CHAPTER ONE
Ren Ikeda
“Thank you for dinner, Dante.”Rainn handed me my coat, a small grin adorning his face. He was a beautiful man, a good soul. Maybe too good for this cruel world. He’d shown great courage in the face of true evil when it came to Joseph Etienne.
Having been kidnapped and almost raped simply because he fell in love with Dante Scavo, the head of the Italian mob, didn’t diminish his shine one bit. If anything, it made it brighter.
“My pleasure. But, Ren, I have to ask you again if you’d like to stay here in this house. It’s not going to be safe for any of us right now, and you’re down in numbers.” The concern in Dante’s gaze warmed my heart. I was happy to have my friend again, and it touched me to see how worried he was for me. But my pride was too great.
“No, I will be fine. Asahi is with me, as is Minoto. I may have lost some protection, but I will replenish.” I buttoned my coat and mustered a smile for Dante and Rainn, who seemed to need convincing. “Besides, I’m safer in my penthouse than I am here. There, they have to climb twenty-seven floors in order to get me. Here, just one, maybe two.”
Rainn chuckled. “Please be safe.”
I knew if it hadn’t been for Rainn, Joseph would have killed me the night he’d destroyed my house. But Rainn’s quick thinking in cutting my hand and painting my neck and face in blood made them think I was dead, and that in turn had kept me alive. I would be forever grateful to this man.
“We will meet weekly. Nothing will change. I suggest we keep a united front on this, and perhaps people will think twice before attacking either of us.” Even with my smaller numbers, I believed that.
Dante held the door open for me. “I hope you’re right. But I’d feel better if you took some of my men.”
I’d known this would be his next request. “No, thank you. Let me handle my own house, Dante.”
He nodded curtly and followed me out to my car. Rainn stayed back but waved as soon as I reached the vehicle.
“Ren.” Dante stepped closer, and Asahi got into the passenger seat, giving us some privacy.
“What is it, Dante? I’m not taking any of your men.”
He shook his head and seemed unable to meet my eyes. “I understand. You’re as stubborn as I am, and it’s why I want you to listen to me.”
“Very well, what is it?” I scanned the area closest to the front of the house. A few of Dante’s men milled along the grounds, but far enough to be out of earshot. My men were in the car, also out of earshot.
“We often don’t show our pain to those around us, for fear it exposes us, shows weakness. I understand this deeply. When Rainn was missing, and we knew Joseph had him, that was when I realized I loved him—I’d never felt such terror, such fear over anything in my entire life.”
Was Dante confiding in me as a therapist? Was the worry over Rainn causing him pain even with him being home and safe?
“He’s okay, Dante. No one will harm him again.”
He nodded. “I know…I’m fucking this up, Ren.” Now he did meet my gaze, his eyes filled with sorrow and pain. “I know you cared greatly for Yuma, and I’m just here to tell you that if you need someone to talk to…if you need to—”
Oh, absolutely not. I wouldn’t have this at all. “Dante, I wish for you to stop talking.” I was relieved when he snapped his mouth shut. “What Yuma was or wasn’t to me is my own business. While I appreciate what you’re stumbling through to say, I wish the matter to be dropped.” I rapped on the window, and Asahi stepped out. “Have a good night, Dante.”
Asahi opened my door, and I quickly got into the vehicle. To Dante’s credit, he did not try to push the issue, nor did he stop me from leaving.
On the drive to my penthouse, I thought a great deal about what Dante had said, and he was right. I needed more protection. The men I had were loyal and talented. But they were still only a few, and I couldn’t expect them to cover every shadow.
“Asahi?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I’d like you to look into recruiting some people for protection. With everything going on here in Lucifer’s Landing, and this impending war between the Irish and the Greeks, I can’t deny that Dante is right and my numbers need replenishing.”
“Not a problem. I will get right on it. Would you like to meet with each person or—”
“I trust you’ll choose the right people for the job, Asahi.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I leaned back on the headrest and closed my eyes. Dante was also right about my feelings regarding Yuma. I’d loved that man, and while I knew he’d understood my feelings, Yuma had been one hundred percent straight. A memory assaulted me of one night as we’d sat by my koi pond in the backyard. Yuma had been bolder than anyone I knew, and that conversation would always stay fresh in my mind.
“I wish I could love you, Ren, the way I know you love me.”
I turned toward him as he stared at the pond. The moonlight was bright, his every feature in view. I could see the heartbreak not loving me was causing him.
“Love is as evil as it is kind, Yuma. I wish I hated you. It would make everything so much easier.”
“I wish you hated me too.”
Before that moment, I’d never verbalized my feelings to Yuma, but clearly, I’d been more transparent than I’d thought. Yuma had been my number one, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that he’d seen right through me and picked up on every little thing. Through the years my love for Yuma had changed…morphed into a strong respect. He’d died for me, and while I missed him terribly, I had put to rest any chance of him being my partner long ago.
“We’re here, sir,” Asahi said, interrupting my melancholy. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, fine, just tired.”
