Glancing over my shoulder, I mouth to Callum.Bathroom.
He nods, moving that direction.
Once in the hallway, he nods me forward.
The server helps me into the bathroom, patting the front of my dress with paper towels. After a moment, she looks up at me.
“I truly am sorry. I wasn’t given a choice.”
Before I can ask her what she means, the stall door opens, showing an Asian man I vaguely recognize, but have never met.
My heart races.
“Who are you?”
He smiles. “Kenji. I apologize for the dress. I promise I will pay you back for it. I had to get your attention somehow though.” He turns to the woman. “You will receive your payment. Step out and tell her guard she is finishing up and asked for a minute.”
The woman looks back at me before leaving the restroom.
I narrow my eyes, crossing my arms. “What? Why?”
He holds out his hand, a small phone resting in his palm. “Take it.”
I grab it reluctantly, lighting the screen up. I gasp when I see the picture as the background.
It’s Kai. Shirtless. All of his tattoos on display while his face is shooting the camera a cocky grin.
My cheeks turn red as my body reacts.
“You’ll want to put a code on it, but it has three contacts. Myself, Kai, and Kado, your other guard.”
“What? Callum is my guard.” I frown, looking at Kenji.
He laughs, shaking his head. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. I don’t have time to explain it. At any moment your guard will come in to check on you while the Italian is probably already questioning what’s taking so long. Dial Kai quickly. Let him know you are safe, then hide the phone. When you’re alone, set a lock on it and only use it to contact one of us if you have an emergency. We will come, Cliona.”
Pressing Kai’s name, I press the phone to my ear. “Gorgeous, are you behaving?”
His warm voice fills the phone. My breath catches.
“What do you mean?”
“Has the Italian touched you?”
“He shook my hand.”
He clucks his tongue in my ear. “Bad girl. So I need to take his hand?”
“Kai, you haven’t tried to contact me in days. What are you playing at?” I ask quietly.
He chuckles. “Did you miss me, babe? This is the first time you’ve been in public. I took the first chance I could get. Callum won’t let me see you until you have your other dates. So maybe hurry up so I can kiss those lips of yours again.”
I’m about to respond when a knock on the bathroom door startles me.
“Cleo?” Callum calls out.
“One minute. I’m almost done.”
Kenji shoots me a look, telling me to hurry.
