Page 67 of Ruthless Touch

Sent:[Timestamp—Yesterday, 6:47 PM]

Body:

This is your third unapproved disappearance in under eighteen months, and it will be your last if I don’t hear from you within the next twenty-four hours.

You’ve gone dark mid-assignment, abandoned protocol, ignored numerous encrypted check-ins, and have now officially triggered a level-red internal review. I’ve rerouted your pending contracts and frozen your payment pipeline until further notice.

You don’t get to vanish, Quinn. Not on my watch. Not after everything we’ve invested in you. I don’t care what ghost you’re chasing, what closure you think you need, or who you’ve spread your legs for this time.

Your father earned his respect. You’re burning yours.

Final warning. Respond. Now.

— C.

Director Camille Hart

Vanguard Agency – Executive Clearance Only

A huff of dark, disbelieving laughter leaves me by the time I reach the last line. She’s frozen my contracts and essentially warned I’m about to be released from the agency unless I check in within the next few hours.

…that means I’m off the Cheongryong operation.

…as if she gets to decide.

I snap shut my MacBook and resist the urge to call her up and tell her to go fuck herself.

She—nor anybody else—doesn’t get to tell me how I carry out my revenge. I’m taking out the Blue Dragon Syndicate with or without Director Hart and Vanguard’s permission.

I’ll do as I please, and nobody can stop me.

For all my stubborn defiance, I end up dozing off. It’s no surprise considering I was up all night and then had to make the long trip back to Itaewon after I left Gun’s apartment in Mullae-dong.

I don’t wake ’til hours later when my laptop is chiming with a video call notification. I come to with a start, jerking out of my collapsed position on the bed.

If it were anybody else, I’d ignore the call and go back to my impromptu nap. But Uncle Jerald’s name is on my screen, and he’s the only person alive I truly trust.

“Hey, baby girl,” he says, spitting some sunflower seeds into a plastic cup. Judging by his straw Panama hat and the leafy greens behind him, I’d guess he’s still in Thailand. “What’s this I hear about you going AWOL?”

I scowl. “I’m guessing Hart reached out to you a thousand times too?”

There goes my alibi.

“She sure did. She damn near chewed my ass out. Thought I was the one in trouble for a second.”

“That tracks.”

“So?” he prompts, pouring more sunflower seeds into his mouth from the bag. He sucks on them for a couple seconds and then repeats his routine, spitting those out for new ones. “What’s the rub, baby girl? What’s been going on that you went off-the-grid for a whole week?”

A deep sigh leaves me, making my shoulders sag. “You don’t even want to know, Unc.”

“Bet I can guess—those Blue Dragon bastards involved? Did they give you some trouble?”

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“And now Hart’s pulling you off.”

“Maybe it’s the best call,” I say. “I’ve been letting this whole thing dictate my life. I could’ve died the other day if the wrong syndicate member got their hands on me.”