“How will that change anything? Kai won’t obey her. Once we’re back in Vancouver, he’ll ditch them again.”
The druid cracked an eye open. “You aren’t familiar with the Yamadas, are you?”
“You know that already.”
“I thought you might’ve learned something while I was gone. The oyabun doesn’t need to make obvious threats. Kai knows what’ll happen if he disobeys. See?”
He tilted his head and I looked in that direction. Makiko was gliding down the main building’s front steps, and she’d replaced her kimono with skintight leather pants and a sleeveless black top, its collar snugged tight around her throat. A thick belt circled her narrow hips, and two odd silver rods hung from it, swinging with her steps.
Kai followed her, carrying two suitcases, and I could only assume they belonged to Makiko.
My hands curled into fists, but I choked back my fury. I needed to keep it together—at least until I could get Kai alone and find out how much we should be panicking.
He glanced at me, and the warning in his tight expression reinforced my restraint. Setting the suitcases down, he opened the hatch on the SUV and loaded his fiancée’s luggage into the back.
“Kaisuke, ride with me,” Makiko ordered. “Your friends can take the other vehicle.”
Kai shut the hatch with a bang. “Hai, Miura-sama.”
“English, Kaisuke. The oyabun doesn’t deem you worthy of Japanese.”
“Yes, Miura-sama.”
She cast an icy stare at the nearby men, as though daring them to comment—and it was a good thing she was looking elsewhere, because Zak had to grab my arm as I lunged for her. Breathing hard through my nose, I let Zak pull me toward the second vehicle.
Kai stood obediently beside Makiko as she gave instructions to the driver. Slim Japanese men surrounded them, some in suits and some in traditional clothing, and I was struck hard by how much Kai stood out. Taller than any of them, his complexion far more Caucasian than Japanese, and his features such a unique blend of his two heritages that he didn’t closely resemble either.
I slung his backpack off my shoulders. I’d been carrying it around since we’d left the precinct, and Makiko must’ve assumed it was mine. Otherwise, I was betting she would’ve confiscated it, snooped through his things, then thrown it all in the garbage, just to make Kai feel worse. Setting the backpack on the floor in front of my seat, I climbed into the vehicle.
Zak shut my door, though not out of chivalry; he was making sure I couldn’t punch Makiko. He circled around the SUV and settled into the seat beside me.
“What were you saying?” I demanded as soon as he’d closed his door. “About Kai having to obey that woman?”
“Think about it, Tori. You don’t need me to explain.”
My stomach turned to a hard, sick lump. “If he doesn’t do what she says, she’ll tell his grandfather. And his grandfather will …”
He would threaten the people Kai loved, the same way his family had threatened to kill Izzah when she and Kai first dated. Except … what had his grandfather said? Do not test my mercy again. That almost sounded like—
“It wouldn’t be the first time the Yamadas have assassinated a family member who became a liability,” Zak murmured.
I stared out the window, horror rolling through me as Kai got into the SUV. Two men headed toward our vehicle—the driver and a spare goon.
“Frankly,” he added, “I’m surprised they let him off the hook for this long. Maybe his friendship with Aaron played a role in that. The Sinclairs are powerful enough to inconvenience the Yamadas.”
“You sound really choked up about this,” I growled.
He leaned back in his seat. “Kai knew this was coming. You can never truly leave a family like this one.”
“Yeah, but—”
“He’s alive.” His sharp stare pinned me in place. “There are far worse things, and far worse people to control your life.”
That flat, frozen hatred burned in his eyes again, and my heart drummed in my throat, a voice in the back of my head whimpering fearfully.
The driver’s door opened, saving me from answering. The goons got in, started the engine, and pulled behind the other SUV as it drove through the front gate. I could just make out the shadow of Kai’s head through the tinted window.
Far worse things … but that didn’t mean this wasn’t Kai’s worst nightmare.
Chapter Eight
I was back on a plane—or more accurately, a jet. And it was a whole different beast from the one we’d flown on this morning.
