Chapter 13

Nicholas

"Nicholas! Stop! Please stop. You can't go running to him!" Tillie's pleas sound behind me, desperate for me to listen to reason, but I can't for the life of me.

He has my little sister.

Fuck!

I should have been there to protect her! This is all my fault.

I don't stop running, my feet kicking up gravel as I bolt across the parking lot over to my crotch rocket. My chest feels like it's caving in; I can hardly breathe as I swing my leg over my bike and start the engine while flipping up the kickstand. I ignore the shouting behind me and plant my leg on the ground to swing my bike in a circle with a twist of my wrist to make the engine roar and go forward. I barely make it out of the open-chained gate as Dalton shouts at his club brothers to shut it. Without looking for traffic, I sped out of the lot and hit the road, going a hundred miles per hour in less than twenty seconds.

Not Nicola. I've failed her.

I can't stop that from repeating in my head; the wind is barely registering as I whip through Los Angeles traffic. I zoom through parked cars on the highway, ignoring their blazing horns, as I drive on the shoulder of the road without a flying fuck.

Getting to Nicola before it's too late is my only worry.

It's almost funny how I know that Jin won't be at any other place but the dojo. It's the only training place he owns since the warehouse is burned down to crisps. He's predictable. I know it's a trap; the practice hall will be packed with his triad. A place where he can try to embarrass me in front of his men while teaching me a lesson at the same time. I've had to endure karate and beatings in the practice hall since the age of five. My fingers touch the screen on the bike, connecting the Bluetooth to my phone, and I pull up tracking for Nicola's phone. The ping of the red dot shows she's exactly where I thought she would be. The dojo.

This ends tonight. Jin has gone too far. No one messes with my baby sister.

I'm not sure how many red lights I sped through or how many near misses of clipping a car with the back tire, but finally I pulled into the street just before Chinatown. A sea of red and bright lights flickers by, people screaming at me as I speed down the street without stopping for anyone. I hop a curb and drive on the sidewalk since a semi is taking up the intersection ahead. Weaving and skimming my leg against the cement to avoid crashing into a little old lady, I run into a street market with a full display of oranges on the sidewalk. I can't stop, not bothering to look back to see the chaos I'm causing. Nicola is all that matters.

Within seconds, I'm pulling up to the dojo and jumping off my bike without even parking it. I hear it crash somewhere behind me as I run into the three-story building in front of me. Shoving my shoulder into the front glass doors, I skid into the lobby and found it completely empty. It's not a surprise. Jin doesn't see me as a threat. I jog over to the stairwell and start taking the steps two at a time without pausing. The only sound is my deep breathing and the echo of my shoes as I run up to the third floor. Swinging the door open, I step into the dojo on soft mats to muffle the sound of my steps. I'm not surprised to see the triad lining the walls, each dressed in black suits and not saying a word. My gaze quickly shifts to the middle of the room, seeing Jin standing on the mat with an expression void of emotion, just like his dead eyes.

"Weak," Jin says in a booming voice, his gaze searching the room and looking at each triad member before looking back at me. "Nicholas is an example of weakness, the definition. He came running even though he had to know it was a trap, all for the love he carries for his sister. He let his heart carry him to his own death."

I try to keep my expression neutral, almost bored, but at the moment Jin turns his back on me and strides forward to reveal Nicola between two of the goons... I lose my cool. I see bruises on her porcelain skin, the cut still bleeding on her trembling lip and shaking limbs.

"She's your own flesh and blood! How dare you lay a hand on her! You will pay for that!" I'm screaming—beyond furious.

I don't remember swiftly walking across the mats, intending to kill Jin where he stands next to my sister. But I'm stopped by his goons laying their palms on my shoulders and pushing me back even as I struggle against them.

"Rash and that temper. Such a disappointment. You are no son of mine," Jin drawls, shaking his head at me in disgust as he starts circling the room like a shark in the water. "Let him go. He'll finally learn where he belongs once I'm done with him. Under my heel, before I kill him," he tells his triad members, holding me back with a nod of his head.

They slowly release me, and I shake out my arms, looking at my cuff links as I unbutton them to roll my sleeves up so I can try to calm down. I can't look at Nicola again. Seeing her beaten makes all rational thoughts vanish. I need to focus to end this. I glance up after taking a slow breath that's barely noticeable, my gaze connecting with Jin as he finishes circling the room to come to a stop a few meters away from me.

"I was never your son, Jin. Carrying on your name would be a disgrace to mankind. I will never be like you, and the next time I see you, I'll be burying the heels of my shoes into your graveyard dirt." I square my shoulders and don't look away from him as his face turns red in rage.

"I'll cut out your tongue for that while keeping you alive long enough to see your sister and friends die." His lips curl at the edges as he nods behind me, just as I hear shocked gasps and yelling coming from the stairwell doorway.

