Page 74 of Ruthless Touch

Currently on the loose

All Cheongryong in the area respond

The voicemail is similar. Ko’s stern voice comes on over the recording, “Yongsa Rhee, report immediately. There’s been a Black Silk sighting. She was spotted with a masked man before they escaped. You and your crew are needed to help scour the area.”

The message beeps in my ear.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.

Elise’s brows draw close. “What is it?”

“It’s Lieutenant Ko. They’re calling for all hands on deck,” I answer, pocketing my phone. “That means they’re not giving up anytime soon. They know you’re in the area. It’s going to take a miracle for us to make it out unseen.”

“Then don’t worry about me. I’ll go by myself. You can return to your precious syndicate and play innocent. Sound like a plan?”

She steps forward to draw the door open again, but I grab her by the wrist. Her gaze snaps to mine, and I glare back at her, no longer entertaining any hostility.

“We’re in this together, feline,” I grit out. “Whether you like it or not, we got into this situation together so that’s how it goes from here on out. We find a solution together. Got it?”

I can tell a number of different emotions pass through Elise in these few seconds. She’s half tempted to wrench her arm away and tell me to fuck off. Part of her is still pissed I questioned her motive for revenge.

But the part of her that wins out is the one telling her I’m right.

Wearein this together, which means we need to get out as a team.

“Fine,” she mutters. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

“We’ve got to sneak out of this shopping mall and find a car to steal.”

She releases a solitary laugh. “Steal a car. That sounds real discreet.”

“It’s the best chance we’ve got, feline. We’ve gotten this far. Let’s see how far we can push it, yeah?” I cock a grin at her, to which her eyelashes flutter and she almost seems tempted to grin back.

Then she catches herself and instead gestures to my gunshot wound. “And your shoulder?”

“I’ll be able to hang on for now. Maybe we can steal the paper towel dispenser for the road.”

“Because they’re already doing such a great job of stopping the bleeding.” Her response is thick with sarcasm but also a thread of humor a guy like me can appreciate.

It dawns on me that’s Elise’s small way of agreeing we’re on the same team. It’s her way of indulging me if only for a second.

My grin spreads. “What can I say? Desperate times, Goyangi. But let’s get going. The longer we wait, the more opportunity we give them to narrow our location down.”

She nods and then eases the door to the family bathroom open, peeking out at the brightly lit shopping mall.

“Coast seems clear.”

We slip out of the bathroom and into the bright fluorescent glow of the shopping mall.

At first we’re trying to appear inconspicuous—or as inconspicuous as you can be when you’re soaked in blood wearing a ski mask. We don’t exactly blend in at an establishment with designer boutiques and overpriced cafés catering to Gangnam’s elite.

Two Jeokpa come up the escalator with their heads on a swivel, eyes scanning the sparse crowd. Recognition dawns on their faces as the one on the right points in our direction and scream at the top of his lungs.

“BLACK SUIT! BLACK SUIT!”

We take off running in the opposite direction. My shoulder burns with hot pain from the gunshot, but it doesn’t hinder me from sprinting toward the department store up ahead.

Behind us, gunfire cracks the air. Shoppers scream and dive for cover.