Chapter 22 Elise
TWENTY-TWO
ELISE
KD’s blood splatters across my cheek. It sprays into my mouth. Some of it even gets in my eyes.
The bang from the gunshot is no better—it rings in my ears for seconds to come, so loud and jarring it’s disorienting.
I can only remain where I am, kneeling in place as my head swims. The scene around me wavers. It’s only when reality comes crashing back in a couple seconds later that I grasp what’s just happened.
KD’s dead.
I’m never thrown off guard by violence. I’m a highly trained assassin for that reason.
Yet this moment is different—I can only blink and stare, completely shaken to my core.
One moment KD was alive; he was kneeling right next to me, mouthing off to Tae-hwan and the security guards. And now… now he’s had his face blown off.
We’d gotten caught moments before as I confronted him about the mission he was carrying out tonight. He told me to get the hell out of here; he said he had a job to do and he was going to get it done.
I never imagined that would lead to this.
He would die taking the fall for me. He would lie and claim he was Black Silk.
As the bang reverberates and chaos erupts from the single gunshot, I remain on my knees like I’ve been chilled over into a block of ice.
Then it’s like I can’t bottle it up another second. It’s like I’m bursting at the seams.
I snap.
As KD slumps forward and the guards rush over to drag his body away, face torn open, Gun barks at his father. Guests elsewhere in the hotel scream in terror at the sound of gunfire.
I reach into my shirt and pull out one of the miniature smoke bombs I’ve brought with me, popping the lid and setting it off in the hall.
The canister hisses as thick plumes of smoke fill the air, quickly flooding the entire narrow passageway.
Guards double over, coughing and hacking as the acrid fumes burn their throats and eyes.
Even Gun and Tae-hwan start coughing in confusion, their voices blending into the rest of the chaos that has erupted at the Bellmare.
But I don’t give a fuck about their discomfort. I don’t give a fuck about anything in this moment.
I slide out a dagger hidden in my boot and launch myself at the nearest guard, slashing his throat before he can even process what’s happening. Blood gushes from the severed flesh, his face going slack in agony.
I’ve already stripped the weapon from his dying hands and moved onto the next target.
Another guard rushes toward me through the smoke, his silhouette barely visible in the churning gray clouds. A soon as he’s close enough, I’m closing the gap between us. I’m swift and smooth running him through the gut with my blade before I blast him in the head anyway.
He crashes down to the ground, dead on the spot.
Everything becomes a haze of smoke and a violent current of blood. Everyone is cloaked in the thick, choking clouds as we move about as indistinct silhouettes.
When someone tries to grab me from behind, I spin around, quick on the uptake, and jam the knife into his chest. His grip weakens even as he still tries to fight me. I step back and let him drop to the floor, heaving desperate gasps for air myself.
Tears stream down my face from more than the acrid smoke. The pain burning inside my chest isn’t just from the poison I’ve released into the hallway.
It’s a kind of anguish and powerlessness I’m more than familiar with. It’s what I’ve been living with for most of my life, growing up with the knowledge of what happened to Dad.
I carry on in my violent mood, slashing away guards and taking them down.
Someone grabs my wrist and wrenches me backward. I twist against his hold and raise the dagger to stab him like the others. Then some of the haze clears enough that I’m able to make out Gun’s features, his dark eyes slits against the smoke.
He doesn’t say a word, taking the gun from me. His other hand holds onto mine. He takes off toward the exit, pulling me along behind him.
The hotel really has descended into pure pandemonium. People scream and flee toward the exits, desperate to escape not only the smoke but the gunfire.
I reach into my shirt and deploy another smoke bomb in the main lobby, watching the poison clog the air and make it even harder to pick people out in the crowds.
The only way we’re going to make it the hell out of here.
Joon-gi appears as more smoke spreads. He immediately joins our side in fighting off the security guards who are trying to regain control over the scene.
The three of us make our way toward the exit. Guards finally locate us through the rolling clouds and start rushing our position. My hand slips from Gun’s as he’s forced to engage two attackers at once, his martial arts training kicking into gear.
I find myself facing my own opponent—a security guard who swings a knife through the haze. I throw up my arms to block his strike, hissing as the blade opens a gash along my forearm. Blood beads to the surface and drips down the inside of my arm.
