Page 43 of Shadow Lies

“I ordered something vegetarian just in case, because—well, you know—it seems there’s no meat at the monastery.”

He laughed. “Yeah. I know.”

“But I also ordered a burger and fries in case you wanted that. Apparently, the hotel caters to a lot of Westerners so...”

“Yeah.” He thought about it for barely a second before pulling the lid off the burger he had already discovered and grabbing the plate.

To hell with it. It wasn’t like he was on monastery grounds… or following the rest of the rules. He glanced at Alexis and remembered their time in bed.

Damn, she looked good in sweatpants and a CUNY T-shirt. And dressed like that she looked even younger than her age. He pushed that thought aside

He set the plate on the table and sat in the chair opposite her. The burger was definitely designed to please the hotel’s American guests. It was so large it took two hands to hold it.

Guilt hit him as he thought of his brothers sitting down to a bowl of vegetables in broth. That didn’t stop him from opening his mouth wide—and then wider—to accommodate the burger and bun.

The first bite filled his mouth with hot, flavorful juicy beef. He stifled a groan. He’d missed burgers. He hadn’t realized how much until just now.

Glancing up, he saw Alexis smile as she watched him eat. “Good?”

“Very.” Remembering his manners, he asked, “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I will soon. I’m having more fun watching you.”

He rolled his eyes and groaned. “Please don’t.”

“Sorry. I’ll stop teasing you.” Her fingers began tapping on the keyboard again, proving she was deep down some rabbit hole on the internet.

“What are you working on?” he asked.

“I’m trying to find who could possibly be the puppet master.”

“And? Are you having any luck?” he asked while reaching for a slightly greasy, salty fry. It was like heaven as he chewed.

Alexis wobbled her head. “Maybe? I’m not sure. There’s a lot of crap to cut through. And there’s a whole lot of reputation laundering going on.”

He frowned. “I don’t know what that is.”

“The Chinese government is basically hiring people in the public eye—TikTokers in particular—to post and talk about how great everything is here in China.”

“Ah. So it’s like a public relations campaign.”

She wobbled her head. “Kind of. But instead of buying ads they are buying personalities.”

“Because people trust other people more than they believe advertising.”

“Exactly. It’s why social media influencers work.” She beamed at him. “Not bad for a monk.”

“Not a monk,” he corrected. “But thank you.”

“So anyway, there are a couple of candidates for puppet master. Guys who seem to be there in the background too often to be a coincidence.”

She drew in a breath and stood, moving to the cart and uncovering one plate and then another. She made her choice and moved back to the table to join him.

“The problem is there’s no concrete proof of who it might be. But I did have an idea of how to flush them out.” She grabbed a fry of her own and crunched down on it.

“Have you eaten any local food or have you been surviving on burgers and fries?” he asked, more interested in Alexis than Charley’s assignment that he wasn’t going to take anyway.

Her lips twitched. “Yes, I had local food. I had a lovely vegetarian soup at this monastery nearby.”

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