Page 108 of Dangerous Deceit

I take the taxi over to the penthouse, but the front desk clerk won’t let me up.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Petrus, but you’ve been removed from the?—”

Petrus.Kenzo had them change my surname from Watanabe back to Petrus. Because he thinks I chose Jay over him. And in a way, I did. I couldn’t kill Jay, but I could leave. It was the only way I could make things right for Kenzo—by making sure Jay and I left.

Maybe loyalty is more than blindly following someone into the desert. And love—maybe love is more than standing beside someone, even when you realize you’ve made a mistake. No. Love isfixingit, even if it hurts to do the right thing.

I owe this to Kenzo.

I hail another taxi and take it to Samurai Castle. It’s a death wish to show up at the Endo-kai headquarters like this, but I need to find Kenzo. It’s the only way I can make this right.

CHAPTER 47

KENZO

“You goingto take care of that?” Niko sneers.

Slot machines blare their idiotic tunes around us, and yet, he’s annoyed by my phone vibrating. It’s the third time Vi has called me. If I answer, I’ll fall into whatever trap she has planned. I can’t stand the thought of leaving her, but she needs to leave this country. It’s the only way to keep her safe.

I shake my head, then select her contact info and clickBlock this caller.I straighten my white suit jacket.

“Where were we?” I ask.

Niko scowls, then resumes talking about the latest batch of Shabu-8. It’s bigger than our usual shipment, possibly to make up for what happened with the rival seller they tried to use in our territory recently. But since we’re cutting ties with them completely, Niko wants to hire a new cook out here, someone he knows personally. I’m halfway listening, bobbing my head along to whatever he says, when my eyes catch on orangish-red hair. My heart smashes into my ribs. What the hell is Vi doing here?

“Shit. Sorry—” I say to Niko, then I dart behind a row of slot machines so Niko can’t see where I’m going. He curses, but he doesn’t get up, and I wind through the tourists to find Vi. OnceI’m within arm’s reach of her, I grab her shoulders and push her out of the way, behind a giant cat-themed slot machine so Niko can’t see her. The music blares in our ears. She wraps a hand around her throat, completely out of breath.

I want to hold her, but god, I want to shake her too. This is fucking dangerous.

“The fuck are you doing here?” I ask. “Twenty-four hours, Vi. You’ve got less than?—”

“Jay is after your stash in Red Rock Canyon,” she wheezes.

I blink at her, and my mind goes over the last civilized conversation I had with him, when he asked where we keep our guns in the desert. I didn’t give him any details about the exact location, which means he’ll likely end up dehydrated and sunburned before he finds it.

Vi continues: “He’s going to steal it and sell it back to the Ito-gumi at a lower price. They’ve already agreed to buy anything he finds.”

The Ito-gumi is using Jay to steal our guns? It’s insultingandrisky, but if what Ronin said about the state of the yakuza in Japan is true, then they’re getting desperate.

I’ve got to figure this out before Niko, or any of the yakuza, see her. Niko’s a loose cannon; he won’t hesitate to get rid of her. I try to spot him, but he’s gone. This is my chance.

An emotional weight lands on my shoulders. This could be another Petrus trick to get me to reveal where the guns actually are. If that’s it, I’ll be pissed, but I’ll be impressed too. For now, I play along.

“The desert is a vast place,” I reason. “He won’t?—”

“One of the soldiers. Some new guy in glasses. He told Jay everything.”

Panic shines in her eyes, like sheneedsthis more than anything, and I’m positive that it’s real. She doesn’t want Jay to get his hands on those guns. She wants to help us.

“Where is he?” I ask.

“He’s on his way there right now.”

I head toward the garage, picking up speed. She follows me, but I ignore her. This isn’t about our marriage. This is about taking care of business before Jay signs hisand Vi’sexecution order. I need to get the two of them on a plane before Dice gets word that they’re alive.

The valet brings my Challenger to the front. Vi is right beside me, biting her fingernails.

“I promised I wouldn’t kill him, but I can’t keep that promise anymore,” I say. “You need to get out of here. Don’t come back?—”

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