Junho voice was soft as he sang, the higher pitched notes coming out so clear. It made me feel both happiness and sadness. I didn't understand Korean, but I enjoyed how the melody could tug at your soul.
"That song is from a drama, right? What does it mean?" I remember the song being from one of my favorites dramas; Secret Garden.
"It means: ‘It's okay to give you my everything and lose my everything. You may not know how much do I love you here I am.’ It was one of my mom's favourite songs. She would sing the duet with my dad all the time."
"Can you keep singing it? I like your voice. It's calming." I laid my head back against his chest; my eyes felt heavy.
"Sure."
He continued singing the melody; his hand played with my hair as I listened. His voice kept the bad thoughts away; my body relaxed with each lyric.
"Junho."
"Yes, Scarlet?"
"Thanks for caring." I whispered.
"Anything for you, Sweetheart." He whispered.
I closed my eyes, allowing myself to fall asleep
Chapter Fourteen
"I can't take this anymore."
I opened my eyes; the soft voice made an appearance in my head, yet again.
I had to admit, I should have been more concerned by her presence, but right now I agreed with her. This silence was going to kill me before we even arrived at the investigation site.
We were heading over to the site with Jaxson driving us. Junho had called shotgun, so I sat next to Michael. Ethan had found some leads on Lizard breath and would call us if anything changed in this location. Christian kept a close tab on his whereabouts, insisting he'd follow him if he moved from the coffee shop he was relaxing at.
I didn't get why they all kept calling him Lizard breath – the picture of his long black hair and black eyes gave me no such impression, but if that was his designated nickname, so be it.
The fifteen-minute drive had been in complete silence. I sighed, having enough of it.
“Can’t wait till we get to our destination.”
Junho turned his head to look at me.
"Me too.” The sing-song voice replied.
“Me three.”
I blinked, rubbing at my temple. Wait, who the hell are you?
The thought was left unanswered as the voices vanished, yet again. I groaned, getting frustrated. I need fucking counseling. Maybe a mental exam.
"Scar. You okay?"
I lifted my head to see Michael's worried expression. I turned to see Junho looking back at me and Jaxson looking through the rear-view mirror.
"What? Ya, I'm okay. Why?" I asked, confused.
"You said you need fucking counselling or a mental exam?" Junho replied. Aww fuck.
"Hahaha. Ah, it's nothing, nothing at all." I said, waving my hand in front of me to brush the subject away. Jaxson returned to concentrating on the road while Junho frowned, eyeing me closely before turning back to face the front.
I took a quick side glance at Michael who was staring intently at me.
"I'm fine." I whispered; my hand went on his knee. I saw his shoulders relax before he nodded. Yup, need to change the topic.
"Do any of you guys wanna go to a water resort?" I questioned. I was greeted with silence. Oh, c'mon. What did I do?
Jaxson and Junho burst into loud laughter; the car swerved a little to the left as Jaxson regained control.
"What's so funny?" I asked confused.
"Good fucking luck. Michael won't dare go closer than twenty feet near a fucking puddle." Junho laughed; his head fell back on the seat as he slapped his leg.
"Remember the time we went parachuting, and he thought he was gonna land in the fucking ocean? He fainted. Full on passed out. I nearly died." Jaxson roared with laughter.
I turned to face Michael who had a sour expression on his face.
"You don't like water?" I questioned.
"I hate it." He snarled before glaring at the two who continued their laughing fit.
"Why? It's just water. You bathe with it and drink it. What’s the deal?" I tried to think of all the possibilities why someone would hate water.
"I just do. It doesn't like me, and I don't like it." He argued.
"Water doesn't have feelings, Michael." I retorted. He looked away.
"Does that mean you can't swim?"
He didn't answer; his face appeared even sourer.
"He can't. We've tried. There's no way he'd come with us to a water resort." Jaxson commented, turning the wheel slightly as we pulled into the right lane – exiting the toll highway.
