Ren's Redemption

by E A Hunt

  The Four (Book Three)

  Ren’s Redemption

  By EA Hunt

  Copyright © 2019 by EA Hunt

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

  Dedication:

  Love is like the wind, you can’t see it, but you can feel it.

  愛は風のよう、あなたはそれを見ることはできませんが、それを感じることができます。

  ai wa kaze no yō, anata wa sore o miru koto wa dekimasen ga, sore o kanjiru koto ga dekimasu.

  Chapter One

  Soft pink and white rose petals floated through the air before him as Ren Tsao watched one of his closest friends draw his wife into his arms and place a passionate kiss on her lips before allowing her to pull away. The couple made their way down the path created by the guests who were attending their vow renewal. Ren placed a smile on his face as he waited for them before reaching into the bag, that had been handed to him as he walked out of the house; gathering more petals in his hand and releasing them onto the couple. Bram and Sara looked so happy, which they should be after all they’ve had been through. Married two years, but not together because of others. Ren wouldn’t have blamed Bram if he’d given up his role in the Mafia Shqiptare (Albanian Mafia) and taken his family and disappeared. But he hadn’t. No, he’d chosen only to place more security on his wife, who had granted her permission with a little frustration, and continued with his life in the Mafia Shqiptare as a member of The Four.

  Ren gave a little nod to his friend as he and Sara passed, heading towards the waiting black SUV that would take the loving couple on their much awaited, and needed, honey ... well, family moon since their newborn daughter, Luriana Sariah, would be going with them. While Bram was away on the family’s private island for a few days, Ren and the other members of The Four would be running his portion of Chicago. Like it needed any of their instructions! Especially after the message Bram and Sara had sent by eliminating Bram’s psychotic ex-fiancée and her family. Now, no one would go against the man or the Mafia Shqiptare’s newest Queen.

  Watching as the happy family plus five heavily armed men got into the SUV Ren was about to turn and head home when the cloud of petals dispersed, and she was presented to him. “No,” he breathed, it wasn’t possible. His Audra wasn’t standing merely five feet from him in an off-white wrap around knee-length dress. Her once long dark caramel colored hair now cut into a short curly bob while her light caramel skin - sign of her mixed heritage - glowed with health and beauty. What was she doing here? Why was he seeing her? Had he hit his head the other day in the training room and not realized it? Or was he sleep deprived and seeing the ghost the of the woman he’d long thought taken from this Earth? Stepping around the person who was before him, Ren walked slowly toward the vision of his Audra. This shouldn’t be possible. He’d seen her autopsy photo.

  Coming closer to the vision, Ren could remember that night as if he’d just lived it. Riding the elevator to her floor at the International Student Housing in Japan, he’d been eager to see Audra again, after having left earlier for a business meeting with his Grandfather; before he passed, his Uncle and Cousin. He’d been carrying a cherry blossom sapling with her engagement ring tied to the roots. ‘We will grow together like this blossom’ had been engraved on the inside of her ring. They’d been together for six months and he knew he needed her by his side forever. As he’d arrived on her floor, he’d seen the police, the white police tape, and the bloodied gauze lying on the hallway floor. He demanded answers of the first policemen he’d seen. They’d been ready to refuse until he’d told the police who he was. Being the grandson of Ichiro - Toshi Tsao, the head of the Japanese Yakuza, had got him the answers he demanded but did not want. His woman. His Hana (blossom in Japanese) had been shot three times and wasn’t expected to make it.

  Racing from the building, he’d gotten into the back of his waiting car and headed towards the hospital. Once he’d arrived, the US Consulate Representative had informed him Audra had passed and that he, Ren, should leave.

  Since that day, five years ago, he’d only gone through the motions of life. Well, his personal life. His professional life was better than could have been expected. His family - and that included The Four - was expanding, but while his friends were taking wives, he hadn’t seen fit to seek one. His father had been silently hoping for him to marry to carry on the Tsao legacy but the only woman he wanted had been taken… or so he thought – if not for the fact that Seamus’ wife, Nelle, was speaking to her right now. Touching her. Giving life to what he had assumed was just a dream.

  “I would love nothing better than to design a room for you Mrs…”

  “Call me Nelle,” Cornelia ‘Nelle’ McTavish told the beautiful woman before her. Nelle had been eager to speak with Audra since she’d found out she was pregnant. She’d only held off because of Sara’s wedding. This joyous day was for her closest friend. Her talk with Audra could wait until Sara and her family were off on their family moon.

  “Nelle,” Audra replied, smiling at woman before her. Since Audra had done Sara Tartakov’s nursery she had become the go-to interior designer for many of the people Bram and Sara knew. Audra was happy for the work since her firm was new and didn’t have many clients. Listening to Nelle’s ideas about colors for the nursery, Audra could see in her mind’s eye, several different designs she could show the woman before her.

  “Nelle,” she started, wanting the woman to calm down a little. Nelle was as excited about her nursery as Sara had been about hers. “I think I have an idea or three about what you would like. If you want to come by my office at the end of the week, I can have some sketches drawn up for you.”

