“Everyone but Tommy, get out.”
The room clears in less than a second, his guys sprinting for the exit. The door slams shut behind them, leaving just me, Young-gi, and whoever is still struggling inside the coffin on the floor.
“What the fuck is going on here?” I demand, trying to keep my tone reasonable, trying to control myself…but I’m allowed to be freaked out by this, right?!
“I told you I had business, or else I would’ve gone to dinner with you. Kira summoned me right as I was in the middle of it, so I came straight here.”
I put my hands on my hips and glare. Scowl. Puff myself up and brace myself for an answer I might not really want or be able to handle. “Who’s in the box?”
Rather than take me seriously, rather than react defensively, nervously, or any other way, Young-gi sighs. “You can open it, if you want to. Ideally it would’ve been taken care of without you getting involved, but,” he shrugs. “You needed me.”
“I don’t need anything,” I deny quickly, even though my knees go a little weak at his words. “That’s fucking crazy.”
The words ring between us, echoing in the emptiness. And it’s a lie, I know it is. He knows it is. We both know, at this point, that I need him and whatever the fuck he does to me.
“Is it crazy?” His body language changes, and my heart picks up speed as he takes a slow step toward me, stalking me. I take a step back, but he mirrors me, trying to close the distance.
“Maybe it is, Tommy. It certainly seems crazy for me to drop everything and run to you at the first hint of something wrong. The way I reacted when I got the message that you and Kira were in trouble… I can’t even describe to you what I felt. I don’t know what it was, but it made me feel completely out of control. I’ve never felt that way before. The way you affect me is so unexpected, so unprecedented, so unique. Maybe I’m crazy foryou, Tommy. But is that really a surprise? I thought I’d made myself clear.”
“I don’t–” I swallow hard, then flinch when I accidentally back into the crate. I jerk away from it, uncomfortable. “Who’s in there?”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Are you afraid?”
“Kinda, yeah!”
“Why?”
“You have somebody in abox!” I wave at it frantically.
“It’s no one you like,” he reassures me, looking confused at my wariness. I open my mouth, then snap it shut when his words register.
“Is it…someone Idon’tlike?”
Without answering my question, he stalks to a nearby drawer and yanks out a crowbar and holds it out to me. “Open it, and find out.”
I stare at the offering, trepidation being replaced by curiosity. Someone I don’t like… There are a few people who come to mind.
“Why did you kidnap them?” I ask, not taking the crowbar yet.
“A few reasons,” Young-gi drawls, waving the bar at me tauntingly. “Logically, it was to tie up loose ends and cover our tracks. But truthfully? I just wanted to hurt him for hurting you. Are you going to open your present or not? Are you too scared, Tommy?”
My…my present?And shit, I must be sick in the head, because as much as that scares me, it thrills me, too.
“Fine!” I snarl, not liking the dare. I snatch the bar and shove the envelope of blackmail photos against his chest, brandishing my new weapon with ease. “But if I don’t like what I see, I get to hit you with this.”
“Now you’re just begging for a spanking, Tommy.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snap, wedging the crowbar under the ledge of the lid. With a grunt and a heave of effort, I split the top from that corner of the box, yanking the nails out. The person inside is being quiet now, waiting to see what happens. Probably scared shitless, which makes guilt and anxiety swirl inside me. I repeat the process on each corner until I can lift the lid of the makeshift coffin and peer inside.
I blink down at the man in disbelief and shock. He’s tied up, gagged, and covered in bruises that I put on him only a few days ago. The lid of the box hits the floor with abangthat makes my captive flinch.
“What the fuck?” I chuckle, disbelief making my pitch too high. The chuckle turns into a laugh, and as Oscar stares at me like I’m his only hope, I completely lose it. I clutch my stomach and howl with laughter until I’m literally crying from it. I lean against the side of his crate, hooting and whipping my eyes.
“Holy shit,” I manage between hysterical giggles. “This is too absurd.”
My laugh rings through the room as I lean heavily on the side of the crate. Young-gi is stone-cold silent, and Oscar–the dickwad who tried to assault my friend at the nightclub–is whimpering quietly in the coffin, and it’s all just too much.
“Young-gi, w-w-what the fuck?” I shake out through the uncontrollable laughter. “This is so, holy shit, oh fuck that’s so funny.”
