CHAPTER 21

[LONDON, ENGLAND]

BOO KI'S POV:

"What the fuck?" Ji-Yong shouts and starts to move towards Lydia but I grab his arm. Four men dressed from head to toe in black are approaching us. They are here to capture us. Ji- looks over his shoulder at the men and sighs in frustration.

"What do you idiots want? Sorry guys but I'm not interested. I know I'm irresistible to all genders but I prefer women." He smirks and pops his knuckles.

"Ji!" I hiss. "That mouth of yours hasn't changed."

"What can I say, Ki? It's one of my more charming qualities."

I chuckle in disgust and roll to the ground as one of the men lunges at me. Swinging my foot up, I connect with his jaw and send him flying down the two flights of stairs. The other man manages to block me as I swing at him. He holds my fist tightly is his hand and tries to twist me around. I knee him in the groin and backhand him, sending him to the ground.

Too easy. I muse and watch Ji. He somehow got his hands on a cord from the drapes on the widow beside him. He wraps it around his attacker's throat and with a quick wall kick he propels himself up and over a wooden beam across the hallway. The rope is now over the beam and the man is now dangling in the air, gasping for breath. Ji ties the rope to a statue, leaving him hanging there. The last attacker is already impaled against a suit of armor with a spear in his chest.

"Creative as always I see." I murmur with a raised eyebrow.

"You know me. I never like to do anything the same way twice." Ji says with a shrug and we start to run as we hear footsteps approaching us. A bullet grazes my shoulder as we dash around a corner and through another hallway.

"I know a way out but you're not going to like it!" Ji shouts as we turn down yet another hallway.

"We don't have many options!" I reply. He points to a huge window that we are fast approaching.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I pant.

"JUMP!" He yells.

I curl into a ball, covering my head and face with my arms as we both collide against the glass. It shatters and we start to fall. Quickly straightening out my body, I hit the water as quietly as I can. Obviously they will know we went out the window but we need to keep our position hidden.

The murky river makes it hard to see but I keep close to Ji as we swim away. My lungs start to scream for oxygen but I follow him till I can't stand it anymore. I kick to the surface and gratefully gasp for air. Ji surfaces with me and we look around us. The building is at a safe distance and we swim towards the shore.

"We need to get to Woo Bin's safe house." I tell him and pull out my phone. Thankfully the case I have it in is waterproof. I look at the address Woo Bin sent me but before I can input it into the GPS my phone starts to ring. The number is blocked but I answer it anyways.

"Hello?"

"The mask is broken." A familiar voice says and my heart breaks. Those words are a code. My cover has been blown. That means I have only one choice left.

"I understand." I manage to say and the line goes dead.

"Who was that?" Ji asks.

"Aunt Mo Nae. I can't go back to Woo Bin." My phone beeps with a new address. I swallow the lump in my throat and look at Ji-Yong. "I have to finish this once and for all. Mo Nae and I made a plan that if we were ever compromised, we would face the family head on."

"Are you fucking crazy? That's suicide!"

"We are pretty much dead anyways so we might as well take the fight to them and take the first swing. But it means walking away from everything and….everyone….else."

"…"He turns away from me, running his hands through his wet hair in frustration.

"They are going to kill me no matter what Ji. But if I can at least take some of them out first, it would make it a little easier to accept. I want my friends to be safe."

"There is no way in fucking hell you are doing this without me." He snarls and spins around. "But let's get one thing straight. You are not going to die. If I have to sell my soul to Satan himself, you are going to walk away from this unharmed. Do you fucking understand me?"

"Ji-Yong-"

"Let's go." He cuts me off and drags me down the street. Once we reach the address, we find a door with a keypad. I enter a code and the door unlocks. Inside is a room full of equipment and cash.

"Nice!" Ji says with a nod as he admires the different kinds of knives.

"Mo Nae will contact us in the next few hours." I murmur as I pull my SIM card out of my phone and destroy it. I pull out a new phone from a drawer and power it on. Even though I can no longer use my own phone, I am going to keep it. It has pictures of Saia and Woo Bin. It has memories that I want to keep close to me.

"You will be with him again, Ki. I promise." Ji says and rubs my shoulders.

"I hope so. But it's time to gear up and get ready to leave. I'm pissed off, Ji. Why can't they just leave us the fuck alone?"

"Because they're bastards. That's why."

(^_^)

SAIA'S POV:

The pain from the blow to my shoulder spins me away from my attacker and I grip it in pain. As I try to turn back towards him, a sudden explosion knocks us both to the ground. The metal crates beside me protect me from the blast but that asshole wasn't so lucky. Scrambling to my feet, I run for the nearest door as I hear another blast behind me. Yanking on the door, I sprint out of the building and a hand wraps around my arm to pull me towards a car.

"Aunt Mo Nae!" I gasp.

"Get in." she commands and I slide into the passenger seat. Once she pulls away, I pull out my phone but she takes it from me and powers it off. I know better than to cross her so I keep quiet. She will speak to me when she is ready. I'm worried about Jae Kyung though. She took a bad hit to the head.

I can see Mo Nae watching me closely from the corner of her eye.

"I already called Boo Ki. Broken mask is in effect." She says and my blood runs cold. So this is it then. It's time to finally face the evil that has haunted my best friend her entire life.

"You look like hell. How far along are you?" She asks and I look at her in confusion. "The baby. How far along are you?"

"Aunt Mo Nae, I'm not…" wait…the last day I was in New York, Ji-Hoo and I didn't use protection when we made love…and my last period was…OH…MY…GOD… I stare at her in shock. I'm pregnant? Thinking back the fatigue, the sickness, and my sensitive smell all make sense now.

I'm pregnant…

"I see you didn't realize it. I need to find a safe place for you to go. We will change your identity-"

"Wait! I'm coming with you! There is no way I am letting you two go alone!" I interrupt.

