Page 64 of Dangerous Deceit

Relief swells through me. I don’t know Kenzo well, but I know he honors his word, and if he makes a promise, hewillkeep it. He cleans his bowl and stores the rest of the soup. Humming to himself, he disappears into the back of the penthouse, and I let the anxiety go.

Patrick is dead, but at least Uncle Jay is safe. I trust Kenzo to keep his word.

Kenzo emerges from the bedroom in a clean, white suit. “I’ve got some work to take care of,” he says. “But tonight, we’ve got plans.”

“Plans?”

“I’m taking you to work. Be ready.”

I blink at him. “Okay.”

Once Kenzo is gone, I dial Uncle Jay, wanting to tell him about Patrick as soon as possible and get this over with. My heart races like a stampede in my chest, but Uncle Jay has to know. It’s his son. I can half-lie to Kenzo, but keeping this from Uncle Jay is impossible.

“Vi? Everything okay, sweetheart?” Uncle Jay asks with sleep in his voice. “Do you know where Patrick is?”

I swallow my guilt, then glance at the clock. It’s past one o’clock in the afternoon now. This isn’t the kind of thing you want to tell someone right when they wake up.

I can change subjects. Switch to Golden Honor Firearms. Make this phone call about work. But I don’t.

I start: “Patrick is?—”

Then I stop. An ache flickers in my throat, the world spinning around me. After a few moments, Uncle Jay lets out a long sigh.

“He’s on vacation, isn’t he?” he asks.

That’s what we used to say about my parents. They didn’t die; they’re on vacation. A permanent one. Sometimes, it made me feel better, like they were happy out there, somewhere. Like they could come back one day, and this would all be over. But that never happened. They’re gone, and now, Patrick is gone too.

“I’m sorry,” I wheeze.

There’s silence on the other end, and that breaks my heart more than anything. Uncle Jay has taken care of Patrick since he was a baby. He may not have been the best father, but he did everything he could for both of us.

I don’t know if I’ll miss Patrick. At times, we hated each other. But I ache for Uncle Jay. Patrick is his blood. I can’t imagine a loss like that.

“Do you have time to catch a movie today?” he asks, his voice emotionless. A trip to the movies was what we did every year for Patrick’s birthday. No matter where we were, there was always a movie theater and a crappy action movie to go see.

“Of course,” I say.

My posture sinks. I don’t know if Patrick deserved to die like Kenzo thinks he did, but I know Uncle Jay doesn’t deserve this pain. Losing a child must be like losing a part of yourself.

Now I’m all Uncle Jay has.

“Be careful, Vi,” Uncle Jay says mournfully. “If your husband hurts you, I don’t know what I’ll do. We need to work. Not this vacation bullshit.” He adjusts his grip on the phone and mutters curse words to himself, then he clears his throat. “We need to be smart. If not, we’ll be next. And I’m not going to let the Endo-kai be the end of us.”

I swallow a dry gulp. I can tell Uncle Jay what he needs to knowright now,so he can deliver the information aboutthe Golden Honor Firearms to our client, but I don’t tell him anything. I want this conversation to be over before I become a sobbing, guilty wreck.

“Okay,” I mumble. “A movie.”

“See you soon,” he whispers.

CHAPTER 28

VI

After a crappy movie,Uncle Jay and I get ice cream. His marked hand twitches the whole time, like he’s shivering in anxiety but trying not to let it show. Still, Uncle Jay refuses to talk about Patrick. Tears shimmer in his eyes, and his fists tighten at the mere mention of my husband, but we pretend like everything is normal. Patrick is on “vacation,” just like my mom and dad.

Then night comes, and I’m back at the penthouse when Kenzo returns. I’m in jeans and a cream button-up sweater, and Kenzo is still in his white dress shirt and slacks. His sleeves are rolled up, revealing his colorful skin—another fish fighting the waves—and he drinks me in from head to toe. My chest seizes under his gaze.

“You look fancy,” he jokes.

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