In The Dark

Chapter 33

Ren

Our hotel was only ten minutes away, but it seemed longer than that. We had taken two SUVs and somehow I was stuck with Dean. It was me, him, Cory, and Nathaniel in the first car. Dominick, Kais, Byung-chul, and Zach were in the second car. The longer we stayed in the car, the longer I wanted to kill all of them.

Dean and I were cool now, but him and his slick comments were making me want to treat him as my personal slave. The things he does just makes me want to sucker punch him in his family jewels. How could Zach deal with him all the time? Did they even talk as often as they got into trouble? Just having to spend ten minutes with him was a living nightmare.

"So, how are you mentally?" Dean asked suddenly.

"...Why do you ask?" I retorted.

"Can I not check in on you sometimes?"

"No. I don't trust you checking in on me."

Cory laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. Yeah, it's nice to laugh, isn't it? Especially when you're not in the front seat with the very person messing with you. It's hard. Just last week I was thinking of coming here alone. Now I'm stuck with Zach's crew all week.

"Give me a chance, Ren," Dean begged. "I haven't done you wrong."

"You breathe," I shot at him.

"So does Zach, but you haven't killed him yet."

"Zach is an important asset to me right now," I reasoned. "He dies and you don't do my bidding anymore. Be quiet and drive."

"But--"

"Drive."

Dean sighed and gripped the steering wheel. My stomach suddenly growled and I remembered we had snacks in the car. I don't know what I was craving though. Something sweet sounded great, but I also wanted something salty. I wonder if we have any chocolate covered pretzels.

"Nathan," I called.

"Yes, dearest?"

"Do we have any pretzels?"

"I don't know. Why don't you check, huh?"

"Then, where's the bag, smart guy?"

"Beside me."

Oh, of course. He's not the type to do anything for me. The nerve of this guy. Once we get to the hotel, I'm going to drown him. Either indirectly or sneak into his room. Didn't matter how it was done. Just as long he learned his lesson of not doing my bidding.

I unbuckled my seatbelt to turn and get a snack from between Cory and Nathaniel. In the middle of the process, I changed my mind and asked Cory to pass me the bag. Dean thought it would be a good idea to slam on the brakes. My body shot forward and my head hit the dashboard. My immediate reaction was to reach for Dean and strangle him, but the strangest thing happened to me.

"I want to know what Byung-chul was doing at your warehouse?" I growled.

"What? Warehouse? Byung-chul?" Nathaniel scratched his head. "Who told you that?"

"Nathan," Zach hissed.

"Eomma called and said Byung-chul was talking about going back to some warehouse with one of you." I crossed my arms. "Whose idea was it?"

"Not mine!" Zach raised his hands in innocence.

"Oh, really? It couldn't be Nathan. There's no way he'd do something so reckless. I told you not to let him go near anything involving your job."