by Nia Arthurs
“Ryan.”
“Hi, Ryan. I’m Sky.”
“I know,” he said, his voice shaking.
“Are you nervous?”
“No. Just… it’s hot.”
“That’s Belize for you.” She slipped behind the counter and speared a brownie.
Joon joined her and leaned over to whisper, “What are you doing?”
“Giving my new friend a brownie.”
“He’s not your friend, Sky. He works for the man who smeared your store’s name and caused you to lose thousands in profits. We shouldn’t be rolling out the welcome mat for people like him.”
“Just stay out of my way. I know what I’m doing.” She pasted a smile on her face and added lightly, “Okay?”
More jaw clenches.
Sky sailed away from Joon and slid the brownie over to Ryan. She took the seat across from him and settled one leg over the other.
Ryan’s brown eyes landed on the brownie. She could see his mouth watering. Chuckling at his expression, she encouraged. “Go on.”
He broke off a piece from the edge and tasted it on his tongue. “Whoa.” Ryan pulled back and stared at her. “This is incredible.”
“It’s the sauce on top.”
“No wonder this place is so popular.”
“Thank you, Ryan.” Sky folded her hands on the table and leaned closer. “Now, I understand that you have your rules and I don’t want to put you in a bad position. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions? All you have to do is nod yes or no. And if you feel I’m crossing a line, you can choose not to answer.”
Ryan swallowed, thought it over and then nodded.
Sky heard when Joon walked closer, but she didn’t look at him. “Was it really an anonymous tip that brought my store to your attention.”
Ryan hesitated.
Sky held her breath and hoped that Joon didn’t do anything crazy to scare off her lead.
Finally, Ryan shook his head.
“No?” Sky dug her fingernails into her palms. “So that was a lie?”
Ryan remained silent.
Joon rushed into a chair, the legs squealing so loudly against the tiles it made them both jump. In a hard voice, he demanded, “Was the person who targeted us a woman named Hanna Park?”
“Hanna?” Sky’s heart galloped when she thought of the woman. “Why would she do something like that?”
Ryan cleared his throat.
Sky looked over. Saw him shaking his head. Her chest expanded with relief. Hanna was ruthless and cold-blooded, but she wouldn’t drive Sky’s store into the ground, would she?
Joon collapsed into his chair, his lips twisted into a frown. “That doesn’t make sense. I was so sure it was Hanna.”
“All this while, you thought Hanna was the culprit?”
“She wanted your store.”
“Yeah, but if my kitchen got condemned and Sweet Treats lost its reputation, there wouldn’t be a store to acquire.”
Joon Gi rubbed his chin as if the thought had just occurred to him.
Sky restrained the eye roll and faced Ryan. “So the culprit was a man then?”
“Yes.”
Joon turned to her. “Who could that be?”
“I have no idea.”
Ryan looked left and right before clicking out a pen and scribbling something on a piece of paper. “I really can’t say more, Ms. Johnson. But a month ago, this person visited the department. The day before we raided your store, he sent a gift for Director Grayson. I don’t know what was in the box though.”
“Probably money,” Joon said through gritted teeth. When Sky looked at him, he explained, “That’s the oldest trick in the book. Wire transfers and checks are traceable. The only way to complete a perfect bribe is with cash.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I guess you’d know right.”
He huffed.
“Thanks for the brownie, Sky.” Ryan plucked his keys from his pocket. “And I hope you find the answers you’re looking for.”
Ryan saw himself out and Sky snatched the napkin from the table, waiting until he’d left to reveal the name.
Joon looked over her shoulder. “What does it say?”
“Joon.” She glanced up, shocked and horrified. “It says Tyler Ho.”
27
“JOON? JOON GI, ARE YOU OKAY?”
He heard Sky’s voice but it sounded faint, tinny, as if she was screaming at him from the other end of a tunnel. His mind swam with a million thoughts and not one of them made any sense.
Tyler?
His best friend?
The man who’d bailed him out of jail and gave him shelter while he figured his life out?
There was no way Tyler would go to all that effort to do anything to hurt anyone. But why on earth would he target Sky and Sweet Treats when he had no ties to them.
No, Ryan had to have it wrong. He must have misread the papers. Or maybe he mistook Tyler for someone else. Joon couldn’t count the number of times someone had mistaken him for another Asian just because he was pale skinned and had ‘the eyes’.
But Ryan wouldn’t divulge Tyler’s name if he wasn’t connected somehow.
Joon shot out of his seat.
Sun Gi.
This had his brother’s disgustingly twisted scent all over it. Sun Gi must have set things up so Tyler took the fall. If Joon lost faith in the only friend that had stuck by him through the thick of his arrest and bankruptcy, then he’d be backed into a corner.
Then he’d have truly lost everything.
“Joon!” He felt someone tugging his arm and glanced down at Sky. Her hair was pulled away form her face in a low ponytail. A vein popped out of her smooth temple and her eyes swam with worry. “Joon, talk to me. What are you thinking?”
He scrambled away from the table. “I have to see Sun Gi.”
“Sun Gi?” Sky held on to his hand as if they were glued together and followed him toward the exits. “Why would you talk about Sun Gi when the culprit is Tyler?”
