Page 89 of Crossed By the Stars
She shook her head. “I haven’t been able to get ahold of Malone. He’s been undercover himself, and I didn’t dare use either of my other contacts with Yano’s virus inside the FBI firewalls.”
Dawson had also said that Malone was undercover, so Rana repeating the information should prove she really was working with the FBI. But I still couldn’t help the doubt that lingered. Not to mention, I was still angry with her for letting anyone close to Jada. For walking away when Jada needed her. For accusing my father of any of this.
Rana read the doubt that was heavy in the air amongst us, and her jaw clenched.
“Look. Believe me or not. I’m here because I want to fix this as best I can before the FBI pulls me completely. I want Jada to walk away safe, and I want to get the bastards who killed Bobby. After, we can all go our own separate ways, unless you want my help undoing Yano’s hack to Reinard’s systems. Your choice.”
It was Terrence who spoke first, darting his eyes to Cillian. “Any way to get eyes and ears inside without using Reinard?”
“We’re going to have to find out.”
Jada
FOREVERMORE
“I've been dreaming of this light,
Piercing through my darkest night,
I've been fighting all my life.”
Performed by Yuna
WrittenbyZara'ai / Govere/ Braun
As we left the Mori Enterprisesbuilding,Otosangave me the briefest of overviews for our day. While the women were at thechakai, he would be meeting with his senior advisors at the Matsuda’s home—business that I wasn’t told about and that I didn’t want to know. After thechakai, the Matsudas were hosting a dinner party to bring everyone together. It would require me to change from the kimono into an evening gown, another outfit thatOtosanhad bought for me and that Kaida had stored in the trunk.
What he didn’t say, but that I’d already deduced, was that he’d gathered his men, hoping they’d show their true colors because he was bringing me?the betrayer. They’d use his weakness in supposedly forgiving me as proof that he no longer had what it took to run the syndicate. They’d use me to topple him.
It was like the FBI using me to bring him down all over again.
The U.S. government had failed. I was fairly certain his own men would, too.
With additional security following in the car behind us, Kaida drove my father, Isamu, and me to the Matsuda’s home in the area of the city known as Billionaire’s Row. Some of San Francisco’s largest and oldest mansions were clustered there, and the Matsuda’s was no exception, an early twentieth-century Victorian that looked as elegant as its price tag.
I resisted the urge to look behind us as we moved through the streets, regretting my signal to Dax at the same time as my heart soared at the possibility of being rescued, of being saved from this dark world by a knight in shining armor. A chance at a life tangled with him as we’d been tangled for the last few days. Maybe I could make my own bubble likeKaasanandObaasanhad for the last few decades, one where denial, safety, and love mixed together.
The butler opened the door as we walked up the front steps, as if he’d been waiting for us. He tookOtosan’scoat and ushered him into the study before sending me out the back to the gardens with Kaida trailing me. I could tell she was not pleased with her task. She’d rather be at my father’s side if his world came crumbling down, but he’d taken Yano instead of her.
The backyard was an oasis, like stumbling into a garden shrine in Japan. Tall, pointed bushes mixed with flowers that bloomed in all seasons?including San Francisco’s autumn sky?filled the yard. But it was the pagoda that drew my eye, painted in red and gold with symbols of serenity and balance curling around the pillars.
Akari waited for me outside the sliding door in a simple white kimono. A perfect hostess, she was greeting her guests in the exact manner she’d been taught. I wasn’t sure how I’d survive the slow, methodical movements of the tea ceremony or the silence that would accompany it. My emotions were too wound, my body demanding action. I didn’t even have the bracelet on my wrist to keep my hands busy anymore.
Thoughts of Dax and the stillness he’d demanded that first day we’d made love filled me with both longing and determination. I could do this. I could sit amongst the group of women who saw me as a traitor by simply tuning them out, by thinking of Dax, his hands, his words, and the way he filled my soul with love. I could do this for him…until he arrived like I was certain he would.
“Okyaku-San, welcome.” Not only was thedear guestsaid with a hint of sarcasm, but Akari’s bow was much lower than I deserved. I hadn’t quite believedOtosanwhen he’d said I was going to be the guest of honor?the first seat?when everyone knew I shouldn’t have been allowed in the room at all.
I washed my hands in the stone basin set outside, removed my shoes, and then followed Akari in while Kaida remained in the garden. She was not welcome at the ceremony, but she’d still hear me if I screamed. I just wasn’t sure if she’d actually save me.
The pagoda was as elegant inside as out, full of heady flowers that accented the silk scrolls on the walls. The perfectly placedtatamimats were intricately and beautifully woven. The tea ceremony tools that Akari would use were already aligned faultlessly before the mats. Everything was simple in design but expensively crafted.
My eyes settled on the five other women in the room also dressed in kimonos. They’d left the firsttatamimat empty for me. Besides Ichika Matsuda and Hina Yamasaki, I couldn’t remember having met the other women. Hina’s position in the last seat was an honored one as well, usually reserved for an esteemed teacher. I’d expected to see Ichika in that place, but perhaps because Hina should have been in my place as the most respected auntie in the room, everyone had been shifted.
As I was the last to arrive, Akari moved directly into the hostess role. She presented me with sweets, and I accepted them before turning to offer them to the others. I saw the fury on Hina’s face that she barely hid at having to wait for me to offer the food. Ichika, however, was calm. Perhaps it was because she’d been the one to insist I come. I suddenly wondered if she’d done it on purpose, to offend Hina.
The conversation was polite and focused. I asked Akari about her tools and the kettle, as was the custom, and then, once she started to prepare the tea, silence took over the room. Akari’s movements were flawless. I would expect nothing less from a woman who’d become a master. I watched, in awe of the performance, as she picked up and put down each item with little hesitation but much grace. The guests were to admire this, and I did because I understood the number of steps and the order they must be conducted. I’d bumbled my way through my first and onlychakaiwithObaasanandKaasan.
The matcha I’d made that day had barely been drinkable, but I had no doubt that Akari’s would be perfect. She moved through the ceremony step by step, as if a dancer on a stage. Graceful and sure. Finally, she scooped the tea powder and whisked it. The pale green foam formed and then settled to the center of the bowl in exactly the way my grandmother had tried to teach me.
