10. Chapter 10
ten
“ A ll’s calm. Nothing much to report,” Paul told Lina when she returned to Callie Chen-Bisset’s home later that evening. After the quick briefing with Paul, she’d gone off to a nearby hotel, showered, and slept. She’d worked with Paul and trusted him. Paul was an American whose husband was French and had lived in Paris for the past decade.
“The family stayed inside the compound all day. Their friends who live in the other units went about their day as usual,” Paul said. “But they were all aware of the situation and not unfamiliar with safety measures.”
“Yes, Callie told us as much on the phone.” Lina nodded.
“There’s no new developments from Marcus except some rumors about the Stilettos intimidating the Murphys.”
“Let’s hope it’ll take up their time and resources, and they’ll forget about Curtis,” she said. “Thanks for the update, Paul. I’ll take it from here.”
“Pierre is outside.” He handed her his communication device.
“Great.” She liked Pierre. She and Paul had interviewed him together.
Lina was about to go knock on Callie’s door when Paul added, “Oh, I almost forgot. The sister has a visitor, a colleague. She checked out. She’s still in there.”
“Thanks,” Lina acknowledged.
“Just go in. They’re expecting you.”
She turned with a laugh. “Go, Paul. I’m sure Guillaume is waiting for you.”
“I’m going after I do a last perimeter check.” He threw her a grin. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lina appreciated Paul’s thoroughness. A babysitting job wasn’t exactly exciting, but a job was a job and needed to be done properly. She watched him walk through the courtyard and took a moment to take in the beautifully set-up compound in the dimming evening light. There were three three-story townhouses—two to one side and another opposite the courtyard, with a smaller building next to it. The team would’ve already secured all those buildings prior to their arrival, but Lina made a note to familiarize herself to the property later.
A twinge of envy spurred inside her. It wasn’t the wealth she was jealous of. It was the peaceful sense she got from the place. But then she remembered the report she’d read about Callie being abducted from her own home. Even well-guarded peace could shatter fast.
Let ’ s make sure nothing will disrupt this family again. Not under my watch.
With that vow, Lina entered the house. Her mouth watered as soon as she breathed in. Growing up, she’d preferred perfecting her high kicks to learning how to make steamed buns, but she still loved every dish her mom made. She was almost embarrassed at how eager she was to see what Curtis’ Popo was making.
The ground floor was a prettily decorated foyer, a closet, and what looked like a home office. She climbed the stairs to the main living area and found it filled with lively chatter. In the sitting area, Brandon conversed with his father-in-law. She had gotten to know Brandon as much as she had Curtis. She liked the Canis Major front man. He’d always been sketching when he wasn’t in music mode. In fact, she had a drawing he’d made of her framed in her apartment.
On the other side, Callie sat with Curtis, who had his four-year-old niece bouncing on his knee. A blonde woman in her late twenties or early thirties sat with them. Her knee touched Curtis as she sang some French kid’s song along with the bouncing girl. When the song ended, they all laughed, and the scene looked so intimate that Lina felt she was intruding. She had already turned back halfway when Curtis called her name.
“Lina,” he said. “Come, join us.”
Callie stood and met Lina by the stairs with a smile. “So, you’re Lina. I’m Callie, Curtis’ sister. We spoke on the phone.”
“Yes, we did.”
The next second, she was enveloped in a hug. “Thank you for getting my family here safely. I’m so glad you were there with Curtis when he found that box.”
Shocked by the gratitude, Lina could only say, “I’m only doing my job.”
Callie pulled back. “That may be, but I’m still grateful.” She put her arm around Lina and led her to the rest of the party. “I hope you got some rest. Curtis and our parents crashed not long after they arrived.”
“I did,” Lina replied.
“Marie, this is Lina,” Curtis introduced her to the blonde woman. “She’s saved my ass too many times.”
Marie smiled and stuck out her hand. “ Enchanté . It must be hard to keep this one safe. He’s a bit of a…ah, how do you say it? A cowboy, oui ? I had to make sure he and Brandon didn’t get arrested here several times.”
“Come on. The situation called for it that time,” Curtis protested.
Lina shook the French woman’s hand and smiled. “Are you a lawyer?”
“Yes. I work with Callie at her foundation to help battered women out of their situations,” Marie answered.
Impressive , Lina thought. And suddenly another twinge of envy zapped her as she watched Curtis put an arm around Marie’s shoulders and squeezed them with pride. “She and my sister are such badasses.”
Marie’s hand landed on his thigh as she chuckled at his praise.
“What can I get you, Lina?” Callie asked. “Have some hors d ’ oeuvres while we wait for the others for dinner.”
Lina’s ears perked up. More people?
“Just family, I promise. We all live in this compound. Genevieve and Ana?s are hosting my parents at their house next door, while Curtis is sleeping in Brandon’s studio. It’s the one next to Madeleine and Julien’s unit,” Callie explained. “They and their two kids are also coming for dinner.”
Lina did a mental calculation. If something happened at this dinner, she and Pierre might not be able to cover everybody.
“Nothing’s going to happen, Lina. Relax,” Callie said quietly to her, as if she could read her mind. “The bad guys are across the ocean.”
Lina looked at Callie and forced a smile. She wished she could have Callie’s conviction, but she was wired to stay on guard.
Relax? Yeah, not while Serafina Stiletto is still sniffing after Curtis.
“Great idea to do hot pots for a cold winter night, Lien,” Genevieve said to Popo. The rest of the diners chorused their agreement. On the long table, two hot-pot cookers were almost bone dry, with the meat, vegetables, and noodles completely consumed.
