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Takeshi
I hang up from the call with Lakeshia and Shinji and speed to Evan’s strip mall location. My fists curl around the steering wheel. My tight grip is a substitution for what I truly want, Evan’s neck beneath my palms as I wring the last breath from his lungs.
Evan isn’t a yakuza, but he knows the rules. What he did was forbidden. Although he supplies many clients, it’s with the understanding he remains neutral. Setting my husband and lover up is not neutral, and neither will I be when I get my hands on him.
Part of my anger stems from the fact the first time Lakeshia called me wasn’t because I was on her mind.
I glance at my phone. With the progress we’ve made in our relationship, maybe I can drop hints to her and she’ll call, preferably with video so I’ll see her mouth soften in amusement. Or my favorite pastime, watching as different emotions flick across her face, lightening and darkening her eyes. Shinji’s frowning face pops up in my head. Maybe I’ll hold off a littlelonger. I don’t need another lecture from him about pushing Lakeshia too hard. My imaginary husband grins his approval.
“Konoyarou,” I mumble.
My phone dings. Before my heart runs away in anticipation, I lock the hope down. A message from Lakeshia won’t be on the other end. I have the phone voice assistant relay the message. It’s from Ichiro, and he’s found Evan’s home address from the files he’s curated of our associates over the years. His place will not be easy to infiltrate.
I call a few men and tell them to meet me close by. Katsuo prefers we keep our business out of headlines, but given Evan has allied himself with Tomasso, there’s no need for a stealth operation.
The GPS leads me to an unincorporated community neighboring Serenidad. Miles of paved roads lined with dense trees seem to lead nowhere except through the town. On alert, I almost drive beyond the turning point. A small gap between the trees reveals a trail. Instead of driving onto the property, I find a spot off the road two miles beyond to wait for my men.
They arrive within thirty minutes. Strapped up, we camouflage the cars and head to Evan’s secret hideout. On the way, we dispatch his lookouts.
I don’t know whether the asshole’s lack of security is an insult or an embarrassment. I shrug off the emotion and proceed until we enter the clearing facing his estate.
“Never read Evan as a man with a complex like this,” one man says while staring at the monstrosity before us.
The structure sits on fifty acres of land. The building, because it in no way resembles a home, is a horrendous mix of every architectural period from Romanesque to Queen Anne, and it will take an experienced navigator to not lose themselves inside.
“There must be a security hub. Be on the lookout and try not to alert them we’re here.” I peel away from my men and head to the hideous building of mismatched styles.
Along the roof, menacing winged gargoyles meant to ward off evil overlook the estate. I can’t laugh at the irony of a man who supplies deadly weapons to criminals using apotropaic devices to protect himself from evil when I haven’t outgrown my belief in onis, tengus, and tanuki yokais who offer various protections with offerings.
I creep toward the house, keeping myself low while looking out for more of Evan’s security. Ignoring the front entrance, I search for a side door or back entry. As I turn the corner, I bump into a sturdy body.
“What the fuck! Who the hell are you?” An angry white man standing two inches taller than me demands.
Before he can draw another breath, I flatten my hand and chop him in his neck, collapsing his airways to silence him. He bowls over and clutches his throat as he grabs at me. I spin around to his back while he’s in distress, grab his neck, and twist until I hear a satisfying snap of his bone and feel his body collapsing. From the ensuing silence, his outburst didn’t attract attention.
I drag his body toward a thicket, the only appealing addition to Evan’s horrible estate. I bet his landscaper charged him a ransom for making his monstrosity of a house semi-appealing.
Closer to the first southern wing of the home, I find an unlocked arched entryway. I shake my head at his security lapse, but with all the doors in and out of this place to manage, maybe he doesn’t bother locking anything. The room I enter is a small mudroom for changing shoes and hooks for outerwear.
I bypass everything to enter the house, going room by room in search of the man who dared to endanger my loves. Time ticks on as I seek Evan, but every doorway leads to gaudily decoratedinteriors with no one in them. Frustration builds, but I temper my impatience by visualizing my satisfaction when I get my prey under my control.
I barely clear the wing when I get my phone vibrates. “You found him?” I ask my man the only question that matters.
“No. I’m in the security room. There are tons of cameras everywhere. He even has them in the bathrooms.” My man drones on and I grit my teeth.
He’s a fellow brother. As such, he’s earned my respect. I don’t make it a habit of upbraiding my men, but the urge to do so now is almost physical.
“Get this, I’ve looked at every monitor. You’re the only one in the house.”
I rein in the compulsion to smash everything and yell. Those behaviors are unlike me, they represent someone who doesn’t have a methodical mindset. Someone who lets their emotions override logic. Though Shinji has opened me up to the beauty of spontaneity, this isn’t one of those times.
“Do you see anything that hints at where he would go to hide out?” I ask, not willing to give up on this place yet.
This place is perfect. It’s remote and not widely known because Evan is a secretive son of a bitch. Good news for me because he has no nosy neighbors.
“I’ll check, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of personal things lying around. No way!” A note of enthusiasm enters his voice. “Our man just pulled onto the road off the main street and he’s heading our way. If you want to catch him as soon as he walks through the door, head to the entrance now.”
“Stay on the line. If he looks like he’s going anywhere else, I want to know the second you know.”
