Page 61 of Cunning Lies
“No shit,” I say.
Ronin pauses for a second, and then he jerks his head to the side. “Then why are you still allowing her to be in our family?”
Our family.
It’s an interesting set of words coming from his mouth. ‘Family’ can mean a lot of things; Vi taught me that recently. I still consider my biological parents my family, but I’ve considered Tomo my chosen father since he took me in eighteen years ago.
But just because Ronin shares Tomo’s blood, doesnotautomatically make him family. He left the Ito-gumi; that proves he’s a betrayer. Why wouldn’t he do the same thing to the Endo-kai?
“Family, huh?” I say.
Ronin leans in, his voice low: “She’s using you. And if you’re not careful, she’ll clean the entire family out.”
Humoring him, I respond: “What do you suppose I should do about it?”
“Kill her.”
I meet Ronin square in the eyes. His facial structure is exactly like Tomo’s: jagged angles and sharpness. I’m positive that if we dug up photos of Tomo from his thirties, he and Ronin would be twins. I don’t need a blood test for proof that they’re related.
But blood doesn’t mean family to me.Loyalty does.And Vi may not have earned her place in the Endo-kai yet, but she’s earning it with me.
“You watch your fucking mouth,” I mutter.
“The yakuza codemeanssomething to me. I won’t touch her, but killing her for her betrayal is your duty, Kenzo.”
I scoff; he’s referring to the rules that have been in the yakuza for over a century: you don’t touch another member’s wife.
“But you must be vigilant,” Ronin prattles on. “She will show her true colors, and when she does, you cannot sit there and let it happen.”
Sit there? Has he been observing how things work around here? I’m the last fucking person whositsand waits for anything to happen.
Now he’s insulting me.
I drape an arm around his shoulder. He stiffens.
Yeah, that’s uncomfortable, isn’t it, brother?
“Sometimes, it’s best to keep your enemies under your thumb, you know what I mean?” I say with animosity in my tone. “If you keep them there, you know what they’re doing. You control them. You can even get them to kill your enemies for you, and you don’t have to lift a fucking finger.” I smack down on his shoulder. “Sound familiar,brother?” For a moment, Ronin doesn’t move. I add, “Ito Akio’s just using you to get to us, isn’t he?”
“She’s not here for you or the Endo-kai,” Ronin says, ignoring my inquiries about Akio. He puts a new cigarette between his lips. “She’s here for herself. She’ll sell everything if she has to.”
He takes out his lighter and I sigh. The idea that Vi, of all people, is here for herself is ludicrous. She had a rapist for a cousin and has a manipulator for an uncle. She’s here because her family forced her.
Maybe that’s worse. I don’t know. Family is a powerful tool that can unleash the worst in us. With Ronin. With me. With Vi.
I should finish this with Ronin, but I don’t. I turn to leave.
“Go do your job,” I say to Ronin, though maybe the words are meant for myself.
I finish up a stockholder’s meeting, lightly mentioning to the CEO about the blackmail we have on him—the asshole has been spending corporate money on sex workers and a brand new yacht, when he promised he’d spend the funds on new infrastructure—but my mind is on my wife.
As much as I hate it, Roninisn’twrong. I’ve always known there was something up with Vi, but I figured I’d handle it when the time came. Or that I could break her. Transform her into my own little toy.
But neither of those things has happened yet.
At the penthouse, Vi is mixing up a storm in the kitchen. It reeks of flowers and cinnamon and though I’m positive the candles will be great, right now, a headache stirs in my temple.
“Hey,” Vi says. She moves her reddish-orange hair off of her forehead, then resumes pouring the wax into a glass container. Amusement lingers on her face the whole time, and my heart stops. “Didn’t realize you were going to be home. I would’ve made you lunch.”
