🖤22🖤

                                    

                                          
Yoongi felt her arms holding him.  He squeezed back slightly, knowing she needed reassurance she was safe.  He felt her tremble under his hands and he felt overwhelming regret.  Not that anything that had just happened was under his control, but he felt like he had contributed to breaking her somehow.  His world was dirty, brutal, and messy.  Her world was clean, bright, and promising.  The moment his world had touched hers, it contaminated everything in its way.  Her parents were gone, her job was gone, her friendships were broken.  Now her sanity might be next.  His hand raised to her hair, smoothing it down, soft hushing sounds were whispered into her ears.  
                          
"Hyung, we really should go," said Hoseok softly, his own nervousness of being ganged up on by another onslaught of mob flunkies raising its head. 
                          
Yoongi looked at Hoseok and nodded, his eyes closing tight in frustration that he couldn't stay with her longer, giving her whatever she needed.  "Angel face," he said softly, "I need you to pull yourself together.  We have to get out of here before more of them come back.  Do you understand?"  
                          
Jieun's sobs had subsided and her breaths were ragged and deep.  "Y-Yeah.  I'm r-ready," she stammered, wiping her eyes clear of the remaining tears.  She took one more deep breath and then leaned away from Yoongi, looking up into his eyes.  "Thank you," she whispered.  "I'm doing s-something I never i-imagined I would ever do."  She held Yoongi's shoulders and stared into his face.  "I'm g-going to trust a c-criminal with my l-life."  Her small gasps of air that made her stutter, made Yoongi's heart weak.  However, the label she gave him made it hurt.  
                          
"I'll do my best to prove to you that I can be your friend and not just some lowlife criminal," he murmured, standing to his feet.  He pulled her up with him and grabbed her hand.  "Stay close," he warned, leaning down to pick up his weapon from the floor.  
                          
Hoseok was glad to be on the move and he quickly stepped over the bodies in the doorway.  Yoongi stepped across as well and felt Jieun's hand pull the opposite direction as she hesitated.  He looked back at her and saw she was having a difficult time.  "Jieun, look at me," he said firmly, glad she pulled her eyes away from the dead men and up to look at him.  "Just look at me.  You can do this.  One step at a time."  He spoke gently and encouraged her to move forward and she did, keeping her eyes locked on him.  She cringed as her foot came in contact with the leg of one of the men, but she quickly hopped over and clung to Yoongi's arm.  
                          
The trio moved quietly through the house, hoping no more surprises were waiting for them.  They got into their car and as they sped away from the house, several dark sedans passed them, filled with killers thirsty for revenge and death.  
                          
Yoongi was thankful for tinted windows as the cars blew past them.  "Hoseok, head to the safe house near the ocean.  I can't take this thing back to the compound with a mole on the loose."   He patted his breast pocket, assuring himself of the location of the Master List.
                          
Hoseok met his eyes in the rear view mirror and nodded slightly.  "You got it."
                          
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                          
"You think they'll be back?"  JK swiveled his chair back and forth as he watched Namjoon slowly pace the floor. 
                          
"Lee said they were ambushed but when his men got there, there were two dead bodies, both his guys.  No one else was in the house."  He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed in frustration.  "They'll either come back home or go to a safe house."  Namjoon put his hands on his hips.  "But there's a dozen safe houses.  Which one would he pick?" 
                          
JK leaned his head back on the chair and rolled his eyes.  He was in no mood to find a needle in a haystack the hard way.  "I could just track the boss' phone?"