Page 61 of Fatal Temptation

“You can have him once my niece is safe,” Gemma said.

Akio tried not to react but there was something in Gemma’s voice that made his heart stutter.

“Well, a deal is a deal.”

Kuroki motioned to one of his men and a moment later, a beep sounded next to Akio.

Gemma looked at her phone, relief crossing her face for all of a second before she gave Kuroki a short nod. She typed on her phone for a moment, and then she looked up at Akio, meeting his gaze, gratitude in her blue-gray eyes.

He heard a door open and close and then footsteps behind them.

His shoulders shut up, his whole body tensing, and his heart raced at the almost amused look spreading on Kuroki’s face.

Kuroki grinned. “And so, the prodigal son returns.”

Akio glanced over his shoulder, a fleeting look, to find his brother walking up behind him. His lip was split, and he had a menacing look on his face. He was wearing black clothes, but his leather cut was missing. His gun was visible in his hip holster, but he didn’t reach for it as he stopped next to Gemma.

“Daichi,” Diesel said, addressing the man by his first name and without an honorific. If his brother wanted to piss Kuroki off, that was certainly the way to do it.

“Rude,” Kuroki said with a haunting smile. “Though I should expect nothing less from someone who ran like a coward.”

“He was a kid,” Akio found himself interjecting.

He felt eyes snap onto him and tried not to move or fidget. He kept his gaze locked on Kuroki, refusing to look away.

“Must be hereditary,” Kuroki mused, gaze turning to Diesel.

There was a slight tick in Diesel’s jaw, but he didn’t speak as the two of them stared at each other. The tension between them was thick and he felt like he could’ve choked on it.

“What do you want?” Diesel asked.

“Well.” Kuroki’s lips turned up at one corner. “Your brother has been fucking me over lately.”

“Has he?”

There was just the slightest tone of amusement in Diesel’s voice and from the way Kuroki’s eyes narrowed, he noticed it, too.

“He’s a fucking snitch,” Kuroki hissed. “He’s probably the one who turned your father into the FBI, too. He needs to pay.”

The man’s evil smile had Akio’s heart skipping a painful beat.

“He’s my brother. I’ll deal with it,” Diesel said, his expression unreadable and his voice cold.

Kuroki’s lips twitched and Akio got the sense that he didn’t believe Diesel. Kuroki didn’t say as much, though.

Akio wrapped his arms around himself. He was shivering and not from the freezing air.

“I hear you’ve expanded from human trafficking,” Diesel said, eyes shooting toward Gemma. “Extortion. How boring of you.”

Kuroki shook his head. “You have no imagination, brother. I’ve expanded the kingdom. I remain unchallenged. I ensured the right people were in my pocket.”

“All you did was take over what my father had already built,” Diesel said with a sneer. “I should’ve known when I killed him that I’d have to run down his lapdogs, too.”

Kuroki’s brows snapped together and there was surprise on his face for a second. He hadn’t known. Well, how could he? The public thought it had been an FBI raid that killed Kaito Yokota and his men.

“Perhaps you’re not as much of a coward as I thought you to be.”

“Oh, I’m no coward,” Diesel said with a dangerous smile.

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