“It’s not Tyler.”
“You have the evidence right there!” She flung her hand at the napkin.
“Ryan could be mistaken.”
“That’s highly improbable.”
“I know my best friend, alright? He’s not like me. He wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Joon, I know you want to believe in him, but at least open yourself up to the possibility that Tyler was behind this.”
“IT’S NOT HIM!”
Sky leaned back, her jaw slackening in shock.
He pulled in a deep breath, nostrils flaring. “I’m sorry for shouting.”
“Talking louder won’t change the truth.” She dropped his arm. “But fine. If you’re so convinced that your brother is behind this, let’s go and ask him.”
He stared at Sky as she ran around flipping off the lights and grabbing the keys to lock the door. “Are you coming?”
“You’ll kill him in that state. Do you think you should go alone?”
“This isn’t your fight.”
“Like hell it isn’t.” Sky slammed a fist against her hips. “If Sun Gi was behind this, he has a lot to answer to. He didn’t just mess with my store. He tampered with my mother’s legacy. If anyone’s going after him, it’s me.”
He sighed. They were wasting time standing around arguing. “Alright.”
Joon waited impatiently while Sky locked up and then they caught a bus together. With every rock that the wheels made over the highway, Joon kept resisting the still, small voice that warned he might not find the answers he was looking for.
He fought that voice with everything he was worth.
Fifteen minutes later, he and Sky strode into Sun Gi’s store. Joon noticed her struggling to keep up with his long strides and slowed down to her flurry of smaller steps. He felt bad for yelling at her back in the shop. Sky shot him a tiny smile of appreciation and his heart relaxed.
They stopped in front of the door to Sun Gi’s office.
&nbs
p; Joon reached out but his hands hovered over the knob and refused to hold on. He swung around and stared at the wall, summoning the courage.
Sky touched his back. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m right here with you.”
“It’s not him.” Joon swallowed. “It’s not Tyler. I’m just angry.”
Sky said nothing, but she kept soothing circles into his back until he had enough time to regain his composure. When he turned around to face the door, she slipped her hands into his.
Joon Gi looked down at their interlocked fingers. At any other moment, he would have given her a squeeze and savored the feel of her soft and slender hand clasped in his. But right now, all he could think about was ending this.
Sun Gi had done enough damage.
He twisted the lock and burst through the door. His eyes scanned the office until they locked on his brother. Sun Gi sat behind his desk, phone to his ear and foot propped up next to a cup of coffee.
His foot dropped when they stormed in but the phone remained perched to his ear. He focused on the conversation on the other end, his voice remaining steady as if he hadn’t seen them at all.
“Uh-huh. Make that order for me.” He paused. “Yeah, I’ll get back to you.” Sun Gi set the phone back into the cradle and stood. “Sky. Hyung. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
His brother’s cavalier attitude spurred fury in Joon’s chest. Sun Gi had ruined his life. He wouldn’t stand idly by while he came after Sky.
His body trembled.
Fingers balled into fists.
Joon felt a pressure on his hand and realized Sky had but both of her palms over his clenched fingers. He met her eyes and saw the message glistening in the light brown orbs.
No.
Joon breathed in deeply before speaking, “Did you have to go that far, Sun Gi?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Did you set up Director Grayson to investigate Sky’s store and ruin her image?” Joon demanded.
Sun Gi sprang out of his chair and trotted around the desk. “What kind of crazy drugs have you been smoking, brother?”
“Just tell me the truth!” Joon yelled. His voice echoed in the opulent room.
Sky stepped forward, her tone calm and steady, striking through the tension ricocheting in the air. “What your brother is trying to say is… did you have anything to do with the health inspection of Sweet Treats?”
“Of course not.” Sun Gi stared at Sky.
She held his stare and then glanced back at Joon. “He’s telling the truth.”
Joon Gi grunted. With her disposition, Sky would believe anyone.
“Even if I’m not the culprit, and I’m not,” Sun Gi furrowed his brows, “why would you assume that the inspection was meant to harm you. Isn’t it common to have random inspections every now and then?”
“Of course. I’m not against random inspections, but this wasn’t random.” Sky folded her arms over her chest. “Whoever called it in wanted my business to falter. They got the inspectors to barge in during the peak of my business, and they had reporters with them. As if they wanted to capture me in a bad light. It was planned.”
“Well, it’s not me.” Sun Gi leaned against the desk and crossed his ankles.
“How can we trust you?”
“Think about it for one minute, Joon. What would I have to gain by attacking Sky’s store? Besides, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
His skin prickled at the words. Sun Gi sounded far too sincere.
Sky smiled kindly at him. “I know you wouldn’t. But someone did.”
“The culprit is someone who would gain from Sweet Treat’s demise.”
“I don’t have any enemies that I know of,” Sky said. “But…”
“But what?” Sun Gi prodded.
Sky looked at him as if seeking permission to share the information they’d just learned. Joon hardened his mouth and glanced away.
Sky must have taken that as approval because she turned back to his brother and confessed, “Our lead at the department said that Tyler had been meeting with the director.”
“Tyler?” Sun Gi tipped his chin in thought.
