Chapter Twenty-One #3
Kenzo’s mouth fell open. “Minnie?” he whispered.
Kit didn’t let up. “He’s been working with Danny to frame Akiko for smuggling guns. He’s been sabotaging your businesses. He hates you, sir.”
Kenzo gripped the edge of the front door, swaying slightly, his face cycling through a myriad of emotions—shock, recognition, acceptance, betrayal, sorrow—before becoming blank and cold.
“You are mistaken. Get out of my house. Off my property. Or I’ll call security to escort you out and they will not be gentle. ”
“Call security,” Kit challenged. “Call Bob. When you reach him, ask him where the hell my sister is. If he hurts her, there will be no place on this earth that either of you can hide from me.”
But Bob had already hurt Akiko. He’d hit her in the head so hard that she’d been stunned. Don’t think about that. Don’t think of Akiko scared and hurting.
“Get. Out.” Kenzo seemed to transform, his body no longer weary and frail. He exuded power and rage. In that moment Kit understood how the man could command his own mob. He hit a button next to the door and a siren began to wail. “Get out now.”
“Where is Joe?” Kit demanded, surging into Kenzo’s space and taking a quick look around the foyer. “Is he here? Maybe he knows where we can find his son.”
“Get out.”
She’d reached for those silk pajamas when Sam gripped her elbow, tugging until she stepped away from Kenzo. “Come on. Let’s go.”
She was vibrating with rage as Sam settled her in the back seat of the department sedan. And then…it hit her. Akiko was missing. She was gone.
And I enraged one of the only men who might have been able to find her. She sucked in a huge gulp of air that burned her lungs, held the breath until her head began to spin. Tears pricked at her eyelids, and she couldn’t make them stop.
She dropped her face into her hands and began to cry.
“Get us out of here, Meghan,” Sam directed.
Lennox complied, and Sam’s hand squeezed Kit’s thigh. “We will find her, Kit.”
She’s gone. She’s gone.
Just like Wren.
I didn’t keep her safe.
Just like Wren.
Lennox sped down Kenzo’s long, winding driveway, out into the street. She drove for a block, passing more gated driveways. The vehicle slowed to a stop and Sam pulled Kit out of the car and into his arms, one hand on her back, the other in her hair. “I’ve got you.”
“I lost her.” She could barely breathe, the sobs racking her body. “I didn’t keep her safe. Just like Wren.”
“Akiko is not Wren,” Sam said fiercely. “Wren was a vulnerable, helpless fifteen-year-old. But Akiko is strong. She is not helpless. And neither are you. You are not fifteen years old, nor are you helpless. And you’re not alone.
I’m here. People who care about you are out there trying to find her.
There is a whole task force searching for Akiko. You are not alone.”
Her forehead resting on his chest, she fisted his shirt, holding on for dear life. He was solidity. He was safety. He was a rock. My rock. He’s mine.
“I lost my temper. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”
Lennox got out of the car to stand beside them.
“I think you should have. It shook him up. And now, when Bob calls him with his demands, Takahashi will know exactly who he’s dealing with.
You got to him, Kit. He claimed he didn’t believe you, but he did.
I think a lot of pieces fell into place for him.
So it’s okay. When he finally meets with Bob, he will not go unprepared. ”
“He won’t protect Akiko. He’ll just want revenge.”
“I don’t think so,” Lennox said. “I think he’ll fume and seethe about what Bob has taken from him over the years. He’ll be determined not to let Bob keep Akiko—or kill her. She’s the one thing Bob hasn’t yet ruined and Kenzo will want to save her, if for no other reason than to thwart Bob.”
Kit nodded slowly, Lennox’s words making sense. “What do we do now?”
“We find that fucker Ricky Nicchi,” Sam growled.
“Or Joe,” Lennox said. “Come on, Kit. Get back in the car. We have work to do.”
Sam gently put her back in the car and fastened her seat belt, caring for her like she was spun glass. But she felt like shattered glass.
“My head hurts.”
“I guess it does.” He kissed her temple softly, pulled the bottle of painkillers from his pocket, and gave her a bottle of water. “Take two and don’t argue.”
