Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger

22. Phone Call

Chapter 22

Phone Call

T he road ahead unfurls like an unsolved riddle, each bend a potential threat. Kai’s hyper-focused, calculating every move. I glance at him, catching the sharp angles of his jawline tense with determination.

“Here’s the license,” I say, handing it over. The sun catches the edges, making it glint like a promise of temporary anonymity.

Kai takes it. “We have to get it done in under two minutes, love.”

“I’m ready.”

He pulls into an isolated clearing, tree branches arching overhead to form a protective canopy.

“You get the baby-on-board sticker and those for the front. I’ll change the plate.”

“Okay.”

He kills the engine.

Once we’re out of the car, I don’t walk; I dance. I wiggle and giggle like a little girl.

So exciting!

A big “baby-on-board” sticker on the back window. Sunscreen for both back seat windows. As I walk to the front, my foot trips into a rock. I take it and draw a doodle on the right bumper.

The screech of my art echoes in the stillness, breaking the silence like a warning shot. Kai looks up from the license plate switch, eyes dark and intent.

I straighten, the rock dropping from my hand with a dull thud. “It’s a doggy.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Looks like a toddler made it.”

My eyelashes flutter in a stupid attempt to mock myself, but it only makes Kai chuckle louder.

The change of plates is swift and methodical. Kai’s hands move with precise efficiency, peeling away our past and replacing it with a new identity.

He’s so damn sexy.

But, out of nowhere, a faint crack rings through the peaceful surroundings, causing us to snap out of our momentary kiss.

Kai pulls away slightly, eyes darting around, scanning for threats. He crouches and slides to the front of the car, a finger to his lips for me to stay silent. Three heartbeats pass before he stands and nods to me.

“We need to move,” he says. “But we should get rid of the giant teddy bears. They’re quite visible.”

I gasp in shock and horror. “I’m not abandoning Bonsa?!”

“Marianne, please.”

“But…”

They’re so much more than stuffed toys. They represent a victory over myself. Our first date. My fingers curl around the bright pink teddy bear I won, Ren. No way I’m getting rid of the one Kai won for me.

My lips turn down as I shove the pink cub away, pulling branches and leaves over it. “I’m sorry, Ren.”

All the excitement I felt seconds ago drops. My lower lip trembles as I think about how I won Ren.

My gaze floats to Bonsa?. “No.” The tone is final.

I glare at Kai, and in an anger burst, I catch his hand on the driver’s door handle and stop him from getting in. “I’m driving; you take the back seat.” My words enter his ears, and he frowns.

“Okay.” He narrows his eyes at me.

We get into the car, with me as the driver and Kai lounging in the back seat so no one can see him.

Come on, Marianne. It’s just a toy.

I start the engine and steer us back onto the road, my heart being shred for a toy.

No, it’s not just a toy!

Hours pass, long and stupid. No sign of the red pickup.

Kai stays silent, but his gaze is hooked on my side, pressing me down with intensity. The miles slip by the blurred landscape outside a stark contrast to the roiling emotions within our cramped refuge.

“Marianne,” Kai’s voice finally breaks the silence, soft yet firm, “I’m sorry.”

I don’t reply, but my teeth clench, and I grip the steering wheel tighter.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he whispers.

“You better,” I grunt.

By the time I’m ready to talk to Kai like I’m an adult, we’re on the outskirts of Vancouver. But a vibration whirs in the back seat.

I scoff. “Now’s not the time.”

Kai rolls his eyes and sniffs. “It’s my phone.”

My eyes narrow as fast as his, and my heart sinks.

“What is it?” I ask, the unease creeping back.

“It’s Rory. Quiet,” he says with an urgent tone. “Yeah?”

After a long pause, Kai’s features drop into the ice-cold criminal I first met, cloak up, double locked.

“What the fuck do you mean by ‘compromised’?” he shouts as he trashes in the back seat. “That was your job, Rory! You can say goodbye to your fucking fingers! Oh! You will—” He grunts, swears, pulls his hair at the root, and snarls.

Whoa… That man is Seven.

I clutch the wheel and listen.

Kai’s anger radiates through the car like toxic gas. The tenderness of moments ago becomes a distant memory as he slams his fists on the seat and throws biting words into the phone.

He ends the call with a bang of his hand that makes me jump. Deep lines crease his forehead as he stares at the device in his hand, then looks up. His eyes lock with mine through the rearview mirror, revealing the turbulence within.

“Fuck…”

His jaw clenches and releases, tension rolling in waves off his broad shoulders. “Change of plans,” he says, urgency sharpening his voice into a blade.

I swallow and blink slowly. “What’s going on?”

Kai lets out a sigh that could turn into a hurricane. Fingers drumming on the center console, he glances at me, but it’s cold and devoid of the affection I’ve grown accustomed to in the span of a few days.

“My contact informed me that Six’s right-hand man hasn’t been seen since last night, two a.m.”

“Okay,” I whisper. “You’ll have to elaborate.”

“Fucking Christ!” He slams on the passenger seat. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

His outbursts send ripples of fear through me, but his next words are calm, measured. “Kwunaru bounty hunters are searching Vancouver’s safehouse as we speak.”