Then he laughed.
Joon snapped at him. “What’s so funny?”
“Tyler, that idiot.”
“Do you know something?” Sky asked, drawing closer to Sun Gi.
Joon noticed the way his brother’s gaze landed on her and lingered. “Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. I just didn’t expect things to shake out this way.”
“Just get to the point.” Joon glared darkly.
“Let me guess.” He popped an eyebrow. “Hanna wants Sweet Treats.”
“What does that have to do with Tyler?” Sky asked.
“Tyler’s been in love with Hanna for… I don’t even know how long.”
Joon surged forward and grabbed his brother by the collar. “Stop spitting nonsense.”
“You’re the only one that’s spitting, hyung.” Sun Gi wiped his face with the heel of his hand.
“Joon! Get off!” Sky wiggled between them and pushed him back.
Joon dropped his hands. “You’re lucky she’s here.”
“Or what? You’d beat me until I lied? I’m sorry you were too stupid to see the truth, Joon, but there it is. They’ve been sneaking around for months now.”
“What do you mean sneaking around?”
“I mean banging, hooking up, hitting the hay, whatever term you fancy.” Sun Gi fluttered his hands. “Personally, I don’t mind. Hanna is a means to an end. As long as she’s discreet—and she obviously is since you look like a deer in headlights right now—I don’t have a problem.”
Joon shook his head as his brother’s words sunk into his soul. “No. You’re wrong. Tyler isn’t like that. Even if I wasn’t in love with her, he wouldn’t betray my trust.”
“Well, he did.” Sun Gi smoothed his collar. “It’s love, brother. Makes you do crazy things.”
A conversation he’d had with Tyler weeks ago popped back into his head.
“Love is caring about someone more than you care about yourself. It’s going crazy and turning inside out and losing control because the person with all the power isn’t you.”
The person in control was Hanna.
A sick feeling twisted his insides. His eyes burned. Slowly, torturously, he looked at Sun Gi. “You didn’t really call the feds on me, did you?”
“No.” There was no smile on his brother’s face; no sneer or scowl.
Just the truth.
“All this while…” Joon Gi staggered back. “It was happening right under my nose and I blamed you. Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you let me think—?”
“You wouldn’t have believed me anyway.” Sun Gi stared at the floor.
Too stunned to think or speak, Joon Gi stumbled. Sky rushed to his side and supported him. He held onto her, desperate for something to anchor himself.
Even with Sky by his side, Joon Gi knew he wouldn’t find steady ground for a while.
28
A FEW DAYS LATER, Joon Gi sat in the dark and tapped his fingers against an unfamiliar desk. Before him, Belize City lay in all its tropical glory. He could see the tops of the coconut trees waving in the dark lit sky. Rolling hills. The twinkling lights in warm houses.
The view was peaceful, relaxing.
Unfortunately, Joon was anything but.
A soft knock at the door broke the harsh silence. He stiffened, preparing himself. There was still hope, still a niggling, unwavering flame in his heart that insisted the person he would see when he turned this chair around wasn’t Tyler.
Joon planted his feet on the floor. Used the front of his foot to catapult the chair into a spin.
One second.
Two.
He slapped his leg down, breaking the movement. Forcing everything to a stop. The dim lighting that erupted from the city behind the window crept over the desk stacked with folders, over the floor, to a familia
r face.
Familiar brown eyes.
Tyler’s.
“Joon?” His friend gasped. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged and rose lazily. “Isn’t it obvious? This is a set-up.”
“B-but…” Tyler clutched a gift bag to his chest and looked behind him. “Where’s Grayson?”
“Oh, the old director is probably chilling in his bed, repenting for all his wrongs. You know bribery is a federal offense, but accepting bribes? That could get you terminated. I brought that fact to Grayson’s attention and he was kind enough to set up a meeting between me and his generous sponsor.”
Tyler’s trembling hand arched in the air before landing on his neck. The moonlight sliced over his pale skin, giving his entire body a silvery hue.
Joon Gi sneered. “Until the last second, I believed in you. Guess I really am a fool.”
“Joon, no. You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me, Tyler. I’m listening.”
Tyler dropped to his knees, shaking so violently that the bag of money landed on the floor. Belizean dollars spilled everywhere. “It was Hanna.”
“Hanna? She asked you to do this?”
“No, not exactly.” Tyler’s hair flopped in front of his face. “She was so frustrated that Sky wasn’t giving in. You know how upset she gets when she loses. Sweet Treats was her prize. I just wanted to help.”
“So you bribed Grayson to make Hanna happy. Is that it?”
Tyler nodded solemnly.
“And that’s why you reported me for bribery? For her?”
Tyler’s head whipped up. “How do you know that?”
“Did Hanna hate me that much?” He scoffed. “I can’t believe this. You ruined my life!” He stabbed his chest. “You made me turn on my brother. You betrayed me… just to get with Hanna?”
“She wanted to break the engagement, but her parents wouldn’t let her. They’re so controlling. They want her to be the perfect daughter with the perfect husband. They didn’t want just any Korean man. Only a Kim would do.”
“So you did her dirty work to get me out of the way?”
