Black Karma Read Online Free PDF Page A

employed as her governess after Bai’s parents had been vaporized in a car bomb. She’d been with Bai since childhood. What complicated matters was that Elizabeth was also Jason’s mother and, for all intents and purposes, Bai’s mother-in-law, even though she and Jason never actually got around to getting married—a little fact that hadn’t escaped anyone’s notice.
    â€œTruthfully, I’m not really all that confident I can pull it off. Sooner or later she always finds me out. Look at me: I’m over thirty and still afraid to tell my mother I’m seeing a boy she doesn’t approve of, even though that boy happens to be her own son. How messed up is that?”
    â€œShe worries about you. We all do.”
    She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll tell Jason what’s going on. You do your best to distract the girls. I’ll try to get home early.”
    He smiled again. “I love your optimism, even if it is delusional.”
    â€œI swear,” she said, walking backward toward the open elevator, “this time I’m not going to end up in bed with him. This is just dinner,” she vowed as the doors closed.
    She pushed the button for the second-floor gym to check on her girls and waited while the elevator smoothly rose. The doors opened to the sound of blaring music. The girls, who were supposed to be practicing their martial arts, remained oblivious to her presence. They danced in front of a mirrored wall, shaking their booties to Beyoncé’s demand to “put a ring on it.”
    Jia, the oldest at fifteen, didn’t show any visible scars from the severe beating she’d received after being sold into the sex trade. She’d made a miraculous physical recovery. The emotional scars were proving more difficult to heal. Bai hoped that time and ongoing therapy would eventually mend the psychological damage. Jia remained more fragile than she appeared.
    Bai’s daughter Dan, thirteen, had other issues. A brilliant loner, she verged on being a recluse. She took after her mother, demonstrating a tendency to be moody. Studying college course material and attending special classes for the gifted further alienated her from children her own age. The child’s brilliance and preternatural maturity worried Bai. She feared her daughter might someday withdraw into her shell like a turtle and never come out.
    Dan had bonded with Jia while helping to nurse her back to health, the two becoming as close as sisters. Dan taught Jia how to fight to make her strong enough to beat off any attacker. Jia, on the other hand, seemed determined to teach Dan how to dance and talk to boys. Their bond made them each stronger.
    Unwilling to barge in on the dance session, Bai pushed the button for 3. When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, she stepped onto a blue granite floor to be greeted by a coat of red-lacquer Chinese armor dating from the eighteenth century. A remnant of her grandfather’s collection, the armor stood guard in her foyer just as it had in his home. She’d donated most of his collection to the Asian Art Museum shortly after his death, retaining only a few pieces for sentimental reasons.
    Familiar sounds and smells wafted from the kitchen. Pans rattled as Elizabeth prepared dinner. The aroma of garlic and roasting meat enticed Bai. She followed the scent like a fish following a shiny lure. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, she watched as Elizabeth bustled.
    Elizabeth stood five-foot-nothing with delicate features, graceful limbs, and a tiny waist. Straight black hair, cut in a bob, framed a heart-shaped face. Her eyes were large and brown; her nose straight and petite. Full lips formed a perfect smile. She turned to see Bai. “You’re home.”
    â€œYes. But I have a dinner engagement at five with a client, so I won’t be here for dinner.”
    â€œAnybody I know?”
    Bai avoided the