"What if I bribed him?" I rejoiced at the idea.
"There's nothing you can do to get him to say yes. We've tried everything." Junho brushed off the idea, not even bothering to turn around. I looked back at Michael, wondering what I could say for him to go.
"Even if I come along?" I questioned.
"Even if you come along, I won't go."
"Even if I wear a bikini."
"...No."
"A red, two-piece bikini." I continued. I could see his eye twitch as he tried to keep his sour expression.
"I still won't go."
Hmmm. What can I do?
"Tell him you'll go to the private hot springs with him and do lovely things." I took a moment to think about the idea. Not bad.
I took off my seatbelt, leaning forward as I whispered in his ear.
"You and me in the hot spring. No one around, no clothes, just us. I'll make the experience very enjoyable.” I whispered in a low, seductive voice. I could already feel his cock harden against my hand, not realizing I’d placed my hand directly on his lap, instead of his thigh. Oops.
He pulled back to stare at my eyes – as if he needed to make sure my words were truthful.
"Fine."
The car came to a dramatic stop; Michael’s hand wrapped around my waist to stop me from falling back.
"Jaxson! Scar doesn’t have a seat bel–" Michael cursed but was interrupted.
"WHAT!" Junho and Jaxson both yelled.
"What the fuck you mean what?" Michael yelled back.
"You did not just say you'd go to a fucking hot spring. My ears must have popped and misheard your agreement." Junho said dramatically.
"Scarlet what did you say to him?" Jaxson questioned. I smiled sweetly before sitting back in my seat, pulling my seatbelt on.
"It's our secret, but Michael's going with us. I can't wait." I said, clapping my hands in glee.
They both eyed Michael before mumbling under their breaths; Jaxson took his foot off the brake; continuing the drive down the residential road.
That was a good icebreaker. Thanks, mysterious voice.
"Serenity."
What?
"My name is Serenity."
You’re from my dream.
"I'm more than a dream Scarlet. I'm –"
"We're here. Let's get this over with. Agent titles if someone is nearby, and make sure your handguns are loaded." Jaxson announced as he parked the car on the empty street.
Dammit. Serenity?
No reply. Ugh. I need to tell the others or maybe Cece after this.
I took a deep breath as I opened the car door, allowing my investigator side to take over as we faced the abandoned-looking home.
Ethan explained that the house we were going to investigate was owned by a jewelry shop owner who was currently in a different country, having decided to go abroad to check out the sales market pricing.
Christian had kept tabs on Xerxes' junkies and this house was their prime spot. Xerxes had been searching for something that he believed could potentially be in this house. It was up to us to find out what. We were fairly certain that he was searching for the stone or jewel they spoke about in my vision.
I hadn’t remembered anything from the vision – Ethan had retrieved the detailed images I had drawn immediately afterwards, from the file back at headquarters and brought them over for me to review.
Junho said he had a few frie
nds who may potentially know the location of the stone if it wasn't hidden in this house. If today's mission was a failure he'd contact his best friend Marcus Hunt and see if he or his group of friends knew of the stone's whereabouts.
I took a quick scan of the old, run-down home complex. The brown wood was covered in vines, the leaves withered and shriveled up. The garden was a wasteland, not even one flower alive, confirming that no one had attended to them in months. Jaxson was in front of me, while Junho and Michael trailed behind as we made our way to the front porch.
The excessive amount of mail sticking out of the mailbox and on the floor was enough to tell us the owner wasn't planning to return anytime soon. From what we’d gathered, we presumed he wasn’t going for a short trip.
We’d checked the records and his current shop had been doing very poorly and he’d most likely been using his own funds to keep the place running.
Now, after a lengthy period of time he’d yet to return – our database and information gathered left us no clue as to how long he’d been gone. It made me curious as to whether he opened a jewelry store elsewhere? If I was in his situation and found somewhere I could sell jewelry, beads, other crafts and made double the income, I wouldn’t return either.
