Chapter 45
Ji-Su’s current hotel room was even nicer than the last one he’d gone to.
The sage green walls and water color paintings of misty forests created a soothing atmosphere that he appreciated.
There was even a small lounge area separate from the bedroom, with big, comfortable armchairs, and a small wet bar.
The view was nice too, with large windows overlooking the city of Dear Lake.
There were a few recent additions to the lounge.
The evening after his arrival, a knock on the door had interrupted his comfort TV binge watching.
He’d opened the door to an entire team of people from Whitman’s Electronics, including Myles, the salesman he’d worked with before.
Before Ji-Su could ask what they were doing there, the guard stationed at the door had handed him a sealed envelope.
Ji-Su had opened it and pulled out a single sheet of paper to read a short note written in Raul’s bold handwriting.
In case you need to work or want to play for yourself.
—Raul
The Whitman staff had come in and got to work building a small desk and gaming chair. Then, they’d set up all the electronics he needed to game and stream. From computer to controller—everything was there.
Ji-Su was stunned that Raul had arranged for him to continue working even while he was away from his gaming room. He wouldn’t have to miss any scheduled streams if he didn’t want to. “Please tell Raul thank you,” he said to the guard.
“I will, Mr. Ji-Su. Have a good evening.”
After the Whitman team left, he’d streamed once. He’d checked in with his followers to let them know that he was okay after the fake nudes incident while playing a couple hours of a cozy farming game. The game occupied his mind without requiring heavy focus.
Now he was in the bedroom, sitting in the middle of a king-sized bed that felt too big and lonely to sleep in by himself. He sat against the headboard, his knees raised and arms tightly wrapped around them.
He felt tricked by Raul. And he was angry that Raul wasn’t the kind, gentle man he’d thought him to be.
Yes, Raul had explained that he was a part of a criminal organization.
But Ji-Su hadn’t considered that those crimes extended to murder.
Maybe that had been naive of him. But Raul was always so calm and warm, that he’d had no reason to think that he had a violent side too.
The same went for his partners. When he’d met them, they were all elegant, friendly, and charming.
Of course, they wouldn’t walk around with signs on their chests that read Killer.
Still, nothing about the way any of them presented themselves gave a clue to the fact that they were capable of murder.
Ji-Su dropped his head to his knees. Maybe he was stupid for not asking what Raul meant when he’d said he was a part of a criminal organization.
Now that he knew the whole truth, he didn’t know what he should do.
Did he leave Raul for good? If he stayed, did that make him complicit in Raul’s crimes? In Cedric’s murder?
He needed to talk to someone about this.
Except, who could give him advice that came from experience?
As far as he knew, he didn’t know anyone who hung out with murderers.
He was about to curse with frustration when he realized that he actually did know someone who hung out with Raul’s people.
He grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand next to him and called Solan.
SOLAN ARRIVED TWENTY minutes later. When Ji-Su opened the door, Solan smiled, unfazed by the burly, stern-faced guard standing in the hall behind him.
He was dressed casually in a gray long-sleeved Henley and faded, relaxed fit blue jeans with his bright red hair in a loose bun at his nape.
Solan gave Ji-Su a hug when he came in and Ji-Su gratefully returned it. He needed a bit of comfort.
“How are you?” Solan asked as he followed Ji-Su into the lounge.
Ji-Su sank down onto one end of the plush, velvet sofa while Solan sat on the other end. “Not great,” he answered with a tired laugh.
“That’s understandable. I can’t believe that asshole Cedric did that to you,” Solan said with his expression filled with sympathy.
“Yeah. I’ve never been embarrassed like that before.” Thankfully his followers understood that the pics were fake and many of them made it clear they’d block anyone who brought them up on his posts or streams.
“At least you don’t have to worry about him harassing you anymore.”
And there was the reason for this talk. “I think I’m still in shock that Raul killed him,” Ji-Su whispered. “How did you know what happened?” Although common sense had told him not to say the reason over the phone, Solan had known exactly why he wanted him to come over and talk.
“Everett was with him. And LaToria. Raul wouldn’t be stupid enough to go after Cedric and his people on his own.”
Ji-Su frowned in confusion as he looked at Solan. He needed help understanding. “You’re fine with it? With what they do?”
Solan answered without hesitation. His gaze direct, he nodded once.
“Yes.”
“How? Most people don’t use violence and murder to solve their problems. How did you adjust to it?”
Solan’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t realize that you didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
“My family is a crime family as well. In fact, my sister took over as the head of the Kane organization after my parents died. I’ve been around this world my whole life.
Before I ever met Everett. I don’t personally get involved in any violence, but over the years I’ve either witnessed or heard about a few... unsavory things.”
“I see.” That explained the confident way Solan carried himself. He wondered how he’d ended up as Everett’s blood pet.
“I’m sure it has to be hard for you being thrown into this type of situation without prior experience.”
Ji-Su nodded. “It is. I don’t know how I’m supposed to see Raul now. How do you see Everett and the others?”
Solan took a moment before answering, as if he were taking care to choose the right words.