  Nelle clapped happily, “Thank you Audra. I -” She stopped for a moment, before starting again. “I know I’ve been babbling but I’m so excited about this and after everything…” she trailed off, shaking her head. Audra didn’t know what Nelle had been through and this was not the place to talk about her little misadventure. Today was a day of happiness not despair.

  “It’s your first pregnancy?” Audra surmised. She could understand, she’d been just as excited when she’d found out about her son, Iain. She smiled, thinking about her little Iain. He was always getting into trouble. Or doing something which could possibly get him harmed but he was a little boy and little boys like to explore, even when their Mommas thought it was a bad idea.

  “Yes,” Nelle sighed as she placed a loving hand on her stomach. “I just want everything to go well with this,” she replied.

  “Everything will be fine,” Audra assured her, hoping she wasn’t giving this woman false hope. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew Sara and Nelle weren’t your average clients, but they were still people and they deserved to be treated as such.

  “Thank you,” Nelle waved her hand. “Now back to me and my rambling ideas. If it’s alright can we meet at the Irish Maiden?” Most people would stay away from the place they’d been kidnapped from, but not her. The Irish Maiden was family owned and operated and had doubled their security since her little disappearing act.

  Audra was happy to agree since she could use the meeting as a business lunch. “That’s not an issue. We can meet there, say this Friday?”

  She would already be in the area checking out a venue for her son’s fifth birthday. It was a special time in Japanese culture – a culture that her son was half of. He was leaving babyhood behind and becoming a child. In Japan, this was celebrated with a big party - one she wanted to make special for Iain.

  “Friday would be great!” Nelle informed her. It would gi
ve her a chance to tell Seamus, who didn’t like letting Nelle out of his sight, that she was going to the Irish Maiden to meet with the same interior designer Sara had used.

  “Then Friday it is,” Audra reached into her clutch and pulled out a card. “If you need to change plans or locations, please let me know,” she said, handing her the card.

  Nelle took the woman’s card - it was light pink with cherry blossoms floating down the left side and quite beautiful. ‘Audra and Iain’ it read in raised dark red lettering. “This is a really beautiful card,” she remarked, looking at Audra.

  “Thank you,” Audra replied. She’d been going through several designs when her overly smart son - called a genius by his school – his genius classification had resulted in him attending a private school, taking first grade classes in the afternoon and preschool classes in the morning, had come to her and changed the design to the one Nelle held her hand now. People often marveled at the designs and complimented her. Normally she would tell them that her four-year-old had done it, but for some reason she kept the information to herself this time.

  “No, thank you!” Nelle replied with a sniffle - she hated these hormones. “You probably think I’m silly for wanting to plan a nursery when I’m only a few months along.”

  “There is nothing wrong with starting your nesting early,” Audra replied as she placed a hand on Nelle’s arm. “You want your baby to come home to a warm and happy place.” She knew that’s what she herself had wanted though hadn’t gotten. Her parents had not been happy with the fact that she’d got pregnant while in Japan and, when Iain was born, they hadn’t been any happier. She couldn’t understand why - her mother was African American and her Father was French Canadian. Two of the most unlikely couplings. However, they’d had an issue with her son being half Japanese. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” Audra assured the woman before her.

  “Why are you crying?”

  Both women turned at the sound of the pissed voice.

  “Why is my wife crying?” Seamus McTavish demanded of the woman standing before them. He’d seen Sara speaking with her briefly at the reception. This woman hadn’t seemed like she was a threat but the fact she had Nelle crying had him thinking otherwise. He would hate to kill someone on Bram’s wedding day, but no one made his wife cry.

  “She’s worried about the baby’s room not being beautiful,” Audra told the man before her. She knew his possessive type - had been in love with his type at one point. Audra pushed thoughts of Ren from her mind. She needed to focus on her newest client. Not ghosts of the past.

  “Love,” Seamus said, instantly changing his tone, and wrapping his arms around his wife. “It’s going to be beautiful. Not as beautiful as the woman carrying my child or as beautiful as the child itself, but we will get it as close to third as we can,” he said, kissing her temple. Nelle was nervous about being a mother he knew, but he was going to make this as smooth a pregnancy and he possibly could. He looked at the woman before him and mouthed ‘Thank you,’ realizing now she’d been comforting his Nelle.

  ‘Welcome,’ Audra mouthed to the adorable couple before her. She was going to love working for them just as much as she loved working for Bram and Sara. “If you two will excuse me,” she murmured, as if they were paying her any attention.

  Nelle was nestled into her husband’s side and Seamus was whispering something which had his wife smiling and looking at him lovingly. Giving the couple one last longing look, Audra turned and headed back towards the house, wondering if there was some cake left. She’d promised Iain she’d bring some home with her.

  She was about to step into the house when movement to her left caught her eye. She would have paid it no attention but whatever was moving, was moving fast and in her direction. Pretending to investigate something in her purse, Audra glanced at what was moving towards her. “How?” She breathed seeing Ren moving a little faster. She needed to get out of here. He couldn’t catch her.

  Pulling her phone from her clutch, she pretended she was on a call before turning and heading away from the house. Seeking shelter in group after group of people gathered on the lawn, she kept watch of Ren. He couldn’t locate her exact position. Good. Stopping beside a group of men talking, she stood to the side of one hoping his width would hide her completely from Ren.

