Page 89 of Emperor of Wrath

“No.” He takes a sip of sake. “I did.”

Holy fuck.

I mean the Bratva is serious, and it frequently wanders deep into the hardcore part of the forest. But cutting off your own finger over a slight to your boss is way past that.

Sota sighs, glancing at me as we both finish our first plate. “Now you think the Yakuza is savage and merciless.”

I could lie to him, but something about Sota makes you want to speak honestly.

“It’s…a little extreme to me. Granted, that’s just my opinion, not being from that world…”

“True,” he nods. “But the Bratva is extreme in its own way, is it not?”

Good point.

“And though you were young and much of it may have been hidden from you, your father’s empire was fairly extreme in certain ways as well.”

I frown curiously. Sota smiles.

“I met him once. Your father.”

Shock spreads over my face. “Seriously?”

He nods. “Not for business. We were both in Monaco and played poker together at a table. He was good,” he chuckles ruefully. “He took a lot of money from me that night.”

I smile privately. I don’t think of my parents very often. But every once in a while I allow myself to, like a little treat.

“Yes, the Yakuza can be savage and extreme,” Sota says as Jiro puts another plate, uni this time, in front of us. “But it’s what saved me as a young man. I think it’s what saved Kenzo’s father Hideo, too. He was my best friend, you know. And I understand that at a certain point, he wanted out, for his family. But to me, the Yakuza is my family. It’s my greatest love,” he says fiercely, turning to me. “I believe it’s what saved Kenzo, too.”

“From?”

He shrugs. “Blandness. From wandering through life unsure of what he was and who he should be. He could easily have stayed in England with his mother, God rest her soul. He could have lived his life on the periphery of the aristocracy, never quite being accepted into their ranks. But blood speaks, and his blood brought him back to Japan. Back to the Yakuza. It’s through that savageness and extremism that he’s found himself. And now?” He turns to raise his glass to me, smiling. “It’s how he’s found you.”

I smile back as I touch my cup to his. “Kanpai, Sota-san.”

He grins. “Kanpai, Annika.”

After a lovely dinner with Sota, I meander toward the back of the plane, to the office and conference room area. It’s unclear how long I’m going to be in Kyoto. But I’ve been prepping for an acquisition for Kir, and we’re planning to make our move in the next three months. That means getting Kir’s army of corporate lawyers and finance nerds all on the same page.

Hey, this is the job.

I’m on a video call on my laptop, sitting at the desk facing the rest of the conference room. Suddenly, the door to the room opens, and my face flushes a little as Kenzo walks in. I drag my eyes back to the screen, nodding at something someone’s just said into my earbud. Then I’m aware of Kenzo walking right over to me.

“Excuse me one second,” I say politely. I tap a button, muting my mic and turning off my camera as Kenzo leans against the desk right next to my monitor. “Can I help you,” I mutter.

“Maybe,” he growls, a spark of something dangerous in his eyes.

My core flutters and my face heats. But I swallow it back as I glare at him. “I’m on a video call.”

He smirks. “Just what do you think I want that can’t be done on a video call?”

My cheeks throb. “If you don’t mind, some of us have work to do.” I push at his hip, nudging him off the edge of the desk until he’s out of view of the camera. “Excuse me,” I say brusquely, turning back to the monitor and pushing the button to turn the camera and the mic back on.

One of Kir’s lawyers is going over some contractual stuff. My focus is suddenly broken by movement past the monitor. I glance up, and my eyes bulge when I see Kenzo standing by the conference table, unbuttoning his black dress shirt and peeling it off his muscled, tattooed shoulders.

My lip catches between my teeth as I watch him drape it neatly over the back of a conference table chair.

His hands drop to his belt and start to undo it. That’s when I hit the mute and camera off button again.

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