Her Fearless Ronin (The Syndicates #4)

Chapter 5

Hope

D amn you, Jiro!

“Do you think I’m a prude?” I asked out loud as Max and I worked on the inventory before opening.

“With the way you’ve been scowling at that nine-inch alien dildo in your hand for the past five minutes? No, I don’t think so.”

“I…” I sighed, putting the purple dong on the shelf and grabbing another one from the box. “I’m serious, Max.”

He stopped arranging the sensual jewelry from the glass case and turned toward me, his brown eyes full of confusion.

Max was as close to a best friend as one could be, even if this friendship was formed in a very unconventional way. He was my ex-boyfriend’s older cousin, and when Jared dumped me for being a “frigid bitch” just weeks after I had to drop out of college because my family was broke, Max, against all odds, stood up for me. He offered me a job at his sex shop. It had mortified me at first, but the money was much better than minimum wage, the hours flexible, and the bonus on sales quite enticing. After a while, I started to like it. The customers were far from being the perverts you’d expect; most of them were lovely and fun and even a little shy. The shop was professional and well-organized.

Max was also possibly the nicest man on this earth, always so understanding when I had to bail on short notice, and this is how I was about to celebrate my four-year anniversary at my “temporary” job.

“You’re working in a sex shop, for Christ’s sake, and I heard you having full-on conversations that would even make me blush. No, sweetheart, you’re not a prude. You’re a gentle, happy soul who’s experienced far too much shit in your lifetime.”

I nodded, comforted by his pep talk. It was not because I disliked sex that I was a prude. I also disliked being seen as fragile, and somehow, my silly childhood crush on Jiro Saito seemed to still resonate within me, and it really annoyed me to think that he could see any part of me negatively.

“Stupid, tall asshole,” I muttered as I grabbed the last sex toy in the box before shoving it on the shelf.

Max closed the case and came toward me, leaning against the shelves beside mine. “Does it have anything to do with the mysterious stranger you ditched me for yesterday?”

I rolled my eyes despite him being spot-on. “It’s nothing like that. He—” I stopped talking. I loved Max, and I trusted him, but giving too much information about Jiro could put them both in danger. “I’ve known him for years, and he’s going to find Leo.”

Max’s taunting smile vanished, replaced with a frown.

I raised a finger in warning. “Don’t say it. I know how you feel about all that.” I was tired of this discussion.

Max didn’t like Leo; he never did and made it abundantly clear, but he had no siblings. He didn’t know what it was like, and I assumed losing Anna, his twin, in such a tragic way gave him a little more leeway.

You lost your sister too that day , Max kept repeating when I had to dash. Sometimes, in the middle of my shift, it was to either get my mother from the nearby police station because she left home when he was supposed to look out for her, or I had to go pick him up from some bar because he was much too drunk to drive.

“You matter to me, Hope, you know that.”

I nodded. How could I not? He took my side and was far more understanding than was warranted.

I sighed. “I know that. It’s just Leo is Leo, and no matter what…” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t even be mad if he just up and left, really, I wouldn’t, but I can’t just let go with so many uncertainties. I need to know he’s okay.”

Max raised his hand and brushed my cheek. “I understand, I’m sorry.”

I nodded, a little uncomfortable with the contact.

“When we find Leo, I—I think you and I should talk about us. I mean, more where this could be going.”

This what? I narrowed my eyes a little. God, was he blushing?

I opened my mouth to reply that I was not sure it was the type of discussion I wanted to have with him. My only friend… my only constant, but a sharp knock on the door stopped me from answering.

I turned just in time to see Jiro’s face as he glared through the window.

I glanced at the clock. “Ah, we’re ten minutes late on opening,” I started with a sigh of relief to have been spared whatever was about to come out of Max’s mouth.

Max snorted as he walked to the door. “Someone has a dildo emergency, it seems.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I could only imagine him saying that to Jiro’s face.

As soon as Max unlocked the door, Jiro walked in toward me, completely ignoring him with his trademark scowl on his face.

His aura of authority, danger, and alpha male had me tongue-tied, almost forgetting where I was.

“So, you do work here.”I narrowed my eyes on him, my previous awe replaced by irritation .

I sighed. “Do you have something new?”

His mouth went up in a small smile. “Is that any way to welcome your friend?”

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment but straightened up, not wanting to show him he unsettled me, even if it was probably obvious on my face.

“Are we friends now? I thought you were my knight in shining armor.”

His side smile grew as he took another step forward, looming over me, and instead of feeling threatened and overwhelmed, I felt safe.

“Trust me, Hope, I’m no one’s savior.”

