Escorting the Yakuza

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

F iona

Fuck my life with a double-horned demon dick.

The second body in too few minutes falls to the ground and the gunpowder from shooting my Maxim 9 perfumes the air again. But this time my second victim isn’t who I expect.

“Fuck, woman! What did I do to you?” Takeshi Kimura demands, as he rightfully should.

He’d done nothing except surprise me while I was dealing with the threat I’d put down before he ran through the door. He has no idea how lucky he is that I wasn’t expecting him. At such close range, I always hit my targets.

“You should be grateful I didn’t kill you. Did you ever think to knock first?” I can’t help my sharp words. Adrenaline continues to pump through my veins and the one thought circling like vultures in my brain is the escape I need to make. Now.

Takeshi groans. “The door wasn’t closed. Plus, you must not know what happened downstairs if you think I wasn’t going to rush in here.”

“Of course, I know what happened. I’m the reason it’s shot to hell.”

“Are you also the reason for the two men lying dead at the bar?”

Damn, I forgot about them. That puts today’s body count at three. At least Takeshi won’t be joining my club of ardent fans.

“Why are you here, anyway? Business doesn’t start until seven tonight.”

“Kimura business isn’t dictated by a clock. Did you expect to have this place cleaned up in a few hours? Without help?”

I don’t respond. I intend to be in an ocean away well before anyone comes to prepare for tonight.

“Shit, will you get me something to staunch this blood flow or do you want me to die from blood loss?”

“Sorry,” I say, grateful for the excuse not to answer his other question. I run to the small linen closet in my office and retrieve a couple towels before handing them to Takeshi.

He presses the material against his shoulder. Until now, the blood seeping from his wound was nearly indistinguishable from his black shirt. However, crimson liquid quickly spreads across the fluffy, white towel, turning it bright red.

I swallow the pang of regret working its way up my throat. I don’t have time for regrets, especially ones for the beautiful man lying on my floor. A grimace mars the typical stern firmness of his face, yet fails to diminish his attractiveness.

Over the years, Takeshi would come to check on my business. Being so close to him, I couldn’t prevent lustful thoughts from entering my mind. Even when his focus was solely on doing his job, the man emitted a sexual pull strong enough to tempt me into relaxing one of my rules: sex is for business, not pleasure. Although I derive sexual satisfaction from taking on clients, I do so to acquire money and power, tools I’ll need to keep me safe and prevent more of what happened downstairs from occurring again.

Although I’ve toyed with approaching Takeshi every time he visited, I never acted on my desire. I’m no fool. I curate my connections carefully. I haven’t had the luxury of foolishness since the day I turned twelve, and life has a way of reinforcing lessons I don’t learn the first time with painful reminders. I’ve lived through enough setbacks to no longer view the world with optimism and hope.

And that’s what makes Takeshi dangerous. Despite everything he represents and the aura of danger that shrouds him, he inspires a yearning inside me that has nowhere to go. Not when he’s married. And from all the disappointed men and women who’ve shot their shot with him during his visits, he’s a rare treasure and challenge; a faithful husband.

I shrug away the familiar need to get closer to him and get between his marital bonds. How I’d like to monopolize his sexiness with at least one heated night of passion. But I’ve lost the opportunity, not like I’d have been successful.

Takeshi winces and checks his wound. I hand him another towel as the previous one is soaked through. When he presses this one against his wound, it doesn’t turn crimson as quickly as the other, indicating a slowing down of his bleeding.

His blood serves as a reminder that Takeshi Kimura belongs to a dangerous organization. One more powerful than the one I’m running from.

I don’t need to attract more of his attention than I already have. Even if I’ve never gotten to feel his full lips, silky mustache, or the pointed triangular beard he sports brushing against my thighs. That fantasy never would have happened, and given my current situation, neither will allowing him to discover my real identity. I’d eventually have to put an end to the scenes in my head born from too many interactions with him.

Today is as good a day as any.

“You should get to a hospital.” I step away and retrieve my gun.

“In good time.” With a bloody hand, he pulls his cell phone from his pants pocket and texts someone. “Before then, tell me about the dead bodies.”

I look behind me at the corpse lying in the room with us. He was sent to retrieve me for an even worse end than the one he met at my hands.

“I’ll know if you’re lying to me.” Harsh brackets deepen around Takeshi’s tight lips. His pain is undeniable, yet if I only go by the cadence in his voice I would never know.

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 departure board 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 that he’s found 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 I learned 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?”

Shinji leans over him and whispers in Takeshi’s ear.

Takeshi turns an incredulous glare on the man he’d just announced was his husband. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

Shinji leans to his ear and they begin a furious discussion I’m not privy to.

A pang twists my heart in knots. My reaction is ridiculous, but seeing the two men talking to each other, their love and dedication on full display reminds me I can never have what they have. Not with my life in danger every day. I could never open up enough to let someone in knowing the risk I’d expose them to.

