White Tiger

floor.
    Simone fell into my lap. ‘Everything’s okay?’
    ‘I think he’ll make it, sweetheart,’ Leo said. He pulled his mobile phone out and dialled. He listened silently, then said, ‘Ambulance.’
    Simone moved to her father’s head while Leo gave the emergency line the details of where to send the ambulance. She knelt, lifted his head into her lap and shook with sobs. ‘The demons aren’t supposed to be able to hurt him. They can’t. They can’t.’
    Leo closed his phone. ‘The ambulance is coming. Don’t worry, Simone, I think he’ll be okay.’
    ‘But he’s so weak,’ Simone whispered, still cradling her father’s unconscious head. ‘There’s hardly anything in there at all.’
    ‘I know, sweetheart,’ Leo said, full of pain. He glanced up at me. ‘We’ll need a story. Robbery? Burglars broke in and he stopped them?’
    ‘That won’t explain the burns,’ I said.
    ‘Damn, you’re right. What do we tell them?’
    Inspiration hit. ‘Kidnapped. Beaten. Tortured.’ I checked my watch. ‘We paid the ransom, we got him back. He’s only been gone a couple of hours and ordered us not to contact the police.’
    Leo’s eyes widened with admiration. ‘That’s perfect, Emma. There was a similar case in the papers not long ago. It happens all the time.’ He checked Mr Chen again. ‘But the others weren’t beaten.’
    ‘Take one look at him, Leo, and tell me he wouldn’t have fought back. Hard.’
    Leo nodded. ‘Hope the ambulance comes soon.’
    ‘They won’t find out about him? They won’t be able to tell?’
    ‘What we have here is a perfectly normal human being. They won’t be able to tell anything, provided we keep our mouths shut.’
    Simone rested her cheek on Mr Chen’s bloodied forehead. ‘Don’t worry, Leo, I know what to say.’
    ‘I know you do, sweetheart.’
    ‘I’ll go with him,’ I said. ‘You stay here and guard Simone.’
    Simone’s head shot up. ‘I’m going with my daddy!’
    ‘We’ll all go,’ Leo said. ‘I’ll ask one of the security guards from downstairs to mind the flat. They’re good about that. They can arrange for the door to be fixed while we’re gone.’
    The doorbell rang. ‘It’s the ambulance men, Leo,’ Simone said.
    ‘That was quick,’ I said suspiciously. ‘No, there’s a hospital only five minutes away on the Peak,’ Leo said. ‘Everybody know what to say?’ Simone and I nodded. Leo went to show them in.
    We sat on a couch outside the ward. Simone lay across Leo and me, her feet on me and her head in Leo’s lap. I pulled off her little riding boots and dropped them to the floor. The hack on the horses seemed like days ago.
    A slim young doctor came out carrying a clipboard. He looked around.
    ‘We’re with John Chen,’ I said.
    He came to us and flipped the paper on the clipboard. ‘Family only, please.’
    We all rose. Leo picked up Simone and put her on his hip.
    ‘We’re all family,’ I said.
    Leo glared down at the doctor, daring him to disagree.
    ‘Right, now you can come,’ the doctor said, unfazed. ‘The police want to talk to you as well. You’ll need to give us his ID card number and details later.’
    ‘Will he be okay?’ Leo said.
    The doctor studied the chart. ‘He’s lost a lot of blood, and he’s very weak, but there doesn’t appear to be any critical damage. We want to keep him overnight for observation. He took a severe blow to the head and we need to keep an eye on it.’
    Leo and I shared a look. Leo nodded, very slightly.
    ‘Can we see him?’ I said.
    The doctor gestured towards the ward. ‘Don’t stay too long.’
    A couple of policemen waited for us inside the ward. Leo and I shared another look.
    ‘Go and see him first,’ one of them said. ‘Then we’ll take statements.’
    I took a deep breath and followed Leo into the room.
    Mr Chen’s hair was a mess, tied back roughly out of the way. He appeared to be asleep. His left arm was in a cast to above the elbow, and a drip fed into his right forearm. Pieces of tape covered the cuts on his face. He was very pale.
    Simone clambered onto the chair next to the bed and whispered, ‘Daddy.’
    He didn’t move. She took his hand. ‘Daddy.’
    His eyes slowly opened. He saw her and smiled. ‘Simone. Thank the Heavens.’ He saw Leo, then me. He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Are you all right? Everybody’s okay?’
    ‘We’re fine,’ Leo said, moving to stand behind Simone.
    ‘Leo was great, Daddy,’ Simone said. ‘He