I opened my mouth to contradict him, but Max used this moment to slide between us, facing Jiro and making me take a step back.

“May I help you?” Max asked, crossing his arms on his chest, widening his stance a little.

Even if I only had a view of the back of his neck, I knew that he was scowling—he always had a scowl when he took his “bouncer” pose.

Jiro had a good few inches on Max, even though he wasn’t as stocky as Max was. I had felt his hard body yesterday as I rode his bike, and I didn’t need to have seen him in action to know that his lean muscles were lethal and that he could probably kill Max in under three seconds.

Jiro looked him up and down, and his previously amused smile turned into a taunting grin.

“I’d advise you to take a step back, Max, my boy,” Jiro told him in a low warning tone.

I rolled my eyes and stepped to the side, resting my hand on Jiro’s chest, and immediately regretted my gesture. The heat of his skin under his shirt, the firmness of his pecs… All that was enough to cause a jolt of electricity to go up my arm.

He took a sharp breath, gazing down at me, his pupils dilated, making his dark-brown eyes almost black.

“Max, this is my friend Jiro I told you about.” I kept my hand on his chest as I made the introduction while gesturing to Max with my other hand. “Jiro, this is my boss, Max.” I pressed on the word “boss” to remind him to be civil. I could not say I’d seen Jiro anything but composed, even when he was barely twenty-one, but part of me knew that an angry Jiro would be a force to be reckoned with.

Max turned his scowl toward me. What did I do now?

“Boss? This is all I am?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

I winced. He wasn’t wrong. “And my friend, of course.”

“Friend?” Jiro’s smile widened. “How adorable.”

I was trying to rack my brain on how to defuse a situation I never thought I would actually face when the bell above the door announced a customer and a blushing girl entered.

I sighed. Throwing my hands up in dismissal to the two men who were a few seconds away from whipping out their dicks in an attempt to assert dominance, I went to the uncomfortable-looking girl who was staring at one of the shelves with fearful, wide eyes.

For the next twenty minutes, I helped her choose her perfect first vibrator while making sure that the two men talking at the back of the store didn’t kill each other.

Once she paid, I was about to exit the store when Pedro walked in with a shit-eating grin on his face.

I threw a quick look to Jiro, who was now focused on me, also very much aware of the change in atmosphere.

I hope he understood what I was not saying. This was the guy that could lead us to Leo.

“Mamacita!” He leaned on the glass counter, peeking behind it. “Wearing a dress? I always love it when you’re showing your pretty legs.” He jerked his head to the side. “Why don’t you come around and give me a hug?”

I forced a laugh despite my discomfort. “I’m working, Pedro.”

“ Vale , what about after work then? I can come pick you up, and we—”

He stopped talking as Jiro approached the counter, standing quite close to Pedro.

“Hope,” he said, his voice deeper than I’d ever heard it.

Pedro turned toward him, his flirty look morphing into an annoyed glare. “Why don’t you go away, pendejo ? I’m talking with her. Go look at the cock rings,” he added, pointing to the stand against the back wall.

I winced at the rudeness.

Jiro detailed him silently, his gaze taking in every tattoo he could see, including the numbers on the side of Pedro’s neck.

Jiro’s mouth tipped up at the corner. “Cock rings?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, pendejo, but I can’t wear cock rings—my Jacob’s ladder prevents it.”

My mouth dropped open at the revelation, my eyes involuntarily jumping to his zipper. He was making that up, wasn’t he? Yes, he had to be. Jiro Saito was way too stuck up for anything like that… Or was he?

Didn’t they say it was always the quiet ones?

“Eyes up here, sweetheart,” Jiro purred.

My gaze flew back to his face, and his previously taunting smile turned into a knowing smirk. What was happening to him? Who was he right now?

“Good girl.”

I shivered at the intensity of his eyes, and the heaviness of lust settled in my lower belly, something both unsettling and unfamiliar.

Pedro turned red and started to mutter low threats in Spanish toward Jiro, who turned back toward him. His previously playful look transformed into smooth impassiveness, which I suspected was way worse than anger.

“You know, my man, sometimes you should be careful who you’re talking to.” Jiro turned toward me. “But even if cock rings are out of the question, maybe you can recommend new nipple rings,” he added, lifting his T-shirt, revealing a tattoo-covered chest so perfect it seemed to have been carved in marble and painted by Leonardo da Vinci himself.

My jaw went slack at the view and at the small hoop he had on each nipple before my eyes dipped down once again to his zipper, wondering if his previous statement had been the truth.

Unfortunately, it was something I would never know.