The sofa—yes, sofa—I was slouched on was upholstered in supple white leather. The ceiling was a smooth arch paneled with more leather and gentle yellow lights, uncluttered by overhead compartments. To my left, four plush armchairs sat around a floating tabletop attached to the wall. Across from me was another sofa, and on my right was an elegant little bar, wine glasses clinking gently with the occasional rumble of turbulence. I was pretty sure I’d glimpsed a full bedroom at the back, partially obscured by a privacy partition.
This was one of the Yamadas’ private jets, and we were on a direct flight back to Vancouver.
Kai and Makiko sat on the sofa across from me and Zak. She held a slim, shiny tablet, a small crease of concentration between her brows and her thin legs crossed at the knee.
“A lot has changed since you left,” she murmured, her quiet tone a stark contrast to her snapping commands from earlier. “My family has expanded operations significantly in the Vancouver region, and in Seattle as well. Our standing with the oyabun has increased proportionately.”
Kai said nothing.
“My father transitioned to semi-retirement four years ago, and I’ve stepped into his role—with his guidance.” She glanced at her fiancé, a hint of hope in her eyes, as though he might praise her accomplishment.
“Yes, Miura-sama,” he said after a moment.
Her lips squeezed together—not angrily, but to suppress her reaction. “If you’d stayed in the family, you would already be head of our Vancouver operations. I can’t place you in a senior role immediately, but we can move you up from a junior position quickly.”
“Yes, Miura-sama.”
She leaned toward him. “If you commit to your role, I think my father would name you his successor in as little as three years.”
My eyebrows rose. Wasn’t she the current successor? Why did it sound like she wanted Kai to usurp her position?
“Yes, Miura-sama,” he repeated.
Makiko’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her tablet. She opened her mouth—then glanced at me and Zak. She coughed delicately and tapped on her screen.
“For now, you can shadow me and get reacquainted with everything,” she went on, her tone cool and businesslike. “With the preparations we’re making, my schedule will be hectic. Are you aware of the recent developments following Red Rum’s withdrawal?”
A flicker in his expressionless face, but he said nothing.
I, unfortunately, did not have Kai’s impulse control. “Do you mean the lack of crime? Did you give all your thugs a holiday or something?”
She scoffed, annoyed that I’d responded instead of Kai. “We haven’t altered our operations. We drove out the last dregs of Red Rum at the end of December, and with the disappearance of the Ghost, it’s grown unusually quiet.”
Zak, who’d so far been trying to nap upright in his seat, cracked his green eyes open.
“The Ghost?” I repeated warily. “What does he have to do with anything?”
“His habit of inconveniencing larger organizations gave other lone wolves the idea that they could defy us, but without him, they’ve tucked their tails between their legs. Either way, he isn’t a concern anymore—or won’t be shortly.”
All-too-familiar dread rekindled in my gut. “Meaning what?”
“I suppose you haven’t seen the update.” She tapped on her tablet, then handed it to Kai.
He read something on the s
creen, his eyes zipping back and forth. A muscle jumped in his cheek, his posture rigid. He held the tablet out to me.
I could feel Zak’s attention as I took the device. An email from [email protected], sent at 1:36 p.m., waited to be read.
Subject: Vancouver Area Bounty Update for “The Ghost”
Following an anonymous tip, a high-priority bounty for the Vancouver-based rogue known as the Ghost has been updated. To view the additional 178 charges, please see the full bounty listing.
The new bounty sum is $1,220,000, payable upon positive identification.
Please note that the Ghost’s mythic class has been added, pending confirmation:
Di-mythic – Spiritalis, druid; Arcana, alchemist.
This rogue is considered highly dangerous and the bounty is classified as Dead or Alive—proceed with utmost caution. See the listing for more information.
Sincerely,
Susan Manley
Administrative Manager – Bounties
Northern West Coast Region
MPD
My mouth hung open. I blinked as though that might change the words.
