by Nia Arthurs
Was he offended?
Or worse, did he think she’d been trying to flirt with him by insinuating he could be interested in her, the nearest black woman?
Horrified, Jo waved her hands. “Don’t get me wrong. I think preferences are fine. Nobody’s forcing you to like or date anyone. Especially not me.”
Instead of responding, Sun Gi gritted his teeth.
Great. Did that sound lame too?
Sun Gi’s gaze darted to the ground.
“Sun Gi?” Jo tilted her head and stared at the floor. He was so close their shoes were practically kissing. Her cheeks heated. Jo took a giant step back, even though—to be fair—Sun Gi was the one who’d invaded her personal space first.
His expression tightened even further. She saw the muscles in his square jaw clenching, coiling, on edge. His eyes were sharper than she’d ever seen them.
What’s going on? Why does he look so pissed off?
Sun Gi did it again, lowering his eyes purposefully.
She followed the trail of his gaze and saw a hand feeling around Sun Gi’s back pockets. Since both his hands were in the air, Jo knew that the extra limb didn’t belong to him.
Unless Sun Gi was secretly an alien.
Which could explain his otherworldly good looks.
Whoever had a hold on him, it couldn’t be good.
Jo’s nostrils flared. Confusion and fear wavered in her voice. “W-what’s going on?”
“Run,” Sun Gi mouthed. He shifted slightly and she saw the knife embedded in his side.
Jo screamed.
The piercing wail jolted the entire neighborhood.
It was enough to shock the mugger and his knife clattered to the floor.
Sun Gi took advantage of the ruckus. He twisted, driving his elbow into the mugger. She heard the thud of impact and the battered ‘oof’ that escaped a tortured mouth.
Someone thudded to the ground.
Jo hopped back, eyes glued to the thief’s face.
It was a homeless man. She’d seen him hanging around the store when they walked up. He had dark brown skin, a scraggly grey beard, a thick nose, and thin brown lips. The shirt on his back was once white, but now it was a dingy brown. His ashy feet were crushed into rubber slippers. A knife was cradled in the dirt a few inches from his still fingers.
Sun Gi straightened and blew his hair away from his eyes. “I told you to run. Didn’t you see me?”
“I saw you.” She wheezed.
“Then why didn’t you listen?”
“Because I was too busy saving your life.”
“Saving my—” Sun Gi laughed arrogantly. “All you did was deafen these innocent people,” he gestured to the houses lining the block, “and scare some cats.”
“I should have just let him stab you,” Jo grumbled. “Mr. Mugger, go on and finish what you were doing.” She paused when her eyes caught empty concrete. “Sun Gi, where’s the—?” Jo spun and found the mugger rising like the Grim Reaper behind Sun Gi’s back. She screamed. “Sun Gi! Behind you!”
Her warning came a second too late.
The thief swung at Sun Gi; dark fists pounded against the side of his head.
Sun Gi stumbled.
Jo reached for him, but he held his hand out to stave her. Despite the pain in his gaze, his focus was only on her. “Go to the car. Listen to me this time.”
Jo held a hand to her pummeling heart. “Are you crazy?”
Instead of answering, Sun Gi spun on his heels and stared the thief down. “The police are on their way. Why don’t you calm down and we can solve this without any problems?”
Curses flew from the mugger’s lips.
“Okay.” Sun Gi shrugged. “I’ll take that as a no.”
The two rushed each other, bodies colliding to the sound of the restaurant’s shutters tumbling closed. Jo heard the resolute click of the lock and whipped her head to the side, enraged when she saw that the servers had closed themselves off.
She pounded the shutter. “Hey! Can’t you help?”
No answer.
She fumbled for her cell phone to call the police as grunts and moans from the fight wafted through the air. Her fingers shook and she could barely swipe the screen to unlock her phone.
Suddenly, a body landed at her feet.
Jo nearly jumped out of her skin and let loose another earth-shattering bellow. A hand clamped around her mouth and she opened her eyes, gaze meeting Sun Gi’s.
