Page 96 of Beautiful Vengeance

She smiled, bowed slightly again, then backed out of the doorway. It had been a long time since she’d come to Japan, on an op that had only taken two days. She’d forgotten how polite everyone was here.

Marcus stepped back, bowed slightly and thanked them in Japanese. Her aunt and great-aunt giggled at his accent, but he merely smiled. They walked down the pathway leading to the front door, pausing at the end of it to wave. She’d promised to keep in contact, and she intended to honor that.

She sighed. Marcus arched a brow at her, his cane thudding lightly on the ancient stepping-stones leading around the side of the compact yard. Even in mid-November the garden was beautiful, full of lush green grass and artfully arranged beds of moss punctuated by Japanese maples turned fiery red for the fall.

“I thought the visit was brilliant,” he said.

“It was.” Better than she’d expected, really. “It must have been a shock for them when I reached out initially, out of the blue like that.”Hey, you don’t know me, but I’m your long-lost relative. Wanna meet up so I can ask you about the past I know nothing about?

“I liked watching you talk with them.”

“I’m so rusty compared to what I used to be. I haven’t worked in Japan since I was in my early twenties.”

He grinned at her. “There’s still so much about you I don’t know.”

“Well, I can’t give you everything all at once, can I? Need to keep the mystery there, keep you interested.”

He made a low sound and tugged her close, spinning her to face him. “No chance of me getting bored with you.”

She melted, put a hand on his bearded face. “Thank you for bringing me here. For being there for me, and not just today.”

Since Jane had died Kiyomi had done three more therapy sessions. Marcus had sat with her through them, her strong, steady rock. He’d even talked about doing some sessions on his own soon, to deal with everything he’d been through. They both wanted to move forward without the chains of the past to drag them down.

“It’s my privilege. And they were wrong, you know.” He searched her eyes. “You’re even more beautiful than your mother was.”

At that, she smiled. “I love you for saying that.”

They walked through the village hand in hand, taking in the sights. All the homes here were old and built in the traditional style, something that was lacking in the bigger cities like Tokyo.

At the top of the hill, they paused in front of a Shinto shrine with its distinctive tiled roofline and exterior timbers painted a bright, vivid red. The cherry trees were nearly bare, but in the spring she could imagine how they would look bursting with clusters of fluffy pink blossoms.

She pulled in a deep breath, gazing around. “It’s so peaceful here.” Every day she felt more at peace. Her old life was over. She finally had answers to some of the questions that had always haunted her. And she had Marcus.

“Aye.” Marcus stopped and bent down. She glanced at him, thinking something was wrong with his shoe.

But he was gazing up at her, on one knee as he set his cane aside and took her hand.

Her heart began to pound. He wasn’t going to— She was just reading this wrong, he couldn’t possibly be—

Marcus reached into his pocket and withdrew a little paper origami crane. “You know I love you.”

She nodded, speechless, heart thudding in her ears.

His eyes were so full of warmth it made her heart clench. “You already own my heart. You may as well have the rest of me too.” He held up the crane to her, nestled in the center of his palm. “Marry me, love, and be mine forever.”

Hardly able to believe this was real, she took the crane. Inside it was a diamond solitaire ring with a thin, white gold band. Simple. Stunning. And perfect for her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a tiny sob came out.

Kiyomi dropped to her knees in front of him and flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his throat. “Yes,” she choked out, then laughed in pure joy. “A million freaking times, yes.”

Epilogue

Christmas Eve

“How’s it coming in here?”

Kiyomi looked up at Trinity standing in the bedroom doorway. “It’s…I dunno.” She switched to Japanese and spoke to her aunt and great-aunt, who were both muttering to each other as they fussed with theobitied around Kiyomi’s waist. “This sucker is a lot harder to put on than you might think,” she said in English to Trinity.

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