Page 105 of Dangerous Deceit

VI

For once,Jay is quiet on the car ride to the airport. Usually, he rambles so much I can barely think, but this time, the silence eats away at my brain. It almost proves that everything Kenzo said is true, like Jay knows he should feel guilty, but he doesn’t. He’s not even denying it anymore.

Breaking the silence, needingsomethingto fill it up, I ask Jay, “Are you okay?”

“Don’t you worry about me, sweetheart. You know I always fix things,” Jay says as he rubs his raw wrists.

Bile burns the back of my throat.Sweetheart.I never like when he calls me that, but I always accepted it, because having a nickname made me feel safe. Now, I know it was just a trick to make me believe his lies.

Jay scrutinizes my healthy body. My neck is still faintly green and red from Kenzo’s hands, ropes, and plastic bags, but overall, I probably look fine. On the other hand, Jay is so bruised, he’s almost unrecognizable. One of his eyes is completely shut, his face is a deep purple, and there’s a good chance he has a concussion. Still, he gives me shit-eating grin with his bloody lips.

Seeing him like this used to upset me. But right now, it’s different. I’m not okay with him being hurt, but part of me knows he deserved it.

That’s behind us though. It doesn’t matter what happened with the yakuza. What matters is this is our second chance. Kenzo is lying to his family to save us, and we owe it to him to take his deal. We need to get out of the country.

Eventually, the driver drops us off at the departing flights curb at the airport. I glance through the window to see the lists of locations, but Jay is already speed-walking to the car rental shop on the other side of the road.

“Where are you going?” I ask. “We can’t screw around right now. The Endo-kaiwillkill us.”

“Are you coming?” he shouts over his shoulder.

Nerves instantly knot inside of me. This isn’t good. I hold my stomach as I catch up with him. “Jay?” I ask. “Seriously, we can’t?—”

“He said twenty-four hours,” Jay explains. He holds open the door to the rental shop for me, then motions toward the line for the cashier. “I’ve got one more errand to run, then we can go. I promise. We’ll get that dream house of yours.”

He adds a wink, and my stomach flops. I don’t like this. I know Jay, and an “errand” like this means trouble.

“Beach? Paris?” he asks. “Where do you think we should go?”

We?I’m leavingwithhim, but we’re not a family anymore. After this, I’ve repaid my debt to him. He hired someone to kill my parents; his son was killed because of me. He spared my life when I was a child, and now, I’m sparing his. We’re even.

Andmydream house? Why do I get the feeling the idea of a dream house was implanted by Jay too? What if it was a way to keep me in a perpetual state of rawness over my parents’ death with his continued references to the beach? What if I never truly wanted a mansion on the beach?

I touch the back of my ear, that turquoise jar candle tattoo, so similar to the same candle I got with my parents. Maybe it never had anything to do with a beach house. Maybe I just wanted a real family who protected me, loved me, and wouldn’t make me do things I didn’t want to do. Maybe I just let Jay convince me a dream house would get me all that.

“We need to get out of Las Vegas,” I argue, startling out of those thoughts. It’s afternoon now, and I want to leave as soon as possible. “The dream house doesn’t matter if?—”

“You didn’t answer the question. Beach? Paris? Both?” Jay interrupts.

“You’re stalling. We need togo.”

“We’ll be in the air by dinnertime.”

“But Kenzo?—”

His phone buzzes. He shields the screen. “I gotta take this, sweetheart. Can you wait here?”

“Fine,” I mutter.

I stare at the clock behind the counter, and the hands click around the circle. I grit my teeth. I have one job right now, and that’s getting the hell out of Vegas. Kenzo is protecting us.Lyingto his own family to saveus,two criminals who don’t deserve it. We?—

No, it’s not “we.”Iowe it to Kenzo to make sure Jay and I get out, so the Endo-kai never finds out about Kenzo’s lie. His punishment will be far worse than a permanent scar or a missing pinky, and I can’t let that happen.

But a screw tightens in my chest, and my skin tingles. What if Jay’s errand is another trap against the Endo-kai?

Through the windowed walls, I can see him standing outside of the building, talking on the phone. At least he wasn’t lying about that.

I step out of line, exit, and walk as quietly as I can.

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