“I don’t pretend that my people are better than the other bad guys. Maybe in some ways they are. But at the end of the day, they are criminals. Everett has killed for me. And I know that he would do it again. Hell, if it came down to it, I would kill for him too.”
“Why did Everett kill for you?” Ji-Su asked.
“Long story short, another vampire was obsessed with me. He tried to kidnap me but thankfully Everett got there in time to stop him.”
“Raul said that Cedric was fixated on me and that he wanted to hurt me.”
“Raul was correct.”
When Ji-Su didn’t respond, Solan tilted his head to the side to study him.
“But you don’t think that was worth Raul killing him.”
Ji-Su put his face in his hands and groaned with frustration.
Was taking someone’s life, even to protect someone, ever the right thing to do?
He thought about it while Solan quietly waited.
But when he dropped his hands, he still didn’t have an answer to that question. “I don’t know,” he answered Solan.
Solan’s calm, concerned expression suddenly tightened into something hard, almost fierce.
“Would you rather Cedric have grabbed you one night and you had to hope that Raul was able to save you before Cedric drained you dry?”
“No! Of course not.” The thought of being alone with Cedric again terrified him.
He remembered the shock he’d been in that last night Cedric had fed from him and the way he’d instinctively known he had to escape.
He didn’t ever want to be in that position again.
He shook his head. “I wish Cedric would have left me alone.”
“Yeah, that would have been the best outcome. Unfortunately, some people are just plain evil and want to hurt others for their own enjoyment. Everett might be ruthless, but he doesn’t kill for the hell of it.
And I don’t believe Raul does either.” Solan pursed his lips for a moment before he continued.
“I have to ask. Has Raul ever hurt or in any way harmed you? Because if he has, then none of the rest of this conversation matters. I’ll walk you out of here myself if he’s put a hand on you. ”
“Not once. He’s always been careful with me.” So careful that he’d been holding back during sex, but he wasn’t going to tell Solan that.
“Okay. I didn’t think so, but I had to be sure.” Solan reached across the couch and placed a warm, friendly hand atop Ji-Su’s. “Before Cedric’s death, did you want to be with Raul romantically?”
Ji-Su nodded. “I still have about five months left on my contract. But Raul already asked me to stay. If he’d asked me before all this happened my answer would have been yes.”
“And do you want to be with him now?”
This time Ji-Su only nodded. He did want to be with Raul, but his confused turmoil was holding him back.
Solan scooted closer to him on the couch.
“Then you have to decide if you can handle living in this world where violence is the norm. You would be like me, aware but uninvolved. And you would have to accept that if someone were to fuck with you again to the point where your life is in danger, Raul will put them down. I know Raul wants to be with you, but he will understand if you can’t accept that.
He won’t force you to stay with him if you decide this life is too much for you. ”
“I know he wouldn’t.”
“See? You do have a little faith in him,” Solan said with a teasing smile. “And don’t hate me for saying this, but I think you know that if you didn’t want to be with Raul, you’d already be out of here.”
Solan was right. He would have left for good by now if he knew with one hundred percent certainty that he couldn’t be with Raul after he killed Cedric.
“Let’s get to the true center of this conversation. You want to know how I’m able to be with Everett when I know that he has killed and will kill again so that you can get to that same place in order to be with Raul.”
Ji-Su let out a breath as he realized that was exactly what he wanted. “Yes.”
“Okay, then. Here’s my answer. It might sound cynical, but it’s the truth.
The world is dangerous. And I like having someone on my side who will do whatever is necessary to keep me safe.
I love Everett. And I’m willing to ignore the violence in his business life, because I know he will use that same violence to protect me when he has to. ”
While Ji-Su was processing that statement, a knock came at the door. Still thinking, he got up to go and answer it. Another guard was standing there, with a gift-wrapped box carefully held in both hands.
“This is for you, Mr. Ji-Su,” she said.
Ji-Su thanked her and accepted the package. It was a large, rectangular box wrapped in pale, canary yellow paper. Gossamer white ribbons were tied around the box in a frothy bow.
A knowing grin curled Solan’s lips when he caught sight of the box. “I can guess who that’s from.” He rose from the couch. “That is definitely a woo you back gift, so I’ll go and let you open it in private. If you need anything else give me a call.”
Ji-Su set the box aside to hug Solan goodbye. “Thank you for coming by to talk with me about all this. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you later.”
Solan left, leaving Ji-Su alone again. He took the prettily wrapped gift to the couch to sit down and open it.
After slowly untying the ribbons, he carefully removed the wrapping paper and lifted the top off the box.
Inside, a thick stationary card with a note written in bold, clean cursive lay atop layers of white tissue paper. Ji-Su picked up the card to read it.
I know those hotel rooms are always freezing. So, I thought you might like this to keep you warm while gaming.
—Raul
Ji-Su parted the tissue paper to reveal a folded bundle of yellow fleece. He pulled the bundle from the box and shook it out. It was one of those oversized, blanket hoodies.
Ji-Su smiled and buried his face in the soft material.
Raul was always taking care of him in the most thoughtful ways.
The hotel room was chilly so he put the hood on.
The fleece instantly warmed him, but he couldn’t help but wish that it was Raul’s strong arms wrapped around him keeping him warm instead.