"Saia, you are carrying a child now. You need to think about the baby. This is a suicide mission. It will only get the both of you killed."

"I'm going to die anyway right? They will still come looking for me. I can go to Ji-Hoo and get everyone killed or I can fight to save the people that I love. That includes you and Boo Ki. I'm not very far along. I can still train and still be an asset. You need me. I'm the better shot and you know it. Neither of you can sniper as well as I can."

"What about the baby's father? If you leave with us, you leave everything behind. He will never know what happened to you. He may never know about his child." She counters. I swallow hard and nod my head.

"I know. But this is the right thing to do. I want to do this."

Mo Nae sighs and gives me a stiff nod.

"Boo Ki can't know about the baby. It will be a distraction to her. You won't start showing for a while so we will have to keep it under wraps as best we can. BUT you will do EXACTLY what I tell you and you will not take any unnecessary risks. Arrasso?"

"Yes, Auntie."

Ji-Hoo…god I'm sorry for doing this to you again…but they are my family too and I owe them so much…I will see you again…I know it…mianhae…

(^_^)

WOO BIN'S POV:

Where the fuck are they?!

It's been hours since I called Boo Ki and they still haven't arrived at the safe house. Her phone is turned off and we saw the news about Lydia Churchill. That place has been in utter chaos from the moment she was killed. It doesn't make sense for this to be the Maeng family. It's too public and sloppy. So maybe it was one of her enemies? But why then would my father say we have been compromised at almost the same moment of this attack. It's too much of a coincidence.

To top it off, the apartment we were staying in has been totally ransacked.

Fucking fantastic 24 hours…

Hearing a commotion at the door, Ji-Hoo and I are on our feet and moving towards the entryway. Before I can even process what I am seeing, I am engulfed in a choking embrace as Jun Pyo grabs me into a hug. I stare in shock over his shoulder at Ji-Hoo who is being tightly hugged by Yi-Jung. He looks as bewildered as I do.

"J-Jun Pyo?" I stammer. He pulls away but grips my shoulders tightly.

"Yah! How could you go off and do all of this alone? Do you have any idea what you have put us through?" he seems angry but his eyes are watery and his voice shakes with emotion.

"We were trying to protect you." I tell him.

"It isn't much different than you going off to rescue Jan Di alone without telling us, Jun Pyo." Ji-Hoo logically states.

"YAH! That was different…" He trails off.

"You still should have trusted us. I thought I knew you better." Yi-Jung pointedly says as he approaches me. "I've missed you bro."

"Mianhae. (I'm sorry.)" I whisper. My eyes start to burn as I fiercely hug my best friend. I pull away to really look at him and I can see the hurt in his eyes. We have a lot of explaining to do. I look over at Jun Pyo who has Ji-Hoo in a headlock and I suddenly feel very protective of my quiet friend.

"Yah! Jun Pyo, let him go! You know he hates that!" I scold him. Ji-Hoo smiles gratefully at me as Jun Pyo lets him go. It's only then that I notice everyone else. My father, Jae Kyung, Jan Di, Ga-Eul, and the baby but it's DK that grabs both Ji-Hoo and I's attention. He looks like hell. He's heavily bandaged and being supported by one of my father's men along with Jae Kyung. Ji-Hoo looks around expectantly for Saia but she isn't here. I move to stand by him in support as I look at my father.

"Where's Saia?"

My father's face is grim as he shakes his head. "I honestly don't know. They were all attacked at the same time. We lost some good men in the fight. DK is lucky to be alive."

"You lost her? Has she tried to call anyone?" I ask with a worried glance at Ji-Hoo.

"No. Her phone has been off since the explosion. I have people searching the area now but… it's pretty bad." My father says and Ji-Hoo bolts for the door. I grab his arm to stop him and he spins around to face me.

"I am going back to look for her. I won't lose her. Not now damn it. Not after everything we have done and fought for and been through. You can't stop me Woo Bin-ah. I AM NOT GOING TO FUCKING LOSE HER GOD DAMNIT!" Ji-Hoo snarls. His body is shaking with rage and everyone stares at him in shock. They haven't seen Ji-Hoo like this but I have. Even Yi-Jung and Jun Pyo seem taken aback. I keep my eyes calmly locked with Ji-Hoo's as raw emotion continues to play across his face.

"Ji-Hoo-" Jun Pyo tries to place his hand on his shoulder but Ji-Hoo knocks it away.

"I don't want your pity Jun Pyo."

Jun Pyo balls his hand into a fist but before he can open his mouth Jan Di steps in front of him and utters a quiet "Don't."

"Boo Ki is missing too, Ji-Hoo. So is Yi-Jong. These people moved fast. They knew where and when to strike at all of us and for some reason they took out Lydia too. They coordinated the attack so that we were all hit at the same time. I am going to make them pay for this. I'm going to Italy and I am going after these bastards tonight. I want you to come with me Ji-Hoo. I can't do this without you, bro."

Ji-Hoo stares at me and his eyes take on a determined glint. He nods his head and I lightly slap his shoulder in thanks.

"You're not going without us." Jun Pyo says. I open my mouth to object but Yi-Jung stops me.

"We all have something to fight for and to protect. You both may have started this alone but we will end this together." He says and squeezes my shoulder.

"What about Boo Ki and Saia?" Jae Kyung asks.

"My men and I will find out what happened to them and the Mafia here will keep the rest of you safe while the boys are gone. Plus we will try to stir up some trouble. We'll see if we can get Angiolo Botticelli to come out of hiding."

"Please find Saia and Boo Ki father." I've always been strong in front of my father but for the first time I can feel my voice break with emotion as I pleadingly look into his eyes.

None of this will mean anything if we lose the women that we love.