“The Ghost has always been too evasive for the MPD to link him to many crimes,” Makiko remarked. “But with a bounty of one-point-two million, he’ll be too busy dodging elite bounty hunters to cause us trouble.”
“One-point-two million?” Zak blurted.
Her eyebrows arched. “Rather impressive, isn’t it? It won’t take long before he’s caught or killed.”
I stared at the email, unable to look away from one line. Di-mythic – Spiritalis, druid; Arcana, alchemist.
How? How could MagiPol know that? Who had told them? Who even knew? The Crow and Hammer team from last summer had figured out he was a druid—while he was abducting me—but with my capture and everything else, they’d never reported it to anyone. And they hadn’t known anything about his Arcana gift.
The mystery of Zak’s class was part of what made his reputation so terrifying—and it protected his identity.
My gaze darted to his bare arms, druid tattoos plainly visible. The email had gone out shortly before we broke into the precinct to rescue him, but the timing had to be a coincidence. No one there had a clue who they’d been holding—though that one group of agents had come rushing downstairs all in a tizzy … yet they hadn’t seemed to be expecting intruders. Had they just seen the alert and been on their way to check out their mysterious druid captive?
I hastily handed the tablet back to Makiko, not wanting Zak to glimpse the email. His reaction to the unveiling of his class wouldn’t be pretty.
Makiko’s attention slid between me and the druid in a way that made me distinctly nervous, then she turned back to Kai. “Do you have a preference between a room at my father’s house, or a private apartment in—”
My temper, stretched thin by too much stress and too little sleep, snapped. “Don’t act like you care about what he wants.”
Kai shot me a “be quiet” glare, which I ignored.
“What’s your plan here, Makiko?” I sneered at her. “You were a complete bitch to him back in LA.”
“You have nothing to do with this.” She set her tablet on the seat beside her. “And the moment we land, you’ll have nothing more to do with Kaisuke. Ever.”
I lunged off my seat, but Zak yanked me back down. I almost jumped up again, so strong was my desire to shove her out a tiny airplane window and wave goodbye as she fell thirty thousand feet.
“Tori,” Kai said quietly, “this isn’t the time.”
“Why not? We’ve got nothing else to do.” My hands balled into fists, fingernails cutting into my palms. “Let’s chat about how she thinks she can treat you like her damn servant and—”
“Tori,” he snapped. “Drop it.”
My teeth clacked together. I glowered at him from across the aisle. “How can you expect me to sit here and pretend nothing is wrong?”
“Wrong?” Makiko placed a hand on Kai’s arm. “This is where he belongs.”
My vision went red. I was vaguely aware of Zak gripping my shoulder, holding me in place. “What do you know about where he belongs? You don’t know a damn thing about him!”
“What do you know?” she shot back, her face hardening. “I bet Kaisuke has never told you a thing about his life outside that ridiculous guild. Did he tell you he grew up with my family? That I was his best friend—his only friend—for his entire childhood?”
My fury sputtered like a flame in the wind. Suddenly uncertain, I looked between her and Kai.
“I was one year old when I was betrothed to Kaisuke. My father risked our family’s reputation to unite our bloodline with the oyabun’s hâfu grandson.” She turned to Kai, her lips pressed thin. “We welcomed you and your mother. We shielded you. We built you up and supported you when your relatives tried to tear you down.”
Kai’s jaw tightened.
“They hated you.” Her fingers bit into his arm. “But I dedicated everything I had to your success. After all we’d been through, after all I’d done—and all my family had done—you still ran away without a single word or even a goodbye.”
Her voice broke on the last word, a tremor vibrating her small frame. Shoving off the sofa, she strode to the cabin partition and stopped.
She didn’t look back, her voice steady but her shoulders quivering. “But you can’t ignore me or your proper place in the family any longer. Say your goodbyes to your friends now, because they don’t belong in your life anymore. They never did.”
She disappeared into the bedroom at the back, and the door thudded shut.
