6. Deep water

"Did you just mention a BDSM club?" Elise was flabbergasted and she stared at the man beside her incredulously.

"I think I did just that. Or do you want me to rewind time so you can find out yourself?" Kai teased and winked at her.

"Ohh, please do. Let me see how you will rewind time." Elise folded her hands, annoyed by the man's blatant foolish acts.

Kai tried to remember what had happened a few minutes ago and sat straight in his seat while driving the car carefully. Fortunately for him, the road was clear. Other than a few vehicles passing by occasionally, it was practically deserted.

It was past midnight on a Friday—the best time for people to go clubbing and relieve their entire week's stress.

"Unless it is a BDSM club," Kai repeated what he had said some time ago and glanced at his friend, his eyes twinkling like the stars. "Now, everything falls into place."

Elise burst out laughing at his antics and her annoyance vanished momentarily. "You are fucking unbelievable."

"I know. Thank you." Kai grinned and paused at the red signal, waiting for the seconds to count to zero.

"Are you sure it is a BDSM club?" Elise was not new to BDSM clubs. She had visited one in her student days, the curious and adventurous her willing to try new things. But it had only been for observation and she had not even got an entry inside for not being a member.

"I am just assuming it to be one. I don't own the club, Elise, nor am I friends with the owner to confirm my thoughts." Kai shrugged and Elise rolled her eyes in dismay.

"How are we going to find out?"

"Simple. We can visit the club tomorrow. Since it's the weekend, there are high chances that our target will be there too." Kai suggested and Elise felt a headache creeping in on her.

She was already frustrated from one visit. She did not know if she could handle more of it. The sweat, smoke and booze, just the thought of it made her nauseous and she took deep breaths to stop herself from puking.

One, it would be highly embarrassing and unpleasant. Two, Kai would kill her for ruining his car. It was his life, his only love.

"Do I have to go too? Can't you just go alone?"

"Elise, will you abandon your partner in this mission halfway? Do you have the heart to do so? Aren't we partners in crime and catching criminals?" Kai pouted aggrievedly and Elise sneered in disdain.

"You should have been on Broadway or, even better, Hollywood. You would have made it huge."

"Thank you for the compliment. I know I would have flourished in acting."

"Why did you not go then?"

"I pitied the other actors. I did not want them to lose their jobs because of me." Kai gave her a look asking her to praise his magnanimity.

"Yeah, right. You saved a lot of people from losing their jobs. They must be touched and filled with gratitude."

"It's okay, it's okay. It was just a small sacrifice from my side. There is no need to make it big."

"Shall we get back to the matter at hand? We have important things to handle?" Elise was done entertaining his nonsense and looked out the window to see where they were.

"Elise..." Kai clicked his tongue and shook his head as if he was scolding her. "Why do you keep distracting me when I am at work?"

Elise had a witty comeback prepared to be thrown at him when her phone vibrated in her purse and she pulled it out immediately. Her eyes widened in surprise to see who it was.

"Hello, Chief?"

Kai's brows shot up. It was never good if their Chief called at this part of the night. Something significant must have happened.

"Explosion?" Elise frowned and glanced at Kai, who clutched the steering wheel tightly. "We will be there soon, Chief."

Elise sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Just when I thought I could go home and sleep well, hugging my pillow."

"What's wrong, Elise? What happened?" Gone was the Kai who was teasing and joking with her. He had returned to the serious man at work.

"You know one of the mafia lords, Craig Tyrell. Right?"

"Yeah. What about him?"

"Someone bombed his warehouse, all ruined. His father, Jimmy Tyrell is dead and Craig is missing."

"Fuck!" Kai cursed and Elise pursed her lips, analyzing the severity of the situation.

"The police sought our help and Chief wants us to handle the case."

"This is going to be trouble," Kai mumbled.

"Yeah. I wonder who he offended to reach this day. Whoever it is did a great job by eliminating the scum on this planet." Elise praised but did not forget to release her vexation immediately. "But left a ton load of work for us and dangerous work if I must add."

Although Elise did not give a damn if the task was dangerous or not, considering her line of work, she was still worried. Craig Tyrell was not a normal man. He was powerful and had deep connections. Since his entire life worth of hard work was ruined in a matter of seconds, the person behind it had to be someone stronger than him.

Just the thought of having to deal with such people gave her a migraine, especially when her Chief would push her and Kai in the front if things were to go wrong.

"It's fine, Eli. We will manage." Kai tried to assure her even though he was unassured himself. They would be in deep waters if they were not cautious. This was a situation to approach with careful planning.

"How far away are we from our apartment?" Elise looked out and realized that they were almost home. Sharing an apartment with Kai made it easier for her. She had a work buddy and her life after work would not be boring, even though he angered the hell out of her sometimes.

"Oh, we are close. I want to change out of these stupid clothes. They are super irritating." Elise pulled down her skirt, exasperated by it.

"Why? They look good. You look good." Kia tried to reduce the tension in the air.

"Maybe. They are not for me. I need to get out of these first before I can think clearly."

Kai parked his car in the basement and Elise was quick to her feet. "And I will never be wearing these again." She pointed to her heels, eliciting a chuckle from the man who was right behind her. "They are a pain in the ass."

"As you wish, Eli. Now, let's go before we are late and Chief starts to bombard our phones with his messages and calls."