White Tiger

I am. They all know. It is only a matter of time before they try me.’
    ‘We need to defend Simone, Mr Chen. You need to stay close to her.’
    ‘I know.’ He gazed into my eyes, very serious. ‘Emma…’ His voice trailed off. ‘Yes, John?’
    Something shifted in his eyes when I called him by his first name.
    ‘I don’t want you to stay if you’re worried,’ he said. ‘If you’re scared, then resign. Go. If you leave my service they won’t come after you.’ He looked down. ‘You should go.’
    ‘Are you firing me?’
    He smiled gently, still looking down. ‘No.’ ‘Do you want me to stay?’
    He looked up and gazed intensely into my eyes. ‘Yes.’
    ‘You like having me around?’
    He didn’t say anything, just looked into my eyes. Then, ‘I want you to be safe.’
    I moved closer to him. ‘I’m safe with you.’ I took his hand and he didn’t pull away. ‘I feel very safe with you.’
    I raised my other hand to his cheek. His skin was like silk. ‘We could have years, John. I don’t need more.’ I slid my hand behind his neck and pulled him closer.
    He closed his eyes and lowered his face to mine.
    Then he froze. He remained completely immobile, then gently removed my hand from his neck and held both of my hands in his. ‘It can’t happen, Emma, I’m sorry.’ He dropped my hands and rose. ‘Friends. Nothing more. I enjoy your company, and Simone loves you. Stay with us, you make us both happy.’
    ‘We could have years,’ I said again, without moving from the couch. ‘I don’t need more than that. Don’t throw something this good away just because it will have to end.’
    ‘I have no choice. Friends. That is all. Nothing more.’
    He turned away, but I could see the pain in his face.He went to the door and opened it. ‘Goodnight, Miss Donahoe.’
    I tried to hide my disappointment as I rose to see him out. ‘Are you sure?’
    He nodded without looking at me, went out and closed the door behind him.
    I flopped back onto the couch and put my head in my hands. Okay. Friends. I ran my hands through my hair. Nothing more. If that was what he wanted, then I had to respect his wishes.
    That ache inside me wasn’t my heart breaking. I was glad to have what I did.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
    S everal weeks passed without any incident, taking us to mid-October.
    I’d put Simone to bed and waited until she finally nodded off. I went into my room, changed into a pair of black track pants and a white T-shirt, and wandered over to the training room.
    The door was closed so I tapped on it.
    ‘Come,’ Leo said from inside.
    I opened the door and poked my head in. Leo was working with the sword that usually resided on the wall next to the front door.
    ‘When are you finishing?’ I said.
    Leo saw that I was dressed for practice, rather than in the black Mountain uniform I wore for lessons with Mr Chen. ‘Come in, we can share.’
    ‘You don’t mind?’
    ‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘Come on in.’
    I entered and closed the door. ‘I wanted to do some tai chi. Simone’s worn me out.’
    ‘What style?’ Leo put the sword back into its scabbard. ‘How many styles have you learned?’
    ‘I’ve learned Chen and Yang, and I’ve just started Wu.’
    Leo put the sword onto the weapons rack. ‘I’ll do it with you. Nice change of pace.’ ‘Yang?’ I said.
    He nodded and moved into position. ‘Sure.’
    About a quarter of the way through the set Leo roused me out of my concentration by speaking. ‘Don’t get too attached to him, Emma.’
    I didn’t stop my performance of the set. ‘Friends. Employer-employee. That’s all. We enjoy each other’s company. We both love Simone.’
    ‘You should be able to touch your hands by now when you do the heel kicks,’ he said. ‘Friends is good. Be his friend, but don’t try to be anything more. It can’t happen.’
    ‘I know that, Leo, we talked about it. I accept his decision. I’m happy the way it is.’
    ‘Don’t try to make it more, because if you do then you won’t have anything.’
    I silently continued the set.
    ‘Just enjoy his company for as long as you have him,’ Leo said. ‘He likes your spirit. He loves teaching you. But it can never be more than that.’
    We moved together through the final part of the set.
    ‘Friends,’ I said. ‘That’s all.’
    ‘Good.’ Leo turned and went out of the room without another word.
    I moved into position to start a Chen set. We were friends, and that was all, and I was