Whiskey's Redemption (Crown and Anchor)

by Kerri Ann

  “Are you going to talk to me now that I’ve called from halfway around the world or what?”

  “Sorry, Carli. Or should I say, Kaori?”

  Fuck. “Damn, Crown can’t keep his mouth shut.”

  “You’re right, but wrong, Crown. Wyatt told me after Jamieson and him had an extensive conversation about you and him.”

  “So he spilled the beans, just not to you. Still the same thing, Circe.”

  “Yeah, well, I threatened his Jell-O supply, so I guess it was my female persuasion techniques that made it happen.” Pausing, I hear them arguing about Jell-O again. Jesus Christ, enough with the fucking Jell-O! “So how’s Osaka? Things quiet or what?”

  “Yeah, meetings. Loads of boring, annoying, disenchanting and dry meetings. It’s pretty here, though. You’d love that.”

  “Yeah. I’d love it more if we were there together checking it out and you weren’t a kidnap victim.”

  “You and me both. I miss LA.”

  “Yeah.” Changing gears, her voice turns sweet and sugary. “Have you talked to him?”

  She’s fishing, using my own tactics against me. I’m so proud of my little Circe. All grown up.

  I’m trying to avoid it. Him. All of him. “Who?” The memory of him has caused me enough trouble in the past few weeks. Like I need to talk to him. Like I need more wet dreams that are unfulfilling and dull in comparison.

  “Of course I mean Jamieson.”

  “You didn’t mean my gay / straight boss Chris? ’Cause no, I called you first. You’re more important than that male hooker.”

  “Wrong male slut, Carli. I meant the other one. Have you called him? Or was I the lucky contestant to get first chance at Jeopardy?”

  “Funny. Your humor hasn’t increased any. And your tact has definitely decreased. I see the directness of your racer is wearing on your ability to bite your tongue.” With more wrestling on the line, and pouting shouts, I have the feeling Circe finally lost.

  “Oh, she bites her tongue plenty. She bites other things—”

  I yell into the phone, cutting him off. “Oh! That’s enough, Casper Crown! Don’t give me a visual of you two.” Crossing my arm over my head to close out the light, I’m trying to remove the idea of my friend biting any part of Wyatt, ever-loving sexy Casper Crown. Since meeting Circe, his Siren, Wyatt’s become lighter, and joking is a part of that. His brother, on the other hand, is the dark, serious brute.

  It’s bad enough mine has been put on the back burner. I can’t be thinking about her sex life. And Jamieson has the starring role in my singlehanded ministrations.

  “Did you call Jamieson, Carli?” Wyatt laughs into the receiver. “Have you been video fucking at least?”

  “No. Sorry, Cas. I don’t mean to wreck your vision of a double wedding, but Jamieson and I had a fling, nothing more.” Liar. I haven’t quit thinking about him.

  In my defense, I haven’t had anyone else to envision. His deep, throaty voice, body built for sin, and my vivid imagination of what else we could have gotten up to if Kato hadn’t shown up, keeps me busy.

  “Circe misses you. You should come home. You’d see the progress she’s made. I’m hoping we’re out of here in a week or so.” You can hear the happiness in his voice, but there’s still the other shoe to drop. With Wyatt and his bipolar condition, there’s always the other shoe. Circe helps to regulate him, his moods, and reminding him that the drugs are necessary, but there’s always a chance for a fall.

  “Wyatt, that’s great,” I tell him.

  “Yeah. I’m itchin’ to get out of here. I need to touch metal. I’m going stir crazy now that I can walk again.”

  Reaching over, grabbing my drink, I take a huge gulp of the cool liquid. The only thing I’ve kept down are crackers and soda water to quench the thirst.

  Against my better judgement, without overthinking it, I ask the question I probably shouldn’t. “So, um…how is he?”

  Silence.

  “Hello? Earth to Casper.”

  “Why don’t you call him and find out?” If I was on FaceTime, I don’t think his smile would fit in the screen.

  “Why don’t you tell me before I send ninjas to invade your room while you sleep? You’ll wake with pink hair, bright blue fingernails, and a tutu, Crown. There will be pictures. I’m still vindictive from afar, remember that.”