I glance at him, this enigma of a man who oscillates between caring lover and hardened criminal.

The silence stretches between us, fraught and fragile. I ache to touch him, to bridge the gap with something other than fear. I reach out tentatively, my fingertips brushing the tense line of his jaw. He flinches, not from the touch, but from the danger it represents. His eyes cut to mine, a warning in their depths.

“Don’t,” he whispers, the softness of his voice belying the steel in his eyes. “Not now.”

Ouch.

I pull back, stung by the rejection, wrapping my arm around myself. Out the window, the city blurs, buildings and lives passing by in a dizzying whirl.

“We have to lose the signal. Go park in there,” he says as he points out an underground garage.

I swerve the car into the tight space, tires squealing against the concrete.

And down we go.

What signal?

My thoughts are a tangled mess of emotions and unanswered questions.

And down again.

I park in a shadowed corner, kill the engine, and Kai sweeps the area with hawk-like vigilance. He doesn’t move to get out or acknowledge me for a solid minute. His fingers drum a staccato rhythm on his thighs, a silent soundtrack to our precarious situation.

But out of nowhere, his hand finds the back of my neck—firm yet gentle. “Listen to me.” His eyes lock onto mine with an intensity that roots me to the spot, heart pounding against the confines of my chest. “We’re in deep shit. If Yuzu left the home grounds, it means Six is suspicious about me going rogue, and he won’t hesitate to tie up loose ends.”

I nod, trying to swallow the lump in my throat, the significance of his words sinking in like lead through water.

“Are you sure he left? I mean, he could be still sleeping.”

Kai frowns, and his cheek twitches before he releases my neck. “Goddamn, Marianne.”

I shrug, and he shakes his head, his tongue darting to wet his lower lip. And then, a chuckle breaks out of him. It brings a smile to my face.

“Do they know about me?” I ask.

“No.” His answer is genuine, but an undertone makes me wary.

“What is it you’re not telling me?”

He looks like he might argue for a moment, but then he shakes his head and lets out a sigh that feels more like resignation than relief. He runs a hand through his messy hair and finally meets my gaze, the steel in his eyes softening.

“Yuzu doesn’t leave the family compound without orders.” He runs his tongue over his teeth, resulting in a frustrated sound that makes me tick. “Which means Six has already pieced together that something’s off. He knows someone on my side is helping, and he won’t stop until he finds out who and eliminates the threat.”

“And that would be Rory?” I drag the words out with uncertainty.

“Yes…” His head jerks, lips pursed as if he’s trying to spit something that tastes awful. “Fuck.” His shoulders tense while his fingers curl into fists. “Rory has things I need.” A furious rumble travels through his chest. “Things we need to get a new ID and disappear. It also means... we have a limited amount of time to…” Kai gives a blank stare before him. “To…”

To what?

“To vanish,” his voice drops to a murmur. He pulls back, leaning against the car seat, eyes shut as if the world’s weight rests on his shoulders. His words hang heavy between us, like the final grains of sand slipping through an hourglass.

“We need to get to Rory before Six does,” I state, hoping he’ll confirm.

He looks furious. “Yes.” Or is it scared? “I must tell Rory about you, and we need new IDs done before the first wave of bounty hunters catch him.”

“The first wave?” That sounds ominous… and exciting. I give Kai a bright smile.

“First, it’ll be hired bounty hunters. They usually get half the job done, but they kind of pave the way for Yuzu’s team. If Yuzu isn’t successful, I’m the one who gets the job done, but that happened only two times in the last eight years.” He works a worried swallow.

I breathe out. “What?”

“If I wanted to eliminate Six or myself… I’d get the Adashi twins.” He scoffs and then chuckles. “But they’re dead.”

“The Adashi twins for the kill. It sounds so…” Cool. Dangerous. Efficient. An unwanted giggle bubbles beneath my sternum and grows until I burst out laughing.

Kai wears a sexy smirk that lights up his entire frame. “Tell me their story, cutie.”

Ooh. I love this game.

“I mean, it’s easy. They were too good, so, your daddy eliminated them.”

Kai coughs and snorts. “Daddy?”

“Yes. The Adashi twins were trained in combat until they were emotionless killing machines. Attuned to each other like one soul. Their bloodthirst was unquenchable. No morals. Only the fury of being left for dead in a dumpster as newborns.”

Our psychotic stare hook onto each other, a bloodcurdling smile on our lips.

Kai squints and chuckles. “They were left on our doorstep when they were one. I was three.”

“You grew up with them,” I whisper to myself, sadness tugging at my heartstrings for another loss of his.

“I spent ten years training with them, from five to fifteen. But then, they became too unstable and sadistic for combat training. Believe me, cutie pie, having those two chase us today would be—”

“A nightmare,” I finish.

Kai’s eyes darken, and he looks away momentarily as if reliving some distant horror. “More like a massacre waiting to happen.” When he turns back to me, his expression is serious. “Enough about the twins. Our focus is Rory now. We need to get to him before anyone else does. The red truck men were not discreet and easy to lose. Better ones are coming. They won’t be that much of a problem. But then there’s Yuzu.”