He arched an eyebrow, looking devilishly handsome with his mouth all bleeding and scratches on his face. Honestly, Sun Gi had no right to look that hot right now. “You like screaming, don’t you?”
“Why would you fight with him instead of giving up your wallet?”
“Because it’s a pain to get new identification and credit cards.” Sun Gi knelt and picked up his fancy leather wallet that was open like an expectant book waiting for its owner’s return.
The shutter opened an inch and a slanted eye appeared under it. “You alright?”
“Now you care?”
“It’s fine, Jo.” Sun Gi nodded at the server. “Can you call the cops? I’d like to report a robbery.”
The woman nodded, fear twisting her pink lips.
The shutter fell closed again.
“I can’t believe this,” Jo said, collapsing against the wall and holding a hand to her head.
Sun Gi winked at her and clutched the counter to yell at the iron shutter, “Can we get our chicken now?”
Jo smacked him. “You’re still hungry after all that?”
“I’m starving.”
“Don’t even mention food to me. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Are you okay?” Sun Gi put a hand on her shoulder and bent over so they were eye-to-eye. Her gaze darted to his pink lips as he said, “I’ll take you straight home.”
Jo was about to answer when she saw the vagrant stumbling to his knees. “He’s getting away!” She took her first stride to chase him, but a strong arm clamped around her and pulled her back.
Jo trembled as she collided with Sun Gi.
“Enough noise, darling,” he said calmly. “Let him run.”
The mugger ran away, his shirt flapping behind him.
She leveled a blistering stare at Sun Gi. “What are you doing? We can’t just let him go!”
Sun Gi bobbed his head reassuringly. “It’s alright.”
“How can you be so calm?” Jo shuffled her feet. “He tried to kill you!”
Sun Gi ambled to the locked shutters and banged resolutely on the door. “Hey! This is the guy who ordered two fried chickens! I’d like to add a cup of sweet and sour sauce to the order.”
Jo stalked to Sun Gi’s side. “Really? You almost died just now and you’re asking for sweet and sour sauce?”
The shutter opened and the Chinese woman peeked at them. “The police coming.”
“Thanks.” Sun Gi gestured to the cutout in the bars. “My food?”
She passed over their chicken. The fragrance of the chicken turned her stomach and Jo was certain she’d be throwing that away tonight. Still, she paid for it and handed the plastic bag to Sun Gi.
He gestured. “Can I have another bag?”
The server handed it over.
Jo stood back and watched as Sun Gi trotted to the knife that was lying on the sidewalk. Carefully, he picked it up with the underside of the bag and captured it, tying the knife securely inside.
He returned to the window and handed it over along with his business card. “The police should be able to lift his fingerprints from that. I’ll make a report tomorrow, but tell them to call me if they have any questions before then.”
“Yes.” The woman accepted his card and dipped her head.
Sun Gi turned around and smiled at her. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, I—” Jo’s voice faltered when she saw a red stain spreading on Sun Gi’s shirt. She flew toward him and snatched the shirt up, revealing his muscled abs. “You’re bleeding!
”
He swatted her hand away. “It’s nothing.”
“Shut up.” Jo grabbed his wrist and marched him to the passenger side of the car. “Get in. We’re going to the hospital.”
He sighed. “I’m tired. Let me take you home first. I can clean up by myself.”
“No.” She folded her arms over her chest. Sun Gi’s slightly annoyed expression didn’t faze her at all. “There’s no way I’m letting you die on my watch.”
“It’s just a scrape.”
“Then it won’t take long for a physician to look over it.”
Sun Gi arched an eyebrow. “How about we compromise? I have a first-aid kit at home. I promise I’ll tend to this before I do anything else.” He smoothly moved away from the passenger side and nudged her to get in.
Jo did.
A moment later, Sun Gi joined her in the driver’s side and started the car. The signs of his altercation with the mugger lingered in the sweat dotting his brow and the dirt coating his shirtsleeves.
