Page 73 of Ruthless Touch

He’s not letting me leave.

I spin around to face him, for the first time in years, emotion swelling up inside me like a dam about to burst. My chest heaves with desperate breaths as everything I’ve kept buried threatens to spill out in a torrent of pain and fury.

In a distant blur of memories that have been eating me alive since I was old enough to understand what loss really means.

“You want to know what this is all about, Rhee?” I cry out, my voice trembling. “You want to know why?”

The words hang in the air for a heartbeat before I finally release them into the world, each syllable heavier than the last.

“Your father murdered mine.”

SIXTEEN

GUN

I’ve hearda lot of crazy shit in my life. This one? It might just take the cake.

It takes a couple seconds for the shock to wear off and for me to even react to the bombshell Elise has just dropped.

What do you say when someone accuses your father of murder? And not just of anyone—her father.

It’s not like my father has clean hands. He’s a Four Horn Lieutenant in the Cheongryong syndicate. He didn’t rise up the ranks for his kumbaya persona. But I’ve never heard of any conflict he might’ve had with an American man by the last name of Quinn.

I shake my head, pressing the soaked paper towels to my shoulder. “That’s one hell of an accusation to drop on a man who just took a bullet for you, Goyangi. You know, most women just say thank you when I save their lives.”

Elise’s dark-eyed glare hardens. “This is the furthest thing from a joke, Rhee. Your father killed mine, and I won’t rest until he and the rest of your gang go down. Believe it. Don’t believe it. I don’t give a fuck.”

“But why?” I probe. “And when? And who was your father?”

“Jamie Quinn. Ring any bells?”

…actually no.

I’ve never heard my father mention a Jamie Quinn, and I’ve never known of the Cheongryong of targeting Americans.

When I told Father that Black Silk was a woman, I gave him the name Jamie, Elise’s alias. It was all I could bring myself to say, even after she had stormed out of my apartment. But he acted like the name meant nothing to him.

Now Elise is saying her alias name is her father’s name? The same man she believes Father killed?

“Are you sure it was the Blue Dragon? There’s the Dokkaebi Pa that has a presence in Seoul—and if he was in other cities, then it could’ve been one of the other strongholds like the Baekho or Jujakhoe?—”

“It was the Cheongryong!” she snaps, teeth gritted. “I know exactly who did it, Rhee. And I know your father was doing business with mine and decided to betray him.”

“My father isn’t some saint. But usually when things go bad it’s for a reason. He’s not one to go back on deals?—”

“I can’t believe this. You badger me into telling you, and then you tell me I’m wrong. I’ve heard enough. I don’t care what you have to say in defense of your father. It’s not going to stop me from doing what I have to do.”

She turns to open the bathroom door. I rush to stop her, holding down the door to keep it from opening.

“Will you just calm the hell down? I’m not saying you’re wrong,” I say. “I’m saying maybe there’s another explan?—”

I drop off as my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. It chimes a second later to signal I’ve received a voice message. Then it’s buzzing again as another call comes through.

Both me and Elise go still, staring at my pocket. I fish it out with my good arm and check the Caller ID to see it’s Lieutenant Ko.

I’ve received several texts too—group messages alerting other syndicate members to the Black Silk sighting.

Black Silk sighted at Noir Norae