Aaron swirled the amber liquid in his glass, eyes fixed on the girl weaving through the crowd below. Karen moved with effortless grace, slipping between strangers as though the chaos bent around her.
Across the table, Tokio sat slouched with a glass of scotch, watching Aaron with thinly veiled frustration.
"So it's true then? Her name really is Karen Leichster?"
Aaron didn't look away. He simply nodded.
"And how exactly did you find that out?"
At last, Aaron shifted, tilting the glass so the ice rattled, a smile ghosting across his lips—cold, calculated.
"You don't need to know. Your only job is to keep her safe. Until I decide to take her."
Tokio leaned forward, incredulous. "Why her? I've got plenty of women working for me."
Aaron set the glass down, reclining in his chair with one leg bent and his arm draped lazily across the seat beside him. "Because she's new. And I happen to enjoy breaking in new things. That girl…" His eyes slid back to Karen, sharp and unrelenting. "…looks like she'll be fun to conquer."
Tokio exhaled, shaking her head. "And when you've had your fun? You'll throw her away, like you did Syahlom?"
Aaron didn't flinch. "When I'm bored, yes."
"Do you even hear yourself?"
"I hear it just fine." He said it like a joke, though his gaze burned, hungry. Like a predator marking its prey.
Karen could feel it, too. The prickle on the back of her neck, that creeping awareness that she was being hunted. She didn't need to turn around to know whose eyes were on her. Aaron Tokugawa—the lunatic who had once abducted her just to ask whether she was comfortable.
Devil in human skin. That's what he was.
Pain stabbed her injured hand again. She slipped into the restroom, locked the door, and peeled off the bandages. Her breath caught. Bones jutted at grotesque angles, twisting upward and down. Yesterday it was a fracture. Today it was worse. She needed surgery—expensive surgery—and she had nothing left.
Cursing Aaron and his driver under her breath, she forced her trembling hands to rewrap the wound. She just needed to survive five more hours. Five. She walked back out as though nothing was wrong. As though her bones weren't tearing her apart from the inside.
***
Aaron noticed the falter in her step. The tray balanced awkwardly in her left hand, the right barely steadying it. He thought of the bandages, and his frown deepened.
"She's hurt?"
Tokio blinked. "Who?"
Aaron's brow arched, impatient. His gaze cut toward Karen.
"If you mean Karen, yes. Yesterday she punched some bastard in the face. Hurt herself doing it." Tokio smirked. "For a moment, I thought it was you."
Aaron's jaw tightened. "So you added more security—for her?"
"Maybe," Tokio exhaled smoke, "or maybe to keep her away from you."
Aaron scoffed, but his eyes never left her. "How bad?"
"She won't tell me."
"Send her home. Now."
Tokio frowned. "She's mine, Aaron."
Aaron turned his head slowly, voice flat, deadly. "No. She'smine. Send her home."
"This club belongs to me. Until you put a claim on her, she's mine."
Aaron only smiled—soft, dangerous. "Then send her home, or I'll cut your funding."
Tokio's eyes widened. "You wouldn't—"
Aaron pulled out his phone, dialing. "Ken? Stop the—"
Tokio lunged across the table, snatching the phone, slamming it shut. Her glare was sharp, but Aaron leaned back, serene.
"Never test me, Tokio."
Tokio muttered a curse, shoving the phone back. "If you're so impatient, why not just make her yours already?"
"You're asking questions you shouldn't," Aaron murmured. "Send her home."
***
Karen bristled at Tokio's order. "Why should I leave? My shift ends in thirty minutes."
Tokio grit her teeth. Damn Aaron for dragging her into this. "You're injured. You should be resting."
"My hand is fine."
"I saw you stumble, Karen."
"I won't faint."
"And if you drop a tray of thousand-yen drinks? Will you pay in installments?"
She swallowed. "…Yes."
"And if you run?" She cut her off with a shake of her head. "Go home. I'll pay you on time. No tricks. Just rest."
Her eyes narrowed. "This is because of Aaron Tokugawa, isn't it?"
Tokio forced a laugh. "No. I'm just sorry you got hurt here. That's on me."
But Karen didn't believe it. Aaron's shadow lingered over everything.
Still, her hand throbbed like fire, and she was running out of strength. "Fine. I'll go."
She was halfway across the street when a car cut her off. The door opened, and he stepped out.
Aaron Tokugawa.
She cursed under her breath. She should've taken the main road. Of course he'd be waiting. He leaned against his car, folding his arms, smiling like the devil he was.
"We meet again."
Karen didn't answer.
"So your hand really is injured. I thought it was just for show."
"You're in my way."
"I'm offering you a ride."
"No, thank you."
He swung the car door open with a single hand. "I don't take rejection well."
"Then I'll be the first woman to say no."
His brow lifted, a smirk tugging his mouth. "Get in, Karen."
"Or what—you'll abduct me again?"
"I didn't abduct you. I simply brought you into my car."
"Without consent, that's called—" Her words broke on a sharp cry of pain, "…kidnapping."
"Call it whatever you want. Get in."
Her vision blurred. The world tilted. Pain faded, replaced by dizzy emptiness. And before she could refuse him again, everything went dark.