Page 133 of Emperor of Wrath

I shrug. “Yes, I’m aware. I spoke with Kir last night, and he’s going to smooth?—”

“That hasn’t gone quite as planned,” Tengan spits at me. He turns to shake his head at Sota. “Sota-san,” he whines. “The White Queen is not pleased. My people?—”

“Who exactly are your people, Tengan?” I grunt. “Surely you mean Sota’s people, no?”

The little twerp shoots me a look before he turns back to Sota.

“Of course, Sota-san, I mean your people?—”

“It’s fine, Tengan,” Sota says mildly. “Go on.”

“Yelizaveta is not at all pleased with how this was handled.” He whirls back to me before I can open my mouth. “Before you say anything, yes, we can all agree that Valon Leka was not a good man. But that’s really not her concern considering the amount of business she did with him, and the value of the product that he transported for her.”

I sigh. “I’ll get in touch with Ms. Solovyova and give her the full?—”

“Leka still has people, you know,” Tengan spits shrewishly. “In fact, his brother Basor, with whom he started the business, is interested in taking over. He’s currently in prison in Bulgaria, but he reached out to me this morning?—”

“I’m sorry, what?” I snarl, lurching to my feet. Tengan scuttles back when I jab a finger at his face. “Exactly who do you work for, Tengan?—”

“Kenzo.” Sota raises a finger. “Let him finish. Tengan’s loyalty is not up for debate.”

I glare at Sota’s business manager, but then nod respectfully to Sota and sit down again.

Tengan straightens his tie fastidiously. “Of course I work for Sota-san, Kenzo,” he mutters. “But it’s my job to make sure business flows as it should. So, yes, Basor contacted me this morning from prison via a smuggled phone. He wants the death of his brother to settle whatever disagreement you had with him….”

Disagreement?!

I could strangle the little fuck. But I keep myself in check.

“And as he will be taking Valon’s place as head of the organization, he wants to talk about doing business as planned and going ahead with the original contract that was discussed.”

I shake my head. “Not happening in a million years. No. Fuck no.”

Tengan’s face darkens as he glances at Sota.

“Sota-san, if you could kindly talk sense into your?—”

“Give us a moment, Tengan,” Sota says quietly.

Tengan glares at me, then he turns and bows stiffly to his boss. “Of course.”

After he’s gone, I shake my head and point to the door that Tengan just retreated through.

“He’s a big problem,” I growl.

Sota smiles, nodding amicably. “He would be, if he wasn’t so loyal to me.”

I exhale slowly. “I just can’t okay doing business with Leka’s successor, even if the bastard himself is dead. Besides, I’ve heard of Basor. He’s supposed to be even more of a piece of shit than Valon was.”

Sota nods. “You understand what Tengan is saying though, yes? If we were to go into business with Basor, it would reassure Yelizaveta that the feud was with one man, not an entire organization with whom she does significant business.” He sighs. “I know it might not be what you want, but you had to know there would be fallout from everything that happened last night.”

I nod. “I know, and I’ll face it, Sota. Look, I made a choice. And I’m sticking to that choice. I’ll deal with whatever comes of it.”

A small smile creeps over his face. “Good,” he says quietly. “If that’s the way you feel, then you’re ready.”

My brow furrows. “For?”

“In eight weeks, I’m going to be going to Italy for a few months. I’m not sure exactly how long. But I’ve always wanted to visit the vineyards of Tuscany and Piedmont, and I can’t think of a better time to go.”

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