Page 48 of Ruthless Touch

But then guilt unloads on me like an avalanche I’m too slow to outrun. This man saved my life. He killed one of his syndicate’s soldiers because he had hurt me. He pulled me out of that warehouse when he could have left me to die, and he brought me here so he could tend to my wounds.

You’d think he actually cared about me with all the effort he’s put in. If I were naive and foolish, I’d certainly think so.

Still… theleastI can do is let him live to see another day.

We’ll resume our feud another time, when the playing field is level and we’re both armed with more than borrowed clothes and lingering obligation.

I reach the door and wrap my fingers around the doorknob’s cool metal. I can already taste freedom on my tongue as I begin to turn it.

“Going somewhere?” Gun asks suddenly.

I whip around to find him sitting up on the couch, alert and focused. He’s not drowsy or sluggish at all, which tells me all I need to know.

“You were faking,” I accuse, eyes narrowing.

He laughs, the sound rich and taunting. “I heard the bedroom door creak and decided to test you. Thought it’d be fun to see how far you’d get before making your grand escape.”

Anger flares hot and bright as I grab the doorknob with both hands and wrench at it desperately.

It doesn’t twist or budge in the slightest.

Gun comes up behind me, looming like a shadow—tall, warm, impossibly close—and his larger hand covers mine on the metal.

The contact sends an unwelcome frisson of heat racing up my arm. My pulse quickens in response despite how irritated it makes me.

“You won’t be able to leave. The door locks from the outside as well as inside. You need a key... which only I have.” He leans even closer, his breath tickling the hair at my nape. “Face it, Goyangi-ne. You’re stuck with me. Now go back to bed. It’s barely light out.”

I duck out from under his overwhelming presence, putting several feet between us.

“If you want to turn me in to your overlords, then go ahead and do it already. I’d rather that than this fake recovery hospitality bullshit.”

“Who said I’m turning you in?” Gun asks, casually stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I haven’t decided what to do with you yet. And as you know, I’m my own person.”

My gaze drops to the vivid blue dragon tattoo that winds around his forearm, its scales catching the morning light. “That ink on your arm says differently.”

“So you have some personal vendetta against the Cheongryong. Is that it? That’s why you want us dead?”

“Mind your business,” I snap, but he’s already moving closer, that predatory grin spreading across his face.

“You’ll simply have to get your revenge another time,” he says with infuriating calm. “But for now—atminimumwhile you heal—we’re stuck with each other.”

“You don’t get to say what I do.”

“But I do so long as you’re in my custody, Goyangi. How about I give you the rundown of your temporary prison.” He gestures toward the kitchen with theatrical grandeur. “Cabinets and fridge are fully stocked—I keep it that way for the ladies. Midnight cravings, you know?”

“Ugh,” I gag out loud with a face of disgust.

He merely grins wider, enjoying our contentious exchange. “You’re free to roam the apartment, watch TV, make yourself at home. But I can’t let you leave or use any electronic devices. For obvious reasons.”

“I want my phone.”

“Locked away for safekeeping.” He’s closed in on me again, reaching out brazenly so he can touch my face. His fingertips graze my bruised cheek, the stroke quick and featherlight.

I have to fight not to flinch away from the unwanted contact. Despite how my pulse instantly responds, beating faster.

“I can’t wait until that pretty face heals completely,” he says. “Damn that bastard for marking it up like he did.”

“I take it that’s why you never struck me?” I ask.