I don't look. I can't get distracted, even as my skin itches to protect my brothers and Tillie. I can hear a struggle behind me, grunts and growls of outrage as the triad holds them back. They shouldn't have come. I have no other option but to win, no matter what, against Jin. By any means necessary.

"And the girl. She will sell for a high price. That cunt won't be tight for long," Jin taunts and flickers his gaze quickly back to me when my hands twitch at my sides.

He notices everything. Always has. It's why I have to be one step ahead of him.

"Does that bug you, Nicholas? Knowing she will be used over and over again by brute men, stuffed full of cocks before she eventually dies on a seedy little cot dried with her blood and cum." Jin tilts his head at me, his jaw ticking when I don't show any emotion, even though I'm boiling alive inside at each word coming out of his vile mouth.

He sighs in disappointment and whips a gun out of his waistband, pointing the barrel at my forehead, inches away.

"Simply a waste," he says, his finger starting to press on the trigger as I keep my eyes locked on his without blinking.

"No! You son of a bitch!" Nicola screams somewhere behind Jin as she struggles.

"Don't do this! Please! Please!" Tillie shouts with pleas that fall on deaf ears.

I ignore everything: grunts, skin smacking skin, and screams. All that matters is showing Jin that he can never win.

"A gun? How original," I say, in a bored tone, even though my mind is racing with how to get everyone I love out safely. "I figured a man in power such as yourself wouldn't resort to a gun when he can kill with his bare hands. It's almost-" I trail off, hiding a smirk as Jin's eyes narrow as he processes my every word.

"Almost, what?" he grits through his teeth, agitated and furious that I'm not showing fear.

"Pathetic, really," I finish and know I have him as he lowers his gun and peers around at his triad members, who stare warily at him but hold no respect.

Triads don't need to resort to weapons when we can kill a man with our bare hands. It's something we were all taught from the very beginning—to prove to ourselves that we are strong and deserve a place in the triad. Jin is going against everything he has always preached and the lessons he has demanded of his members to make them unstoppable in any situation. To use a gun in front of his men while I stand here unafraid and challenge him only shows he shouldn't be in charge if he doesn't believe his own beliefs.

"How dare you? When I'm done with you, wiping your face into the mats stained with your blood, you'll know before your last breath that you couldn't save any of them," Jin threatens, his eyes narrowed in hatred as he lowers the gun and hands it over to one of his goons before stepping back.

He unbuttons his shirt, handing the garment to a waiting hand once removed, as he shifts his head back and forth, cracking his neck before dropping into a direct bridge of kung fu. I don't bother to strip off any article of clothing; I don't need to parade around my strength for it to be seen. Each taekwondo pose will define every movement, with or without a shirt. I glare at Jin, moving my right foot back with my right fist tucked into my side into an outside block pose. With my elbow tight against my side, I lean forward and crook my finger at him in a challenge that I know will piss him off.

I don't know who moves first, but I'm dodging an axel kick that's aiming right at my head. I duck down low into a crouch at the last second to sweep out his feet beneath him. Spinning in a circle on one leg, I grunt as I jump to my feet as he steps away before I can make contact to lay him flat out. The blow to the ribs hardly fazes me. I absorb the pain and stop the next punch with a hand knife low block while retaliating by jabbing my fist into his gut two times. He hooks his forearm around my waist and tries to knock me onto the mat, but I can't let him do that. I won't ever be able to get back up if he pins me down.

It goes on for minutes that feel like hours until my white shirt sticks to me like a second coat of skin from sweat. Jin jumps back, rapidly breathing as he bounces on the balls of his feet with a red face. Either from anger or a lack of oxygen.

"You want to know the difference between me and you?" I ask, exhaling slowly to expand my chest and breathe properly.

He doesn't answer; he just yells and grunts as he suddenly races forward with one palm extended toward my face and draws his other hand back in distraction. I avoid the lethal movement, knowing he really would kill me if the heel of his palm connected under my nose. I would have bled out from my brain, shutting down and drowning in blood.

"I'd fight for the people I love, not stopping even when I could barely move my battered body. That is what is different between us, Jin. You only care about yourself. No one would ever keep fighting for you or miss you. You'll die here tonight knowing that," I snarl out, meaning every damn word coming out of my mouth like a promise.

One of us isn't leaving this room tonight.

"Kick his ass, Nicky! Go fuck yourself, you waffle twat! Just die already, Jin!" Nicola cheers in the background, distracting me for a split second when I hear a thud and a moan of agony.

Turning to the left, I realize my mistake as Tillie screams louder than I've ever heard. It's haunting, a sound, a devastation.

It only takes a second for things to change—one moment that can either go down two different paths or split within a road. Good or bad.

I think I just went down the wrong path.