Page 10 of Doubts of the Egoist (Egoist #3)

Kuon lowered his chin defiantly. His eyes couldn’t be seen behind the dark glasses, but his wide posture suggested Yugo’s anger had already spread to him. “What’s gotten into you? That was unnecessarily rude.”

“I said, get in.”

Fists clenched, Kuon glanced over his shoulder, and Yugo automatically traced the direction of his gaze. Wringing her fingers, Kristina watched them with alert eyes. The little girl sobbed by her side, smearing tears with her tiny fists.

Sensing Kuon’s hesitation, he said, “You’re coming with me one way or another, so don’t make a scene; that will only scare them. Now, be good, smile, wave, and get in.”

“God, I hate you right now,” Kuon growled and sighed. “I’m okay. I’ll call you later” he said to Kristina, and got into the car.

The buildings of various heights, ages, and cultural significance blurred outside the window.

They once would have distracted Kuon, but now the former detective barely noticed them.

Kristina’s reaction, her body language, screamed intense anxiety and made him wonder what Yugo had done to instill such palpable fear.

Not trusting the Black Duke to give an honest answer, he plucked his cell phone out and started texting Kristina.

The letters blurred, leaving him hoping that his message was legible enough.

Engrossed in the process, he didn’t instantly realize that a hand had entered his field of vision and snatched the device out of his grasp.

He blinked as the window on Yugo’s side lowered, and his phone somersaulted into the air.

Jaw dropped, he turned around to watch the black asphalt road stretch behind the car. He heard the clatter of his phone falling apart but couldn’t see any parts flying. “That’s enough. Stop the car. Right now!”

Instead of an apology, Yugo deadpanned, “I’m just following the doctor’s orders. No phones, TV, or computers until your eyes are healed enough.”

“Seriously, what’s going on?” Kuon snapped. “First, you interrupt my conversation, and now this? Who do you think you are?”

“Your lover. Anyway, why does it bother you? You won’t see them again, so there’s no reason to keep in touch.”

“Who says I won’t? I’ll see whoever I want, and I don’t need your permission to do so,” he said, his fists clenched, eager to punch Yugo’s chiseled jaw.

The Black Duke shrugged. “If you don’t want them to get hurt, you’ll listen to what I say.”

Kuon blinked. “Did you threaten them?”

“Pfft. Why would I?”

“I don’t believe you. Stop the car. I’ll call and ask, and for this, I need my SIM card.” When Yugo ignored him, he grabbed his arm. “I said, stop the damn car.”

“I can’t. It’s a highway.” Yugo shrugged his hand off, eyes on the road.

Burning with low blue flames, Kuon hissed, “Fine, then tell me, how did you two meet?”

“I dropped by her place.” Yugo’s expression didn’t change, as if he was talking about something trivial.

“What for?” When Yugo didn’t reply, he lowered his voice. “Why did you visit them?”

Yugo’s knuckles whitened as his grip on the wheel tightened. “There is nothing to tell. I didn’t threaten them. I just wanted to know what kind of person she is…”

“Why?” Kuon asked before he could stop himself, feeling dumb. The discomfort on the Black Duke’s face was so obvious that an answer was no longer necessary.

Yugo’s cheek twitched. “Because you’re interested in her.”

Kuon looked back at the road, shuffling the received information around in his head. “Did you throw my phone away because you’re jealous? What are you, five? We were talking, nothing more.”

Yugo took a steep turn as he left the highway and headed down a country road. Kuon’s shoulder bumped against the door, and his head bobbed, making him cringe.

“For what purpose? I threw away your phone because you don’t need it.

You can’t have friends while you’re with me; she doesn’t want your friendship anyway.

She wants your cock, but it’s mine, and so are your eyes and everything else.

I don’t share. Anyway, if you know what’s best for her, forget about her. ”

“What is it if not a threat?” Kuon fixed the man with an icy stare. Drums of rage pounded in his head, growing louder with each word.

Yugo wavered but condescended with an explanation.

“I did you a favor. Now you don’t have to reject her, waste your energy on this pretense of friendship, or even explain why you don’t take her calls.

Or maybe you wanted to play house with her and her daughter?

Did you really think I’d let you see her, knowing she has feelings for you? ”

“I had other contacts on my phone.”