But I’m ready for him on his second strike, ducking under his swing and driving my dagger into his stomach, twisting until his eyes go wide and he collapses.
As if waiting for the opening, someone else grabs me from behind. His hand snaps shut on my upper arm and he tosses me backward to the lobby floor like a discarded toy. I land hard, my ribs aching from the collision.
I scramble to get into a defensive position before he can do any more damage. Then I freeze once I look up and realize who’s the culprit—Rhee Tae-hwan stands over me with the same gun he used to execute KD still gripped in his hands, his expression tense and unreadable.
His eyes gleam in recognition.
And it’s in that moment that I know one thing for certain—he knows who I am. He knows I’m my father’s daughter.
A long moment passes where he peers down at me and I look up at him, heaving ragged breaths, waiting for the inevitable kill shot.
It would be so easy. All he would have to do is raise his arm and squeeze the trigger.
I’m only human. I’m on the ground at his mercy. There’s no way he would miss and no way I’d be able to move quick enough to dodge the bullet.
He could so easily do it and end things right now. It would put an end to the thorn in his side that I’ve been.
And yet… he doesn’t.
He stares for several seconds on end, his face made of stone. Then… then he simply turns and walks away.
I blink, completely thrown by the moment. Confused as to what the hell just happened. Why did the hell Rhee Tae-hwan, the man who murdered my father, let me live? Why wouldn’t he take the opportunity to kill me like he did Dad?
I don’t have any more time to ponder it. Gun snatches me up again, having finished off the two guards he’d been fighting. He grabs me by the arm and takes off toward the nearest revolving doors.
I’m dragged along, still covered in KD’s blood, still in a daze.
We make it to the Porsche he drives with him barking at me and Joon to get in. I dive to get into the back as Gun takes the wheel and Joon drops down into the front passenger seat.
The Bellmare becomes a building fading in the rear view mirror. Gun’s hit the gas and sped off into the city streets.
Joon slides fingers through his shaggy hair. “That was fucking insane, Gun-woo! What the fuck was that?”
“They’ve found us out,” Gun grinds out. His expression is sharp, his brows furrowed in rage.
He’s clutching the steering wheel with bruised, bloodied hands, looking like he wants to break something…
or someone. “My father’s discovered Elise is one of the Black Suits and everything went to hell from there. ”
“Crazy shit!” Joon exclaims. While Gun looks furious, Joon looks like he’s on the most thrilling ride of his life. He twists in his seat to address me. “Wow, feline. You’re one relentless woman! I’d never want to get on your bad side. An assassination at an engagement dinner? What a night!”
I can’t bring myself to respond. I look out the window as the tall, sleek buildings zip by and city lights blur around us, and I can’t ignore the heavy pit in my stomach.
KD’s dead, and it’s all my fault.
He died trying to protect me. He died because I confronted him.
I never let him in the way he wanted to be let in. For years I kept him at arm’s length despite the fact that he had always been good to me.
He had been a friend, even if I never wanted to admit it.
My eyes close to keep out the tears threatening release. I don’t know where to begin processing the fact that KD is really gone.
“We have to tell Priscilla,” I choke out. “She has a right to know…”
Gun glances at me in the rearview mirror. I can tell by the knowing flicker in his gaze that he understands I’m upset. He gets this is difficult for me.
He nods, resettling his attention on the expressway ahead. “We’ll go by there. Maybe it’s time for her to stay somewhere else. Your apartment isn’t safe if the Cheongryong come by looking for you.”
A half an hour later, we’re pulling up outside my apartment building. We ride up in the elevator with Joon making awkward conversation and me drowning in sorrowful silence. Gun is caught in between, still furious and thinking over what our next move will be.
But he’s also concerned about me—his hand rests at the small of my back as we stop outside the apartment door and I fish for my keys.
We enter to Priscilla in the kitchen fixing herself a snack. Her face lights up at the sight of us.
“Eli!” she says excitedly. “And Gun, you’re back! And… I don’t know who the third guy is, but welcome anyway! Are you all actually coming to hang out? Stick around, KD should be here soon. We’re going to watch that new crime-comedy on TV—the one about the con artist real estate agent!”
Me and Gun glance at each other. Even Joon’s fallen silent, scratching the back of his neck and staring anywhere but at Priscilla.