“Isn’t that some fruit?”

He titters. “Yes, but the man is nowhere as sweet. Yuzu and his team are relentless; they won’t hesitate to break down doors or take lives to get to us.”

The weight of his words sinks in, yet the thrill of danger ignites something primal within me.

Kai reaches over, gripping my hand. “You like it, huh?” I don’t see his smirk, but I feel it.

I squeeze his fingers. “What if I do?” The rush gets my blood pumping.

“Wild cutie pie.” He kisses my knuckles. “It’s about to get wilder.”

Bring it.

I take a deep breath, trying to process everything, my mind spinning with the tension in his voice. “So, where is Rory?”

“Well, that’s the thing with ghosts, I don’t know where he is, only how to contact him.” Kai leans back, eyes clouded in thought. “We can’t step foot in Vancouver. We need to head somewhere they wouldn’t expect.”

I know where.

His chest rises and falls, a subtle shift from agitation to resolve. “I can’t... I won’t have answers for my mother.”

“I’m sorry, baby.”

My fingers brush against his arm, a fleeting connection that anchors us both. He meets my eyes, and a storm of emotions swirls deep within. It’s a moment of raw vulnerability, and I’m drawn to it more than I could ever explain. I understand one’s need to get answers for a blurry past.

“We need to move,” he finally says, his voice steady but tinged with urgency. “Every minute we stay here puts us closer to danger.”

“We can go to my beach house,” I blurt out.

His brows furrow in concentration, and I fight the need to tell him everything concerning the beach house.

I’ll tell him the basics. What and where. But not why.

I close my eyes. “Nobody knows about it. It’s not registered to my everyday name, and I’ve never talked to anybody about it.”

Neither did I talk about the resignation letter floating around in a file hidden in my phone.

“Your family thinks we’re going to Langdon, but it’s in Nay,” he says and exhales. “What about friends?”

I took advice from Arietta’s military background and Victor’s wisdom, but I’ve never told them where or when or how I bought the place.

I shake my head. “I even handle the payments through a third party. It’s completely off the grid.”

Please don’t ask more questions.

Kai scratches his beard with both hands until his fingers thread into his hair. His jaw clenches, then relaxes. “I’ll have Rory meet us there so we can devise a tight plan. We’ll be all right if we keep Yuzu on a fake trail.”

He leans over and quickly kisses my shoulder, an unexpected gesture of tenderness amid the chaos. It sends a warm pulse through my veins.

“Do you trust me?” he asks.

“Of course.” Stupid question.

“Then, we need to pop by my mother’s safehouse in Vancouver.”

“What?”

“I’ll call Rory from there and then dump my phone. Everyone has to believe I’m in Vancouver for this plan to work. I’ll ditch my phone and get another one to the next step.”

“If we pass the house, they’ll see you.”

“And that’s why I’ll be in the trunk.”

I hate to admit it makes sense. A mom’s car with a giant stuffed bear and baby-on-board sticker won’t attract attention.

I sigh and look at Kai through my lashes. “We’ll unlock the back seat in the two-third section so you can be comfortable, but as soon as we hit the city, you close it. And it’s only, and I mean only, a pass by.”

“Deal. You need a wig, though.”

I gasp in delight. “I want to be a blonde!”

Kai’s expression sours. “Does a short dark gray one work for you?”

Of course, he has a wig in his bag. “Do you have fake tattoos and makeup, also?” I mock him.

The words “fake tattoos” are carved in a space low behind mental recognition.

His hand slides into his bag, and my jaw drops in confusion.

“Just kidding.” He smirks.

But I squint, peeking at the huge dragon covering his hand and forearm. It’s not exactly stealthy. Then again, it fits his arrogance.

“But I use dark brown contacts at home or on business.” Kai hands me a hairpiece. More pepper than salt.

Putting on a wig when you have mid-length thick hair isn’t easy, but I managed to do it and caught myself in the visor.

Ew. Gray hair doesn’t fit me.

Next is lipstick. I love this hot pink shade, but I’ve only worn it once because it’s bold and makes men stare at my lips.

“Oh.” Kai blinks at me, and a slow smile curves his mouth.

I rummage through my purse and pull out a mood ring. If I turn the gem inside my hand, it looks like a wedding band. Perfect. But my right index grazes the metal band in a daze, and my lower lip slacks.

An odd silence envelops me until I shake my head.

“Ready?” I ask with a fake smile.

Kai’s strong hand slides under mine, bringing my knuckles to his lips. The warmth of his breath tickles my skin as he speaks. “Is that something you want, love?” His sunrise gaze hooks on mine, and a thrill arcs through me.

My mind rushes as I struggle to give an honest answer. “Maybe... I mean...” The words catch in my throat. “Could be nice.” To find a man who’s crazy enough to love me, flaws and all.

“Kids?”

This one, I can admit out loud. “No, I don’t want kids.” No way I’m passing down my psychological flaws to an offspring.

“Noted.” A flurry of emotions crosses his face, too quick for me to decipher. “We should go,” he murmurs.

I pull away and start the car, my hands trembling slightly against the steering wheel. “Let’s do this.”