Page 17 of Dangerous Deceit

“This is it, Vi,” I say. “I need a date for these events.” I pull out the ring and press it in her palm, clasping her thin fingers around it. “If you choose to marry me, one of ourkanbuwill drop off the paperwork, and our designer will be here in the morning. We’ll get married on Saturday.”

“In one week?”

I nod. “Our designer will set you up with whatever you need.”

Vi opens up her palm. The ring cost me a hundred thousand. She could pawn it and flee; there’s no doubt it’d pawn for a pretty penny. Lying flat, it’s almost like a collar, and though I like the idea of a pleasure slave, what I want from Vi is different. It’s more than sex.

I want honesty. Respect. Loyalty.

In any other city, after a gunshot, there’d be sirens within minutes. But in Sin City, life goes on. The next-door motel neighbor increases the volume on his television, and a car honks on the main road.

No one cares.

But I still want to remind Vi she has power. At least for now.

“You don’t have to pay for your uncle’s debts,” I say. “You have a choice. You can run away. Where you go is not my business. I won’t hunt you down.”

“But if I don’t marry you, you’ll kill my uncle,” she says calmly, but from the way her voice wavers, she knows it’s not true.

“This is about you, Vi.” I crack a smile, and she squeezes the ring in her palm. I lean in closer, smelling her: smoke, sugar, vanilla, champagne, and a hint of mint.

I guide her out of the motel room, then tap on the driver’s window. We speak in a mix of Japanese and English, then I turn back to Vi.

“He’ll take you wherever you want to go,” I say.

Vi nods, then peeks at the motel door. There’s a dead body in the room. It means nothing to me, but it must be surreal to her. And Iwanther to feel that way. I want her to know exactly what she’s getting into. She should know the yakuza is the real fucking deal. If she accepts my marriage proposal, there will be danger.

Her eyes are watery, a storm about to break over the desert. Too stunned to move.

I hope I’ve ruined her, and that she’ll be gone in the morning. Running away is in her best interest.

“Once you’re mine, I won’t hold back,” I murmur. “So if you don’t like how I am, then run away while you still can, Vivian.”

Her lips quiver as I say her full name. I open the car door, but before she moves, she gawks down at the big-ass ring like it’s a magical treasure that will disappear if she doesn’t keep her eyes on it.

“It’s yours. Pawn it. Or wear it,” I say. “I don’t care. But if you’re still at your motel in the morning, I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’ and we’ll be married next weekend.”

In a daze, she moves toward the car. I guide her inside, and she puts on her seatbelt absentmindedly. At the last moment, she turns to me.

“Saturday,” she says, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

“Saturday.”

I close the car door, then slap the outside. The driver leaves the parking lot, and she disappears into the night.

I may have scared the hell out of her, but something tells me she’ll still be there in the morning.

She hasn’t run yet.

CHAPTER 10

KENZO

Days pass,and Vi doesn’t run.

I’ve been giving her space—that is, giving her a chance to escape—but I’ve been keeping tabs on her too. She takes the bus to the UNLV campus, gets a coffee and an apple tart from the library’s cafe, then scrolls endlessly through the internet. Sometimes, it seems like normal social media browsing, and other times, it seems like she’s hunting for dirt. It’s intriguing.

She even searches for me, but the only articles and profiles you can find for me are carefully curated to represent our public-facing business, Samurai Corporation.

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