“Wasn’t gonna,” she grumbled. She swallowed the pills, chased them with water, then drained half the bottle. Damn tears. She was dehydrated. “Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you to that shopping center so you can get Anson’s car,” Lennox said gently. “You need to go to the hospital to sit with your father.”
Kit frowned, instantly suspicious. Lennox sounded different. She wanted to demand what the other detective would be doing, but she thought she knew. Five minutes later, she was proved right when they stopped by Anson’s car.
A black SUV pulled up on the other side of them and Lennox rolled her window down. The passenger-side window of the other car lowered, and Burroughs gave Lennox a quick nod. “We need to hurry.”
Lennox winced. “I’m going with Burroughs and Desoto. Kit, you’ve done all you can do. Let me take this the rest of the way. I’ll find your sister. I promise.”
Kit drew a deep breath, reining in her temper. “Where are you going, Detective?”
“A vehicle just pulled into Joe’s garage. We’re going to interview him. You need to take a break. Yelling at Kenzo may have worked, but you can’t yell at Joe Fujioka. I think he knows everything, and we need him to talk. Take Anson’s car to the hospital and take care of your family.”
Kit nodded once, her jaw clenched. Like she wasn’t taking care of her family right now? Fuck this shit. “Have fun.”
She got out of the sedan and held the door for Sam, who was shaking his head, his expression weary.
“Kit,” Lennox started, then sighed. “I’ll let Navarro know you’re on your way.”
Kit smiled sweetly. “Okay.”
Lennox motioned to Sam. “She needs some rest, Sam. Please.”
“She’s not a child, Meghan. I’m not going to tell her to take a nap. Good luck.”
Kit’s heart squeezed and then…grew. Grew into something huge. She was continually surprised by this man. And I shouldn’t be. He’s proven so many times that he knows who I am.
And he wants me anyway.
Lennox pursed her lips, but she nodded. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
Kit leaned around Sam to push her face through the open window. “I said, okay. Go and do your job, Detective.”
Reluctantly, Lennox closed the window and followed the LAPD vehicle.
Kit got into Anson’s car, waiting for Sam to slide behind the wheel. She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Smiling a little, Sam waited until Lennox’s taillights had disappeared around a curve. “Where are we going?”
“Back to Kenzo’s neighborhood. We’re going to sit there and wait for Takahashi to leave. Bob will be contacting him soon.”
“I agree.”
One side of Kit’s mouth lifted. “I don’t hate her, Sam. I might not trust her, but I don’t hate her.”
“I might,” Sam admitted. “A little.”
She brushed her fingertips over his cheek. “You always know the perfect thing to say. Now I need to make a call.” She punched in a number on her phone and put it on speaker.
“Kit,” Anson said in a gravelly voice, “are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Sam’s here with me. Where are you?”
“Just finishing in the ER and I’m heading up to the surgical waiting room to wait for news about Pop. Are you coming?”
“As soon as I have Akiko.”
He made a sound that hurt her heart. “Kit. I’m sorry. I should have…”
“Anson, stop.” She softened her tone. “You didn’t do anything wrong.
Your house has amazing security. But Bob is Takahashi’s VP of security, so he’s good, too.
Maybe we should have anticipated something like this, but we didn’t.
Listen, Lennox is about to tell Navarro that I’m on my way to the hospital. ”
“But you’re not,” Anson said. “Did she dump you?”
“She tried,” Kit said. “She’s going to talk to Joe. We’re going to be waiting outside Kenzo’s house because I know Bob will be contacting him soon. So when I don’t show up for Pop in the next forty-five minutes, don’t go thinking that I’m dead.”
“I wouldn’t anyway. I’d be there to back you up if I could.”
“I know. Take care of Pop. Tell him I love him, okay?”
“He knows, Kit. He knows.”
She swallowed hard. “Tell him anyway.”
“You know I will. Sam? Make sure she stays alive.”
“I always do,” Sam said.
Kit gave him a look that she hoped expressed everything in her heart. “He really does. I’ll text you with updates.”
“Wait. Did you call Mom?”
Kit’s face fell. “I did. Sam’s parents were with her and so was Baz, so she’s not alone. She’ll hold up, for the girls if for nothing else.”
“That’s good. Go now. Bring Akiko home.”
Kit nodded, feeling grim. “I will.”
She was not losing another sister.