Jaxson turned to look at us.
"Michael and Scar. Investigate the house. Find as much as you can. Xerxes' junkies shouldn’t come back, so we have time, but I’d rather get this over in a timely manner. Junho and I will investigate the backyard and perimeter. Maybe we can talk to some of the neighbors and see when was the last time they saw Mr. Yuzaki. I want a detailed timeline as to how long he’s been overseas. Put on your communicator devices. Ethan is on surveillance monitoring and will let us know if anyone’s coming. Christian is nearby as well. Any questions?"
I turned back to look at Michael and Junho who shook their heads.
"Alright. Let's get going."
Michael went ahead, slipping on a pair of gloves before opening the door, making his way in. I was about to follow when Jaxson blocked my path.
"Scarlet, gloves."
I blinked; my eyes grew wide before I realized I wasn't wearing my gloves. Aww shit! I left them in the car.
He smiled at my distraught face; pulling out a small, decorative package with a bow on top. He presented it to me.
"What’s this?" I whispered; Junho only a few feet away on his phone.
"Open it, and you'll find out." He whispered back. I took my time opening the gift, cherishing this moment.
The wrapping paper revealed a brand-new pair of black, leather gloves. I inspected the smooth material, noticing the gloves could become fingerless with the flip of the fabric. I noticed the embroidered lettering at the wrist – AGENT SINCLAIR in pink cursive with red lips designed on the end.
"This...is for me?" I tried to keep my emotions at bay, but shit. I hadn't received a gift from anyone but Cece in years. Even Jake failed at giving me gifts. I guess he didn't realize after five years of dating me that the price tag didn't matter to me when it came to gifts. As long as you thought of me, you could give me a pair of socks and I'd treasure them.
"Yes. Can't have you passing out today or on any investigation that requires us to be on high alert. They’re water and blood proof, so feel free to get messy with them. If dust gets on them, hold your breath and clap a few times. It will fall off instead of clinging to the material." Jaxson explained.
I looked up at him, giving him a wide, teeth exposing smile.
"Thank you, Jaxson." I whispered.
"You’re welcome Scarlet. Now back to agent mode. We don't have any more time to spare." He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before heading over to Junho who was smiling like he'd won the lottery, clearly watching our exchange. I slipped the gloves on; making my way inside, using my foot to close the door.
Two steps from the door, and I was already in the living room. I wrinkled my nose; the stale air made me want to sneeze. Michael walked out of the kitchen to my right.
"Someone's been snooping around for sure. I checked the kitchen pantry and there are sheets tucked in the shelves."
"Sheets? Why would there be sheets in there?"
"I think it's the sheets that were once on the furniture." Michael suggested.
"So, Mr. Yuzaki knew he'd be a while." I mumbled. I heard the beep in my ear.
"Ethan here. Update on Mr. Yuzaki's plans. He was aware of his long-term stay abroad. I found a call made between him and some real estate agent two years back. He explained that the furniture was draped to ensure the antique pieces would be intact. He also hired a gardener to come check the premises once a week as well as a cleaner. I personally think he wasn’t planning to stay such a lengthy period of time."
Michael and I shared a look. Michael pressed the button on his earpiece.
"Did you search on the whereabouts of the gardener and cleaner?" He questioned.
"Yup. Dead. Gardener has been dead for six months and the cleaner had been on vacation in the Philippines, returning last week. She was found dead an hour after visiting the home. I called her employer and they informed me that she had wanted to speak with the manager as to who was covering while she was gone but didn't go into details with the secretary." Ethan explained.
I started pacing around; my thoughts left my mouth.
"She would have informed them that no one had been attending to the house. Not to mention the removal of sheets. They don't want anyone finding out they've been snooping."
Michael nodded.
"Thanks, Ethan. We’ll start looking around and fill you in." Michael confirmed. We both took a glance around the room.
