Chapter 7
Kennedy
I’m on edge.
I’m not someone who gets nervous or on edge.
However, as I sit next to Dae Kim in the backseat of this town car, I can’t help but glance at his profile. Over dinner, I made absolutely no headway in the Blackmon investigation.
If it were anyone else, I would’ve walked out before our entrees arrived. From the moment I entered the private dining room, I could tell he had an ulterior motive.
So why didn’t I walk out?
That question has plagued me for the past few hours. Whenever I thought about leaving, he would say something that made me want to know more. I can’t help whatever it is that drives me to want to know more about this mysterious man. Yes, in part, it’s my inquisitive nature, but there’s more.
Every now and again, I get the feeling that I know him from somewhere, or that somehow we’ve met in another time and place. But Dae Kim has a face that anyone who meets him would remember.
“What are you thinking about?” His deep, sensual voice penetrates my thoughts, startling me.
“You,” I answer.
He shifts his body, turning toward me. I suck in a deep breath because having his full attention on me is a bit … overwhelming.
Squaring my shoulders, I meet his gaze. I need to figure out a way to shift this power dynamic. Up until now, Dae Kim has held all of the cards. Maybe that was my first mistake. I went to meet with him at his club.
Then I met with him at the dinner he arranged. He’s had the upper hand all along. Stringing me along for what, I don’t know.
“Where are you from?” I ask.
His head shifts backwards. “South Korea,” he answers, but his tone is clipped.
“Seoul?”
He dips his head.
“Is that where you grew up?”
“It is.”
“How long have you been in the U.S.?”
“Eight years. Anything else you would like to know?”
So much more.
Thankfully, I stop the words before they come out.
“How did you come to meet Sebastian Blackmon?”
That devilish smile touches his lips. He’s not going to give me a straight answer.
Instead, he leans in, throwing his arm along the backseat of the car. It takes everything inside of me to force my body to keep still. To prevent me from leaning in closer to him. He’s like a damn magnet.
“Why do you want to know so much about Blackmon, Kennedy?”
My eyelids flutter, but I stop them before they close. There’s something about the way he says my name. As if it was made for his mouth.
I chase that silly thought away.
“That’s confidential—”
A clicking of his tongue as he shakes his head stops my reply. “That’s not going to work. You came to me seeking information about a former business associate.”
“You’re not the first person I went to for answers,” I say.
“Yet, this is where you ended up,” he counters.
It feels like I’ve somehow ended up trapped in a game I had no idea I was playing.
Shaking my head, I move back slightly, putting space between our bodies. I hadn’t even realized we’d gotten so close. That seems to happen a lot in this man’s presence. Space often disappears and we’re left within inches of one another.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” he says suddenly.
My interest piques. Which I suspect he knew would happen. It feels like he knows more about me than I know about him. I hate that feeling.
“What type of deal?”
He leans in, swallowing up the space I tried to create between our bodies. And why do I feel as if I invited a tiger into my cage?
“I’ll help you find the answers you’re seeking.”
I swallow. “In exchange for?”
“You’re a smart woman,” he replies instead of answering immediately.
“Just a woman who knows nothing comes for free. You’ll help me in exchange for what, exactly?”
“It’s simple,” he says. “You.”
I blink and then blink again. Nope, he’s still here and hasn’t cracked a smile, a grin, or a laugh. He’s not joking.
“Me?”
He nods.
My hand moves before I even contemplate what I’m doing.
Yet, Dae is quicker. He captures my wrist a split second before my palm makes contact with his face. His hold on my wrist is firm, tight, and just this side of painful. As much as I should, though, I don’t hate it. His touch.
It burns, but not in a way that makes me want to pull away. Quite the opposite, actually. Which is dangerous as hell.
“If you think I’m willing to sell my pussy for a few answers about Sebastian Blackmon, you’ve got the wrong girl,” I say through gritted teeth. I tug my wrist, but he doesn’t let go.
Underneath the gleam of the streetlights we pass, I can see his eyes darken. Which is a feat considering how dark they already are. I should be terrified.
A sane woman would demand the driver stop the car so she can get out. No, not get out. Escape. That’s what I should do.
Yet, I sit here. His hand wrapped tightly around my wrist. That dark glint in his eyes with hidden promises I can’t discern but am too damn curious to look away from.
“Let my hand go.”
“Say please.”
“Fuck. You.”
I expect my reply to set him off. To anger him. I’m prepared to defend myself if need be.
I’m not prepared for the throaty chuckle that fills the car. He’s laughing, but it’s not a hearty laugh. It’s a bit dry and rusty as if his vocal cords aren’t used to it.
It’s a laugh nonetheless.
Closing my eyes, I inhale, trying to hold onto my anger. This bastard just insinuated that I should sleep with him for answers to get information about Sebastian Blackmon.
I should be fucking livid.
Yet, my stupid heart kicks up a touch at the sound of his laughter. My entire body warms from his hand, which remains wrapped around my wrist.
I’ve taken self-defense training for just about the entirety of my childhood. I learned from my Uncle Brutus, my family’s head of security, how to not only injure a man three times my size but how to put him to sleep forever.
And how to make it hurt.
I could free myself from Dae Kim’s grip. But I don’t.
A fact I will spend half the night questioning myself about.
“I never asked you to sell your pussy for a few answers,” he says after a long, drawn-out silence. “We’re here,” he adds before I can reply.
He slowly releases my wrist. A cold I never knew before embraces my body. I don’t allow myself to question it as I turn to look out of the window. Sure enough, we’re directly in front of my building.
I reach for the door handle, but his hand covers mine. His touch ushers away the cold of a few seconds ago.
“Let me.” He moves before I can answer. He gets out on his side and rounds the car to open my door.
I think twice about taking the hand he offers to help me out. My hand moves before my brain does, though. As soon as I lay my fingers in his hand, his hold tightens. He tugs me, and I come up against his hard chest.
My breath hitches.
Dae doesn’t move or give me any space.
“What do you want from me?” I ask.
His gaze drops to my lips. “I’ve already told you.”
I swallow and go to step back, but he holds me in place. Somehow, his hand has made its way to my waist, trapping me against his body.
“I don’t sell pussy for stories.”
He shakes his head. The hair that hangs free brushes against his shoulders. “I didn’t ask for just your pussy, Kennedy. I said I want youin exchange for answers.”
“I’m not for sale.”
“Don’t think of it as selling yourself. In exchange for information, I get you, your time,” he pauses, his dark gaze scanning my face, “and eventually, your pussy.”
I snatch away from him, almost tripping off the curb. I stop my fall by bracing my arm against the car. When Dae tries to reach for me, I jump out of the way.
He takes a step toward me but stops. Maybe it’s the fiery look on my face that stops him. He tucks his hands into his pockets.
“No, thank you,” I say. “This will be our last time meeting, Mr. Kim.”
He doesn’t say anything. Dae just continues to watch me with a blank expression. When I linger for a few beats too long, I realize now is probably the best time to exit.
I don’t bother to say goodnight as I turn and head for the front door of my building. I’m greeted by the doorman, with whom I’m on a first-name basis. As I pass through the main entrance, I don’t see if Dae remains standing there, watching me.
I can feel his eyes on my back.
I refuse to give him the satisfaction of turning around. No matter how much I want answers to my investigation, I will not sell myself to get them. And if there’s one thing I despise, it’s being toyed with. Being controlled, or treated as if I’m someone’s to possess.
That’s what Dae Kim wants. Men like him want to control, possess, and manipulate.
He can fuck right off.