He wasn’t okay and she couldn’t, in good conscience, let him walk away without making sure he’d make it through the night.
Jo pulled out her phone and pretended to dial. “Hello? Joon?”
Sun Gi whipped his head toward her and hissed, “What are you doing?”
“Calling your brother.” She looked at him with a serene smile. “Since you have such a problem being taken care of by professionals and you rejected my help, the least you should do is have family close by.”
“Fine. I’ll take you home and you can look me over to your heart’s content. Just don’t tell Joon anything.”
“Deal.” She set the phone down.
Sun Gi peered at the screen. “You need to hang up.”
“No, I don’t.”
Understanding dawned. He scowled. “You played me.”
“Like a fiddle. Now… onward!”
He frowned but obediently drove her to his house.
Sun Gi’s mansion was as cold and imposing as the owner. It had large gates covered with barbed wire fencing and several stories.
A bit overkill for one person.
He pressed a button and the gates automatically opened. Sun Gi parked in a wide concrete driveway and climbed out of the car without a word.
Jo followed.
It really didn’t matter to her if Sun Gi was pissed. She would check his wound the moment she got inside and, though she was no nurse, if it proved to be deeper than a nick or more than she thought she could handle, she was taking him to a hospital. One way or another.
Sun Gi opened the front door and stalked in.
Jo quietly shuffled behind, trying not to gawk like an uncivilized village girl in the big city for the first time.
But come on! Sun Gi lived in a freaking museum. The living room was all white, black, and chic with an enormous television hanging from the wall and a plush black sectional.
Family portraits covered the white walls and brought a splash of familiarity and warmth to a space that felt ice cold.
Sun Gi disappeared into a room and reappeared with a First Aid kit. He pushed it at her and groused, “Here.”
“Thanks.” Jo accepted it from him and pointed to the sofa. “Shall we?”
Sun Gi fell into the chair.
Jo cleared her throat and reached for his shirt. It felt rude to just tear his clothes off, so she paused and looked up at him. “Can I?”
“Go ahead.”
Jo slowly pulled his shirt out of his pants. Already, she could see a sliver of his pale torso. Hands trembling, she rolled up the hem the rest of the way and allowed her eyes to graze the solid mass of muscles packed together on his chest.
Jo sucked in a breath and glanced up.
Sun Gi was staring right at her with a look that took her breath away. “I’m going to ask you a question and I need you to answer honestly.”
She swallowed. “What?”
“Are you,” he paused, “are you Nightingale?”
14
Jo felt time suspend, stretch. Her heart thundered in her chest, galloping faster than a herd of wild horses. She licked her lips. Saw the moment that Sun Gi’s gaze dipped there and lingered.
How’d he find out?
Her hand flattened against his side, right above his cut. She dug into the material of his shirt, struggling to hold tight to her sanity when Sun Gi was so close to her. Piercing her with his dark, liquefying gaze.
“I—”
Her phone buzzed.
Grasping onto the sound like a drowning woman diving for a life vest, she wrenched her body away from his and grabbed her purse. Her fingers darted through the insides of the bag until she found her phone.
Wrenching it free, she slapped it to her face. “Hello?”
“Jo, where are you?”
“Mom?” Guilt flooded her. There was no way her mom would be okay if she knew Jo was at a man’s house at this time of night.
Especially when that man was engaged.
Especially when Jo knew that and still couldn’t control her attraction to him.
“Come home. We need to discuss something.”
“Yes, of course. Right away.” Jo hung up and popped out of the sofa. “That was my mother. I need to go.”
“Jo…”
She flung her purse strap over her shoulder and backed away from Sun Gi’s mesmerizingly dark eyes. “I’m sorry for bailing when you’re injured, but the cut doesn’t look too deep. You should be able to take care of it yourself.”
Sun Gi rose from the couch. His shirt fell gracefully to his waist, covering up the muscles she’d ogled earlier when she was supposed to have been patching him up.
