Page 55 of Emperor of Wrath

Yet I can’t shake one little detail from that night that I’ve kept to myself: the laser dot was on Annika. And an assassin of that caliber doesn’t aim at the wrong person or let his scope wander.

Yes, killing Annika could have been an attempt to hurt me, but I was right there. So was Sota and the rest of my family. And it’s obvious Annika is a new addition and clearly not someone I’m in a real relationship with. If they wanted to hurt me, shooting Hana or Sota would have done far more damage.

So why the fuck was he aiming at her?

I glance at my watch yet again.

And where the ever-loving fuck is she?

I’ve had teams of people combing the city since this morning, looking for Hana. I even contacted a high-end hacker I know to try and trace her phone to its last known cell-tower ping, since it’s clearly turned off. And I know Kir’s had people looking for Annika and Freya, though when I touched base with him two hours ago, he didn’t seem all that concerned.

Yeah, because he’s dealt with her bullshit for years. Or maybe he just has the patience for it. I sure as fuck don’t.

The church door opens behind me. I glance back to see Takeshi walking out and loosening his tie.

“So,” he grunts. “When are we calling this?”

“We’re not,” I shoot back.

“Well, if this thing drags out any longer, people are going to start asking awkward questions.” He jerks a thumb back over his shoulder at the church. “Not gonna lie, bro. It’s already tense in there. Our guys are mean-eying Kir’s guys, and vice versa. If the word starts to get around that your dear wifey is a no-show, shit’s going to hit the fan.”

Obviously, we’ve only told a select few that Annika’s missing. But Tak is right. This whole thing is a fucking powder keg, and every minute she doesn’t show up is basically her chucking lit matches at it.

“She’s the one that pushed for a nighttime ceremony, yeah?”

I nod. “It’s for Freya. She’s got this skin thing with sunlight.”

Takeshi snorts. “Wait. Seriously?”

I nod.

“So it’s not just a goth thing?”

“Guess not.”

I don’t know why him reminding me of that little tidbit annoys me even more. Annika did push to have the wedding after dark so that Freya could attend comfortably without dressing in a space suit or anything.

Maybe because it proves that Annika’s not just a spoiled Bratva princess with a perpetually raised middle finger. She’s compassionate, too. Which means she’s made a conscious decision to go MIA the day of our goddamn wedding. She’s chosen to let me pace in front of the church like a pathetic dickhead about to get stood up for prom.

She’s not here yet, half an hour before our fucking wedding, because she wants me to think she’s skipped out. She wants me to worry.

Because that’s Annika’s style: she does what she wants, fuck the world, and let everyone else deal with the wreckage and the consequences.

Well, there will be consequences for this.

Consequences like putting her over my knee and spanking that bratty attitude right out of her.

I scowl as that particularly dick-twitching thought enters my head. Then I shove it back down.

Get your shit together.

“Kenzo.”

I glance at Tak, and then follow his gaze to where the black SUV with an Uber sticker is pulling up to the curb. The back door opens, and my eyes pull to slits as an extremely disheveled Hana slides out, obviously still in the “going out” clothes from the night before.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Takeshi mutters, voicing the words I don’t even trust myself to say out loud.

I storm over and grab my sister by the bicep.

---