into a hallway and kept going. The dark, quiet hall made every hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I reached into my jacket and gripped my gun.

“No need for that,” she said as she gazed over her shoulder at me. “You won’t be able to take it into the room anyway.”

“Like hell I’ll go in there without it.”

She shrugged. “Up to you, but no weapons. They’ll make sure of that,” she said as we stopped in front of two men. “He has a gun.”

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