Kai let out a slow breath, the same tremor in his exhalation as Makiko had tried to hide. Pushing off the sofa, I crossed the aisle, dropped down beside him, and curled up against his side, hugging his arm to my body.
“She’s letting me off too easy,” he whispered.
“Because you left your family?”
“Because I ran away like a coward. I didn’t even have the courage to tell her I was leaving, and I’ve been running from her and them and everything ever since.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Or maybe it took all you had to leave.”
His fingers tightened around mine.
Zak watched us, his gaze shadowed. Kicking his boots off, he laid across the sofa and pillowed his head on a cushion.
“Sometimes,” he murmured, eyes closing, “the only way to keep moving forward is to never look back.”
Kai breathed deeply to steady himself. I relaxed against his side, exhaustion weighing me down. My stamina had run out several crises ago, and Kai was pale and hollow-eyed. Zak didn’t look much better. He put his arm over his face to block out the light.
I stifled a yawn. “So … what’s the plan when we arrive in Vancouver?”
Kai looked down at our linked fingers. “For now, I do whatever Makiko says.”
My stomach twisted with anxious denial, but I didn’t argue. There’d be time for arguing, after I got in an emergency meeting with Aaron and Ezra.
“You have more urgent concerns,” Kai added, lowering his voice. “As long as Shane Davila is in town, you’ll need to watch your steps carefully.”
Zak lifted his arm enough to peer at us. “Shane Davila? The bounty hunter?”
A rustle from the other side of the archway drew my attention. I glimpsed the sleeve of a uniformed flight attendant peeking out from behind the divider and cleared my throat.
“Did you hear how Shane is in Vancouver because he thinks he has a strong lead on the Ghost?” I asked airily. “He even came to the Crow and Hammer, asking weird questions about last summer. But I was on vacation in the mountains, remember?”
Zak dropped his arm to his side, head turning toward me, scary intensity gathering in his green eyes.
“I remember that,” Kai replied, as casual as me. “You had a nice trip, didn’t you?”
“It was great,” I lied. “Shane mentioned going to the mountains too. He brought back
a souvenir from the same place I visited.”
Zak’s eyes widened.
“Now he’s hanging around Vancouver,” Kai murmured. “I bet he’s watching things very closely.”
“Especially with that MPD update. It said …” Swallowing nervously, I shot Zak a warning look. “An anonymous tip identified the Ghost as a di-mythic druid and alchemist.”
I expected him to shoot up in horrified disbelief, but instead, he went eerily still. His eyes lost focus, his expression blanking and his breathing slowing. The only sign of his tension was the abrupt clenching of his fists.
“I don’t know how they found out,” I mumbled. “Who could have told them?”
Zak’s gaze snapped to Kai. He mouthed a silent word: mages.
“No way! They didn’t!”
Kai’s hand squeezed mine and I bit my tongue. Teeth gritted, I glared at Zak. Aaron, Ezra, and Kai knew Zak was a druid alchemist but they would never report that to the MPD—not even anonymously.
Zak met my glower, then closed his eyes, covered his face with his arm, and said nothing more.
Chapter Nine
It was almost eleven p.m. by the time the black sedan parked at the curb, mature trees lining the opposite side of the familiar residential street. The pavement shone from recent rainfall, reflecting the cheery glow from the windows of Aaron’s cute cottage-style house.
Slumped in the backseat between Kai and Zak, I dredged up remnants of energy from a deeply buried reservoir. Between Lallakai’s surprise visit, two flights, a rescue mission, a vine-monster attack, an abduction, a family reunion, and an MPD bombshell, I didn’t have much gas left in the tank. Napping through most of the flight home hadn’t really helped.
Kai pushed his door open. A damp, wintry breeze blew across me, chilling my neck above the collar of my leather jacket. The rest of my gear was in the backpack at my feet.
Druid Vices and a Vodka: The Guild Codex: Spellbound / Six Page 8