“Do we need to handle anything else?” Burke asked.
“No,” Raul answered with a shake of his head. “Everything has been taken care of. I’m going to shower in one of the spare rooms before I go to bed. You two get some sleep. And don’t tell Ji-Su about this,” he cautioned them both.
Before they could agree, there was movement in the dark hall leading to the stairs. A petite figure emerged from the shadowed space of the alcove there. Ji-Su. He wore one of Raul’s button-down shirts over a pair of his pajama bottoms. The shirt was several sizes too big, the rolled sleeves still long enough to cover most of his hands, and the hem hanging down to his knees. He looked adorable, but the sight of him made Raul freeze where he stood.
Ji-Su’s dark gaze moved between Raul, Gloria, and Burke before finally locking on Raul.
“Don’t tell Ji-Su about what?”
Chapter 43
Ji-Su stared at Raul, eyes trailing from his head, down to his boots, and back up again. Blood stained his clothes. His boots were practically soaked with it. Bruises marred his handsome face and his hair was no longer in the neatly combed back style from earlier that evening.
“Were you in an accident?” Ji-Su asked.
“No.”
“But you’re covered in blood.”
“It’s not my blood.”
An awful suspicion took root in Ji-Su’s mind. He hated to ask, didn’t want that awful suspicion confirmed, but he had to know. “What happened?”
Raul didn’t speak for several long moments. They locked eyes, Ji-Su’s stomach twisting into knots as he waited for his answer.
“Cedric is dead.”
The cooly stated announcement rocked Ji-Su so hard he actually swayed on his feet. He continued to stare at Raul, while everything else seemed to fade into a blur of vague shapes and colors. Through the sudden loud ringing in his ears, he heard footsteps. Gloria and Burke had walked away, leaving him alone with Raul. Alone with a murderer.
“Youkilledhim?”
Raul nodded once. “I told you I wouldn’t let him harm you again. I meant what I said.”
Ji-Su shook his head in disbelief. “You can’t kill someone because they did something that pissed you off.”
“Let me explain, cariño.”
Raul started toward him but Ji-Su swiftly backed up. In his clumsy haste to get away, his heel collided with the bottom step. He fell on his ass, hissing in pain when his elbow cracked on the hardwood staircase.
“Here, let me help you,” Raul said.
Raul came toward him and held out a hand to help him up, but Ji-Su cringed away. That hand was caked with dried blood.
“Stay away from me!” he shouted.
Raul went still. Ji-Su took advantage of that and flipped over. He scrambled up several steps on all fours until he managed to push himself to his feet. He kept going, running up the stairs, then down the hallway. When he made it to their bedroom, he rushed in and slammed the door behind him.
His heart racing, Ji-Su flipped on the lights, then stood there unsure what to do next. Raul could follow him of course. This was Raul’s house. Raul’s room. At the realization that he had nowhere to go to get away from Raul, Ji-Su knew that he had to get out of there. He ran to the closet, prepared to pack a bag and leave. Before he reached it however, the bedroom door opened.
Ji-Su spun around just as Raul walked in. Leaving the door open, he moved away from it but didn’t approach Ji-Su.
“Ji-Su please talk to me.”
“Okay, we can talk. I have questions for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“When we saw Cedric at the casino, he said you gave him a beat down. You blew it off as nothing and I stupidly let you. But I want to know the truth right now. What did you do to him?”
