Page 26 of Ruthless Touch

He laughs. “You forget I lived in the ROK for years way back when? I always have my ear to the streets. Even now. Plus, you know me and Hart know each other.”

“So word’s spread about last night. Great.”

“Baby girl, you had no business trying what you did and you know it.”

I plop down on the edge of my bed, the bruise in my side aching more than ever. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I’d fractured a rib.

“I had to get one of them, Unc—and Rhee Gun-woo’s reputation makes him an easy target. The guy is always deep in the nightlife scene.”

“And what have I told you, baby girl? An easy target is the most dangerous. You let your guard down and start getting sloppy. Which is what happened last night,” he lectures. “Do you think your father ever got so careless?”

“No…”

Though it’s not as if me and Dad were in the same trade. Dad lived an honorable life serving in the U.S. military for many years, but after a service-related injury forced him to medically retire, he was never the same.

We had been living in Songtan at the time, about forty minutes outside of Seoul. Mom had wanted to move back to the States so we could start over. But Dad had other ideas. He decided to use his time in the service for his own gain and began working as a weapons dealer for locals in the area interested in that kind of thing.

Namely the mafia syndicates in the area.

Uncle Jerald had been his partner for many years until the business relationship they had with the Cheongryong soured and they betrayed him.

They killed him in cold blood.

Dad had made his mistakes. He had lived a life of crime in his last years when I was still just a small girl.

But he didn’t deserve what happened to him. He didn’t deserve to be stabbed in the back by the Cheongryong after they used him for their benefit.

And that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. I’m seeking an eye for an eye.

“You have to be careful about your next attempt,” Uncle Jerald goes on. “You should be with KD prepping.”

“I took the day off.”

“Baby girl, now is not the time for relaxing.”

“Things got a little… rough between me and Rhee last night. Priscilla and KD said?—”

“You know better than to rely on others,” he reminds sagely. “Especially that Priscilla girl, El. You don’t know her from Eve. She could be in line with the Cheongryong. I’ve always found it odd how you said she was so eager to rent you the room.”

I half roll my eyes, the corner of my lip quirking. “Suddenly I’m remembering where I get my paranoia from.”

“You have to be paranoid in the world we live in, baby girl. That’s why it’s best not to let people get too close. You remember what that cost your father? He thought those people were his friends, and what did they do to him?”

My heart aches even more painfully than the bruise in my side.

“I… I know,” I mumble.

“Then shape up. You’ve got this. And keep me posted.”

We hang up not long after, with me feeling worse than when I got home. I take the hot shower I’ve been planning, change into some old, ratty, well-used PJs, then crawl into bed.

Priscilla would be happy to know I’ve even taken some pain meds for my ribs.

A few minutes are all it takes for me to drift off…

…I’m small again, walking beside Dad as the evening sun shines in gold. His massive hand swallows mine up, warm and rough but comforting. I hum alongside him as we walk, unsure where we’re even going.

Yet I feel intrinsically safe at his side.