Page 103 of Dangerous Deceit

I can’t kill Vi, but I can make this work. I’ll end this. There’s no other choice.

“I will,” I say.

I nod at Dice. Dice removes Jay from the table, then binds Jay’s wrists, and hands me the rest of the rope. I lead Jay through the back stairwells, out of the resort, and into the midday sun.

CHAPTER 45

VI

I don’t knowhow much time passes. The darkness suffocates me, and all I have are my thoughts. A low rumble roars through the walls, and it’s like being trapped in the stomach of a monster. I have no idea where I am, what I’m supposed to do, or if they’re going to kill me next. I don’t even know if the door is locked, or if I’m surrounded by desert. I scream, but whatever is next door is too loud for anyone to hear me. There may be other people out there, but I have no voice here. I’m alone. No Uncle Jay. No Patrick. No Kenzo.

Kenzo.Kenzo left me here. Why does that hurt so much?

I had to take care of her,Jay’s voice echoes in my mind, and I scream, hoping my own yells can drown out his words from the recording. But they play on repeat.Her parents were so fucking loaded,he had said, like they were just another con job. Like their lives meant nothing.

Kenzo’s voice chimes in too:You were supposed to be in there! You were supposed to die that day, but the fucker felt guilty when he saw you in the back of the car.It was like he was angryforme, but at the time, my mind couldn’t process thosewords. They seemed wrong. How could Uncle Jay keep me alive, just to use me for my family’s money?

There’s something incredibly selfish about that. Keeping me alive for money. He should have killed me once he got what he wanted, but instead of just stealing from me, he molded me into his personal research minion and last-resort, secret sex doll. Feeding me the idea that one day, we’d have our dream house on the beach, just like the Beach House candle I got with my parents. Pretending as if we were one big, happy family, and everything was okay.

Tears stream down my cheeks. Nothing is okay.

Kenzo may have shown me the truth, but I should have known. Maybe I always did. Maybe I was scared that if I faced the truth, I would lose everything all over again, the only piece of “family” I had left.

My chest heaves, and for a few minutes, I let the sorrow take over. Once it passes, I inhale deeply. I’m so sick of crying. I can’t do it anymore. I have to focus on something else.

I walk with the chair strapped to my back, hobbling like a turtle crossing the highway, until I finally hit a wall. I spin around with the chair, and it’s so awkward. I don’t even know what I’m trying to do. I may be facing the wrong direction. It’s hard to tell with my hands tied to the back of the chair. Where is the exit?

The door opens, and desert light blinds me. A body is thrown on the ground, and the lights flicker on.

It’s Jay, bound and gagged. But alive.

Kenzo closes the door behind him. It’s just the three of us now.

Kenzo’s eyes land on me, a slight sneer on his lips. I’m far enough away from where he left me it’s obvious I was trying to run. I lower my eyes, embarrassed I didn’t get far and worried about what will happen now that I’ve been caught, but he stepsforward without a word. He cuts the rope around my arms and Jay’s legs, but he leaves Jay’s wrists secured behind his back and the gag in his mouth. Jay is black and blue. I quickly scan his hands, but it’s the same: one untouched hand, the other with the pink kanji scars. I growl at Kenzo; I can't help myself. All these years defending Jay, it’s hard to stop the instinct, even though I know I should.

“What did you do this time?” I demand.

“You have twenty-four hours to leave the United States,” Kenzo says coolly. He wipes his hands on a small cloth, then tosses it on the ground. It’s stained red. Uncle Jay’s blood.No—he’s just Jay now. It hurts to accept that, but it’s true.

I meet Kenzo’s eyes, and there’s pain. A horrible emptiness where there used to be so much light. Comfort. Stability. Safety. I’m not supposed to want a hug from him right now. I’m not supposed to want to hug him right now, but I can’t stop myself from needing to give him comfort.

Invisible magnets pull at my skin, leading me straight to him. Tears stream down my face. Why won’t my eyes stop?

“You want us to leave town?” I ask. It hurts so much worse than when my parents died. Back then, I didn’t have a choice. But right now, Kenzo has a choice, and he’s forcing us to leave. “Where are we supposed to go? What are we supposed to do?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care,” Kenzo says. But his brow is pinched. He’s lying. He’s supposed to kill us, but he’s sticking to his word. He won’t kill me or Jay.

Jay. He’s just Jay now. Not my family. Not my uncle. Not even my friend. Kenzo is legally my husband, but when it comes to his emotions, we’re nothing.

Everything hurts. I can barely speak.

“You’re a terrible liar,” I mutter.

Kenzo takes two steps toward me, his shoulders firm, his movements jagged.

“Let me make my words clear to you, Vivian. I don’t play games. I don’t bluff. I tell it like it is.” He leans down, putting his hand under my chin. “And if you and Jay aren’t out of here in twenty-four hours, I will make sure he never walks again.”

A cold tension covers me in a sheen of sweat. I swallow hard.Thisis his limit.Thisis the final place where Kenzo decides his promises to me aren’t worth betraying the Endo-kai. He’s choosing them over me.

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