  As he laughs, my stomach grumbles. Lifting off the couch quickly, I know the outcome if I don’t. I’ll spew across my living room.

  Holding the phone at a distance, I push the door to the bathroom wide. “Wyatt, can you hang on a second?”

  Setting the phone on mute, I throw up in the porcelain bowl, emptying out nothing of substance. Once I’m done, I release the mute button and apologize. “Sorry. This is awful. I didn’t want to do it in your ear. I hope I hit the button fast enough so you didn’t get a firsthand experience.”

  “How about I put Circe back on. It sounds like you’re kind of busy.” As I wait for him to pass me back to Circe, I rise from the floor and wash up.

  “Carli? You okay? How long have you been sick? Maybe you should get checked out by a doctor. They have clinics there, right?”

  Waving off her concern, I traipse back to the couch, feeling lighter, but worse. “I don’t need to go to the doctor for something as simple as this. You don’t go to the doctor about the flu. You go when you need a checkup, stupid gyno appointments, and when you need your prescriptions refilled. It’s like going for a split nail, for Pete’s sake.”

  “Fine, but do me a favor. If it lasts more than a few days, go get checked.”

  It’s already been a few days. Actually, it’s been a few weeks, off and on, but I figured it was the food arguing every time I tried to take something else other than crackers in. “Yes, Mom. I promise.”

  “Well, Wyatt and I are supposed to have physio appointments soon, so I better go. Don’t be a stranger, Carli. Don’t leave me wondering if you’re okay, got it?”

  “Oh, pulling out the big guns, huh? The ‘I worry about you’ clause.” Rolling my eyes at her is lost on a phone call, so I just answer. “I promise not to leave you worrying.”

  “Good.” I don’t need to look to know that Circe is crying. “Love you, Car. And I miss you so much. Don’t be gone so long again, okay?”

  With tears threatening my eyes, I answer her back. “I promise, love. No more kidnappings. I’ll do my best to call you every week.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.” Hanging up the line, I push the tears away.

  I won’t let my missing her get to me.

  I won’t let it…

  Dammit. Now I’m crying.

  Jamieson

  “Did she tell you she was holding a party?” Wyatt asks, kind of pissed off.

  “Nope. Don’t think she told me she was having a party, Wyatt. Nothing about a party was ever mentioned,” I reply, staring at our little sister. It’s been a little over two months since I’d seen Carli, and I’ve thrown myself into the affairs of Crown to avoid anything that has to do with China’s incarceration. That includes today.

  “China, we need to know about these things. Don’t leave us out of the loop.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she scrunches up her face. China is thoroughly unimpressed with our banter. She’s trying to be mad at us.

  “‘China this, China that. Doll, don’t do it. Doll, you’re not old enough to know the consequences of doing something stupid.’ Don’t you two ever get tired of the same lines? I know I’m damn tired of hearing you both. How about a new conversation? I’m turning twenty-one and I’m having a party. No arguments. Neither of you have a say in this, and I’ll do as I damn well please.”

  Looking at Wyatt, quirking an eyebrow at him, I try to bug her a touch further. “No one is allowed in my room, and no one in Wyatt’s. And if you even think of letting some horny youngsters in our parents’ room, you better be ready to burn the whole place down.”

  “Give me a
break! It’s my house in twenty minutes. Once we sign those papers, I’m the proud owner of the house on the hill. You’ll have no say, boys.” Indignant and annoyed, China has turned a new shade of blue.

  Ignoring her and talking to Wyatt, I try to irk her further. “What you think, Wyatt? Do you think she’s good enough to do this on her own now?” We’ve talked at length about it.

  “Yeah, I think if she can handle us giving her a hard time, she can probably handle the race team. What do you think, Doll?”

  “Sorry? Did I miss something? What are you two talking about?” Good. She’s confused.

  “Well, we talked about it and worked it out without you. Even with your recent fiascos with the law, you’ve held your ground. You did well, and both of us think you’ll do good as the Interim President of Crown Industries. Of course, that’s if you want it until Wyatt is free of the hospital?”