Shinji, with his long wavy hair, and Takeshi with his shorter, more conservative cut both represent an odd mix of soft masculinity that I can’t take my eyes away from. They are beautiful on their own. Together, their potency would bring men and women to their knees.

They need to be locked up for humanity’s safety.

And they’re married to each other? Fuck my life . No wonder he’s loyal to his husband. I shake my head, freeing myself of the useless thought and reminding myself I need to leave.

“It’s what I want, and you promised,” Shinji says to Takeshi.

“That was before?—”

“I want what I want.” The smile disappears from Shinji’s face and his determination shines through.

Takeshi turns a resentful glare on me before facing Shinji again. “Only you, Shinji. Only you could stop me from?—”

“I know.” Shinji caresses Takeshi’s cheek with a soft smile on his face. “I promise, you won’t regret giving this to me.”

I clear my throat because their intimacy is doing crazy things to my insides. “Well, it looks like you have everything settled, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Not so fast.” Although wounded, Takeshi’s words are strong enough to stop me in my tracks.

The door looms and all I want to do is rush out and put as much distance between myself and this situation.

Shinji unbuttons Takeshi’s shirt, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of a hardened chest. While Shinji uncovers Takeshi’s wound to ascertain the extent of the damage, Takeshi’s focus never wavers. His stare puts me under a microscope, and I’m not ready for him to uncover my secrets.

“If not for Shinji, you’d join the man behind you. You hurt my husband and that’s not something I let people walk away from, but because I can deny him nothing, you won’t have anything to fear from me.”

“Good to know. As you can tell, someone already has that spot in my life. And if we don’t get away from here soon, his people will send in another team to finish what these guys couldn’t.”

“Who are these guys?” Shinji asks while studying Takeshi’s wound.

“Good question. One our friend here has yet to answer.” Takeshi winces at Shinji’s prodding.

“Sorry, Keishi. Bear with me a little while longer, love. Dr. Kelekolio is on her way to take care of you.” Shinji turns his attention to me with an expectant expression.

My mouth opens without my permission. I snap it shut, shaken by the power of one look from this man. The last time we met, he hadn’t needed to do much to convince me to give up Portia’s secrets. Whatever witchcraft was woven into his DNA pulls at me to tell him everything about myself as strongly today as five years ago.

I will not give into this compulsion and no pretty eyes or soft mouth is going to con me into doing so.

“I don’t think she wants to tell us,” Shinji says. “How about a deal?”

“Deal?” I relax my stance. Not completely. Enough to appear like I’m open to whatever these men have to say, but I’m still ready to sprint my ass out the door and to anonymity once more.

“You need protection. We can protect you.”

I send a speaking glance toward the wounded Takeshi.

“Despite our current circumstances, we have the resources to provide more protection than you can get on your own. If we had known you had this caliber of enemy looking for you, we would have provided you with more adequate protection.”

“At a discounted rate?” He doesn’t fool me. I pay a premium for the protection they give my business as is.

“With terms we all can live with.” Takeshi raises himself to a half-seated position.

“I’m listening.”

“Because your business caters to an elite clientele, we haven’t exposed you to the other ways we do business.” Takeshi holds my stare as if daring me to point out his wound again. “We have the money, power, and men ready to kill and die to protect us. You have your wits. At some point, your judgment won’t be enough to stop the next bullet headed your way.”

“You aren’t going to let me leave, are you?”

“Not while you’re in danger,” Shinji says. His phone pings and he checks it. “About time. The doctor is here. Once she patches you up, we can leave.”

I relax my shoulders and approach them, making sure my movements and facial expression don’t warn them about my intentions. Not until I get close enough.

“I’m glad someone is here to look after you, Takeshi. Know that I appreciate your offer and I’m sorry I have to do this.”

“Do what?” Shinji begins to turn to me.

I take advantage of the small window and smash my gun against the back of his head.

“Not fucking again,” Takeshi says as Shinji’s body slumps over him.

“I’m really, really sorry but I can’t tell you what you want to know.”

“You have no idea the mistake you’ve just made.”

“Probably. I’ll just add it to all my other fuck ups. I hope you heal soon.”

“Do you really think I won’t find you after what you’ve done to my husband? Again?” Takeshi struggles to gently move Shinji’s body off him.

I shrug. “Shinji had five years to look for me and I’d been working with your organization for almost four of them. I like my odds.”

With no more time to spare, I clutch my go bag and my purse and haul ass out the exit. On the way outside, I stumble into a pretty brown woman with a soft traveling case. “He’s upstairs. Hurry! I think he’s lost a lot of blood. And you’ll want to treat Shinji for a concussion. I hit him pretty hard,” I say without stopping.

Her head follows me as I make my mad escape, confusion clouding her eyes.

By the time Takeshi recovers enough my trail will be cold and Fiona Mills will no longer exist.