AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Right. Other than my life, what leverage do I have? I pace the confines of the kitchen, racking my brain for ideas. I need access to Shinji and Takeshi if I have any hope of saving them.
“Call the number from the text,” I demand, hoping Paul’s voice won’t have the same effect as seeing him on my screen holding the people who’ve given me extra reasons to live and fight.
My husbands are at his mercy but I can’t let Paul keep affecting me. Is it because he takes me by surprise? I don’t know, but maybe if I steel myself against seeing and hearing him, I’ll have a chance of moving forward.
Once Riu does as I ask, I snatch the phone and listen with my heart pumping through my chest. I whisper to myself, “It’s just Paul. It’s just Paul.” I try to picture him and succeed too easily.
His face swims before my eyes, my vision narrowing to his boy-next-door looks. Nothing about his smile reveals the monster underneath.
“Kimura-san?” Riu’s voice helps to ground me as I begin to lose myself again.
Why doesn’t Paul answer? The call ends without going to voicemail.
“Riu, do me a favor.”
“Of course.”
“If you see signs like I’m not all here, do whatever you need to return me to my senses. If it means slapping me across my face, do it.”
Riu steps back. “I could never.”
“Yes, the fuck you can. Because it means saving Shinji and Takeshi. If I’m willing to suffer the pain, you can damn sure endure a little discomfort.”
“But the bosses?—”
“Won’t find out from me. Their lives are on the line Riu.”
He reluctantly nods and closes the gap between us.
“Okay, I’m going to call again. If I zone out, put the phone on mute and bring me back, no matter what.”
He grunts though he would prefer any other assignment than this.
I redial Paul’s number.
This time, he answers after the third ring. “If it isn’t my sweet ex-girlfriend, Sheila, the knife-wielding bitch.”
“I don’t go by that name anymore,” I manage through the tightness in my throat. I grab the corner of the kitchen counter, feeling the hard corner digging into the soft flesh of my palm.
“Yes, Zio Tomasso told me, but you see, I have a history with Sheila. She’s the last cherry I popped. The last pussy I fucked. She’s the last time I felt human. So, I have to keep Sheila’s memory alive until we meet face to face.”
During Paul’s tirade, Riu’s face registers shock, but it’s taking everything in me not to black out. My vision blurs around the edges, and Paul sounds like he’s talking to me through a cave.
“I can give you that, but I have terms.” The words barely make it out from my numb lips.
“You think you can negotiate with me?”
“If you want what’s left of the Giamettis to rebuild, you will. I have the Kimuras and the Oliveris on my side. I can guarantee they won’t touch you if you agree to my conditions.”
Paul lapses into silence, and Riu grabs my phone to put us on mute.
“The bosses will never agree to give you up.” His fierce frown could melt steel but doesn’t deter me.
“Katsuo will,” I counter. “My life isn’t as important as Takeshi’s, and he’ll bear the consequences of this decision even if it means Takeshi never speaks to him again.”
Riu meets my glare but his silence acknowledges the truth in my words.
“Alright, let’s hear what you want.”
