CHAPTER 14

MIGUEL'S POV:

As I slowly walk around the bound and beaten man on the chair, my frustrations continue to rise. After hours of torture he has yet to tell me who he works for. I'm not stupid. I know he isn't who he claims to be. I keep my men from going too far in his interrogation until I get some answers. If he works for the Maeng family, I may be able to use him as a bargaining chip.

"Let me guess. You're trying to decide whether or not to kill me in case you can use me for something?" The man says with a weak chuckle. It amazes me that he is still so composed after the beatings he has taken. It only raises my suspicions that he is a part of them. He's obviously been trained to take it.

"So what should I do with you then? You won't give me the answers I want and you won't stay away from my sister. If you were in my shoes, what would you do?" I ask him with a smirk. I press the tip of my gun against his temple to intimidate him but I see no fear in his eyes.

"I would never be in the shoes of such a weak and pathetic man as you. You're nothing more than a low-life thug." He says in disgust. My blood boils at his words and I shoot him in the leg in my anger. He throws his head back in pain and starts cursing in his native tongue.

"I'M PATHETIC? I'M A THUG? I have money, power, and I'm the one holding the gun while you are strapped to that chair! Your life is in my hands! You should learn some respect!" I angrily shout at him. As he lowers his head, I smirk as I wait for him to plead for his life but when he opens his eyes, my blood runs cold. Pure hate and bloodlust fills his gaze as he glares at me from his bruised face.

"Listen well you son-of-a-bitch. You think that there isn't a price for your dealings with the Maeng family? Yes you paid them money but you still owe them. You will always owe them to keep your fucking secrets. You have dug your own grave and you better pray that I don't get to you first because I am going to make sure you suffer before I kill you." He snarls.

His words chill me to the bone as I turn around and signal my men to follow me out of the room. Shooting him has only turned him into an angry tiger and even though he's bound & wounded, I can't stop my heart from pounding in fear. I need to contact the Maeng's. I need to make some sort of deal with them before this gets any worse.

All I wanted was for this man to stay away from my sister. I thought that I could just scare him a bit and he'd leave. Even I am not stupid enough to kill him. If he is with the Maeng's then killing him would bring about the destruction of my entire family. I won't take that chance.

But my plan has still failed miserably.

"Tighten security around my family. Make sure that no one gets anywhere close to them." I tell one of my men. "And get someone to take care of that bastard's wound. I need to keep him alive."

"Yes boss." They say and run off.

Damn it. What have I done?

(^_^)

WOO BIN'S POV:

The mother fucker shot me god damn it! My leg throbs in pain and my composure has snapped. I haven't been this angry in a very long time. He's made a mistake in shooting me and he knows it. I can see the fear in his eyes as he turns away from me. I will make him pay for this.

As soon as Miguel leaves the room with his men, I quickly let the anger drain away to try and slow my heart rate. I need to slow my blood flow so that I don't lose too much blood from the wound.

How the hell did things turn out this way? I doubt anyone knows where I am and even though Ji-Hoo is a good fighter, he won't be able to rescue me by himself. Miguel's house is a fortified compound. He's a typical big shot drug dealer...

I should have listened to Ji-Hoo and stayed home tonight but I just couldn't sit still at home knowing that Boo Ki is coming back tomorrow from Cartagena. My heart will be broken if she slept with Alejandro. I don't think I can take it.

I look around with blurry eyes, trying to focus on my surroundings but it's just a concrete cell with one light bulb overhead and one door. No windows, no bars...nothing. I don't even know how long I've been here. After hours of beatings I've lost all track of time.

I used Miguel's fear of the Maeng family to buy myself some time. Hopefully Ji-Hoo will contact my father quickly and they will get me out of here before Miguel contacts them. I know it was a dangerous card to play. If he tries to make a deal with them, I'm a dead man. I hope I made the right choice...

(^_^)

BOO KI'S POV:

"What do you think it means?" Alejandro asks me as we quickly make our way out of the airport in Bogota.

I finally met with my contact in Cartagena before we left but I made sure he didn't know who I am. The last thing I need is for my father or grandfather to start looking for me. He told me that the Maeng family pulled out of all the cities they keep their presence in except for Seoul and sent most of their people to Italy.

"I have no idea Alejandro. Nothing like this has ever happened throughout the entire history of my clan. Not that I am aware of at least. It worries me."

"Any news on Choi Young? Has Hyun Joong heard from him yet?" He says as I look at my phone.

"I don't know. I'm going to call Hyun Joong now." I tell him and raise my phone to my ear.

