Page 23 of These Sinful Kingdoms

“You are a good mom. He is lucky. I’m sorry if I caused you to worry. I love the kid. He reminds me of myself.” Aurora stood, looking down at us to follow.

“I don’t want to continue to intrude. Thank you for your time and thank you for sharing your story. I am glad Fabian has found someone he can talk to.” She hesitated for a moment.

“If you want, you are welcome to come and visit him. I know he would love that. He sings you praises all the time.” Kenji stared up at her with wide eyes before he shot up from the chair, pulling her in for a hug.

I watched his face as all the tension left his body, his eyes closed as he inhaled her scent. Yeah. I understood the feeling. Aurora was like a soothing balm to your soul.

“Thank you.” She smiled as we walked to the door and said our goodbyes to Agatha. Sitting in the car, I groaned softly at the turn of events.

“So, the kid is fine. But now we have the Yakuza to worry about. I don’t know if my contact is any good, but I’ll see what I can find out.” I glanced at Kingston who understood the gravity of this situation. If the Yakuza were looking into Aurora, that meant that Rocco and Nicolo had put out a hit and she wasn’t safe.

Fear swirled in my stomach as we drove away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were on borrowed time.

Chapter twelve

Kenji

SeeingAuroraMorettifaceto face had been a shock to my system. I had done plenty of research into her family and who she was. I knew that she had her own demons to fight and when I made the connection between Fabian… the little dude I had been mentoring online for a month now; I knew I had to stop.

I remember the first time I pulled up Aurora’s profile. Her dark eyes seemed to stare into my soul, her lips were full and lush, and her body was like something from a book. I wasn’t ashamed to say that I may have masturbated to her image more than once, imagining what it would be like if she was there.

It was a little weird, knowing that I was talking to her son but part of me had always fantasized that somehow, I would end up meeting her because of it, not that I thought that would come true.

My inability to leave the house without suffering from a panic attack meant I lacked the ways to meet people and my Gran was starting to worry I would never get the chance to fall in love.

It hadn’t been a big thing for me until I saw Aurora. There was something about her that made me want more, and crave more, and finding her in my home yesterday had been like walking into a dream.

Her guys were scary as hell, I knew enough about them to know they wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if they thought I was a threat and I envied them their confidence, and their connections to such a beautiful woman.

The irony was, I knew nothing about being with someone. I hadn’t stepped into the real world since I was twelve. All I had to keep me company was the romance books I read and the people I played games with online.

My need to understand everything meant I was well-versed in the concept of pleasure, hell I had experimented with plenty of toys myself and done all the research I possibly could on what would make a woman happy. I just had to actually experience what that truly meant.

A knock on my door had me hurrying to close down the screens that I had opened with Aurora pictures and tried to look innocent as I turned around to see the door open and my father standing there.

“Kenji. Agatha called and told me that the Moretti woman and her men visited you.” He said, straight to the point as always. I shrugged. I loved my father, but he wasn’t always the most emotional of men or great with dealing with an adult son who can’t leave the house.

“Are you okay?” He asked and I sighed.

“Of course. They meant no harm. She was worried that I was some creep trying to hurt her son, that’s all. They offered for me to meet him which was nice.” I smiled, wishing that I had the ability to leave this house and take her up on that offer.

I liked Fabian. He had told me about his time being held as a prisoner and what he had seen. It may not have been the same kind of trauma I had, but it was trauma just the same and it was the same age I had been, so I felt a sense of responsibility and purpose to help him. His own skills were fast becoming better than mine as well, the kid would be hacking into government systems before his next birthday.

“Son. I told you that you cannot form any kind of attachment to this family. I have been contracted to do a job.” He said firmly and I flinched.

“Can’t you turn this one down? They aren’t hurting anyone. She is just the victim of a family feud just like Mama was.” I whispered and I saw the way his eyes tightened at the mention of her.

“This is my job.” He said weakly and I shoved my chair away from the screen.

“You can say no! I never questioned what you do, I know your reasons for being tied up, but this is wrong, and you know it. You were asked by the rival family members for fucks sake. This is a war that has no meaning other than a greedy grab for power.” I paced my room, feeling frustrated and a lack of control.

“That isn’t how this works. I don’t get to choose the jobs I take on Kenji. I am tied to them and that is how it will always be until I earn my freedom. I have to go. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He said, turning to leave.

“When?” I asked, my voice breaking. He hesitated, looking over his shoulder at me.

“In the next week. I won’t let her suffer.” He left quietly, leaving me feeling helpless as I crumbled to the floor, leaning against my bed.

If I was a braver man, I would stop him. I would stand up to him and the people he worked for. The head of the Yakuza was an old man with old views who took money from others and didn’t care who he hurt.

---