Counterfeit Love (19 page)

‘The culture,’ Lucy replied, which wasn’t a complete lie.

Yu raised his eyebrows. ‘You are surely in the wrong city for Chinese culture.’

Lucy nodded. ‘Oh, I make trips to Beijing all the time,’ she lied. ‘Such a shame though that so many of our national treasures are in the hands of private collectors in Britain and France.’

Yu regarded her for a moment. She knew she was on dangerous ground. He was the expert on antiques; she was a mere novice with a lot of front. She glanced down at her dress –
In fact
, she thought,
most of my front is on display right now.

‘So true.’ Yu finally agreed. ‘Such a tragedy. And look how they take care of treasures that they have looted.’

‘A
travesty
.’ Lucy skimmed through her mind, recalling a recent break-in in London. ‘Impossible to believe that thieves could break into the British Museum and steal items dating back more than a thousand years.’

Yu nodded. ‘And what of the other raid?’

A flash of panic swept through Lucy as she tried to think of which other raid Yu might be referring to. Then it came to her. Thieves had broken into Durham University and stolen two million dollars’ worth of treasures. ‘They say the jade bowl is probably lost forever.’

‘A terrible crime,’ Yu nodded. ‘Such a fine example of Ming workmanship.’

Lucy frowned. She remembered it being a Qing Dynasty antique. But she was hardly going to challenge Yu on that one. Unless he’d thrown in the error intentionally to test her.

‘I believe it was a Qing antique.’ Lucy offered.

Yu gave Lucy a sly smile. ‘I believe you are correct, Miss Yang.’

Lucy breathed a silent sigh of relief. She seemed to have made it through her first round of tests. She wondered what else Yu might throw at her.

‘I see you know your Chinese antiques, Miss Yang. And I can see …’ Yu paused, his eyes leaving her face and drifting down her dress. ‘Such a beautiful dress, Miss Yang. And a beautiful neck to match. Such a shame that no-one has thought to buy you a diamond to adorn your fine skin.’

Lucy blushed. Yu was quite the charmer – a little on the weird side, but actually handsome in an eccentric Middle Kingdom way.

‘Perhaps you’d allow me to buy you a piece for your jewellery collection. I’d hate to see such a beautiful neck so neglected. It would give me great pleasure. I could send my Rolls-Royce for you. Tomorrow, even.’

‘I couldn’t.’ Lucy smiled demurely, but inside she was doing high fives to herself. She’d hooked a big one this time. She had Yu right where she wanted him; now she just needed to reel him in, slowly, slowly, slowly. Patience and a little bit of deception was going to make everything possible. And then, when he was eating from her hand, she’d spring an interview on him.

Their conversation moved on to Yu’s car collection, which seemed to be another passion of his. She nodded with great interest and contributed where she could on the great debate over which country made the best cars. Lucy had no idea herself, but she’d heard the guys at uni talk about it often enough – drooling over things they were never going to be able to afford. It seemed a bit of a waste of time then, but she appreciated it now. It was all going exactly to plan until a woman in a ruby-studded gold masked interrupted.

‘What are you doing, hiding over here?’ the woman asked, slipping in between Lucy and Yu. It was hard to guess her age behind the mask, but she looked to be in her late twenties, with hair just like Lucy’s – vaguely familiar.

Lucy wondered if she and Yu were married.

Yu cleared his throat. ‘Talking with Miss Yang.’ He turned to Lucy. ‘Miss Yang, this is my colleague, Miss Chan.’

Lucy felt a sudden rush of blood to her head at the sound of the name.
Miss Chan?
Lucy’s mind began whirring. Could this be the woman who was supposed to meet Mr Safari Suit in the Art Bar? Lucy dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come to her – Chan was such a common name, surely it was just a coincidence.

‘And what does Miss Yang do that is keeping you so interested?’ Miss Chan fixed Lucy with an intense stare. Even behind a mask she was intimidating.

‘Miss Yang is an expert on antiques,’ Yu answered, sparing Lucy the pain of having to lie to Miss Chan.