Pedro’s reaction was completely different but just as intense as mine as he kept his eyes on Jiro’s rib cage, his face as pale as a ghost.

“I—I didn’t know.” He took a step back, raising his hands in surrender. “I didn’t know,” he repeated.

I frowned, concentrating on the same area Pedro had been looking at, but I didn’t see what scared him so much. It was just a snake intertwined... with the number 893 .

The dim light seemed to play on Jiro’s skin as he pulled down his shirt, the fabric hiding a canvas of well-chiseled muscle that I had only just been privy to. I took a moment, letting my eyes wander over him before turning my attention to Pedro, who had edged farther toward the door, a clear wariness in his eyes.

“She never mentioned being taken,” Pedro stammered, his hands raised in a gesture of placation.

I could only shake my head in disbelief. Such a cowardly move to shift the blame.

Jiro’s voice cut through the room, deep and smooth, “Well, she is.”

A gasp escaped my lips when I felt his hand delicately touch the nape of my neck, a gentle pressure that sent electric jolts straight to my core. My pulse raced as his fingers brushed my skin, and I leaned into his touch, drawn to him like a magnet.

When he tilted my face toward his, his voice dropped an octave, tinged with a huskiness that made my heart race. “Now you know.”

His gaze lingered on my lips, filled with a hunger and passion that left me breathless. And then, without warning, he closed the distance between us. His lips met mine in a storm of raw desire, taking me by surprise and pulling me into a whirlwind of sensations. The world dissolved around me, and all I could feel was the heat of his kiss and the yearning building within.

My fingers found their way to the hem of his T-shirt, clutching it tight, trying to bring him impossibly closer. The intoxicating blend of his scent—musk and something uniquely Jiro—consumed me. Each touch, each caress, only deepened the passion and made me lose myself more in the moment.

The world came crashing back when our lips parted. In the aftermath of our heated exchange, I realized Pedro had vanished, and Max’s disapproving eyes bore into us.

Blinking a few times, I tried to gather my thoughts, but my emotions were in turmoil. Jiro, however, looked unflustered, his fingers deftly working his phone as if our fervent kiss was but a fleeting distraction.

He glanced up briefly, his voice cool and detached. “Pedro won’t be troubling you again. You’re welcome.”

His nonchalance felt like a cold splash of water. The raw intimacy we had just shared reduced to a mere transaction. I was a damsel he had saved, nothing more. The realization stung, reminding me that in Jiro’s mind, I was just another problem for him to solve, another complication in his already complicated life.

As much as I tried to deny it, I couldn’t ignore the truth. I was not relevant to Jiro Saito. Our brief connection meant nothing to him in the grand scheme of things. I was just a girl caught up in his world of darkness and danger.

I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself and push down the hurt I felt. “Thank you,” I replied, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside. “For taking care of Pedro and for helping me with my brother. I appreciate it.”

Jiro glanced at me, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes—regret, maybe? But it was gone as quickly as it came, and his expression became unreadable again.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, his tone distant. “It’s what I do.”

I nodded, understanding that this was who he was, the person he had become: Jiro Saito, the man who navigated the shadows and dealt with darkness. And I was just a girl who happened to cross his path.

Jiro’s phone vibrated in his hand, and I could sense his growing frustration. As he glanced at Max, I could see the tension between them, even if I didn’t really understand the reason behind it.

“I have a few things to take care of,” Jiro muttered, his jaw ticcing with annoyance. He then turned his attention back to me. “When are you finishing?”

“Six.”

He nodded. “I’ll meet you back here at six.”

Before I could agree, Jiro turned to Max and spoke in a low, commanding voice. “You make sure she’s safe, yes? It shouldn’t have been that hard to get that creep away.”

Max’s scowl deepened. “Pedro was not a threat. You’re just exaggerating. I’m Hope’s friend, and before yesterday, I never even heard your name, so no offense, pal ,” he spat the word with derision, “I know how to take care of her.”

Jiro scoffed. “How nice it must be to be so delusional.” He waved toward me. “I’ll see you later,” he added before turning around and leaving the store stiffly .

The rest of my shift was the worst I had ever experienced, with Max being in the darkest mood I’d ever seen him, muttering to himself and leaving me alone and bored behind the counter.

I was relieved when the clock hit six and quickly said goodbye to a still-sulking Max and exited the store as dusk fell.

Jiro was already there, leaning against his bike, his expression unreadable.

As I approached, he straightened up, his intense gaze fixed on me.

“What was that all about?” I asked as I reached him on the sidewalk.

He extended me his spare helmet. “I’m hungry.”

