Chapter 2

Lyon, France

Yasuhiro Residence

Lula Yasuhiro headed into the Longère, kicking the door shut behind her before pulling her motorcycle helmet off.

“Brother!” she called out, setting her helmet down on the table. “Sullen pain in the butt, come here! I want to talk to you,” she shouted. “Come here, Kitty!”

“I hate it when you call me that.”

“Then acknowledge me,” Lula retorted.

“I heard you,” Kita said, heading down the stairs, pulling a shirt over his head as he went; he just got back from his run. “As did everyone along the Saône River, Little Sister. What do you want? Shouldn’t you be at work? Please tell me you didn’t get yourself fired,” he groaned.

The woman smiled before punching him in the gut and he grunted.

“No, I didn’t. Don’t be a jerk. I come bearing good news for my sullen, pain in the butt big brother. A job,” Lula said, pulling a folder from her bag then tossed it on the table. “It came through secure channels but not something Interpol would be interested in for more than a passing moment. A private contractor is required, not a nationally tied one in my opinion.”

Kita sighed then picked up the folder and flipped it open. “What is this?” he asked, looking up at his smiling sister.

“How’s your Korean?” she teased.

He wasn’t amused. “A babysitting job in South Korea?” he asked, giving her a look.

“Private security,” Lula instantly corrected, heading to the kitchen to grab a drink. “Apparently an actress is being targeted, according to the request. The management company that oversees her hired private investigators in order to find evidence to support their chairman’s concerns.”

That wasn’t entirely unheard of in the private security business, but if the job went global that meant it was amateurs that put out the request.

“I don’t think her management company understands that they need someone outside the industry and country to protect their asset.” She returned with an apple and bottle of water in hand. “It’s the exact same type of job that got you blacklisted, Brother. What would it hurt? I know your savings is nearly depleted and you haven’t told Mom and Dad yet.”

Kita glared at his sister. “I don’t need a handout!” he snapped at her.

“It’s a job, Brother, not a handout,” Lula pointed out the obvious. “I pulled it from the wire but it went wide so you’ll have competition. The pay is good, and discretion is required which you are the king of. Your Korean is good enough to be passable until you acclimate. The joys of having an ear for languages,” she teased, kicking her feet up at the table before taking a large bite of her apple.

Kita wasn’t amused in the least.

The last thing he wanted was to babysit another young woman, but his annoying little sister was right; his savings were nearly depleted and in order to continue to provide for his aging parents he needed work that paid decently.

Perhaps this was what Kita needed?

A fresh start in a new country, no royals or titles that required obedience and self-sacrifice, and a clean slate where he can find pride in what he does once more?

Dishonor came to the family name because he failed, and Kita was tired of being looked at as if he were a failure because of it.

He vowed that he wouldn’t fail again.

“I’m out of practice-” he started to say when Lula threw the apple in her hand at him as hard as she could.

Impressively fast, his hand snapped out and caught it before it hit him in the face.

“Uh huh,” Lula scoffed.

“Your maturity is sickening,” Kita informed her, tossing her the apple.

“But my point was made,” she pointed out rather smugly.

“I suppose it was. Specifics on the client?” Kita reluctantly asked, flipping through the dossier.

Lula smiled; she knew exactly which buttons to push on her big brother to get what she wanted. “Myo Mi-Sun, birth name Seon Rain, is a twenty-four years old child model-turned television sensation-turned movie star. She is an only child that was orphaned at the age of six when her parents died in a car wreck that their daughter miraculously survived. Seon Rain was left in the custody of her only biological family; her uncle Hu Jae. Hu Jae’s wife left him three months after the orphan was placed with him, leaving her son behind; Hu Dae-Ho. The cousin is Seon Rain’s best friend, personal assistance, and shadow; they are never apart thus he’ll be required to have protection as well even if that hasn’t been broached as of yet. A way in, perhaps?”

Kita looked up at his sister. “Nothing you are telling me suggests personal protection is required,” he pointed out, not amused in the least with his sister’s tactics, but he expected no less from her.

“The girl’s name should have been Bad Luck,” Lula said. “Accidents and catastrophe apparently follow her everywhere as if she is a catalyst of Death herself. Most recently, her home was lost to arson.”

“One arson warrants security of my caliber?” he asked, skeptical.

“Of course not, Brother. But for the past three years, every movie set she’s been on has suffered staggering losses; accidents that left members of the crew injured, actresses and actors that pulled out suddenly for unknown reasons, unprecedented production delays, and the required insurance policies that studios had to take out bankrupt the production within a month. She is the common factor in the run of bad luck according to the private investigator reports.”

“Does it point back to the orphan?” he asked, slightly more interested.

Kita loved a mystery and challenge.

Lula smirked. “Of course not, hence why a bodyguard of your caliber is required, Brother,” she said, causing him to smirk.

Kita knew babysitting an actress that found herself in a bit of trouble wasn’t a way to get his lost honor back or restore the family name. But it was a way to keep a roof over their heads and the lifestyle Kita had provided his parents for years until he figured out how to restore that honor.

A simple security detail was a good offer, one that he knew was too good to be true, especially if his sister was bringing it to him.

“What’s the catch?” Kita asked, his smirk falling when he pulled airline tickets to Seoul from the back of the dossier she provided. “There’s always a catch with you, Sister.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Lula purred with a mischievous smile.