Beautifully Cruel

Chapter 24

JENNIE

In the library, I find my handbag lying on the table beside my laptop. I dig my phone from the bag and unlock it, sighing when I see I've got fifteen missed calls from Jungkook, along with several panicked texts. The last one is in all caps.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOU'RE OKAY!!!

I dial his number, worried he'll do something stupid if he doesn't hear from me.

"Jen!" he shouts the second he picks up. "Thank god! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I promise. Everything is okay."

There's a pause, then he exhales a heavy breath. "Jesus. I've been totally freaking out."

"I'm sorry about last night. I had no idea he would—"

"Don't fucking apologize for him!"

When I'm silent, startled by the viciousness of his tone, he turns sheepish. "Shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I've just been so worried. Then you didn't come into work tonight, and I thought..." He's quiet for a moment, then his voice drops. "I thought he might have hurt you."

I say with conviction, "He'd never hurt me."

"Jen," he replies softly, "don't be naïve. We're talking about a man who's ordered the execution of dozens of his enemies. He hurts people because he likes to."

Or maybe because they deserve it.

I'm so surprised by that thought, I remain silent. I don't want to consider what it means, much less let it come out of my mouth.

"Listen, I know you don't know much about him—"

"I know enough."

It's Jungkook's turn to be surprised into silence. After a moment, he says, "So you know he's the head of the Irish mafia?"

"I do now."

"But you didn't before last night?"

"No."

"So, basically he was lying to you about who he was."

"He was trying to protect me."

Jungkook's laugh is hard and disbelieving. "You're too smart to believe that."

Anger slowly unfurls in my stomach, like a snake with its coils. "Did he hurt you?"

A grudging pause, then: "No."

"Do you know why?"

Through gritted teeth: "Because you asked him not to."

"Correct. And if you think I'm a helpless victim here, you're wrong."

"You might not be helpless, but you're still his victim."

Heat crawls up my neck, making my ears glow, setting my face on fire. "I've never been a victim in my whole life, and I'm definitely not one now."

There's a long, tense silence. "He's listening, isn't he? He's standing right there with a gun to your head, telling you what to say."

Slowly, clearly, I say, "No. He's not listening. There's no gun. And he'd never presume to tell me what to say. He doesn't treat me like that."

"I don't believe you."

"I can't help that, but it's the truth."

His voice rises. "Do you hear yourself? You're defending him! He's a gangster, Jen! He's a thug!"

I keep my voice even, though my hands are shaking, and my stomach is in knots. "As I recall, you told me you were once a thug."

"Who I was ten years ago is a very different fucking thing than who Kim Taehyung is right now!"

"I'm going to need you to stop shouting at me, or this conversation is over."

I hear his breathing over the line, hard and irregular, and know he's infuriated.

"So, you're his girlfriend now or something?"

Or something. A faint smile lifts my lips.

I wonder who I'm becoming. This woman who finds humor in her own demise. This person who can hold such vastly opposing ideas in mind and still function.

"Look, I just called to let you know I'm fine and to check in."

He huffs. "You could've called earlier to find out if I was fine. You saw the way he had that guy throw me out of the restaurant. I could've been lying in an alley somewhere with a bullet in my head!"

"I know you won't understand this, and you probably won't believe it, either, but when he told me he wouldn't hurt you, that was a promise."

He snaps, "And when I told you I didn't need you to ask him for protection, that was a promise, too."

I frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I've got my own ways of protecting myself. Kim Taehyung isn't the only one with connections. And he sure as hell isn't the only one who knows how to make people disappear."

That makes all the hair on my arms stand on end. "Jungkook, please don't do anything stupid. There's no need to escalate this situation. Nobody got hurt—"

"Not yet, they haven't," he says darkly. "But you're lying to yourself if you think getting involved with a man like that ends any other way than with blood."

He disconnects.

I stare at the phone in my hand, so unsettled I can't think straight. Then I turn around and walk out of the library, down the long, echoing hallway and into the master bedroom.

Taehyung is lying on his back on the king-size bed staring at the ceiling with his feet crossed at the ankle and his arms crossed behind his head. He's bare chested and barefoot, wearing only a pair of black jeans.

I say, "How does almost everyone in this town seem to know who you are, but I can't find out a single thing about you on the internet?"

His tone is quiet and calm. Unlike mine, which is high and bordering on hysterical.

"I employ people to keep my name off the internet, but word of mouth is unstoppable. Why are you upset?"

Agitated, I shift my weight from foot to foot. "I just talked to Jungkook."

His gaze slices from the ceiling over to me. He waits.

"He thinks I'm your victim."

"Then he doesn't know you at all."

"You did kidnap me."

His eyes glitter. His voice drops. "But you still don't feel like a victim, do you?"

I think of the open passageway to the street at the Italian restaurant. "No."

When his eyes warm, I add, "I could be deluding myself. My hormones might have staged a coup on my brain."

His strong chest rises and falls with his heavy breath. He returns his gaze to the ceiling. "I'm really starting to dislike that kid."

Though his tone is dry, I know it's not a threat.

Our gazes hold for a moment before I turn around and head back to the library, my head screaming at me not to let myself have feelings for this stranger who's suddenly taken over my life while my heart warns that it's already too late for that.

I try to study for a while but give up. I'm too distracted. I call Lisa, but it goes to voicemail. I leave a message telling her I'll be staying with Taehyung for a while, which I know she already knows, and for future reference, I'd appreciate it if she took my side once in a while.

I lean over, rest my head on my arms on the tabletop, and close my eyes, trying not to cry.

I fall asleep that way, sitting in a chair, face down over a table. Which is how Taehyung finds me when he comes in sometime later.

Without a word, he picks me up in his arms and takes me back to bed.