Out of Nowhere (Balls and Brawn Bodyguard #4)

8. Chapter Eight Seo-jun

Chapter Eight: Seo-jun

“ S eo-jun!”

After Dex had left for Brand’s apartment, Seo-jun had finished his lunch and was about to start restocking the juice bar when Brand called to him.

“I just got a call from Sarah, next door.” Brand looked worried, and Seo-jun immediately walked around the bar to meet him. Sarah was a woman in her fifties who lived alone with her three cats in the apartment next to Brand’s. Dex was always giving them treats.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“She saw someone suspicious leaving my place a few minutes ago.”

Seo-jun frowned. Sarah knew Dex. Besides, Dex would have barely gotten there—he wouldn’t be leaving so soon.

“The person she described sounded like Matt,” Brand said.

“Call the police.” Seo-jun wiped his hands on the apron he was wearing before taking it off. “I’m going over there.”

“I’m going with you,” Brand said, cell phone already to his ear. Seo-jun didn’t argue. They didn’t have time, and Brand would be safer with Seo-jun than at the gym without him.

While Brand hung the closed sign on the door and locked up, telling Kaitlyn to go on home, Seo-jun took out his gun from the holster inside his pants and scanned the area outside the gym before hustling Brand to the car.

The six-minute drive to Brand’s building had never seemed so long. At the first red light, Seo-jun shot a text to Jase about the situation. Fortunately, he made every light after that one. In front of Brand’s building, Seo-jun parked illegally and hustled Brand inside, the sound of sirens in the distance assuring him the police were on their way. He was tempted to take the stairs, but the lobby was vacant and the elevator opened immediately when Seo-jun pressed the button.

As soon as they got to Brand’s floor, Seo-jun’s heart rate tripled when he saw that the door of Brand’s apartment stood ajar.

Sarah stepped out of her apartment. Seo-jun guessed she must have been watching for them through the peephole of her door.

“The police are coming,” he told her before turning to Brand. “Go inside Sarah’s apartment with her and stay there until the police get here. Lock the door behind you.”

With that accomplished, Seo-jun considered his next move. He should wait for the police. The sirens were louder now—just outside the building. But hell if he was going to waste more time when Dex could be hurt. The inside of the apartment was dark. Gun at the ready, Seo-jun pushed it the rest of the way open and charged into the apartment. A scan of the living room and kitchen showed them to be empty. Seo-jun quickly checked the balcony before heading for the bedrooms.

That’s when he saw the body on the hallway floor.

“Dex!” Rushing forward, Seo-jun forced himself to follow protocol and check out the bedrooms and bathrooms to make sure the assailant wasn’t hiding in one of them, although he was pretty sure Sarah witnessed the person leaving the scene. Satisfied, he holstered his weapon and kneeled on the floor beside Dex, who lay face-down on the carpet.

Putting a hand to Dex’s back, Seo-jun could feel him breathing. “Thank fuck,” he whispered, relief rushing over him. Blood matted Dex’s hair, some trickling over his face. The aluminum baseball bat that Seo-jun knew Brand kept under his bed rested on the floor a few feet way.

“Police!” Suddenly the apartment was swarming with officers. Seo-jun got to his feet, hands in the air while Brand followed them in, explaining he was the owner of the apartment. When Seo-jun’s identity was clear, he told the officers his partner was down and they needed an ambulance before lowering himself to the floor next to Dex again.

“Dex?” he whispered and was heartened when Dex’s eyes fluttered open and he moved his lips as though saying Seo-jun’s name, although no sound came out. “It’s okay. The ambulance is on its way. Just rest. Brand is safe with me,” he added when Dex looked like he was trying to say something else.

“Paramedics coming through!” one of the officers called out, and a couple of women wheeled a stretcher in before squatting to examine Dex. Seo-jun told the middle-aged woman with the nametag that said Jan that he thought Dex had been hit from behind with the aluminum bat, which an officer bagged as evidence while Brand gave a description of Matt Pierce and his vehicle.

Forced to move out of the way, Seo-jun could only watch as Dex was carefully loaded onto the stretcher. He seemed agitated, and after he repeatedly tried to sit up on the gurney, the paramedic named Jan turned to Seo-jun.

“Come walk beside him. I think he’s worried about you.”

Seo-jun hurried over, grasping Dex’s hand when it flailed toward him. Seo-jun was worried. What if Dex had sustained a brain injury? He squeezed Dex’s hand and was relieved when Dex settled down.

“You can ride in the back of the ambulance with him to keep him calm,” Jan said kindly as they hurried to the elevators.

Seo-jun looked at Brand. “I want to, but I need to stay with our client.” It killed him to have to let go of Dex’s hand when they got outside to the waiting ambulance, but he had to protect Brand.