She looked Lucy up and down dismissively. ‘I doubt it.’ And then she walked away.

‘So jealous,’ Yu laughed as Miss Chan blended back into the party. He turned to Lucy again. ‘I don’t think she likes to see a younger version of herself.’

Lucy giggled nervously. It was true that they had a similar hair, maybe even the same build. And then she remembered where she’d seen Miss Chan – at the Cactus Club, with Yu, right after she’d bumped into him at Rusty’s. Could this really be
the
Miss Chan that was supposed to be in the Art Bar, after all? Lucy decided to test the theory.

‘Mr Yu, a man with distinguished taste, such as yourself, must enjoy boating.’

‘Of course,’ he beamed. ‘I have a yacht at Hainan. It comfortably sleeps forty people. It has many bathrooms, a bar, and it even has a spa pool on board!’

‘Oh, sounds, lovely.’ Lucy smiled. It certainly wasn’t the yacht she was looking for. ‘I’m sure it is beautiful, but I enjoy sailing. Do you ever sail?’

Yu shook his head. ‘No, but I have an acquaintance with a sailing yacht. A very fast one, I believe.’

‘Does he race?’

‘Why, yes. He’s just won the China Sea Race – in record time!’

Hound Dog
. Lucy felt slightly giddy at the thought that she was just about to uncover something very big. If Byron’s theory was right, the Cobra had been given
Hound Dog
as payment for a shipment of drugs. So if she found out who owned
Hound Dog
, she’d know who the Cobra was. Lucy’s heart pounded hard. She knew she’d have to tread carefully.

‘Your acquaintance must be a fine sailor.’

‘
No
, he gets seasick.’ Yu cracked up. He was in fits of giggles for several minutes, his imperial pretence temporarily on hold. ‘Excuse me, it’s just
so funny,
seeing such a fat man vomit! He thinks he’s a sailor but he’s a spewer!’

Lucy smiled politely until Yu had regained his composure. She still had things to confirm. ‘He sounds very entertaining. Who is he?’

Yu paused for a moment, glared at Lucy and then shook his head. ‘Not important,’ he snapped.

Lucy kept her eyes on Yu as he turned to watch an entertainer load his mouth full of fire. Something had definitely got to Yu. She wondered if he was just annoyed that Lucy had taken an interest in someone other than him, or if Yu had clammed up because she was getting close to a sensitive subject. It seemed likely that if Yu was friends with the owner of
Hound Dog
, he might well know that he was an organised crime boss.

And then a chilling thought ran through Lucy’s mind. Yu might not just know him; he might even work for the Cobra.

‘Are you sure you are feeling well?’ Yu asked.

‘Yes, fine.’ Lucy coughed. She had spluttered on a glass of champagne while trying to digest the possibilities.

‘Is the champagne not agreeing with you?’

Lucy swallowed hard and tried to smile, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous about being so close to Yu. ‘I’ll be fine in a moment.’

‘I can take you home if you’re not well.’

Lucy’s smile froze. ‘Really, a bubble just went down the wrong way. It’s nothing.’

Yu regarded her seriously, letting his eyes drift down her body. In that moment, Lucy saw what she should have known all along. Yu was hoping to take her home, anyway. She had Yu hooked, but she had no idea what kind of fish was on the end of her line. It could be a poisonous one. It might be deadly dangerous, given what Byron said about the Cobra.

But there was no way she could just drop her catch now. She had to keep playing Yu until she could find out what was going on. She glanced around the crowd, wondering if Byron was watching her.
He has every reason to be jealous now.
She almost hoped he would storm over and save her.
I have no idea how to land a big fish like Yu on my own.
But she couldn’t see Byron at all. Maybe he’d got sick of waiting and gone home.

Lucy fiddled with her dress, suddenly feeling very exposed. She’d chosen it to get Yu’s attention, but now that she had it she wasn’t sure she wanted it. She hitched her dress up at the front, which meant it plunged further at the back. The air, warm and still even seventy storeys up, clung to her bare skin.

Yu took a step towards her. ‘A beautiful night for a drive. If you want a break from the party.’

