SHUT DOWN | JENLISA

33

Lisa

I needed some fresh air. I slipped into my running clothes and placed my headphones over my beanie. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I stepped out of my apartment and started off with a light jog.

Twenty minutes later, I was in full running mode. My heart hammered against my chest, my muscles ached with how I was pushing myself, and I could feel every drop of sweat dripping down my back, chest, and neck.

My breathing was laboured as I pushed myself even harder to run. I didn't have an end goal in mind. I just wanted to run away from my thoughts, but how far do you go to do just that? My music suddenly cut off, and I stopped when I got a call coming in.

I leaned against the wall and pulled out my phone to see an unknown number calling me. I wiped my sweat off with my other hand before picking up.

"Hello." I panted.

"Do you run because you like to or because you're punishing yourself?" She asked.

I looked around the park but couldn't see her. "Are you stalking me, woman?"

"Why would I be behind you?" She chuckled. "Keep walking." I did and I walked. "Warm. Warm. You're getting warmer." She sang. I walked through the crowd and families until I saw her sitting on the bench. "You've found me." She winked.

I hung up and put my headphones around my neck. She sat there on the bench alone with her purse in her lap and a water bottle in the other. She looked too expensive sitting there all alone. Her hair was up in a perfectly styled bun, with her bangs falling down and framing her face.

Lace gloves took purchase on her hands and she wore leather high boots. I could see the top of the cream-beige turtleneck hiding beneath the trench coat she was wearing. The brands she was wearing were posh, pricy, and even as extravagant as they were, because Jennie Kim seemed so naturally put together.

She waved the water bottle in her hand, and I closed the distance to take it from her. I sat down next to her, and this woman smelled iniquitously and ambrosially sweet. I gulped the water bottle down in two gulps and crushed it before tossing it in the bin next to me.

"I haven't heard from you in a week." I said.

I tilted my head to look at her, and she kicked her leg over the other. "You sound bitter, Lisa."

Bitter and pathetic. I shrugged. "Maybe I am. You promised me a taste."

Charming eyes shined as she cocked her head. "I did."

"Am I to expect another contract?" I asked and tried to get a read on her emotions, but this woman was locked up tighter than the casino vaults in Las Vegas. Even if I knew every combination and could unlock every single one, I knew I wouldn't be able to find anything inside. She was that smart, and that meticulous.

"Should you need another one to be with me?" She answered my question with her own. A tactic she did exceedingly well.

"No."

"Be at the club at ten. One of my men will pick you up from there." She stood up.

I looked around to see a few of her men around us and walking towards us. She spun around and placed her hand over my chest.

"Oh, and Lisa, you look really sexy when you sweat."

I reached for her wrist with one hand, and with the other one, I cupped the back of her neck. She tutted loudly but didn't make an attempt to get out of my grip. I brought the hand with her wrist down to the front of my shorts, and she pressed the palm there. My other hand went to the front of her neck as I collared her throat.

"You're not playing fair."

"Is that what it is we're doing, Lisa? Playing?"

"You tell me."

I ran my thumb across her very calm pulse, and that's when I felt something cool touch my chest. I looked down to see her gun pointed and aimed right there. When did she take it out? She was faster than I had originally assumed.

Her reflexes were quick, and I wasn't even angry that she had a weapon aimed at me, more like impressed. I didn't drop my hand from her throat, and she didn't move the gun. If anything, she dug it deeper into my chest. I've had weapons pointed at me before.

I've dealt with bank robberies and hostage negotiations. I've been a detective for so long and acquired so much strength and courage, and knowledge over the years.

They all added to my skill set, yet this situation was different. Jennie wasn't a bank robber or a hostage. She was Jennie Ruby Jane Kim. A woman who didn't like obstacles getting in her way and wasn't afraid to pull out a gun at me in the middle of a very crowded park.