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I shake off the sympathy clawing its way up my chest. “The less you know the better. Think of it as…plausible deniability.”
“That dangerous, huh?” His stare pierces me as if trying to peel away the many layers of secrecy I’ve cloaked myself under.
“It doesn’t have to be. Not for you. I appreciate what the Kimuras have done for me over the past few years. With your family’s protection, I ran this place unmolested, but as you can see, our agreement is at an end now.”
He peruses me. The thoughts locked behind his impenetrable gaze leave me wondering if I’ve divulged too much and unintentionally stripped one of my layers away without making him work for it. “I always wondered about you.”
“There’s nothing to wonder about,” I say, ignoring the itch of discomfort from the subject change.
“I doubt that. Since you showed up in Hawaii, you’ve been the most sought-after Madam. Your escorts are not only high-priced but high quality and highly skilled. They say you don’t demand them do anything they aren’t willing to do.”
I dismiss his praise with a shrug. “With good reason. Forced women don’t enjoy their work and it shows when they interact with customers.” I glance at the clock, envisioning the departureboard at the airport and weighing which city I should go to next. “Are your people coming soon?”
Oahu is the safest place I’ve lived in a long time, but I’m used to packing up and moving on with little fuss. I’ll miss the laid-back atmosphere, but not enough to risk my life now thathe’sfound me.
Takeshi’s voice anchors me in my office once more. “Your management speaks of a longer history, yet your background check shows you didn’t exist before you arrived on the island.” He meets my startled gaze after dropping his bomb.
“How long have you known?” If he knows…
“Kimuras don’t go into business without knowing who we’re dealing with.”
I can’t tell if he’s bluffing to get me to share my story or if he’s telling the truth. My heart beats loud enough to broadcast that I’m hiding something, and I’m sure he can hear the irregular thumps from across the room. Despite my turmoil, I’m able to modulate my voice to ask, “You know my real name?”
He flattens his lips. “Not yet.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Do yourself a favor and stop looking. It won’t end well for you.”
He narrows his dark eyes at me. Eyes that are both dangerous and sexy in ways I have no business contemplating after telling myself to stop envisioning us in a passionate embrace. “I would take that as a threat if you weren’t so concerned for my life.”
“Keishi!” A familiar voice I can’t place shouts from downstairs.
“It looks like your people are here and I won’t have to worry about you dying on me.” I hurry to the wall and reveal a safe. I’m not concerned that Takeshi sees it as I won’t leave anything behind. My go-bag has everything I need. My new identity and enough money to start my new life somewhere else. A lesson Ilearned from my father. Over the years, there’ve been many go-bags. As soon as I land wherever I’m going, I’ll get another, but I have to leave here first.
“Keishi-kun, who shot?—”
“I did,” I say with my back turned as I empty the last items from the safe into my bag. “It was an accident but since you’re here, you need to get him medical attention.”
I turn, shouldering the bag but my body refuses every command I give it to keep moving and walk out the door.
“It’s you!” The new man and I say at the same time.
He kneels next to Takeshi. Although I hadn’t seen his face back then, his voice and silhouette from our one encounter have haunted my nights for years.
“Shinji, you know her?” Takeshi asks.
“Impossible.” I shake my head but the man standing before me is the same one from five years ago.
“She gave me a concussion five years ago.” He angles his face toward me, ensnaring me in his gaze while keeping an eye on Takeshi. A smile…A freaking smile blossoms on his face as he takes me in.
I look away because…because…so many reasons. Three dead bodies lying around means the family I’ve been hiding from since I was twelve years old has found me again. Then there’s the fact I’ve now racked up another strike against me by maiming not one but two men in the Kimura crime family.
I doubt our association will grant me a pass. Not with the fire shooting at me from Takeshi’s eyes.
“No one hurts my husband and li?—”
“Keishi before you finish what I’m sure will be an epic threat filled with fear and blood and all kinds of nightmarish things, there’s something I should tell you first.”
“Now!? You refused to tell me who hurt you for years and you think I’m just going to let it go?”
