Page 92 of Dangerous Deceit

“Have you taken care of it?” he asks.

There it is again.It.Not my wife. Not Vi or Vivian. Justit.

“Soon,” I say.

“We’re going to take care of Jay.”

“No—” I say, cutting him off. I want to take care of him myself too. It’s only fair. They’re both my problem: my family by contract. “Let me handle that too.”

“You’re not an enforcer. You’re thesokaiya?—”

“I don’t care what I am. She’s my problem, and by proxy, that makes Jay my problem too.”

A few beats pass, then Niko lets out a sigh.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” he asks in a low voice.

Hatred boils through his tone, and it burns in me too.In love with her?What the fuck does he think this is?

“You’re protecting her,” Niko scoffs. “Shit. You’re protectingthem.”

“I’m not protecting anyone,” I howl. “Get your head out of your own ass. You’re projecting your failures onto me.”

The speaker crackles.Shit.That may have been a step too far. Niko once regularly fucked a woman when he had no idea she was messing with his head, just to get in on our drug trade. By then, it was too late.

“Fine,” Niko says. “Lie to yourself all you want. For now, they’re your problem, but if you don’t take care of it soon? You know what happens next.”

The line is cut.

I rub my forehead. The car still smells like Vi’s come: sweet and citrusy. It’s intoxicating and infuriating, and my mind blazes with Niko’s words:You’re protecting her.By procrastinating, I’m putting off the inevitable. I’m not sure if that’s protecting her, but I don’t like it, and yet, I can’t help it. But am I in love with her? That seems?—

I grit my teeth. I’mnotin love with her.

Maybe Iamlying to myself, but I refuse to accept I’m in love. She’s a traitor. A liar. A beautiful, fucking hypocrite.

But she’s stillmywife. My problem. My issue to take care of. I can accept that.

CHAPTER 41

KENZO

As soon asI’m done with Niko, I call Jay, telling him to meet me at John’s Town, the place where I killed Patrick. Inside, it’s smoky. Bulbed lights line each card table from above, and the carpet is covered in angular shapes, like a shit-brown kaleidoscope. I spot Jay at the bar.

“Son,” Jay says.

He hugs me, and I force a smile.Son.How irritating.

“Let me buy you a drink,” I say.

“Please.”

Once we get our drinks, me a whisky and Jay a long island, I click through my phone, activating the recording app. I turn off the screen so he doesn’t know it’s still in use, and I sit the device beside us. He’s going to say something I can use against him; all it takes is a little time. I’m not a patient man, but for Vi, I’m willing to try. With some truth in my arsenal, Vi won’t be able to deny it. And once I get the truth out of her, everything will become clear. It has to.

“So what do I owe the pleasure?” Jay asks.

“Vi mentioned you’ve been feeling nervous about our family. Yakuza and all.”

“But the yakuza is one of the least violent crime groups. That’s what they say, right?” He beams like a wolf baring his teeth, as if he’s mocking us. “I’ve been reading up on it. Apparently, the yakuza likes to brag about that. Lack of violence. Peaceful criminality.”

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