Page 31 of Violent Truth
“You’re obsessed with her,” Niko says in disgust, gritting his teeth.
“I needed Ronin. We’ll focus on Lily as soon as the contract is signed,” Tomo says, waving a dismissive hand. “She can wait for a few hours, Dice-kun. Right now, the future of the Endo-kai is in front of us.”
I fall silent. As long as Lily is safe, I don’t care what we do. But I checked her house todayandthe club, and she wasn’t there. The girl practically lives between those two places, especially now that Piper is gone and she can’t go out to two-for-one margaritas without her housemate.
I comforted myself with the knowledge that Ronin was supposed to be guarding her. And that was a lie.
Right then, I make a decision. As soon as this meeting is over with Mr. Harry, I’ll figure out where Lily is and we’ll figure out a way where we canbothget what we want.
I’m not letting her out of my sight again.
The gates open, letting our SUV and our security vehicle into the property.
“No extra security beyond that?” Ronin asks, gesturing at the gate.
“The fucker probably thinks he’s too good of a shot with a gun,” Niko sneers. “All because he’s the CEO of GHF.”
“Urasai,” Tomo says. Niko shuts up.
The front door opens.
“The big band of yakuza,” Mr. Harry says. He grins. “So glad you could finally make it.”
Tomo shakes Mr. Harry’s hand. “Thank you for making this work for us.”
“Anything for my mafia friends.”
Inside of the house, Tomo, Ronin, and Niko discuss the logistics of the contract with Mr. Harry, as well as the necessary details for the upcoming war with Ito-gumi. No matter how hard I try to focus, my mind keeps wandering back to Lily.
Whydid I let her go?
And then I smell the sweet scent of spun sugar. Her cotton candy perfume mixed with her musk.Her fear.
Lily was here, and she was afraid. I can feel it in my fucking bones.
I stand up and scrutinize the hallway. I don’t stop to consider what this means for our negotiations.
“Where are you going?” Niko asks, irritation simmering in his voice.
“Dice-kun?” Tomo adds.
I briefly look at them. They’re my chosen family. And yet—
And yet I can’t let this go.
I continue my search down the hallway.
“Let the big guy wander,” Mr. Harry says. “There’s nothing here that will surprise the yakuza.”
An office. A guest bedroom. A bathroom. Then I get to a locked room. I lean down, pressing my nose to the crack at the bottom of the door.
I can smell her.
Lily is inside.
In the living room, Mr. Harry holds a pen in his hand while Niko argues about the fine print of the contract.Thisis our final moment. Once Mr. Harry signs, Golden Honor Firearms and the Endo-kai will unite. We’ll have enough guns to effectively wipe out our enemyandexpand our weapons smuggling operation internationally.
The truth is that the Endo-kai will always thrive. We don’t need Golden Honor Firearms.
