Captive Bride by Bonnie Dee Read Free Book Online Page B

if he grabbed her and…and did what?
    Could there be a worse fate than what Xie had already planned for her?
    She lifted her face, daring to meet the man’s eyes.
    His frown appeared concerned rather than angry. His held out his hand to her slowly, as though she were a bird he was coaxing to land there. Her hand seemed to rise of its own accord, reaching out to him.
    At that moment, the door opened with a jangle of the bell that hung above it. Huiann glanced over her shoulder, caught one glimpse of Liu Dai, dove around the tall Westerner and ducked behind the counter, where she couldn’t be seen from the front of the store.
    Her racing heart sped even faster as she squatted on the floor, ready to leap up and run again if he betrayed her.
    She listened to Liu Dai speak in English to the man.
    The shopkeeper answered briefly. Her arms wrapped around her knees and she dug her fingers into her forearms, silently praying to Lord Buddha, all her ancestors and especially Grandmother Mei. You led me here. I trust your guidance. Continue to protect me.
    Liu Dai said a few more words before his footsteps headed toward the door. The bell rang as he left the store and the door closed behind him. There was a moment of silence before the American’s boots tapped across the wide wooden boards, the floor creaking beneath his weight. He came around the edge of the counter.
    Huiann looked up, so high up, to meet his gaze. He was a giant, frightening in his sheer size, but a small smile curved his lips as he offered his hand to her for the second time. He spoke in that strange, flat 50
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    language but she could tell he asked a question from the lift of his eyebrows.
    Huiann took her arms from around her legs and reached up to him. His big hand engulfed hers and she felt the strength in it as he pulled her to her feet. Even standing upright she had to tip her head back to see his face.
    She remembered a childhood story of a giant who terrorized a village. The people feared him and offered sacrifices to appease him. But in the end of the story it turned out that the giant wasn’t the one who’d been ruining their crops or stealing their cattle and children.
    In the end, he saved the village from a bandit tribe, sacrificing his life for the people. So a giant could be a hero.
    Huiann’s hand grew warm in the storekeeper’s grip.
    She curved her lips to match his—her first smile since she’d reached Xie Fuhua’s house.

    Chapter Four
    Alan felt as if he were in a dream. Not one of his recurring nightmares but a skewed, impossible version of a normal day in the store. He couldn’t believe this woman standing in front of him was the same beautiful creature he’d seen on the dock, the one who’d made his heart beat faster.
    Even though she smiled at him, her eyes were worried. He wanted to reassure her that he’d never turn her over to the men who were looking for her. The one who’d come into the store had explained she was a bride on her way to her wedding. The foolish girl had become frightened at the prospect and run away. Her fiancé, the man’s boss, would pay handsomely for her return.
    “Sorry. No girl came in here. Hope you find her.” There was no doubt in his mind that the woman was running from something much worse than a wedding.
    After watching through the window until the man entered the next shop, Alan had locked the door and flipped the sign to Closed before going to the woman cowering beneath the counter.
    She appeared so small, like a child huddling on the floor, but when she looked up at him, her face was a woman’s. How frightened she must be, here in a world where nothing was familiar and those who should’ve been her protectors had her running for her life. The desire to defend and aid her surged through him with powerful intensity. As a boy, he’d read Knights of the 52
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    Round Table stories and played at being a valiant knight. Clearly some part of him hadn’t left that