Page 54 of Dangerous Deceit

“Don’t hurt him,” I shout frantically. Kenzo stops at the door. “Please,” I beg.

“I don’t make promises. I make deals, baby.”

“Then what do you want?”

We stare at each other for a moment, but I’m desperate for an answer. For anything to stop him from hurting my cousin. I plead with everything I have.

“Just be nice to him,” I say. “Please, Kenzo.”

“I only care about keeping you safe.”

With that, the door closes behind him, and I find my phone. It’s not over, and I don’t know what’s going to happen next.

I should warn Patrick. Kenzo may hurt him—he may even kill him—and that would emotionally gut Uncle Jay.

Uncle Jay. I have to tell him.

I call. It rings once, then he answers.

“Jesus Christ, Vi. Where the hell have you been?” he asks.

I swallow a breath. “I’ve?—”

“You got anything for the client? They need answers before they transfer the first payment,” he grumbles. “You’d think that with their culture, they’d be more polite than this, but no, their courteous reputation runs out the door when they wantsomething from you. But they need a sample, you know? A little taste of what we can give them. What do you have for me?”

Bitter acid twists in my throat. He didn’t even ask how I’ve been in my new married life.

I guess I thought Uncle Jay would be more worried about what Kenzo was like as a husband, but he’s not. It’s always about business. And maybe that’s all my virginity was to Uncle Jay—a business decision to make sure I wouldn’t mess up when it came time to my first date with a “friend.” Maybe that’s why I was always so drunk. I couldn’t complain. Not very loudly, anyway.

I bite my tongue. I don’t want anything to happen to anyone, but I also don’t want Kenzo to get hurt. If I tell Uncle Jay I told Kenzo about that night, he’ll freak out. I was never supposed to tell anyone about our family secrets, but now, Kenzo knows, and Kenzo is digging deeper into my heart.

I’m ruining everything, but I have to say something. I have to make this job worth it.

“Tell them about Legendary Analysis,” I say, remembering the notes I found in Kenzo’s office. “It’s a testing kit company.”

I hang up before I’m forced to say anything else. A minute passes, and I brace myself.

My stomach aches. I’ve never been on this side of a con; I’ve always been on the outside, finding information to help Uncle Jay and Patrick manipulate “friends” into giving them money. But worse than that, I didn’t say anything to protect Patrick.

I run to the toilet and vomit. I close my eyes, pleading Kenzo will be nice to Patrick, just like Patrick was nice to me.

CHAPTER 24

KENZO

Nice.What a fucking word.

The sunset blazes across the sky as I drive down the highway to the steakhouse. It’s a beautiful mix of pink and red, butniceobliterates everything in sight.

Dice is posted outside of the private dining room, scanning the scene, a vein throbbing in his neck, and Ronin bows his head when we make eye contact. He’s been working with Dice, and his blistered knuckles show it. Enforcing isn’t glamorous work, but it’s better than cleaning the boss’s toilets like the otherwakashu.Still, even if Ronin gets to skip that part of the entry work, he’s not jumping into negotiations. He has to guard with Dice.

Inside of the private room, dark mahogany wood covers each wall. Deep-tufted leather seats line each table. Usually, we meet on our own grounds, but when it comes to particularly important clients, we make exceptions, and the CEO and owner of Golden Honor Firearms likes his steaks.

The CEO stands, greeting Tomo with a firm handshake. Gray hair saddles the sides of his head, and his brown eyes paint him in a comfortable ease.

“Watashi wa Harry-san desu. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu,” he says, bowing deeply and speaking decent Japanese.My name is Mr. Harry. Pleased to meet you.My Japanese skills are shit, so I’m impressed. I give a short clap. Tomo dips his head at the CEO.

“Mr. Harry! Thanks for agreeing to meet with us,” Tomo says. He gives me a wink, making sure I’m in on the humor. Calling him “Mr. Harry” is a joke, since he introduced himself that way in Japanese. Mr. Harry laughs like he knows why Tomo is amused.

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