He didn’t say more, and it was something I was grateful to Asahi for. He was never intrusive when it came to feelings or emotions.
Earlier today, knowing I was going to Dante’s, I’d instructed two of my men to stay behind at the penthouse to make sure there were no issues. So, it was just Asahi and me on the elevator up while Minoto secured the car in the garage, and I was grateful he didn’t fill the silence with mindless babble.
The elevator doors opened, and I was assaulted by the sounds of yelling. One glance at Asahi and he stepped in front of me.
“Stay here,” he said, slowly walking in the direction of the noise.
I was a stubborn man, another fact Dante was correct about, and while I knew it would frustrate Asahi, I followed him to see what the commotion was.
“The way I see it is you’re out a hundred grand, and Mr. Ikeda’s house won’t be completed on time.” I heard one of my men speaking sternly.
“How am I out a hundred grand?” I knew that voice. It belonged to Louis Finlay, the contractor I’d hired to finish my house.
“Because he isn’t paying you a dime. Now that I think about it, you’re out two hundred grand, ’cause you’re going to fix it out of your own pocket.”
“I can’t do that!” Louis sounded desperate, and I decided it was the perfect time to make my presence known.
“Good evening, Mr. Finlay.” I darted a look at Asahi, who wasn’t too happy I’d left the elevator.
“Mr. Ikeda.”
“I’m going to venture a guess and say there’s an issue with my home?” I divested myself of my jacket and handed it to Loni, my housekeeper.
“It was a wiring issue, Mr. Ikeda.”
One of my guys, Eiko, rolled his eyes. “It was a guy you personally chose, Louis, to wire the house. And what happened after he was halfway done?”
I turned to Louis, awaiting his answer.
“He disappeared, and the lighting sparked, setting the wall on fire.” Louis practically mumbled his response, but I knew what I was hearing. The house wasn’t close to being done and now this setback.
“This is quite disappointing, Louis.” I slipped my shoes off.
“I’d worked with him before, and there’d never been an issue. I think something happened or—”
“Be silent.” I held up a hand. “I want my home back, and I will pay to finish it. However, Satoshi is correct. You will be on the hook for the payment.”
“Mr. Ikeda…I…I can’t afford that.” Beads of sweat were forming on Louis’s forehead, and his lips quivered.
“Louis.” I sat on my couch, enjoying the soft leather and calming feel of the cushion as it hugged my body. “You will owe me, not whomever you hire to do the job. If you select someone and they fail, you are accountable.”
Louis’s eyes widened. I was positive owing a crime boss was far more frightening than owing a plumber or electrician. There was no question he was in a bad spot.
“How am I going to do that?” His voice shook, and I knew if he didn’t sit soon, he’d likely collapse.
“Satoshi, please get Louis a chair.” Satoshi grabbed a stool from the kitchen and slammed it next to Louis, who jumped. “Sit.” I gestured to the chair. “In a lot of instances, people who owe me don’t always have cash, so tell me something you have that might be lucrative to me.”
As the Old English proverb said, “You can’t get blood out of a stone,” so I’d be sure to get payment another way from Louis.
“Like trinkets, a house, some sort of collateral?” Louis was talking to me, but his gaze darted all around the room, looking at my men and me.
“Loni, would you get Louis a glass of water?” I took a breath and met Louis’s very terrified expression. “Relax, please. I’m not going to kill you. But I’m also not going to sweep this under the rug. Do you understand?”
He nodded quickly.
“Collateral works with banks, Louis. It’s something they hold in case you don’t pay. You’ve already told me you can’t pay. So what will you give me that equals the amount owed?”
Loni came in and handed Louis a tall glass of water, which he took with unsteady hands. “Thank you,” he whispered. Loni said nothing and left the room. Louis sipped the water, his brow furrowed, no doubt thinking about what he had that he could give me.
“Louis?”
My voice caused him to jump, and he spilled water over the front of his shirt. “S…sorry.”
“What do you have that I’m able to use?” I ignored his sputtering and his now-wet shirt, wanting very much for this conversation to end so I could go to sleep.
“I…I don’t know, Mr. Ikeda, I need to think.”
I nodded. It was a fair request. “Very well. You have forty-eight hours to come up with something. Eiko will retrieve you then and bring you to me.”
“And if I don’t have anything?”
It was a dangerous question to ask because I knew Louis understood what not paying a crime boss meant.
“Let’s hope you are a clever man and can think something up.” I stood, the soreness in my back reminding me of the stress that was my life making itself known. “Asahi will see you out.”
Louis muttered his thanks, but I was already walking down the hallway, toward my bedroom. I was exhausted, constantly putting on a front that said I was aware, powerful, and always ready, only lasted so long. I’d reached my quota for the day.
“Sir?”
I was about to undress when Eiko came to the doorway.
“What is it, Eiko?”
“Someone should watch Louis, in case he runs.” I nodded in agreement, unsure who I had to spare for such a task. “I can do it, sir. But what if he does try?”
I sat on my bed, exhaustion finally winning out. “If Louis tries to run, he makes his payment with his life.”
“Kill him?”
“Yes.”
