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“Why didn’t KJP do that?” I ask, frowning.
“Dean wanted to, so I let him. Besides, he hired a couple more guards he has connections with in Seoul.” Dante walks past us, and I shake my head. Even after sixteen hours in a plane, they are dressed impeccably. Black suit, with a flared pants bottom, and a burgundy shirt that pairs well with their olive skin tone. But those shoes. Pointed toes, thin spiked heels and red soles, it kills me just looking at them.
We finally have our bags—including Dante’s three—stowed in the Cadillac Escalade where the four additional guards are. Warrior Black’s four security team members climb into a stretch Escalade, with Tobias in the front passenger seat, per usual.
I get in and glance at the driver, and smile huge. “Ji,” I call out, extending my hand between the seats to shake his. “I didn’t think you’d join us.”
“No way am I going to miss this. I want to look at that man’s face when you blow up that club.”
“What?” Danny asks, total confusion on his face.
“Ji was my driver when I was here. He was there when Lyric’s father threw down his warning,” I explain.
“What is the hotel?” Ji asks, as he sets up the GPS on his phone.
“House Rep?” Dante says, but it comes out more like a question.
Ji’s head spins around to look at Dante, his eyes wide with surprise. And not in a good way. “Who set up the reservation?”
“KJP. Why?”
“That’s a hostel. Unless you requested that place, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Ji advises, caution lacing his tone.
“We can’t stay there then. What’s close to the club, but has all the amenities of a five-star hotel?” Dante’s nostrils are flared wide, the only indication that they are pissed. They take a breath before they put their phone to their ear. “I’m calling them to give them a piece of my—”
“Don’t,” I say quickly. “If Mr. Kim knows we’re pissed over the hotel, he thinks he’s winning.”
Dante lowers the phone. “Then what do we do?”
“We find a hotel, without telling them, but pretend all is good when he asks,” I say with a smirk.
“I have the Ryse Hotel on the phone,” Ji announces, handing me his phone. “Pass that back to Dante.”
While Dante sets up our rooms, Ji takes off toward the hotel.
Why am I not surprised that Lyric’s father would stoop so low as to have us stay in a hostel? If it weren’t for Ji, we’d be scrambling.
“The hotel’s set. Thank you, Ji. Using your connection was a brilliant idea,” Dante says, as they hand the phone to me to give back to Ji. Dante then focuses on Tobias. “Will you let your team members know what they may be up against?”
“Yes. I’ll brief the other four bodyguards too. In the meantime, you need to stay alert, if this is the crap they’re going to pull,” Tobias says, without looking at us.
“Call Lyric,” Dante tells me. “Ask him when he’s coming. I want to have a chat with him about his father.”
“Alright,” I say, and pull out my phone and dial Lyric’s number. His cell rings once and then it goes right into voicemail. So I try calling him again, hoping he simply isn’t near his phone, or is helping his grandmother out. But again, he doesn’t pick up. “He’s not answering.”
Suddenly, I begin to panic. Lyric knew I’d be calling him the moment we landed. I rub at my chest, trying to soothe the growing ache.
“He might be away from his phone. Give it time. Call him when we get to the hotel,” Danny says earnestly.
“Yeah. Okay.” But why do I get the feeling something is wrong?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lyric
It’s been two days since I saw Eun at the hospital, and I’m still not sure if I should forgive him. With his bucket-sized apologies, I listened, even though my heart kept telling me to get up and walk away. But I didn’t. I didn’t say much back to him, either.
Eun finally took the hint, got up, kissed my cheek and walked away. Right then, my sister rushed over to tell me my grandmother was out of surgery. And I’ve been in Halmeoni’s room since.