  “Can I catch a ride with you?”

  Audra cringed when the man she was hiding behind agreed with the man he was talking to, before turning and heading towards the valet. She turned with them, trying to keep up but finding it difficult because they were moving so fast.

  “Audra!”

  “No,” she breathed walking a little faster. She could not let him catch her. There was no way she could let him catch her. Seeing her car not far from her, she rushed over to the valet box, snagged her keys, and ran towards her car grateful it wasn’t blocked in. Hopping in, she started the engine and was just pulling out when the banging started on her passenger window.

  “Audra! Hana!”

  She kept her eyes forward, pushing harder on the gas pedal. The gates to the estate were open - if she could just get to them, she could leave this place and hopefully not see Ren Tsao ever again.

  Hitting the top of the speeding car before it ran him over, Ren cursed. It was her! She’d been real and she’d run from him. Why had his Hana run from him? She’d never run from him before, not even when she learned who he was. So why was she running now? Pulling his phone from his pocket, Ren dialed the tech guy The Four used. “I need an address,” he said without preamble. He rattled off Audra’s license plate number. He was going to find out why Audra had run from him. Why she’d allowed him to think she was dead for the last five years. And, if her body language was any indication, why she seemed to fear him. Ren slipped into the back of his waiting SUV. Audra had a lot of explaining to do.

  Chapter Two

  “Are you sleeping?”

  Kenzi’s whining and slightly slurred voice pulled Ren from his day dream of Audra. It was a day dream he hadn’t had in years, one which had started recurring after seeing her two days earlier. Ignoring his sister, he walked into the office he’d inherited from his father on their estate, his daydream still fresh in his mind. In it, Audra was dressed in a traditional Japanese wedding kimono. It was a beautiful red silk adorned with white cherry blossom branches with light pink blossoms running through the billowing sleeves along with a sash that had a hint of white that helped pronounce her luscious curves. She was barefoot and lovely as she stood in the middle of a grove of cherry blossom tress whose blooms were falling at the feet of the most beautiful bride he’d ever seen. Audra had been a vision. A vision that was all his.

  “Ren, are you going to answer me?”

  “No,” he answered his sister. He wasn’t in the mood to hear anything Kenzi had to say, especially when she was coming off whatever bender she’d just been on. He hadn’t seen hide nor hare of the woman in four days.

  “No?” Kenzi questioned. “Ren you were standing in the middle of the foyer looking in a daze like you were sleeping.” She’d seen her brother pull this move before. His eyes would be open, but he was sleeping. It was an intimidation tactic according to Ren. To her, it was just creepy.

  “I was not sleeping,” Ren told her as he walked around his desk and unlocked his computer. He’d been on his way to his office when one of his men had come in. The wind had carried a sweet smell in with it and he’d been transported to his day dream. To his Audra. Whom he still didn’t have an address for. He could call Bram and get it but what kind of friend would he be if he called the man two days into his honeymoon?

  “Whatever,” Kenzi replied, plopping down in a chair before her brother’s desk. “How was the wedding?” she asked like she cared. She’d been banned from the wedding, though she and Bram had been friends since they were kids.

  “Beautiful,” Ren replied, opening his emails. His tech guy should have gotten back to him by now with the information he requested. He knew The Four kept
the man busy but finding Audra was just as important as anything they had him working on.

  “Just beautiful?” Kenzi questioned with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not going to tell me what the gold-digging hussy was wearing?” She shifted, placing one leg over the other. She wanted to know if the woman was as tacky as she thought she was.

  Ren was not in the mood for his sister’s assessment of Sara Tartakov. From everything he’d seen of the woman, she was Bram’s perfect match. “I’m not someone who knows about fashion Kenzi,” he replied as he opened another email and scanned its contents.

  “Neither is she. She’s been up and down Lake Shore spending all Bram’s money on herself and that brat of hers. I’m still not even sure the brat she popped out and the one who died were even Bram’s. If Auntie was alive she’d have demanded a DNA test.”

  No, she wouldn’t have, Ren thought. His Aunt Luriana had always wanted grandchildren from her only child. Any child Bram would have claimed, whether it was his own or another’s, she would have welcomed with open arms. Plus, nothing about Sara spoke of deception. She was a sweet woman who loved her husband and took none of his over protectiveness to heart. “Kenzi, I’m sure Auntie would have loved any children Bram would have given her.”

  “That’s what I’m saying Ren. You didn’t see that woman at Isadora’s engagement party or the funeral,” she sneered. “She was acting all innocent at the party and regal at the funeral. Both were an act to keep her claws in Bram.”

  Kenzi shook her head and continued, “Bram should have divorced her or had the marriage annulled and married Isadore, who actually is regal and innocent, like he was supposed to.”

  Finishing an email about a shipment, Ren wanted to tell his sister Isadore hadn’t been the right woman for Bram and they all knew it but he refrained. Isadore had played sweet and innocent, she was completely insane - and the fact that she’d tried to kill Bram and Sara while also killing their unborn son seemed to slip Kenzi’s mind every time she would rant about the woman.