CHAPTER 49
Riven
Red Lights – Bangchan & Hyujin
Ared neon glow washes over my face, making my eyes twitch open. I blink slowly and frown, my mouth is dry like those cookies Charlie loves to eat because they are full of sugar but so damn dry.
Where the hell am I?
The last thing I remember is being fucked by Evren in my tattoo studio.
I sit up instantly.
“Shit.” I rub my face roughly.
He must have knocked me out, drugged me, something—or I just passed out from the multiple orgasms.
Why can't I remember the after? And why don't I recognize where I am?
I feel the bedsheets beneath my fingers, I look down. I'm in a bed but whose?
I lift my gaze and look around, the place is a mess. A single-room loft, the bed sits on a raised platform with a short flight of stairs leading down to an open-plan living room and kitchen, the whole place smells like synthetic drinks, grease...
And men.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and carefully stand, taking my time as I examine my surroundings.
A glass of water sits on the counter. I walk over to it and drink like my life depends on it, it probably does.
“Morning, troublemaker.” The voice comes from behind me, I freeze. “Slept well?”
Evren.
His hands come to rest on my shoulders before slowly sliding down my arms, my breath hitches. His breath is warm against the nape of my neck, one of his hands comes back up, gently brushing my hair aside.
A shiver races down my spine when I feel his lips brush my skin, not quite kissing it.
“Do you remember last night?” he whispers, his words ghosting across my neck. “You screamed my name.”
My entire body goes rigid. I’m ashamed of giving in.
“Shut up.” I mutter.
I can feel a deep blush creeping at my neck.
He chuckles darkly.
“Already back huh?”
My grip on the glass tightens until my veins bulge beneath my skin.
Of course, I’m not going to be all over you just because you fuck well.
I need to get a grip, I need to remember who he is, and what I’m here for.
The glass explodes in my hand, shards slicing into my palm.
“Shit.” I shut my eyes for a second.
When I tell myself to get a grip, it doesn’t mean that.
Evren’s hand shoots and grabs my wrist and spins me around to face him.
“The fuck are you doing, you psycho?”
“Seeing if you have any shards, you idiot.” He growls.
I yank my bleeding hand back and swing at his face. He doesn't even flinch or dodge.
He takes the slap, his head doesn't even move.
My blood paints his cheek red.
Then his hand moves, way too fast. His fingers wrap around my wrist, swallowing it whole.
Probably enough to wrap around it twice if his hand were elastic.
His knuckles are tattooed. I don't think I've ever really looked at them before.
I noticed his arms, his shoulders, his torso yesterday—when he was naked and fucking me.
The memory makes my skin heat up instantly. I shake my head and try to pull my wrist free.
“That's mine, Evren,” I say.
“No.” He shrugs dismissively. “After yesterday? It's all mine.”
He brings my bleeding palm toward his lips, his tongue flicks out, catching the blood running down my hand and wrist.
My entire body locks up in shock. What the fuck is wrong with him?
I wrench at my hand, trying to pull free. His grip doesn't budge.
“Let go, you psycho!” I shout, twisting desperately.
“You really can't go five fucking minutes without hitting me.” He grins “Too bad I like it.”
Then his mouth is on my open wound. He licks it and sucks the blood.
My entire fucking body freezes.
My eyes stay wide open in shock, disgust and, somehow... A horrified fascination.
How is this man even real? He's gone so far beyond being a psychopath that I don't even know what to call him anymore.
“Fuck,” He exhales against my palm “Your blood taste fucking good.”
“Y-You are…” I gulp, unable to finish the sentence through the shock.
“Yes,” he says, lifting only his eyes to meet mine. There isn't a trace of regret in them. “I am.”
He straightens, but keeps my hand in his, my palm facing up. His thumb slowly rubs the skin beside the wound, I wince slightly.
“You passed out from your orgasms.”
His grin turns into a full smile, proud.
I cough and clear my throat, looking away from his hazel eyes.
“So?” I scoff “Don’t think you’re special, that means nothing. You are my nemesis.”
He laughs suddenly, releasing my wrist, doubling over.
“You think it’s funny?!” I shout at him, genuinely embarrassed and shocked by his reaction.
“Yes.” He lets out a satisfied sigh after wiping at his eyes “It is. Fucking you so good until you passes out, watching you freeze…” A grin spreads across his face. “And then immediately attack me?”
He chuckles, the sound rumbles deep in his chest and sounds like it comes straight from hell itself.
“Best morning ever.”
“Tsk.” I turn away from him. “Where am I, anyway?”