‘Mmm,’ Lucy said, inching backwards. She was already on the edge of the pool, and if she went much further she was going to fall in. She turned her face towards the sky. It was a typical foggy Hong Kong evening, the sky a sheet of grey, the moon hidden along with the stars. ‘I think it’d be better with the moon out.’

Lucy was still looking for the moon when she felt a hand on her back. She flinched, her spine stiffening like a post.

‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,’ Yu murmured in her ear.

‘Oh, oh, no,’ she chirped, slipping sideways away from Yu’s hand, her eyes darting around the crowd. Now would be a really good time for Byron to appear. He was still missing in action. She needed to get away to clear her mind and cool things down with Yu. ‘Please excuse me. I just need to freshen up for a moment. I’ll see you shortly.’

Yu took Lucy’s hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. ‘I’ll be waiting.’

‘Lovely,’ Lucy giggled anxiously.

As Lucy left for the loo, she could feel his eyes on her. She didn’t look back, but she knew he was watching. She raced for the bathroom and looked in the mirror, her heart pounding from the revelations as much as Yu advances.
What on earth am I meant to do next
? A woman who she only vaguely recognised as Lucy Yang looked back at her from the mirror,
almost
dressed in emerald-green fabric that barely covered her nipples. She turned around to check the back. The dress was just skimming her tailbone.
What was I thinking?

She just wanted to find Byron and go home. She’d gone too far with Yu, crossed a line and definitely given him the wrong impression. There was no way she could go back and uncover his story. The evening could only end one way and, even though Lucy was ambitious and desperately wanted to track down the Cobra, she certainly wasn’t going to sleep with a wacky tycoon to get a story – no matter how big it was. It was time to find Byron and share what information she had and then leave the story to him. She took her phone from her studded clutch and sent Byron a message.

Where are you? Need to see you!

She waited for a minute or so for a reply but nothing came back. It was hardly surprising if he couldn’t hear his phone in this crowd. Lucy left the loos to look for him.

It was at the far end of the pool that she found Byron, standing on his own, leaning over the balcony, admiring the view. How normal and sexy he looked from the back, with his jacket slung over his shoulder, along with his mask. Such a contrast to that creepy Yu. It was such a relief to see him. She couldn’t wait to hold him and tell him everything. Lucy crept up, planning to surprise him, but as she got closer she realised he had his phone to his ear.
As usual.

Lucy stood behind him, waiting for the call to end. Something about the way he was jiggling his jacket over his shoulder troubled her, making her curious – what was he talking about? Maybe he’d learnt something about the Cobra, too. She stepped a little closer. She wasn’t proud of eavesdropping – surely they were past that stage – but she was just desperate to learn if he knew anything.

‘Why would you do that?’ she thought he was saying.

‘No, I told you I would. And I did. She had the key in her bag.’

Lucy took a tiny step closer, intrigued.

‘You didn’t need to go that far. Christ! Why would you do that? … It was a freakin’ mess. I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Lucy stumbled backwards with a terrible feeling she knew what he was talking about. Byron ended the call and remained hanging over the balcony, swearing at the city below.

Lucy took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to convict him without a proper trial this time. She tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump.

‘
Lucy
,’ he said, turning around. ‘God, you gotta stop doing that to me.’

‘Who was that you were talking to?’

He frowned. ‘The office. Why? Were you listening?’

She shrugged. ‘A bit.’

Byron stiffened.

‘Anything you want to tell me?’

Byron ran his fingers through his hair, opened his mouth, then closed it and said nothing. But Lucy could tell by the panic in his eyes that he was trying to hide something. ‘Anything at all?’ she said again, offering him a lifeline.

Byron shook his head.

Lucy’s shoulders slumped and she dropped her head, unable to look at him. ‘I was standing right behind you, Byron. I heard everything.’

Byron reached out and grabbed her hand as she backed away. ‘Lucy, I didn’t know. Honestly I didn’t know they were going to search your apartment.’

‘Search? They
destroyed
it. And then you lied to me about it.’