"Scar. Stay down here and start your assessment. I'll go upstairs. If you find anything suspicious, use the com device." Michael ordered. I nodded; my body moved to the kitchen.
After an hour and fifteen minutes of searching through the kitchen, bathroom, living room and fireplace, I'd found nothing. I opened the closet door, looking at the one suit coat jacket hanging in the bare closet.
"Really. Only one coat jacket." I mumbled. This doesn't make sense, why would these junkies leave this jacket...
"It's laced with magic."
I practically jumped, looking around the empty room. I heard a creak from the ceiling, giving me the clue that Michael was still upstairs doing his designated search.
Serenity?
"Who else would have a voice like mine, silly girl?" She giggled. I sighed.
It's not my fault. I don't think I should be talking back to the voice in my head.
"Well you’re a tad special, Scarlet. Now, check the coat jacket before I disappear again." She ordered.
I can't believe I'm taking orders from the voice inside my head.
"It's Serenity, not the voice inside your head. Stop stalling, you don't have much time."
I wanted to argue, but I decided to roll my eyes and get on with checking the jacket pockets.
I flinch at the electric jolt that shocked my fingertips. Jeez, settle down electricity.
I cautiously poked at the fabric again, bracing myself for another shock but was greeted with nothing.
I checked each pocket; my eyes scanned the interior gold lining, and they caught a line. That's not supposed to be there...a hidden pocket?
I poked my hand against the lining, using some force to separate the re-sewn material. I stuck my two fingers in the space, feeling a thick piece of paper.
I pulled the item out – a business card. My eyes widened at the familiar name – Marilyn Sinclair – Artist & Craft Designer.
What is my mom's card doing in his pocket? She's been dead for years.
I looked at the back, noticing the symbol before me – a replica of the tattoo on my back. Yup, totally not scary at all.
"SHIT! Scar, Michael. Lizard breath is approaching the home."
My eyes widened, quickly looking around for a place to hide. Fuck, where can I hide this thing? My one jean pocket could barely fit my phone – the device stuck out
. If we have to run, I may lose it.
"Bra, silly."
RIGHT! Serenity you're a genius. I quickly slid the card in my bra, before a fast set of footsteps came down the stairs – Michael's wide eyes greeted me.
"He's at the fucking porch guys. HIDE." Ethan snarled through the speaker. I looked at the open closet that was big enough to fit one person or maybe two people my size.
But Michael's tall structure would lead to a very cramped space. I guess we don't have a fucking choice.
I ran into the closet, Michael joined me as he closed the door, locking it. I then noticed his hand glowed – a weird circle design appeared on the doorknob. What. The. Fuck.
"Michael –" I whispered; fear laced my words.
He turned to face me; his body pressed against me as my back hit the wall.
"Scarlet, listen to me. You can’t speak until Lizard breath leaves. He can sense fear."
"What do you fucking mean he can sense fear? We’re hiding!" I whispered back, trying not have a full-blown panic attack.
"What he means is that the lizard shifter can sense how scared shitless you are."
I froze at the new voice in my head. Oh, my fucking god. I'm officially going crazy.
Who the fuck are you?
"Aurora."
"Maybe you should have waited till after Lizard breath was gone before appearing."
"Well, shit, it's not my fucking fault this stupid seal thing keeps blocking us."
I felt my hands begin to tremble. There are voices talking in my fucking mind.
Michael hands gripped my shoulders.
"Scarlet. Are you listening to me? You need to calm the fuck down." He snarled in a hushed tone.
"I can't! There...there's these voices in my head ever since the crystal ball incident, and they're talking to me, and I don't know what to do." I explained quickly, feeling like Ethan when he went off on a spur of words.
Michael's eyes widened for a second before he cursed.
"Scarlet listen to me. I swear, we’ll explain this later, but I'm gonna do something to calm you down, but I want your permission to do it and we don't have time for you to think about it."
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