7| Ruse

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Ruse ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 7: Ruse (Rose's POV) I felt every inch of his body pressing against mine. Every goddamn inch, and I was painfully aware of it. My veins felt like fire ran through them instead of blood, and I was just itching to shove him off of me. But if I showed Kai the violence my body screamed for me to show, it would cause a scene, and causing a scene would bring me unwanted attention. Tonight wasn't a night I could risk blowing my cover. Releasing a breath, I leaned back against the bar, putting a little necessary distance between us. "So, this is it?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder and upstairs, where I knew Evan Atkinson still was. "We're going to spend the entire night going back and forth like this?" "If that's what you want, that's what I will give you, Ms. Chen," Kai replied, drawing my attention back to him. "Don't worry about me. I can do this all night," I challenged, lifting a brow at him sharply. "Are you sure about that, love? Because something tells me you can't exactly handle it," he smirked, lifting a hand to my cheek. I smacked it down before he could make contact, and he relished the rise he got out of me. His lips twitched in amusement as he lowered his hand, dropping his head forward to glance at his feet as he shifted his stance and cleared his throat. "My patience wears very thin with you, and you're pushing it tonight, Chen, so let me tell you how this is going to go," he said, lifting his eyes to mine. "You–" he paused. I couldn't help the sharp gasp that escaped me as he snaked an arm around my waist, jerking me forward and off the table until our bodies were completely flush. "Are going to be a good little agent," he continued, spinning us around as he planted one hand at my waist and the other at the small of my back. "And you will let me be your partner in crime," he added, walking me back until we found ourselves in the middle of an ocean of writhing bodies dancing and spinning. "So, for one night, Ms. Chen, you will tolerate me just as I am here, tolerating you," he finished sharply. Do you understand?" The authority and power that laced his tone were the kind you'd rarely hear, even in men. He always sounded so confident in himself, so certain that he would get whatever he wanted, whatever he commanded. Some would even say arrogant. "I don't know if I should admire your confidence or laugh at it," I replied calmly. "What makes you think I won't hesitate to throw you under the bus right here? It'll only take a second to let Evan Atkinson know you're here." Grabbing my wrists, he looped my arms around his neck smoothly, concealing us deeper within the crowd. "It's cute that you think I'd let you get away with that, sweetheart," he said with a light smirk. "This could be a very smooth ride or a very tough one. What will it be?" he asked as his fingers drummed against my hips while he awaited an answer. My jaw ticked as I glanced at the mirrors reflecting everything that unraveled down below, the glass I knew Evan Atkinson was hiding behind making his deal. I had one job tonight: To find out who he was meeting and what deal they were making. It would be impossible to do if Kai drove me and my insanity out of this club before I could even try. "Fine," I exhaled, my eyes snapping back to his. "I'll cooperate so long as you do." His chin dipped. "Very well." "So, why don't you…" I sighed, tapping his chest, "be a good little partner and plant your ass at the bar while I figure this out?" I moved to leave, giving him a slight push. A soft groan escaped me as I closed my eyes in pure frustration while he blocked me with a hand on my stomach, his fingers splaying across my abdomen as he kept me in place. "Don't even think about it," he said. "We are simply here to observe." Dragging his touch down my arm until his fingers found mine, he spun me around once before drawing me back into him as we began to dance, blending in with the crowd. "It's hard to eavesdrop from down here, in case you haven't noticed," I bit out sarcastically. "You're one step behind, love," he replied, tilting his head. It clicked. "You bugged the room," I said in realization. "Whatever they discuss in that room will go straight to Marshall," he said. "Half your job is done. You're welcome." "I thought this was our job now," I scoffed. "And I thought you didn't like to share," he retorted, his feet and hips, his entire body moving in rhythm with mine as we swayed to the music. "This is what we do now?" I asked as he rolled me out, only to spin me back in, catching me just as my back hit his chest. "We get paid to dance around in the name of spying on someone?" I felt his lips against the shell of my ear as he let out a soft, dry chuckle. "Perhaps we do," he said, turning me around so I faced him. My eyes narrowed as I felt his hand travel across my back, sliding dangerously lower with each passing second. "What are you doing here tonight anyway?" I questioned. "Don't you have