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Nothing. She said nothing. She was going to drive him crazy.
Still, maybe she couldn’t, or was too embarrassed. Who was he to even ask? She didn’t know anything about him.
He needed to get Kota alone. Just for a minute. He needed the full story.
He didn’t want to abandon her, either. If he invited her along for the day, maybe she’d get distracted by shopping, something in a store, and he could get two words in with Kota.
“Okay,” Victor said. He shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets then nodded to his car. “Well, I came to take Kota to the mall. Are you going with us?”
She didn’t talk for the longest time, though he knew she’d heard; her cheeks turned red again. What’s the deal? They were just going to a mall, he thought.
“Maybe we can put that off for a few hours,” Kota said.
Was he crazy? Gabriel would kill them if they canceled. They needed to go if they wanted their suits to be ready on time.
“No,” she said before Victor could protest. She was focused on the dog who was relaxed, lying at Kota’s feet.
She bent down, scratching his belly.
They watched her, waiting.
Max rolled over as she continued to scratch. “It’s okay. You guys go. I’ve got things to do. I wouldn’t want to slow you down.”
Slow us down? Maybe she didn’t want to go. Or she really couldn’t. At least he’d get a chance to talk to Kota. They could see her later.
He was about to nod toward his car, but Kota wouldn’t look his way, focused on Sang, instead.
Slowly, Kota ducked down to catch her eyes, looking up at her intently. “Do you want to go?” he asked, quietly.
“It probably doesn’t matter,” she said, with a shrug. “I wouldn’t be allowed anyway.”
Well, crap. Her parents probably wouldn’t let her go out with two boys she didn’t know. Victor couldn’t blame them of course. Well, that’s that.
That’s when Kota shot him a look, silently urging him to help out.
What? What was he supposed to do? Kidnap her? He groaned internally. “What if we went and asked them?” he offered, putting his hands on his hips. “I mean, we’re not ax murderers.”
She looked right at him and smiled, amused.
He swallowed, trying to fix his face to smile back, but all he could do was stare. She made his insides quiver.
He’d never been so nervous around someone, not even while on stage in front of hundreds of people.
“It’s complicated,” she said. “My mom would just say no right off. It won’t matter who asks.”
Oh. A strict mom. No wonder she didn’t dare sneak back into her house at night. But then, she’s out now. What’s the problem? Were they not wondering where she is right now?
God, so many questions.
“We could try,” Kota said.
Victor couldn’t believe it. Why was he pressuring her?
Her lips twisted, and she was quiet as she seemed to be thinking. Finally, she said, “If you really want me to go, give me a few minutes.”
Victor’s heart raced and he clenched his teeth. Uh oh.
“What are you going to do?” Kota asked.
“She’s going to lie, dummy,” Victor said, frowning. Not a good idea. They were asking her to lie. Why pressure her into going? Why couldn’t they just leave without her? She’d said she was busy.
Kota frowned and rubbed his chin. “Really, it’s no big deal if we go talk to them.”
Couldn’t he see she didn’t want to go?
“I think it’s better if I just make a quick appearance and then don’t mention I’m going. They won’t notice I’m missing for a few hours.”
That struck him more than anything else she’d said yet.
They won’t notice I’m missing for a few hours.
He shared a look with Kota then, meeting his green eyes and then in the time it took to blink a few times, there was a serious, silent conversation between them.
What kind of family wouldn’t notice, if they were so strict she was afraid to say anything?
She was out last night, late, and too afraid to go home.
She was afraid.
That was what was wrong with her: Fear. That was the something off about her that had been haunting him and had him filled with questions from the start. A pretty girl, shy, and seemingly nice, but filled with anxiety over whatever awaited her at home.
Kota saw it, too. He’d probably seen it from the start. Of course, he would have recognized it right away. It was the same sort of fear Kota used to carry with him when they were younger. It was so similar, and now that Victor recognized it, he wondered how he hadn’t seen it before.
Something was terribly wrong within Sang’s house. No wonder Kota was pressuring her to stay with him. He didn’t want her to go back.
Victor gave in, knowing Kota wanted to get to the bottom of it. He couldn’t blame him. Victor was now too drawn in to let go. He shrugged. “We’ll wait,” he said.
She edged away and started walking down the drive. She was still barefoot, and was going to walk home.
Should he offer her to drive her over?
“Wait,” Kota said, rushing toward her, then stopped short and pointed toward his house. “I forgot. Your shoes are inside.”
She waved her hand as if wiping away a thought. “Oh yeah, my bag.”
Kota approached her, said something to her that Victor couldn’t hear, and Victor frowned again. Why was there a secret now?
Kota pulled away from her and headed to the garage. “Just grabbing her stuff.”
Her stuff.
She had a bag. She was out late. She was afraid.
Had she been trying to leave last night? Did Kota stop her?
Victor looked at her, and she stared back at him.
Her hands were shaking. Her cheeks held on to that blush. Those green eyes begged him silently to understand her, even if she could never say the words out loud.
She’d be the death of him with such a look.
???
After Kota returned and returned her things, she walked down the road. She was still walking barefoot, carrying her shoes with her.
Beautiful.
“What’s wrong with her?” Victor asked the moment she
got to her drive and was most certainly out of earshot. Thank god she couldn’t hear; the second the words were out of his mouth, Victor was ashamed for uttering them.
Kota was staring after her and didn’t even appear to hear Victor until she entered the garage and was out of sight. But he had heard. “I don’t know,” he finally said, quietly. “But I’ll find out.”
I’ll find out, Victor thought, even though it wasn’t like him. He was always the first to suggest they could work together on anything. “I can help, you know.”
Kota finally turned his head to look at him, his haunted green eyes an echo of hers. “Who knows,” he said. “Maybe it’s nothing.”
“I don’t think it’s nothing,” Victor said, and believed it. They had worked hundreds of cases with the Academy for years now. “No one looks like that. Not unless...” He couldn’t bring himself to say it, but they’d all suffered through abuse growing up, but maybe no one as bad as Kota. Victor didn’t need to point any of this out to him.
Kota just sighed and then shrugged. “I’ll tell you if there’s something to know.”
Maybe Victor was just overreacting or was being overly sensitive. Still, the prickling sensations on the back of his neck told him something wasn’t right. There was something in Sang’s world that she couldn’t talk about, and that was a good enough reason to look into it.
“We shouldn’t make her walk back,” Victor said. He took his keys out of his pocket and pushed the button to unlock his car doors. “Let’s go get her.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Kota said, but turned to walk around the car and get in the passenger seat. As he opened the door, he looked down at the envelope from that morning.
Victor got in the driver’s seat and smirked. “Well, I guess I should decline that,” he said. “Isn’t this old method of sending letters more obvious now than email?”
“Less traceable, though,” Kota said, picking it up and looking at the address in the corner. “I got one of these, too, but I haven’t had the chance to open it yet.”
“It may be the same thing,” Victor said, putting the key into the ignition.
