Page 106 of Cunning Lies
“If you needed two people to open the storage facility, why did you come here?” I ask. “He couldn’t have gotten inside.”
“I couldn’t let him hurt you again,” he shouts.
That ringing goes silent. Kenzo really does love me, doesn’t he?
I’m such a fool.
“I’m sorry,” I cry. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I was so stupid. You were right. I’m sorry—”
“I’m not sorry,” he shouts over the thunderstorm. Finally, I meet his eyes. There’s a lightness inside of him, mixing with the earth surrounding us. Like he believes me, even if I don’t believe in myself. “You were trying to protect your family. I would have done the same.”
“But you were right,” I cry. “I was wrong. Jay isn’t my family. He was just—”
“Jay never deserved you,” he cuts me off. “But you’re okay now.”
I blink up at him, searching for the cracks in his truth. Kenzo should hate me. The Ito-gumi is after the Endo-kai’s gun stashbecause of me.
But Kenzo’s eyes are focused, like he only cares that I’m okay.
And that’s all I need.
I kiss him, smashing our mouths together so hard that my teeth knock into his. He moans, a slight twitch rolling through him at the pain, but his arms swim around me, gripping my legs until he’s carrying me by the ass. Rain taps my back, but Kenzo spins me around until I’m inside of the alcove and he’s exposed, the rain washing away the dirt and blood on his clothes. His button-up shirt sticks to his chest, see-through from the rain, clinging to his rippled muscles, the tattoos along his neck covered in raindrops. He breaks apart from my lips, searching my eyes.
“You’re fucking crazy,” he says. “You’re a backstabbing smart ass.”
“I-I’m sorry,” I stutter. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m—”
“I love you.”
His lips intertwine with mine before I can process what he said. Our tongues dance, fighting for warmth and comfort in one another, and everything melts away. He leans me against the rocks and peels my shirt off of my chest, letting it bunch above my breasts, and he sucks my nipples like they’re giving him life.
We should stop; Tomo and Cherry will be here soon, but neither of us can keep our hands off of each other. Maybe I want them to see us like this; it’s a declaration of love to each other: Jay dead at our feet while Kenzo and I fuck like animals on the side of a mountain. Kenzo feels like home. Like safety. Like everything I’ve carried inside of me is shifting, until he’s holding my heart, keeping it safe. It’s lightness and forgiveness, and his love gives me life.
He pulls out his cock and I trip over my jeans until I’m naked. Kenzo scoops me up, laying me down on the sticky ground. The rain batters our bodies, but the last bit of lightning darts across the clouds, and I’m back in the desert next to that bonfire, looking up into Kenzo’s eyes. Our love is cunning—a savage twist of lust and lies, and I’ll never let it go. I wrap my legs around his back and he thrusts harder.
“I love you,” he says. “I love you so fucking much, Vi. This is going to cause so much shit,” he laughs, “but I promise, I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.”
The sobs come out, but I hold him close.
“I love you,” I whisper into his ear. I can’t say anything else, but I know that these words are the only ones that matter right now.
His hand closes around my throat right as the orgasm reaches him, and from that look alone, I come too, knowing that everything he says is true. Kenzo will never lie to me.
He lays his head beside mine as our breathing slows to a normal tempo. The rain patters on the rocks, a stream of water trickling beside us. He pushes himself up, then offers a hand to help me stand. I take his hand, then I slide into my soaked clothes and look up at the sky. I should be embarrassed to be seen like this in front of Kenzo’s family. I should be worried about what we’re going to do with Jay’s body. I should be concerned that the Endo-kai will execute me now, like they had ordered Kenzo to do before all of this. I should be scared about what the war with the Ito-gumi means for our future.
But Kenzo links his fingers in mine, and none of that matters. We’re alive. We’re home.
I glance around. The desert is wet with flash flood streams, but the corpse is gone now. Panic flutters in my chest. Is Jay still alive? Where’s the gun?
“Where is he?” I say, quivering. “Where—”
Kenzo motions off to the side, and there Jay is. Dirty and wet, the blood gone, washed away with the rain. Gray-brown hair matted to his forehead. Lifeless blue eyes aimed at the dark sky.
The rain carried him there.
Relief swells through me. My chest relaxes, and Kenzo strokes my back in a soothing rhythm. Headlights brighten the darkness on the dirt road, and once the SUV parks, Tomo and Cherry slam the car doors. Another one pulls up behind them, and this time, Dice jumps out with a few men. They quickly find the body and load it into the back of the car.
Tomo points to the storage building, and after Tomo and Kenzo scan their phones, the four of us—Tomo, Cherry, Dice, Kenzo, and me—go inside. The rain beats the roof, loud and grating. I suck in a deep breath. I don’t know what to say to them, but I know they want me dead, and if I was in their position, I would too.
