Page 87 of Dangerous Deceit

I can hear his clothes shifting on the other end, like he’s straightening up. “What’s wrong?” he asks. “Are you okay?”

My chest is aching, and I can barely mumble anything.Please. Please. Please,I think. But I can’t speak without crying.

“Be there in a few,” Uncle Jay huffs.

Grunts echo down the hallway. In the office, Kenzo is doing pushups on the floor. His dress shirt is torn to shreds in his office chair, his body laced in sweat. The koi fish swim around the skulls, and what once seemed beautiful, seems ominous now.

“My uncle is visiting,” I say.

Kenzo glances at me, but that’s the only acknowledgement he gives.

“You’ll need to let him in,” I say.

He keeps pumping his arms, grunting as his muscles strain. Still, he doesn’t answer. I throw up my arms and let out a frustrated groan, then I wait in the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Kenzo answers his phone and accepts Uncle Jay’s entry with the front desk. Once Uncle Jay knocks on the front door, Kenzo scans his phone and lets him inside. I bite my lip. This is a stupid idea. What if Kenzo keeps Uncle Jay in the penthouse too? What if he traps us here?

What if this is where Kenzo kills us both?

CHAPTER 38

VI

As soon asthe front door shuts behind Uncle Jay, Kenzo exits out onto the balcony. He stares at Suncoast Casino. The sun burns above him, his tattoos shimmering in the sweaty heat. My heart rams in my throat.

“What’s going on?” Uncle Jay asks, his blue eyes full of worry. “Are you hurt? Did you?—”

I wrap my arms around myself, a tear falling down my cheek. I can’t even bring myself to say it. I’ve screwed up for both of them. I didn’t give Uncle Jay the information he needs, and I lied to Kenzo. I’m a fucking joke.

“Did he hurt you?” Uncle Jay growls.

I shake my head. “He almost killed someone.”

A puff of air escapes Uncle Jay’s nostrils. I blink at him. He smirks at me.

“I mean, he already killed my son. What’s one more?” he asks. “That’s why you called me here? Because healmostkilled someone?”

“He almost killed someone because ofme,” I retort. “Do you not get how messed up this is?”

I bury my head in my hands. Uncle Jay pats my back as if I’ve just told him I got cut from the basketball team, not like I told him about an attempted murder I instigated.

“Who?” he asks, changing his tone. “Tell me, sweetheart. What happened exactly?”

I don’t want Uncle Jay to be mad at Kenzo, so I don’t tell him about the interrogation in the dark room. Instead, I jump to what’s important.

“He wanted to know who we were working for, so I used this random company. One of the ones I told you about,” I explain. “And he almost killed them.”

Uncle Jay squeezes my shoulders, then he lifts his arms like he’s stretching. His lips pull up like he’s happy. Guilt weighs on my shoulders. Why is he so pleased?

“Uncle Jay, please,” I whisper. “Say something.”

“What do you want me to say? You saved us, Vi. We’re still alive because of you.” He pinches my cheek like he used to do when I was six. “Why do you care so much about those strangers anyway?”

My stomach aches. “Whydon’tyou care?” I ask, but I know the answer. He’s always said the three of us are the only people who matter, that it’s okay to con people out of their money because they don’t deserve it. He probably thinks the owner of the company deserves to die too.

“There are worse things to worry about,” he says as he pats me on the shoulder.

“Do you love me?” I blurt. Uncle Jay raises a brow. “You used to say you loved me like a daughter. You used to say you loved me all the time when I was a kid.”

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