Page 22 of Her Fearless Ronin

I grabbed his shoulders, rejoicing in the comfort of his body heat, his firm muscles, and the faint smell of his cologne.

“Facing the truth is hard, but it’s often for the best. It’s when wedelude ourselves that we cause pain around us.”

I pulled my head back but kept my grip on him. Not ready to break the contact yet.

“Truth…” I trailed off. Maybe it was time for me to face the truth, too. “He’s dead, isn’t he? Leo,” I said, barely louder than a whisper.

Jiro sighed, pulling me closer before looking around the empty room. “It’s possible but unlikely.” He shook his head. “Your—” He stopped talking and looked around the room again.

“You’re just as safe to talk here than anywhere else. Nobody cares about this place.”

He looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then nodded. “Your brother is involved with the Valdez cartel.” He continued, his voice significantly lower than before. “Valdez is a sick motherfucker, and he loves to make his kills a cautionary tale for everyone. I would have expected his body to have come back up by now.”

“So it’s a good thing, right?”

He let go of me, and I reluctantly let go as well.

He grimaced, leaning back against the table. “In a sense that he’s still breathing—yes, I guess so, but that doesn’t automatically mean he’s okay.” He shrugged. “Best-case scenario, he just up and became a full-time thug.”

I frowned, somehow disliking the thought of my brother putting us, putting me, in this type of mental torture. But maybe he would. I snorted. Yeah, come to think of it, he totally could.

Jiro detailed me, his head cocked to the side. “It stung to think about it, right?”

I shook my head a little.

Jiro waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “He could also be held against his will because he knows or has something Valdez wants, or he’s been sent for a mission somewhere.”

“I just want an answer… whatever it is.”

He nodded, looking away thoughtfully.

“I looked into that club, the one with the coin,” I admitted. I wanted to give him back the sincerity he’d just given me.

He turned back toward me, a disapproving scowl etched between his eyebrows.

“I didn’t do anything dangerous,” I quickly added, raising my hands in surrender. “Some of the girls working there come into the emporium, and I just, you know…” I shrugged. “I think it’s a wrong lead.”

“Okay…” he trailed off, burying his hands in his pockets. “Why do you think that?”

“Not that I think Leo is a saint or anything, but the girls said it’s super expensive and very exclusive. We don’t have any powerful friends, and we sure as hell don’t have the money.” I snorted; we were poor nobodies.

Jiro’s eyes flashed with a sort of indignation I could not really place before he moved from his spot on the table. “Do we need to take your mother home?”

I narrowed my eyes at the abrupt change of subject. “No, they will bring her back with the van later.”

He jerked his head toward the door. “Okay, let’s go then.”

“No, no.” I stayed where I stood. “I thought we weredoing things with complete honesty now. What was that look about?”

“You had that money.”

I laughed. “I can assure you we did not.”

He sighed, looking heavenward. “Listen, it’s not great to talk about people who—”

I stomped my foot. “Talk, Jiro.”

He looked down at my Converse, a slight smile on his face. He seemed to like me best when I was frustrated with him.

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