“I thought it was a wonderful way to celebrate family.” Popo beamed at everybody.
Seeing how happy his grandmother was having all of her chicks in one room made Curtis’ heart swell. Going into her seventy-ninth year, Popo was still full of energy. Man, was he glad he had her genes. He hoped he’d still be kicking and playing music at her age.
Curtis scanned the packed table. Outside of his family, there were also Genevieve, Ana?s, Marie, Madeleine and Julien and their two children, Luc, and Jeanne, whom he’d met during his reunion with his sister only a year-and-a-half ago. They’d been more family to Callie than he’d been. He regretted his lack of effort in maintaining a relationship with Callie, but was grateful Callie had them during her time of need.
This is what it ’ s all about. Family.
“We need to do this more often,” he blurted out his thought.
Everybody turned their attention to him with a question in their expressions.
“Get together as family does,” he elaborated. “We shouldn’t wait for weddings or—”
“A crazed person hunting one of us?” Brandon quipped.
Curtis and Callie glared at him.
“Too soon?” Brandon grinned.
Julien, next to him, elbowed Brandon in the ribs lightly with a chuckle. “We have to laugh at these things. I mean, we as a group seem to attract trouble,” the French chef pointedly said.
“Before you kids, the only trouble I’ve attracted to in my life was this woman,” Dad chimed in with a laugh, squeezing Mom’s hand. “My parents did not approve of me falling in love with a Chinese woman. But I didn’t care, and we eloped.”
Callie’s eyes widened as she stared at their parents. “I didn’t know that. Did you, Curtis?”
“Nope.” It was news to him, too.
“Is that why we didn’t see Dad’s parents much?” Callie asked.
“They wanted your father to marry a real American woman,” Mom answered with a small, bitter smile. “But that’s a bygone story now. Let’s not rehash the past.”
Curtis could see Callie looking at their mother with new understanding. All of those years of their mother denying their Chinese heritage and pushing her kids to a certain standard made sense now. She’d wanted to please and be accepted by her husband’s family. But it never quite happened.
In the corner of his eye, Curtis saw Lina sitting quietly, absorbing everything. Curtis couldn’t really tell what she was thinking from the polite smile she’d sported all night. She’d tried to wiggle herself out of dinner using her bodyguard status as an excuse, but he’d told her it was best for his safety if she stayed close. She couldn’t argue her way out of that one.
“Lina, Curtis told us your family is in the Bay Area,” Popo said. “Are you planning to go home for the Lunar New Year?”
Turning her gaze to Popo, Lina seemed caught off guard by the question. “I haven’t thought about it, but that sounds like an idea if all turns out well in time.”
“Lunar New Year is two weeks away. Do you think it’ll be safe for Curtis by then?” Callie asked.
“I don’t have the answer to that yet,” Lina answered honestly.
“We’ll celebrate here. We have family, friends. What more do we need?” Popo said, obviously avoiding the real reason behind the family reunion.
“Food, Popo,” Curtis indulged his grandma. “Lots of food.”
“Don’t you worry about that!” Popo beamed with happiness.
More talk and laughter filled the night. Everybody avoided the elephant in the room because nobody wanted to worry Popo. Frankly, Curtis was glad that for once his mind wasn’t focused on death. Now that this Serafina woman, whom he’d been oblivious about all of his life, wanted him most likely dead, he couldn’t help but think about his demise.
“I think you’ve had enough, Curtis,” Lina said to him when he put up his glass for some more wine. “We need to keep our heads clear.”
“You need to keep your head clear,” Curtis retorted. “I don’t want to remember anything come morning.”
Lina, like always, only had water or tea throughout the night. She now took the wineglass from his hand and said levelly, “It’s probably good for you to sleep it off.”
Curtis didn’t think he was buzzed enough. He could still see and stand straight. He was about to protest some more, but Brandon said, “Come on, buddy. I’ll help you to the studio.”
“I’m good.” Curtis stood and showed them he wasn’t drunk as a skunk, though he really wanted to be. “See.”
“I’ll take him,” Lina said. “I have to check in and do my rounds anyway.”
“You’re sure you can handle him?” Brandon asked. Lina only gave him a look, and Brandon grinned. “Right. I forgot who I was talking to.”
Callie gave Curtis a kiss on the cheek. “Get some rest. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m turning in, too,” Popo added and patted Curtis on the cheek. “Good night, sweetheart.”
“Good night, Popo.”
Popo said something to Lina in Mandarin that Curtis didn’t understand and gave her cheek a rub, too. Lina’s expression softened at the gesture and she nodded at his grandma. He wondered what Popo said to her.
After a quick goodnight to everyone who was still there, Curtis followed Lina down the stairs. Marie walked out with them. At the door, she said good night to Lina before she turned to him, stood on the tips of her shoes and kissed his cheeks.
“It’s good to see you, handsome,” Marie said. “I wish it was under a different circumstance, but I’m glad you’re here, cher .”
Curtis smiled at the pretty blonde. Marie was one of the few women he’d adored because she was so straitlaced but such a badass underneath that buttoned-up business suit. They’d had fun while he’d been in Paris and gone their separate ways as friends.
“ Bonne nuit , Marie,” Curtis said.
Still grinning big after watching Marie walk away, Curtis turned to find Lina standing casually a few feet away with her hands in her jacket’s pockets, studying him with a speculating look on her face.