*****
Several hours had passed since I’d shown Gina up to her room. I sat in my office looking up at the ceiling thinking and waiting.
The smart man in me whispered that I should have left her at the Capital Police station once we were finished with questioning. I didn’t listen to him. I listened to that other instinct that calls to me when I was about to make a risky investment. Rarely, had it led me in the wrong direction. I hope it doesn’t this time either. Considering I left common sense back at the station, to do what exactly I wasn’t sure, my moves were based purely on instinct.
It wasn’t a total lie that I wanted to keep her safe, but for all I know, those people shooting at her might have been doing the world a favor. Still, something about Gina called out to me, and that’s why I wanted to help. No, not when we first met in Congress. Then it had been all about those sexy full lips, and legs long enough to wrap around me in a couple of different ways. She was curvy just like I like my women. Granted, she was attractive, but I live in a sea of beautiful women who are more than eager to please.
It was her eyes. Those dark, exotic-looking eyes caught me like a deer in headlights. When she trained them on me, examining every inch of my body, my stomach tightened. That immediate attraction was purely physical. It gave me a hard-on in the worst way to watch her trying to determine if she wanted me. It’s always the other way around. I couldn’t determine what decision she’d made as she walked away. Of course, Gina didn’t know it, but she’d thrown down the gauntlet, and that was a challenge too sweet to pass up.
Ms. Gina Lee-Xiou was now front and center on my radar. I had my people find out her name, and then did a quick internet search on her. Nothing too crazy came up. Her father had recently died, there weren’t any known siblings, except for a deceased twin, and there was nothing about her mother. That might explain a lot of her edge. She was now responsible for running Xiou Incorporated and was in the United States to ward off a RICO inquiry with Congress due to business her father had been engaged in. Gina wasn’t a mass murderer or liked to kill puppies. That’s always a good start.
A flip was switched from my interest being only physical when we were in that parking garage, and everything was crazy. I didn’t see fear in those eyes, I saw a quick flash of vulnerability. That called to me.
The buzzing of my phone shook me out of my inner thoughts. I picked it up to see who was calling then clicked the talk button. “It’s about damn time.”
Chapter 13
“Where the hell did you find this woman? Of all the women for you to run into leave it to you seek out the most complicated one.”
“I met her at the Capital today. Just tell me what you’ve got, Carl. I’ve been waiting all day.”
“Can you see me on the other side of the phone shaking my head? I’m telling you this Gina Lee-Xiou is not someone you want to mess with.”
I hadn’t asked for his commentary. I just wanted to know her background. “Again, just tell me what you’ve got. I’m a big boy; I can make that decision all on my own.”
“She’s from Guilin, China here on business for some RICO mess her father made.”
“I know that. I got that from a quick internet search. I called you so that you could tell me what I couldn’t uncover on my own.”
“Okay. Okay. I see you’re getting a bit testy, so I’ll just run it down for you. Her father, Chang Lee-Xiou was allegedly the head of an organized crime syndicate called The Family. When he died, it threw the entire organization into chaos.”
“That’s her father’s background. I want to know her story. He’s dead, so I don’t have to worry about his goons showing up at my front door with guns.”
“You might not have to worry about his goons, but hers is a different story. It appears Gina is gunning to replace him.”
“Damn. That would explain the flying bullets this afternoon.”
“What the hell? Are you serious?” Carl didn’t even try to mask the alarm in his voice. “Brody, I’ve worked with you for a long time. I don’t care how sweet her ass is, she’s bad news.”
“I gotta tell ya, her ass is pretty sweet, but there’s something else driving me to find out more about her. When I brought her home this afternoon ....”
“What? You brought that woman to your house! That’s the story that’s all over the news. You and Gina were caught up in that?” I could hear him fire off a myriad of curses away from the receiver of the phone. When he brought it back to his lips, Carl breathed in deeply. “It didn’t really matter what I was going to tell you did it? You’re not going to listen to me.”
“I always listen. You provide valuable information. Just because I don’t always handle situations in the manner you think I should doesn't mean I don’t hear what you’re saying. I asked you for information, and you provided it because what I don’t like are surprises. In business and in life, I always want
