The Order

28

The rest of the night was awkward, Liam hardly said a word to me after my exchange with Kenji. As a matter of fact, he hardly said a word to anyone that wasn't a woman. After Liam pulled me away from Kenji, he kept his distance from me as he went around the venue getting a bit handsy with the female guests.

I sat in a corner, by myself, drinking whiskey most of the night.

I looked over to see him still in a corner of the garden, sitting with a woman on his lap and is arm around her waist. He said something, making the women around him erupt in laughter. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit jealous. It was unlike me, I can't remember the last time I was jealous of anyone, but one thing I knew for sure:

It pissed me the fuck off.

Behind Liam and the crowd of women that surrounded him, was Kenji. He was standing there by himself and leaning against the wall. He was staring at me, a wicked smile twisted on his lips as he raised up his glass of wine at me before drinking it entirely.

Uneasiness, jealously, annoyance, it was all a blur of emotions that swirled together and ruined my night. I wasn't sure what bothering me more: the man that I've been somewhat interested in having his hands all over other women in front of me, or the fact that a psychotic assassin is waiting right in front of me for the perfect opportunity to kill me.

Either way, I was done with bullshit.

I downed my drink before standing up and walking towards the entrance of the venue. It was late, and the party was still going strong. I placed my empty glass on a servers tray as he passed by before walking out of the door. I looked over my shoulder to see Kenji following me, slowly maneuvering through the crowd, his brown eyes locked onto me.

Part of me wanted to kill him. To end this before he had the chance to do anything. But Kenji wasn't a fool, he was doing this on purpose. He was trying to get into my head, to make me anxious enough to make a mistake. I know firsthand the kind of skill this man had, and even without my current injuries it would be a difficult fight to win. Not to mention the attention it would attract. If I did attack him, it would cause chaos, and I would either have to tell Liam the truth about my past, or come up with an elaborate lie about what happened. Either way, causing a fight at a welcome party didn't seem like my best option.

I walked over to valet, waiting for Liam's driver to pull up. It was quiet, empty even as guests continued to party inside the venue. I heard footsteps behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Kenji standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Leaving so soon?" Kenji said as he tilted his head.

"Yes, I'm rather bored." I said with a dull tone.

"Really? I'm having a wonderful time." He said.

"I can tell." I said as I narrowed my eyes. We stood there in silence for a moment before an all black SUV pulled up beside me. The back door opened up, and to my surprise Liam quickly walked out of the car and walked up to Kenji.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." Liam said, his tone was cold and threatening.

"I don't think we have." Kenji said as he extended out his hand. "But, you are a man that needs no introduction, Mr. Knight."

"Kenji." He said as he extended out his hand. Liam looked him in the eyes with a cold glare as he took his hand and shook it tightly.

"Well, we have somewhere to be, Kenji. Enjoy your night." Liam said. Even though his words were somewhat cordial, his tone and demeanor insinuated otherwise.

"Of course." Kenji said as he stepped closer to me. He grabbed my hand, making Liam clench his jaw. I held back the scowl that threatened my lips as he kissed the back of my hand.