White Tiger

around the exit of the stairwell. They grinned menacingly at us as we passed them, but made no move to attack.
    ‘Are those demons, Simone?’ Leo said.
    ‘Yes.’
    I recognised one of them. ‘Oh my God.’
    ‘What?’ Leo said.
    ‘One of them was Simon Wong.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘The guy that attacked us at the charity concert. The one that took off Gold’s arm and nearly killed you. He was at the bottom of the stairs with the rest of the demons.’
    Leo stiffened. ‘Let’s get home.’

CHAPTER TWENTY
    A fter Leo had showered and changed we all met in the dining room to discuss the attack. Simone noisily slurped her ramen. ‘How many?’ Mr Chen said.
    ‘Five. Level twenty, according to Simone,’ Leo said. ‘Appearance?’
    ‘Young male humans. Looked like triads.’
    ‘Do you know what their True Form was, Simone?’ Mr Chen said.
    Simone shook her head, still slurping the noodles. She swallowed quickly. ‘I don’t know, Daddy.’
    ‘No demons more senior than that? No indication of who sent them?’
    ‘The Demon Prince that attacked us at the charity concert was at the bottom of the stairs with more demons,’ I said.
    ‘Waiting for you to run,’ Mr Chen said. ‘If you’d run out of the car park he’d have grabbed you. You did the right thing in staying together.’
    ‘Emma’s really good,’ Simone said.
    ‘I know,’ Mr Chen said, smiling into my eyes. ‘Nobody was injured?’
    ‘Leo was hit in the head,’ I said.
    Mr Chen glanced sharply at Leo. Leo shrugged. ‘I’m fine.’
    ‘I’ll check you,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Give me your hand. I’ll have a look.’
    Leo leaned over the table and banged it softly. ‘Don’t you dare waste your energy trying to heal me. I’m fine.’
    ‘If your head is injured it may not show up for days, Leo,’ Mr Chen said, unfazed.
    I leaned over the table as well. ‘Don’t waste your energy. If Leo’s unwell, he can see a doctor. Trying to heal him is total overkill. You need to look after yourself.’
    Mr Chen looked from me to Leo, then smiled and shook his head. Both Leo and I relaxed.
    Simone giggled. ‘There’re two of them shouting at you now, Daddy.’
    ‘He needs it,’ I said without looking away from Mr Chen. He smiled into my eyes again and I felt a rush of affection for him. I slapped it down. Friends.
    Mr Chen rose. ‘I have work to do. Believe it or not, there are people who work for me who do as they’re told. Stay vigilant, Leo, it appears that the demons are starting to move in. This one in particular appears to have made Simone a target. And mind your head; if you feel unwell tell me immediately.’
    After he had gone I studied Leo. ‘Are you really okay?’
    He shrugged. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I know what to look for, don’t worry about me.’ He rose, pushing his chair back. ‘Mind Simone, I’ll go down and clean the car up. I made a hell of a mess in the front, and if Mr Chen wants to use it and finds it like that he’ll skin me alive.’
    ‘You’re the one that shouts at him, silly Leo,’ Simone said, grinning through the noodles.
    ‘Emma’s pretty good at shouting too,’ Leo said, amused.
    ‘He needs it,’ I said.
    ‘Yep,’ Leo said as he closed the door.
    Leo drove us to Tsim Sha Tsui for Simone’s birthday dinner. Simone was excited and jiggled all the way through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel.
    We pulled into the lay-by in front of one of the five-star hotels and the doorman came to open the doors for us.
    ‘Whoa, I thought you said you rented a room,’ I said over the back of the seat to Mr Chen.
    ‘I did,’ Mr Chen said. The doorman opened the car for him and he got out.
    Leo grinned triumphantly as he opened the door for me. ‘Told you to wear that dress I bought you.’
    ‘Buy me another item of clothing and I will delete every single file on your computer.’
    His grin widened. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’
    I shook my head and followed Mr Chen and Simone into the high-ceilinged lobby of the hotel. I had worn plain jeans and a shirt because I thought we’d just be going to a rented room in a restaurant. I hadn’t realised it would be a five-star hotel restaurant.
    When Mr Chen led us into the ballroom I hung back. Leo grabbed my arm and escorted me. ‘Come on, Emma, this is going to be fun.’
    Mr Chen had taken the whole ballroom. About twenty-five huge twelve-seater tables were set up around the hall under the glittering chandeliers. The main table had a red tablecloth instead of white.
    Leo led