Page 2 of Violent Truth
With that, Niko slips away. My pulse is unwieldy with rage. I’m capable of killing anyone standing in between me and Niko right now, so I stay planted to the ground. Keeping myself controlled. The anger bubbles in my veins, and for a few minutes, I stare at where Niko once walked, imagining his brutal punishment for threatening to kill her.
My Lily.
The uneasiness lands on my chest like a toolbox full of metal instruments. Niko is my brother. My wakagashira. I’m supposed to put the Endo-kai above all else. And Niko is right: she’s danced for Mr. Harry for a long time now, and I’ve forbidden anyone in the yakuza from talking to her.
It’s my duty to take care of this. To ask her what she knows. Touseher. And if I can’t, then I have to kill her for keeping me from my duties.
The idea of a conversation unnerves me. I don’t like speaking to anyone, and I’ve never spoken a word to her. Pretending like neither of us exists is part of what keeps both of us safe.
Time passes, and Lily and Mr. Harry disappear into the VIP room. When they both return, Lily travels to the dressing room. I find myself at the manager’s podium outside of the VIP room. His belly hangs over his belt and long, curly hair travels down his back.
“How’s it going?” the manager asks.
I grunt in response. It’s more of an answer than I usually give. I slip a hundred-dollar bill across the podium. The manager pockets the cash. We have an arrangement: I take care of the particularly aggressive customers and tip the manager, and he gives me the names of customers who touch Lily. His girls are happy, he gets paid, and Lily stays safe. It works out for all of us.
“Only Harry Hayes tonight,” he says. “No one else yet.”
“Did he touch her?” I ask.
The manager raises his eyes to mine. “You know Harry.”
He’s not giving me an answer, and I take note of that information. It’s a clue to Mr. Harry’s true conduct behind the curtains.
You know Harry.What does that mean?
I snarl, and the manager backs away from me like I’m a bomb about to explode.
“You know he always skirts the rules, right?” the manager explains. “He never deliberately breaks them, and he knows what he can get away with, especially with her.”
So Mr. Harry breaks the rules, but not enough for the manager to care?
That’s stupid.I care.Mr. Harry touched what’smine.I don’t even let my yakuza familyspeakto Lily. Why would I let Mr. Harry touch her?
Because the yakuza is in the middle of negotiations with his company.
We need this contract,Niko had said.
And that choice blazes in front of me like a bonfire: the Endo-kai or Lily. My chosen family or my crush.
The answer should be easy.
It’s not.
Lily steps onto the main stage, and as she walks on the smooth surface, her hips swing. Her green eyes tear through me like a dart full of adrenaline. She’s magnetic, instantly pulling me away from those thoughts. Though the manager is talking about something—a new rule-breaking customer for me to kill—I don’t hear him.
Lily consumes me.
Her green eyes, so vibrant they could blind you, lock onto mine. Her pale skin is covered in a fishnet body suit, and she’s incredible. My bulge hardens. Lily is everything to me. If she’s on the stage, then that means everyone is watching her, and no one can touch her. It’s the only time I’ll allow myself to truly look at her.
On stage, she’s safe behind invisible glass.
Before the end of her second song, I tip her another hundred, then exit the building. I sit in my white van in the parking lot, glaring at the entrance. Waiting for my orange-haired vixen to come out. Knowing that I have to make a choice.
Lily is a stripper. A crush. Nothing more. And it’s just a fucking conversation.
That, or I end her life.
A few hours later, Lily exits the building, wobbling on her sore feet. She finds her car, then waves at her housemate—a brunette in an oversized sweatshirt standing at the entrance. I know their relationship from social media stalking. You can find out a lot about someone without speaking to them. Lily is no exception.