“You're in my home.” He tilts his head. “Do you like it?” A grin spreads across his face.
“No wonder it smells like shit, then.”
“Very mature.”
“You're the one talking!” I point an accusing finger at him.
Evren advances on me, reaching for my face.
I flinch. The memory of Liam's hands around my throat is still fresh.
Two weeks have passed, but it's still there.
In this context, I don't know why he's reaching for me.
Evren's knuckles brush against my jaw before he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“Before we fucked, you said you had something to ask me.” He straightens up. “Talk before I get bored and go to the garage.”
My eyes widen, then narrow.
“Yeah, but the garage can wait. Sit your ass down and shut the fuck up.”
One of his eyebrows arches. “Who do you think you are talking to like that?”
“It's important.” I sigh. “That's why I stole your shipment.”
He crosses his arms and leans his hips against the steel table in the middle of his kitchen.
“I'm listening.” He pauses. “This better be good.”
I shoot him a deadly look, and he just smiles.
One day, I'll kill him.
“Two days ago, I was at a dinner with my rich fucking family.” I pause, grimacing. “When I went to the bathroom, I overheard my father talking with a few governor colleagues. They said... a case involving someone I cared about had been reopened.”
“And what does that have to do with me? Or the shipment?”
I don't know how to say it. Kyle is my deepest wound, and telling Evren about him feels like opening my chest to a monster and hoping he leaves my heart where it is
“A lot…”
“Fucking speak Riven.”
I sigh.
“I stole from you to make you come to me, not the opposite. I wasn't about to call or text you on your comm after telling you to get the fuck out.” I snap. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, freak, it's Troublemaker. Remember me?’” I imitate his voice.
His eyes narrow.
“Yes, you could have!” he shouts back. “Instead, you stole my shipment, made me hit you, and almost got your fingers cut off!”
He's breathing hard.
“For two weeks, I watched you in your loft, watched you sleep, going on with your rich, spoiled-brat life while I was spiraling in the damn silence!”
I step back, my eyes widening—not because of the stalking, but because of the raw honesty.
“I'm not sorry,” I say calmly. “I'm not going to apologize for protecting myself from you.”
I take a step toward him.
“Rich, spoiled-brat life...” I pause, smiling bitterly. “I'm rich. I'm an heiress. But I'm definitely not spoiled, Evren. My parents hate me.”
I grit my teeth, my nails digging into my palms, making my already cut hand bleed more on his floor, the stinging sensation making the ache in my chest a little easier to bear.
“I...” The words grip my throat. “I need you, Evren. For my dead brother. That's the person I cared about.”
I look up at him, his eyes widen slightly.
“Why do you need me?” He looks away, his jaw clenching, his nails digging into his own biceps.
“Because his death is tied to the Lower Layers...” I let the words hang in the air for a second.
“And you're a gang leader. And Kenji was there the night of the theft. He thought I was my brother, Kyle, because of my colored lenses—they were his eye color—before realizing I was too small to be him.”
I take a deep breath before continuing, before he can even open his mouth, because I see his entire body coiling for violence.
“A little over a month ago, I hired a hacker. He contacted me anonymously. I paid him to get information about the shipment. At first, I wanted to steal it from you just to piss you off. To get revenge for the car licking.”
I pause.
“The hacker was Renji.”
“Okay. Go on before I actually explode.” he says.
His voice is tight. He's no longer gripping his arms—instead, both hands are braced against the steel table, his knuckles white.
“But after you attacked Liam, after those two weeks, and after hearing that conversation, I needed you to help me find out what happened to my brother, because none of it adds up.”
I look at him, expecting him to flip the table, grab me by the hair, shove me—anything.
I brace myself.
“Renji,” He murmurs “That motherfucker.”
Nothing else. His eyes blaze, his grip tightens enough to snap a man's neck, yet he holds himself back.
For now.
The silence stretches. It feels like hours, but it's only a few minutes before his voice finally breaks it, deadly calm.
“I see.” He turns only his head to look at me. “So, it's that dirty.”
He's terrifying like this. His hair is covering his eyes, so only the glow of his eyes is visible.
The sight of him this calm is far more terrifying than if he were screaming.
I take a step back, putting some distance between us—even if it's useless.
“And you need me.”
I nod slowly.
“Okay.” He pauses and straightens up, his bare chest rising to its full height.
“Then let's find out who fucked with your brother.”
He takes one step.
Then another.
Until he's looming over me. His finger hooks beneath my chin and tilts my head up.
“In exchange, you don’t let me go back in the silence. You belong to me.”