Page 41 of Trident: Mayhem Makers

“And only eight years past due. You couldn’t have possibly fulfilled your side of our agreement. Therefore, I don’t need to fill mine.”

Uncle Terrence stepped away from me and closer to Kenjiro, shaking his head. “No, no, no. I have done all you asked. As soon as I discovered she was alive, I went to great trouble and expense to find her and bring her here to your home. I made sure she cleaned up and dressed in the outfit you dictated she should wear. What haven’t I done?”

Tilting his head to the side, Kenjiro ran his gaze over me from head to foot, the coldness in him had a shiver run down my spine and without thought I rubbed my palms over my arms before crossing them across my chest. He returned his stare to my uncle, as if I’d somehow just proved his point.

“You were meant to see to her training and protection as she matured. Clearly, she hasn’t been taught anything I need her to know. I paid you for a virginal wife, trained in how to be the wife of a Yakuza leader, instead you abandoned her to become what you gift me with today. She can be nothing more than a mekake now.”

Maybe being able to speak Japanese wasn’t going to be as helpful as I’d first thought. Call me a concubine, will he. My temper flared fast and hot, and forgetting that I was meant to be playing the demure little woman, I stormed past my uncle, dodging his attempts to grab me and went right up to the prick, yelling at him in his native tongue as I came to a stop.

“How dare you say I’m good for nothing but being your concubine! I’m an educated, independent woman; with a solid job where I earn a good wage. I have my own apartment and provide everything myself with everything I need with my own bloody money. I sure as fuck don’t need a man’s permission to be more than a sex toy! I will never be owned by any man. UncleTerrence had no right to sell me to you in the first place. I’m a human being and I won’t ever be anyone’s property.”

He didn’t move through my entire tirade until I’d finished, then he simply smirked at me before he responded in English.

“You can speak Japanese, a boon I hadn’t expected.” He glanced up to my uncle, “A skill I’m sure she learned with no thanks to you.”

That had me growling. “Of course it was no thanks to him! I taught myself. And you can’t buy Grace Milani because she doesn’t exist anymore. I’m Jacie Lewis, not the same girl.”

That got me a raised eyebrow. “The name witness protection gave you makes no difference. You are still Grace Milani, the daughter of a gambling addict who sold his wife and child into slavery to be able to clear his debts so he could live another day to make another bet.”

My hand moved lightning fast and cracked across his face before I could stop myself. I grinned at how his head had snapped to the side, before he raised his own palm to cover the red imprint of mine I’d left on his face. My joy was short-lived however, because before I could take a breath, his body guard was on me. Pulling my hands behind my back to hold them in one of his large palms while he wrapped the other around the front of my neck, squeezing enough I knew I was at his mercy.

Dropping his hand down, Kenjiro looked me in the eye, his gaze cold as ice. “You’ll pay for that. But not until after I mark you as mine. It is important, after all, to label your belongings, is it not?”

“For the love of all that is holy, Grace, shut the hell up!”

Uncle Terrence’s voice was strained, as though I was a great embarrassment to him. The goon holding me loosened his hold when I turned my head to glare over my shoulder at him. “If you’d wanted a mouse, you should have left me where you found me. I’ll never be that woman.”

Kenjiro sighed. “Like I said. You did not hold up your end of our bargain, Milani. You need to pay for that.”

Before I could work out his intent, he’d pulled a small throwing knife from inside his suit jacket and threw it into my uncle.

“What the fuck?”

I would have jumped back but was being held too tightly to move. My gaze stayed on my uncle as he reached for the knife embedded in his chest but stumbled and fell to the floor before he could do more than touch it. He coughed a few times then wheezed. Great, the moron missed his heart so now we’d have to listen to him die slowly. I tried to force away the compassion that rose up inside me for how he was suffering. He was evil and didn’t deserve any pity.

“You should be happy, no? Surely you can agree that the world is a better place without a man who would buy and sell his own niece in it?”

I turned my glare to him. “You fucking hypocrite. You’re the arsehole who bought me! What does that make you?”

He moved to stand closer and without hesitation, backhanded me across the face hard enough my head knocked back into the goon’s chest since he’d removed his hand from my throat a split second before Kenjiro hit me.

“That makes me your master; your owner. The one who controls every moment of your day, every choice you make. Including how you speak. No more swearing or you’ll feel the bit of my whip, not just my hand.” He focused on his goon then. “Get her tied down and find something to gag her with. Let’s get this part over with.”

Glaring as he moved toward the front door, I wasn’t ready when the goon started to move and I stumbled.

“Just do as he says. It’s easier on everyone.”

“What exactly did he mean by tie me down?”

He laughed as he forced me closer to the coffee table I’d admired earlier for how solid and strong it was. “I think you’re smart enough to work that one out all by yourself, girl.”

Tugging at my hands, I ignored him calling me girl, instead putting my effort into trying to get free. But nothing worked. Landing a kick to his shins just earned me a growl and shake, then he was in the wrong position for me to headbutt him or try to kick him again.

Dammit. Where the hell was Trident?

***

Trident

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