"Coffee is not food. You are too thin. Always working, never eating."
Her husband, Mr. Kim, emerged from the walk-in cooler carrying a crate of vegetables. He nodded at Max, his weathered face creasing in what might have been a smile. "Good morning."
"Morning," he said as a teenage boy entered the kitchen, phone in hand. Peter Kim was seventeen, the youngest of the four Kim children, and like his older siblings, he either helped in the kitchen or worked deliveries for the restaurant after school. "Hey, Pete."
"What's up?" the kid said.
"Not much. You?"
"Got a calculus test first period." Peter made a face. "Can't wait to graduate so I can do what I want."
"You go to college first," Mrs. Kim said sharply, not looking up from her prep. "Then you get a good job, and, maybe after that, you do you want."
Peter rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. He'd probably had this conversation a hundred times.
"Coffee's ready," Mr. Kim said, gesturing to the industrial coffeemaker in the corner. "Help yourself, Max."
He filled his mug, then headed back upstairs. His apartment was small—a main room that served as both living space and home office, a bedroom barely big enough for a bed, and a bathroom that had probably been renovated in the eighties. But it was more than enough for him, and it was also off the grid, which he preferred.
He'd just set his coffee down on the kitchen table, which he also used as a desk, when there was a knock at the door.
He opened the door to Kai Porter, a forty-two-year-old brunette with sharp eyes that didn't miss a thing and a sharp mouth that sometimes got her into trouble. They'd worked off and on together for years, and she was one of the few people in his life he could count on. She'd quit the agency last year to take care of her mother, who had recently passed. After Dominic had hired him, he'd hired her.
While Dominic had given him an office at his corporate headquarters along with an admin and a team of people he could use, he didn't entirely trust any of them. He wasn't completely sure that someone in Dominic's company hadn't sold him out on his last trip abroad, so while some things he could reveal to the bigger group, he wanted to keep specific details between him and Kai until they needed to go public.
Kai entered the apartment with her laptop bag over her shoulder and a plate of steamed buns in her hand. She gave him a smile. "I was going to complain about you wanting me to come here instead of Dominic's posh offices, but Mrs. Kim flagged me down on my way up, and these smell delicious."
"They are delicious," he said as he closed the door behind her. "And what I wanted to talk to you about is better said here than in the office."
"Fine. But Mrs. Kim said I had to make sure you eat, so you don't starve to death." She set the buns down on the table. "I told her I wasn't responsible for you, but she didn't seem to care."
He went into the small kitchen and grabbed two plates. "She has a kind heart."
"She certainly cares about you." Kai took a seat at the table, and he sat down across from her, sliding a pork bun onto her plate. She picked up her fork and took a bite. "So good," she mumbled with her mouth full.
He nodded, eating the bun in a few quick bites, then chasing it down with a swig of strong coffee. "Now I feel ready to go."
"And do what, exactly?" Kai asked, with an inquiring arch of her brow. "The trip to Tajikistan is now postponed for two more weeks because of the weather. Which gives us a month to work on Dominic's security detail and itinerary for the groundbreaking. That's more than enough time. In fact, if we smooth the way too soon, we'll have to do it all over again."
"This isn't about Tajikistan. Dominic's girlfriend, Samantha Barkley, was critically injured in the café bombing yesterday."
Kai's eyes widened. "Seriously? That's terrible. Is she going to be all right?"
"It's touch and go. Dominic wants me to find out who's responsible for the bombing, and whether it's connected to him."
"He's worried someone went after her because of him?"
"Yes. At least, that's what he tells me."
"You don't believe him?"
"I'm not sure. But that's the least of my concerns. If Samantha was targeted because of Dominic, then he could be in danger. I need you to see what you can dig up on Samantha's cases over the past few years. She's a federal prosecutor. There has to be some public information that can give us a potential enemy list."
"I'll do what I can using the limited resources we have. The FBI will have more access."
"I'm working on getting to share in that access."
"Working how?" she asked doubtfully.
