Page 33 of Ruthless Touch

But he’s nowhere to be found.

“Let’s head out,” KD says. “Lieutenant Ko should be arriving at his gambling tournament soon.”

We move through the narrow streets toward the lounge, the city pulsing around us with its usual nocturnal energy. Neon signs flicker overhead in bright yellows, blues, and purples, casting fractured rainbows across the puddles on the ground. Bass-heavy music fills the air from the many clubs and bars in the area.

A block away from our target, KD and I pause under the shadow of a fire escape, the metal grating above us dripping condensation from the earlier rain. He checks his watch, then mine, synchronizing our movements down to the nanosecond. An art we’ve perfected over years of working together.

“Back entrance in five,” he murmurs, barely audible over the sounds of laughter and conversation drifting from the main street. “You still good with the roof?”

I nod, pulling the compact grappling hook from the inside pocket of my slim-fit black cargo pants. “Ko should be hitting the private rooms within fifteen minutes. I’ll be in position.”

KD melts into the dark background of the alley without another word. If I didn’t know to listen to the careful pad of his footsteps dying away, I’d never know he was in the alley with me.

I pause long enough to steady my breathing, centering myself and getting into the right mindset for what I have to do.

When you go on missions like these, you have to turn emotion off. All thoughts about anything other than the task at hand have to be shut out.

You effectively become a machine with one task and one task alone to accomplish.

I’ve mastered it to the point sometimes I blackout during these moments. There have been kills I barely remember.

They call me Black Silk for a reason—I’m smooth and effective. Sometimes to a scary degree.

I’ve never failed before, and I won’t start now that I’m finally working the operation targeting the same people who killed Dad.

There will be no survivors once I’m through.

That includes Rhee Gun-woo.

I switch on my task-only assassin mode and aim the hook toward the building’s rooftop. The hook catches on the edge, digging deep into the concrete.

My ascent is swift and silent, my body moving with the fluid grace of someone who’s done this countless times before.

The city spreads out below me as I climb—a glittering tapestry of lights and movement. People living their lives completely unaware that death is scaling the walls just above their heads.

They’ll never know how close they were to an assassin about to make a kill shot.

Once I climb onto the rooftop, I become nothing more than a shadow moving in the dark night. My steps are quick but careful, avoiding the loose gravel that could give me away.

The skylight glows with warm amber light from below. I slide to my knees to sneak a glance through the reinforced glass.

Lieutenant Ko Dong-kyu is exactly where our intelligence said he’d be—leaning against the bar with a tumbler in his hand, surrounded by other men in expensive suits who have no idea they’re drinking with a dead man.

I pull back before anyone can spot my silhouette, my pulse steady and controlled despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

This should be easy. Light work that’ll take us two minutes at most.

The door that leads into the building sits on the far side of the roof. I pad toward it with more light steps, already visualizing the path I’ll take once I’m inside.

But as my hand reaches for the door handle, someone interrupts the silence on the rooftop. The voice behind me comes out of nowhere but is immediately familiar.

“Another busy night?” Gun asks calmly.

I whip around to find myself face-to-face with him and his cocky fucking smirk. Loathing twists my features, my glare narrow-eyed and deadly.

“So youwerefollowing me,” I hiss through clenched teeth.

“Of course I was, Goyangi-ne. Didn’t think I’d let you disappear on me twice, did you?”