Ji-Hoo told me one of Miguel's thugs picked a fight with Woo Bin the other night. It means that Miguel is taking an interest in Woo Bin. This is very, very bad. Alejandro told me about his brother's confrontation with Juliana. I need to put a stop to this before it gets worse. If he decides to go after Woo Bin, I will have no choice but to take Miguel out. I already warned Alejandro about it. Woo Bin is going to have to stay inside the house till the situation is taken care of. Whether or not Woo Bin listens to me however is an entirely different story. He isn't used to being told what to do. Hopefully with Ji-Hoo's help we can keep him safe but Woo Bin didn't come home last night.

I need to decide what to do about Alejandro too. I don't like keeping Alejandro's help a secret from the guys but it may just bring up questions that I don't want to answer. For now, I will just keep Alejandro's involvement to myself. Woo Bin already doesn't like him. I really don't want to make things worse.

"Any luck?" I ask as Ji-Hoo answers my call. I've tried calling Woo Bin but there's been no answer. I keep hoping that he is just ignoring me so I asked Ji-Hoo to keep calling till we reach him.

"Ani. He isn't answering my calls either."

"What about Juliana? I know it's a stretch but she might know where he's at."

"I've already tried. She didn't see him last night and hasn't seen him all day but she seems worried. I think she might care enough to at least interfere if Miguel did go after him."

"Good to know. We are leaving the airport now. I'll be home soon." I tell him and hang up. As much as I keep hoping that Woo Bin is okay, my instincts are telling me otherwise. I just hope I get to him before it's too late.

(^_^)

It's been 3 days since Woo Bin disappeared and I haven't felt this helpless since Saia was kidnapped last year. What's the point of all those years of training if I can't find one person? I've tried to keep calm and tried not to reveal too much of myself to Ji-Hoo but I can't wait any longer. Grabbing my phone I dial Luis' number.

"I was wondering when you were going to call me." His soft, laughing voice says. Just hearing it almost crumples my defenses but I manage to pull myself together.

"Luis."

"What's happened?" he says seriously. He still knows me so well.

"I need your help. I know I am asking a lot of you but I need to know if Miguel has captured someone and where he's holding him."

I hear a deep sigh and I know he's trying to think. "That's a tall order, Ki. I'll do what I can but I won't put my family in danger for this. I hope you understand."

"Of course I do. Just anything you can find out would be helpful."

"I'll call you back."

After I hang up the phone, I head into the living room and watch Ji-Hoo as he listens in on Sergio's conversations. Thanks to Alejandro, we were able to plant a listening device in his office at home. Ji-Hoo keeps hoping he will hear something about Woo Bin.

"Ji-Hoo-ah… We need to talk." I say and sit down beside him. He pulls off his headphones and looks at me curiously.

"…How much do you trust me? Honestly." I ask.

"I trust you with my life." He says quietly.

"Why? You hardly know anything about me."

"Saia trusts you completely. That's all I need to know." He says as his penetrating gaze watches me closely. I nod and debate on how much I should tell him. I trust Ji-Hoo but the last thing I want is for him to be put in danger because of me. I decide to keep it is simple and vague as I can.

"I've been here before. I know people that are trying to help us find Woo Bin. When they do, I'm going to go get him but I'll have to do it alone."

"…I don't like it. If he is at Miguel's house you will be going up against too many guys by yourself. Woo Bin wouldn't want you to get yourself killed for him. If we contact Mr. Song-"

"That's going to take too much time. I can do this. I promise you. I know what I'm doing."

"This isn't about trust Boo Ki. This is too dangerous. Saia asked me to trust you no matter how crazy your ideas might seem but this is too much. It's suicide."

"Not for me it isn't. I've been trained for things like this. I won't be going in there to pick a fight. I just need to get in and get him out of there as quietly as possible."

Ji-Hoo rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands and sighs in frustration. This has been hard on both of us.

"I… I love him Ji-Hoo. I have to do everything I can to save him just like you did for Saia."

He looks up at me and I keep my eyes locked with his. I am going to do this with or without his approval but I really would prefer to have his support.

"…Okay but I want you to be wired and stay in contact with me. If there is even a chance of things going bad, I will get the Songs involved. Arasso?"

I nod and stand up to return to my room. "Thank you Ji-Hoo."

All I can do now is prepare and wait.

(^_^)

I jolt awake and reach for my cell phone. I have only been asleep for a couple of hours and it's the middle of the night. There is only one person that would be calling me at this hour.

"Luis?"

"He's at the house and he may be wounded but he's still alive. I'm pretty sure he's being held in the basement."

"Thank you. I owe you."

"The only thing you owe me is to come back alive. I know you're good at this kind of thing but they have guns and a lot of men. Be careful Ki."

"I always am. I'll see you soon." I hang up my phone and grab my gear. The adrenaline is starting to pump through my veins as go to wake up Ji-Hoo. For once I can put my training to good use and save a life. More importantly it's for someone I love.