“What contacts? Your military ‘friend’ who looks at you like a dog at a bone? Or maybe your former police colleagues?” Yugo hissed. His cell phone rang. With a twitchy hand, he reached for it and rejected the call without looking.

A tiny muscle beneath Kuon’s eye twitched. “Stop the damn car.”

Yugo grimaced and gently tapped the brakes, bringing the car to a halt midroad.

Cold, gray eyes pierced his soul as Yugo spoke with blood-chilling seriousness.

“Very soon, the rumor will spread that you’re back with me.

After what happened two years ago, people will assume you are my weakness.

Some will want to use you to get to me. It’s good you don’t have a family, because it’s better if you don’t have anyone important at all.

If you wish that woman and kid well, forget them.

You can’t give them anything anyway. I won’t allow it. ”

Kuon opened his mouth to retort but bit his lip, unable to prove otherwise.

More than two years had passed; things could have changed drastically.

He didn’t even know if the Three Kings still maintained the armed neutrality among themselves.

The silence from Gray’s side didn’t bother him, but he knew that pieces of information might have reached his adopted brother by now.

If Yugo was right, ugly gossip would soon follow, and then…

He struggled to predict Gray’s reaction.

Would he use me to get to Yugo? He grimaced at the obvious answer, hating that what Yugo said made sense. Even if he enjoyed Kristina’s company, he couldn’t offer her anything, and by accepting her calls and invitations, he would give her false hopes.

Maybe there’s no reason for us to keep in touch, but should he really act this way?

He looked to his left. Yugo sat straight, eyes dark with poorly concealed tension, as if anticipating a tantrum.

The oval black stone on his ring glinted in the bright midday light.

His long, beautiful fingers nervously kneaded the steering wheel, betraying his emotional turmoil.

Just like that, watching a muscle twitch on Yugo’s neck, he conceded, nodded, and said, “I understand, but next time, talk to me before you throw my things out. Or better yet, don’t throw anything at all. It pisses me off.”

Yugo’s shoulders relaxed, and he wordlessly put the car back into gear, bringing them closer to the place Kuon hadn’t seen in years.

Standing in the middle of Yugo’s bedroom, with his heart drumming in his throat, Kuon snorted, realizing how insanely accurate and detailed his mental projections had been.

The heavy bronze chandelier still hung from the ceiling, adorned with crystal drops.

Heavy curtains draped the wide window, but unruly sunbeams still crept into the room to catch the crystal ashtray on a small coffee table next to the beige ostrich-skin chair.

The grotesque, towering mirrors reflected a massive canopy bed.

Drifting around the room, absorbing the painfully familiar atmosphere, he felt wired.

Earlier that morning, the bedroom, though smelling like Yugo, was just one of many faceless rooms, now, his heart raced on high alert as if he’d entered a demon’s den.

Even the wolf pelt watched him with hellish flames dancing in its glass eyes.

He couldn’t help thinking that the place he had once deemed a point of no return had ended up being the bottleneck of an infinity symbol, where he would always reappear no matter how fast he ran.

To free himself from this daunting notion, he looked around. The master bedroom seemed frozen in time, and his gaze kept slipping over objects, unable to find anything new, anything to symbolize change.

He turned to the durable oak bed, expecting to find it as always, bound with chains and straps, but saw no metal.

Suspecting his vision wasn’t strong enough to distinguish fine details, he approached it and ran his palm over the warm carved wood.

The anchor holes gaped in the pillars, but the chains were gone.

Stripped of its elaborate fittings, the bed looked naked and pitiful.

Hmm, something did change.

The feeling of being trapped on a hamster wheel evaporated just in time as the door creaked open and warm arms wrapped around his chest. A sharp chin dug into his shoulder, and tobacco-laden words warmed his ear. “Still angry?”

“I am,” Kuon lied because a stubborn part of him hated the idea of Yugo manipulating him into another make-up sex session by exploiting his touch starvation. He shrugged in a half-hearted attempt to break free, still staring at the bed. I can’t believe Yugo listened to my request…

“Don’t be. I’ll buy you a new phone.” With long, beautiful fingers, Yugo removed Kuon’s sunglasses and tossed them onto the bed. His lips glided down the side of Kuon’s face as his hands wandered over his abdomen and snuck under his T-shirt.