“I’m serious,” I insisted, crossing my arms on my chest.

“So am I!” He nudged the helmet toward me again, and I grabbed it automatically. “I saw a Mexican truck by the pier. Let’s eat and talk.”

My stomach squeezed, reminding me that food seemed to be a good idea right about now, so I pushed the helmet on my head. “Mexican sounds good.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Thought so.” He turned toward the bike and straddled it. “Come on, let’s go.”

I couldn’t help the little jitter of excitement as I sat behind him… pressing my body against his, wrapping my arms around his hard chest. Was it something you ever got used to? I didn’t think so, not with Jiro.

As we rode through the city, the exhilaration of the bike ride, mixed with the closeness of our bodies, made my heart race. I could feel the warmth of Jiro’s back against my front, his muscles tensing as he navigated through the streets. It was an intoxicating sensation, and I relished every moment.

The closer we got to the pier, the stronger the sea smell, and while I was happy to finally get some answers, I was also a little disappointed to let go of my hold on him.

As he parked by the truck, I was pleased to see that only a couple of tables were taken, allowing us to have a more private conversation.

“What do you want?” he asked after securing the helmets on the bike.

“Fish tacos.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Fish from a van?” He grimaced. “I commend you.”

I shrugged. “I like to live on the edge.”

His expression turned from teasing to serious in a second. “Don’t I know it.” He looked up and sighed. “Grab a table. I’ll be right there.”

I grabbed a table farthest from the food van and sat down, watching as Jiro approached the vendor to order our tacos.

As I waited for him to return with the food, I couldn’t help but reflect on how his simple presence changed everything. There was a sense of comfort in his presence, even amid all the chaos and uncertainty.

He returned with a tray of fish tacos, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was a simple gesture, but it meant so much to me. “Fish too, huh?”

He shrugged. “Ah, well, if you die, I’ll die too,” he said before taking a bite .

This slipup drained all humor from the moment, and both of us turned serious at once.

“How was your shift?”

“Long.” I rested my fingers on my lips, replaying the kiss.

Jiro’s eyes trailed to my lips, darkening. “The asshole will not bother you anymore.”

I nodded, looking down at the taco on my plate. Of course, there was no other motive.

“Was your boyfriend pissed?”

“He’s my friend.”

Jiro shook his head with a snort. “Does he know that?”

I frowned, finally catching up on what he’d said before when he came earlier today, and I froze as things clicked into place.

“How did you know his name?”

His back straightened as he looked up slowly. “What?”

“Max, how did you know his name?”

“You introduced us.”

I shook my head. “No, you knew before.”

He threw me a wary look.

I sighed, feeling the weight of the unspoken truth between us. “Jiro, please don’t lie to me. I know you knew Max’s name before I introduced you. How?”

He hesitated for a moment as if debating whether or not to tell me the truth. Finally, he let out a sigh and looked away. “Okay, fine. I knew his name because… because I’ve been looking into your life and, as I expected, things have been a lot tougher for you than you told me.”

I shrugged. “I guess we’re both hiding things.”

“We are…” he admitted with another sigh.

“What is it you showed Pedro that scared him that much?”

He looked up from his plate, detailing my face as he chewed on his taco. “I showed him who I was,” he replied evasively.

I shook my head with frustration; this was bound to become tiring soon.

He sighed. “You said it yourself. When you met me, I had fewer tattoos. Most of what I have has nothing to do with aesthetics. They are…” He cocked his head to the side. “Codes, if you will, of what I’ve done, who I am, and who I belong to.”

“You’re still with the—” I looked around before leaning over the table. “ Them ,” I whispered urgently.

Jiro leaned forward as well, a soft smile on his lips. “Technically, I’ll always be.” He detailed my face for a second before leaning back on his seat, creating a distance that annoyed me. He waved his hand dismissively. “These codes are widely known within other organizations.”

Organizations … a civilized word for gangs.

Jiro’s eyes glinted with this savage light I’d seen a couple of times before. “He obviously could read the signs well enough.”

“Will you tell me?”

“Not today, Hope, not today,” he let out a little wistfully before looking at his watch. “Come on, let’s finish our dinner. I am waiting for Hoka to call me when he’s back from his trip. It may be a few days, but I promise I’ll come find you as soon as I have news. ”

I didn’t know why, but this was just his version of running away to keep his walls up, and instead of pressing, I let it go because despite what I wanted to believe, Jiro was not mine—he was not mine when I was a silly enamored child, and he was not mine now. He was a temporary feature, and I could not let myself see what was under his armor because I feared what I would discover may not make me run away but fall deeper.