INTRIGUE - a liskook adaptation (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1

With the sun sparking off her short blonde hair, creating a halo effect, she looked like a slender angel. Her long bare legs exposed by a pair of black shorts and her shoulders by a yellow tank top, she looked like a very hot angel.

¨Sweet.¨ Taehyung muttered from the backseat.

¨On the job, not on the prowl,¨ Jungkook reminded his fellow agent who had a reputation around the office as a ladies' man. Still, he was shocked by the quick visceral warmth that swept through him at the sight of her. She looks like a foreigner, and her eyes must be hazel, he thought.

She started down the steps as if unable to wait for them to join her on the porch. As she drew closer the men exited the vehicle.

Two things occurred at the same time: Jungkook flashed his official identification and noted that her eyes weren't hazel, as he'd expected, but rather a mesmerizing and rare amber. She was more than pretty with her slender face, doll-like eyes, cute button nose and generous mouth, but at the moment all of her features were radiating an emotion somewhere between panic and unadulterated fear.

¨Thank God you're here,¨ she said after Jungkook had introduced himself and his two men. ¨I'm Lalisa Manoban, the manager here and I'm the one who sounded the alarm this morning. I called the sheriff first, but he was afraid to get involved in what might be federal business, so he said I should contact the NIS. I found Sokjin oppa's contact list in his bedroom and called his former director.¨

¨And Assistant Director Hoseok contacted our field office in Seoul and here we are.¨ Jungkook replied. Despite the fact that the sun was slowly sinking in the west, the mid-July heat and humidity made it difficult to breathe. ¨Can we go inside?¨

¨Oh, of course.¨ She whirled on the heels of her white sandals to lead them back to the house. Jungkook couldn't help but notice the shapeliness of her butt in the tight shorts as she walked ahead of him - and that irritated him.

It had been a long time since a woman had attracted his attention in any way, and the last thing he needed was to be distracted by these blonde bombshell. He just wanted to get inside, figure things out and get back home as soon as possible.

She led them into a great room, obviously a place decorated for guests to hang out. Besides a couple of couches and chairs, there was a flat-screen television and a bookcase full of paperbacks and puzzles.

She paused in the center of the room, and her gaze shot from Jimin to Taehyung and then finally landed on Jungkook. 

¨They're gone.¨ Her voice was a tortured whisper as her eyes became shiny with unshed tears. ¨When I got up this morning, I knew that something was horribly wrong.¨

¨And how did you know that?¨ Jungkook asked.

Her eyes darkened, and she twisted her ringless hands together. ¨You need to see the kitchen.¨ 

Once again she turned and walked out of the room. The three men exchanged curious glances and followed.

¨This is the guest dining room,¨ she said as they entered a room with a table big enough to seat a dozen. A sideboard held an industrial-size coffee brewer, but no scent of coffee lingered in the air.

She posed at the door on the opposite side of the room, her eyes still shiny. 

¨There,¨ she said and pointed into the room. It was obvious she had no intention of going inside.

As Jungkook swept past her, he caught a whiff of her scent, a clean floral fragrance he found instantly appealing, but the allure of her perfume immediately died as he walked into the kitchen and saw the table before him.