better things to do? Like run Daddy's business empire or go on blind dates Mommy arranges for you?" His brow twitched. "Jealous?" I scoffed, "Please. I'd rather drink poison, Mr. Warner." "Wouldn't that taste delicious on a tongue as vicious as yours," he said. "And you?" I glared at him. "What about me?" "Has Daddy finally allowed the Chen princess beyond his castle's grounds?" he taunted, spinning me around once more. "Unlike you," I breathed out as our chests collided, "my parents don't tell me what to do at my job. Doesn't it bother you? The years you wasted becoming a doctor because your mother told you to? Or the hours you waste sitting at your father's desk doing work that bores you to death?" "Someone's been stalking me a little too much," he mused, drawing my hips into his. "You wish," I whispered in his ear. "Maybe I do," he replied, his lips grazing my jaw. My eyes darted to the staircase as the doors opened, and Evan Atkinson finally stepped out. Drawing back just enough to meet Kai's gaze, I smiled, "Keep wishing." Untangling myself from him, I moved towards the exit. "We have to go." His hand caught mine before I slipped too deep into the crowd, but without uttering a word, he simply led the way past the bodies, pushing through the throng of people. The idea that Kai and I could, on the rare occasion, be a good team didn't surpass me. But this was just a one-off. It was especially hard to ignore all the other times it didn't end so well for us. Even a small overlap in our cases would end in disaster because Kai always made it a point to ruin anything he possibly could for me. Ruining me was more important to him than his own cases. I was no saint. It wasn't until Marshall assigned us to work together that I realized Kai and I could never work well together. We could never be partners in crime. Tonight was an exception because our task was nothing but surface-level. We were just tailing someone. I would rather trust a stranger with my life than Kai, I would rather deal with the worst of the worst criminals than him and not just because he was dangerous for my sanity and composure, but because he proved it in the past that he would rather kill me than trust me. He found it easier to turn a weapon on me than to have faith in my words, so I found it easier to despise him than do anything else. Tonight was just a ruse, just a means to get my job done without getting caught. But I'd be damned if I let Kai take credit for this simply because he swooped in on one night. I'd be damned if I let Kai stay on this case at all. My footsteps were rushed behind his until he stopped near the exit, pulling me into a darker and quieter, isolated corner of the club. My back hit the wall as he stepped closer, bracing his hands above me and shielding us from the view of anybody passing by. I caught my breath, watching person after person walk by as we waited for our suspect to be one of them. I watched Atkinson as he left the club with a man I knew to be Rio Rodriguez. We lingered for several minutes, hiding as his men trailed behind him. My traitorous gaze betrayed me as it shifted to Kai, traveling across his body. Everyone needs a little distraction sometimes. I felt the twitch in my brows as my thoughts strayed to all the wrong places. His body and strength truly baffled me sometimes. His arms were huge, his shoulders broad, and his chest wide enough to shield me from everyone's view entirely. And he had always been very tall… "I'm sure you like what you see," he said, snapping me out of it. "I hate to interrupt your thoughts, love," he smirked, "and as much as I'd love to know what goes on in that pretty little head of yours, we have a suspect to tail." I chose to simply ignore his words. "You're one step behind, love," I mocked, using his words from earlier, "I've been tracking his car for weeks. Not to mention…" Turning my head to his left wrist, I glanced at the Cartier watch, reading the time. "My working hours end here," I finished, "so this is as far as my paycheck takes me." "Working overtime won't kill you, Ms. Chen," he breathed out, stepping closer to me. "Why do it when I don't need to? He's going home and now, so am I," I replied. I've had enough of this ruse, enough of pretending that I could survive Kai for more than one night. I couldn't. I can't stand being next to him for another minute. "Goodnight, Mr. Warner." Pushing his arm down, I stepped out of the dimly lit corner. "Oh, and one more thing…" I spun back around to face him. "Tell Marshall the next time he sends you as backup, he better be paying me double. Or I won't do the job." Kai continued to silently watch me in amusement. "He certainly doesn't pay me enough to tolerate you," I said. "Goodbye, Warner." "Goodnight, love," he smirked as he pulled one cigarette out of a box, planting it between his lips. Without waiting to see him step out of the club to light it, I left and drove myself straight back home. It was a miracle I survived him tonight, but I wasn't quite sure I had it in me to do it again any time soon. . . . . . Chapter 7