Jade Tiger Read Online Free Page A

study in Thailand. It didn't matter. All that mattered was the small jade crane nestled between two stacks of books on the shelf in the background.
    The desk was Ian's. The shelves were Ian's.
    Shan raised her eyes from the photo slowly, almost too terrified to look at the shelves beyond.
    And there it was.
    Shan squeezed her eyes shut. Her pulse thudded in her throat. Every ache, every shred of fatigue, fled from her body. She stepped around the desk and walked to the crane.
    It stood there in the shadow of the shelf, dull green and perfectly still. Just five inches high, it had simply-carved wings that stretched out and up on both sides. Shan ran a finger over the tip of its left wing, along the slender groove where her tiger would slide into place. The missing leopard statue would slip onto the right wing, and the circular dragon would sit in the center, attached to the crane's head and the cats' tails. The sinuous snake would slide along the top. Together, the five animals would form the Jade Circle.
    Shan lifted the crane from its dusty home and cleaned it with her shirtsleeve. In her hands, the crane radiated power. Unlike her tiger, stashed safely back in Los Angeles, the crane's power granted grace and balance, something sorely lacking in Shan's life. How different would she be if her mother had entrusted her with this statue instead of the tiger for all these years? Perhaps she'd be someone's lover, able to balance a man and a career and even college. Instead, she'd gone from dojo to dojang to kwoon since high school--studying with the best masters during the day and scouring the news and the Internet at night in search of the missing animals. The disparity made her want to laugh.
    Ian !
    He was downstairs on the porch, waiting for Shan to let him in. She stared at the statue in her hands, so heavy and warm, so full of energy. She could just leave now, back out the window and to her car. Ian didn't know her last name and would have no way of finding her. He'd tell the police about her, yes, and they'd find her blood at the university building. But it wasn't enough to track her. Even if she had to lay low for a while, the crane would be hers.
    But Ian had a concussion. Ian had stabbed her enemy. Ian had sung and made jokes and trusted her to take care of him. He could have stayed at the school, waited for an ambulance, and kept his life simple. Instead, he'd taken a chance.
    Shan took a deep breath and carefully placed the statue back on the shelf. She knew where it was now. She could always come back up here and get it, regardless of what happened with Ian. No way, no how, was she leaving this house without it.
    Something thunked against her calf. Shan looked down, and the fluffy cat looked back up at her, eyes bright and whiskers wide.
    "Come on, mao , let's go rescue your master."
    She held the office door open, and the cat trotted out. Shan looked at the statue one last time, then closed the door behind her.
    Ian had fallen asleep on the front stoop. Angles still dominated his face, but much of the boyishness was there, too. He looked...cute. Shan couldn't help but smile.
    "Come on, sleepyhead," she said, and touched his shoulder.
    "Mmm. Rachel?"
    "Nope. Care to try again?"
    Ian opened his eyes. "Shan. Sorry." He shifted his weight and started to stand. "Did I mention I have a head wound?"
    "I believe it's come up a few times, yes." Shan helped him to his feet. "Doesn't sound like your love life is that boring, after all."
    "What?"
    "Rachel." They stumbled inside. Shan kicked the door closed with her foot.
    "Ancient history," Ian said. "Almost literally. We met on a dig."
    "Please don't say, 'And you really dug each other.' I'll have to kill myself." Shan deposited Ian on the couch and pulled out the magazine article again. "Not that I don't want to hear about your past loves, which I don't," she grinned, "but I need you to look at this." She handed him the article. All she really wanted was the crane, but if this