Urgency pounded through her body. Jo gave up on a classy, elegant goodbye and sprinted toward the door. She grabbed her keys from the hook in the foyer, slammed her feet into her shoes and streamed outside.
Without a second to slow down or look back, she dove into her car and peeled through the gate.
Jo didn’t ease her foot off the gas until she was home.
A few minutes later, she parked in the garage and tried to calm down. Her brown skin heated up when she was flustered and she was sure her cheeks were redder than flames right now.
Worry about Sun Gi later. Let’s deal with Mom first.
She straightened and climbed out of the car. The fact that her mother had called to summon her home was strange. Jo had always been a responsible daughter—never talking back, doing well in school and dating guys she knew they’d approve of.
Because of her track record, her parents didn’t meddle in her personal life or worry when she was out late.
Of course, Jo responded to their trust by periodically giving them updates to let them know she wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere. It was a system that worked for them. At least it had until now.
What had spurred Mom to call her home all of a sudden?
Jo sighed wearily and stopped to take off her shoes before she stepped into the kitchen.
The room was dark, but she could see well thanks to the light shimmering from the living room. Two figures sat in the sofa. She saw the back of her mom’s head—silky black hair falling to her shoulders—and her dad’s closely shaved brown hair brushed to waves.
Jo cleared her throat. “Mom?”
“Come and sit, Jo.” Her mother’s tone brooked no argument and Jo withheld a groan. It had been such a long day. She was not in the mood for a lecture. Not right now.
“Mom, if this is because I didn’t text, there’s a good explanation—” Jo trekked around the couch and stopped short when she saw her mother’s stormy expression. “What happened?”
Her father leaned forward and balanced his elbows on his thighs. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with ebony skin and wide intelligent eyes. He ran a thumb and forefinger over his moustache and eyed her seriously.
“What?” Jo pressed.
“Were you fired from your grandmother’s store?” her father asked.
Jo stiffe
ned.
“I told you it was true!” Min-seo snapped. “Omma wouldn’t make up a story like that.”
“Let’s hear what Joana has to say first.”
Jo tried to swallow past the lump in her throat and realized that she couldn’t. This was the last thing she’d expected after all that had happened tonight.
“How’d you find out?” she croaked.
“Is that really the question you should be asking, young lady?” Black eyes blazing, Min-seo scooted to the edge of her seat. “When were you going to tell us? If at all?”
“I was going to, Mom. I swear. It’s just that… I wanted to find another job first.” She cleared her throat. “Who told you?”
“Halmoni called tonight,” her dad explained. “She said your severance package was available.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?” Her mother shrieked. “That’s all you have to say to me?”
“It’s late.” Her father checked his watch. “Why don’t we all turn in and discuss this when we’re a little calmer tomorrow morning.”
“No, we will discuss this now.”
Frustration bubbled in Jo’s chest. She was so… tired. “Mom, you know how Halmoni is. Why are you taking her side?”
“This isn’t about sides. I’m appalled that my own daughter would lie to my face for weeks. Where did you go all day if you weren’t at Halmoni’s store?”
Jo avoided her gaze. “Here and there.”
Min-seo clutched the back of her neck and moaned. “Aigoo.”
Joana stared at her mother’s strained expression. She’d been so stressed about finding a new job before telling them about quitting the store, she’d forgotten what pissing Halmoni off would do to them. To her mother.
Guilt flooded her chest and the hostility that had been boiling in her voice evaporated. Her mother’s last link to her family had been cut and it was her fault.
“Tell us what happened, Jo,” her father said gently.
“Halmoni wanted me to quit helping out at Sweet Treats.”
“Why?”
“Because Sky’s dating Joon Gi.”
Min-sea tilted her head. “You mean Kim Joon Gi?”
“The guy who bribed the customs officers?” Her dad frowned.
Jo nodded. “I know what you’re both thinking, but he’s really not a bad person—questionable business ethics aside. And he loves Sky.”