“With just your number in it? No, thank you,” Kuon huffed but unconsciously craned his neck as Yugo sucked on the tender spot below his earlobe.

“Then what should I do to improve your mood?”

Kuon hummed, mentally coming up with some ideas.

He was about to turn around to look his lover in the eye when a knock sounded at the door.

He instinctively looked toward the sound.

A man sporting a messy mop of yellow hair burst in without an invitation.

Head tilted to the side, the intruder paused to survey his surroundings.

“Are you lost?” Yugo’s chest tensed against Kuon’s back. “Get out! Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I see that. Hey, Puppy.” The man flashed a creepy, distorted smile that made Kuon’s skin crawl. “Sorry to interrupt your fun time. Nice hickeys, by the way.”

With two fingers, the stranger tapped the side of his neck, underscoring the fact that Kuon remained locked in Yugo’s embrace, whose cold hands still groped his abdomen. Those possessive arms unclenched reluctantly as Yugo pulled away, face stiffened with discomfort and growing embarrassment.

Dripping with annoyance, Yugo stomped to the door. “Have you gotten bored with life and started looking for trouble?”

“Just kidding. Chill!” The stranger raised his palms in the air and retreated a step, grinning. He tried to appear harmless and friendly, an air of power and danger still surrounded him.

Kuon squinted. For someone to barge into the master bedroom like that, he had to be very close to Yugo.

Still, his face was unfamiliar, or maybe his unstable vision made it impossible to recognize him.

He couldn’t even tell how old the man was as he appeared to be just a little more detailed than a deformed, colorful blob.

The distressed maroon T-shirt, worn-out jeans ripped at the thighs, and an air of casual familiarity suggested the intruder was on a list of friends and family rather than a business associate.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Yugo asked with iron severity in his usually soft baritone.

Half a head taller, he towered over the intruder yet seemed to inspire no fear.

The blond man looked up at Yugo with a grin and shimmering audacity in the…

blue eyes? Kuon wasn’t sure. He wanted to approach this person and take a closer look, but couldn’t think of a good excuse to do so.

“I didn’t invite you here today, and certainly not to my bedroom.” Yugo blocked the man’s view with his back, causing Kuon to move reflexively to the left.

“Don’t fret about it. I invited myself. I come and go as I please, remember? Anyway, we need to talk. Now.” When the Black Duke didn’t move, the man looked over Yugo’s shoulder at Kuon. “Puppy, do you mind giving us some—”

“Be gone,” Yugo hissed, “unless you want me to help you find the door.”

Kuon frowned. He’d never seen this man before, but the stranger obviously knew him. The degrading nickname “Puppy” triggered his murderous instincts, but he tried to keep his cool to glean information.

“Well, really, I wouldn’t be here at all if you’d returned my calls. It’s not like I wanted to drive two hours to look into your pretty eyes,” the man retorted in a lazy, nasal slur.

The only reaction Yugo allowed himself was a curt jerk of his square chin at the door. Kuon’s gaze flicked between the two. He wanted to ask what was going on, but the impenetrable mask on Yugo’s face convinced him otherwise.

“So, are we going to your office or do you have no more secrets from Puppy?”

“You have five minutes.” Yugo shouldered the blond man on his way out of the room.

The man winked. “Bye-bye, Puppy. It was a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope we’ll talk again soon.”

“Tobias!” Yugo turned in the hallway and pierced the blond man with a lethal glare. Tobias’ grin widened as he waved and followed Yugo out.

The door slammed shut, leaving Kuon alone with a stinging swarm of questions.

Tobias… He remembered the faceless dossier on one of Yugo’s business partners.

He was an arms dealer, a well-known black-market figure but a media ghost. Always wearing a baseball cap or a hoodie, he skillfully avoided cameras, and for some reason, no one had ever given a clear description of him. Whether he was handsome or ugly depended on the witness.

Wanting to know more, he stole to the door and put his hand on the bronze handle, when a bolt of realization struck him.

What the hell am I doing?

His hand fell to his side as he stared at the smooth wooden door. His professional curiosity, nurtured by years of service, urged him to follow the men. However, his rational mind demanded otherwise.

“I’m not a cop anymore. Whatever Yugo does has nothing to do with me,” he repeated the words like a mantra as he turned away from the entrance. To confirm his decision with physical action, he pressed his back to the door and closed his eyes.