Page 99 of Ruin Me With Lies

They amble toward their luxury town car idling at the curb.All three men stop outside the vehicle, no one getting in.Just waiting.

That’s…

Noticing something off about the alignment of the car, I walk up beside them.“Is everything alright?Is this your vehicle?”

“Ah, yes,” one of the brothers replies with a tipsy chuckle.“Our driver must have fallen asleep.Though that would be very unlike him…”

Kim Hwan silently pulls out his phone.“Let me call him.He might have stepped away for a little.It is Vegas, after all.”

“The door might be open,” the other brother says, moving toward the passenger side.“I will just wait inside while you find him.”

Something clicks.Instinct.Alignment.Detail.

I grab his wrist before his fingers reach the handle.“Don’t.”

All three men swing their attention to me, confused.

“The stability is off.”I point to the underside of the vehicle.“I think…there’s a trembler switch.”

“A what?”the brothers ask in unison.

The uncle eyes me with unhidden distrust.“What does that mean?”

“It means your car is rigged to explode.”

“Holy shit!”the brothers exclaim, again in unison.

“Raya,” Stefano snaps, striding over, irritation etched into every line of his face.“What the hell are you on about?”

I turn to face him.“Have your men sweep every vehicle, rooftop, and alley in a five-block radius.Pyros like to stick around to watch their work.Whoever planted this is still close.”

His jaw ticks hard enough to cut glass.“I don’t take orders from you.”

“Then take it as a suggestion from yourtrusted adviser.”My patience is thinning.“These are your potential business partners.Their car is set to blow.Do you really want that happening onyourturf without knowing the who and the why?”

He stares at me, eyes dark and murderous, and for a moment I think he’ll drag me away by my hair and smash my face into the pavement.But then he lifts his phone to his ear and starts barking orders in rapid, clipped Italian.

I turn back to Kim Hwan.“Any luck reaching your driver?”

His lips press into a thin line as he slowly shakes his head, the distrust and displeasure in his eyes deepening.

“I-I don’t understand,” one of the brothers says.“Why would someone target our car?”

“We’ll get answers soon,” I assure him.“Our team moves fast in situations like this.”

“This is what happens when you do business withthugs,” Kim Hwan growls to his nephews in Korean.“I warned your father not to move forward with this deal.”

“Uncle, don’t jump to conclusions,” one brother replies, remaining in their tongue.“Father may have his own strategy playing the long game with these guys, but we all know we need this partnership to outpace the Kangs.What if the Parks are behind this?They have been gunning for us ever since that mess with Hyunwoo.Maybe they caught wind of the deal.”

“You fools!”Kim Hwan snaps.“This is a setup.This is how criminals like them operate.Underhanded swines.”He spits at the ground, glaring.“This ego-bloated filth and his whore are playing us.You believe this gluttonous wench can just look at a car and—arrrrghnt!”

I whip around at the guttural grunt that tears from Kim Hwan’s throat.Stefano’s fingers are wrapped tightly around Kim Hwan’s neck, forcing him to his knees.Kim Hwan’s eyes bulge as he fights to breathe, slapping at Stefano’s hand, but Stefano’s grip is strong as he chokes the life out of him.

Voice calm, yet cold as steel, Stefano asks, “Should I cut your tongue out for disrespecting my partner?”

Kim Hwan’s eyes widen even more now.“W-what—?How d-d-do y-you—?”

“Yeah,” Stefano says, deadly cool.“I understood every word.That’show I manipulate.But pulling a bomb stunt on prospective business partners?Not really in my playbook.What the fuck could I possibly gain from that?”