  She’s still utterly confused, so I continue. “Look, Doll. I’m going back to Vale as soon as I can, and we figured you can do Crown Industries’ justice. You up for it?” After that initial conversation with the lawyers, the way they wanted to bend things, how the stockholders wanted to sway things, and our parents’ wishes, Wyatt and I decided it was best to put this in our hands, as a family.

  “Yeah. Jamieson and I worked it out. The lawyers are in for a shock in twenty minutes, but we figured it was best to get the shock factor out of the way with you first.”

  Looking at me, then Wyatt, China’s expression runs the gambit. From shock, surprise, wonder, confusion, and finally, elation.

  Merconda Smith and our team of ex-lawyer vipers left just a few hours ago. That was after we’d told them we were leaving their firm. I bet Ms. Smith’s panties were a smidge fuller than when she walked in. Crown Industries was their law firm’s biggest client, and now we’re Grundy and Smith’s biggest client. We’d had too many variables with Merconda’s firm, too many things they could sway. Now the three of us are equal partners in the family business. We’ll decide how it goes. No one can change things on us again.

  Quieter this time, China smiles wide. “So you want me to run Crown while you get well?”

  “Mom and Dad never saw your potential, sis. We do. We know you can do it well,” Wyatt states, grinning wide.

  Without warning, flying across the room, China wraps Wyatt in a huge bear hug. From here, I hear her crying into his shoulder tears of joy. There was no doubt in our minds when we talked about it. She’s strong, and I know she can do it. Lawyers wanted me, I wanted Wyatt, and they’d overlooked her strengths.

  Jumping up from embracing Wyatt, in seconds, my little sister has me wrapped tight. “Thank you, Whiskey. You two are the best brothers any girl could ask for.”

  “You’ll do great, Doll.” Petting the top of her head, I happily hug her back. Mom may have lost faith in me with Petra, and maybe that’s why I’ve stayed away from China, but I know she’s got this in the bag.

  Pulling back, smiling up at me, I see the same in her as Petra. She’s strong, she takes no shit, and she’ll never let someone tell her it can’t be done. But, before we move on, we have to deal with the final arrangements for our mother’s funeral. She’s been on ice since the accident, and Merconda reminded us we needed to finish her burial.

  “Okay, so the lawyers are going to be here soon. About Mom’s funeral. Do you have any races scheduled right after you lose the ankle monitor and the chaperone?” I ask China.

  “Nope. Nothing will hold me back.”

  “That’s good. Now, the only hitch in a date is you, Wyatt. What about your progress? Are we good to go for the week after China is free and clear?” It’s the end of the week. He’s been doing so well, and so is Circe. I don’t see them needing a further stay.

  “I’d love for someone to try and stop me.”

  .

  Carli

  Speaking in Japanese has become easier and easier over the weeks. My rusty tongue finally decided to go along with the inflections somewhere around the time I stopped throwing up my measly crackers every hour. Kato still haunts me, trailing behind me like a shadow, hoping to stop me from pulling a vibrator out of my bag in public. Surprise on him, I went and bought one of those small toys you have a remote for that stays in your V all day.

  Yep, this girl is happy anytime she wants to be now. And right now, I’m disturbingly in need. Why, you ask? Well it seems being the head of a Yakuza family means ‘offing’ people, deciding warfare against other clans that don’t adhere, and finding ways to get our drugs, girls, and guns through customs. Padding the pockets of officials through all sorts of channels, I would never have thought this would possibly become my new norm.

  And you probably wonder, do I like it? I’m learning diplomacy through baffling. I use Kato as my advisor and leave him to the heavy stuff. That way, when there’s a head to come down on, it ain’t mine. He’s more entrenched in this anyway, and way better at the cutthroat shit. I want nothing to do with it. Does it make me weak? No. A master delegator and super awesome bitch is what I am. Have they learned I won’t be my father in all ways? Yes. But I’ve also showed them I’m not a pushover. They believed they could show me the dirtiest, darkest, most fucked up parts of their world, and that I’d crack under the pressure. But that didn’t happen.

  Three weeks ago, I was taken on a ‘field trip’ to one of our sweat shops. Young girls, no older than my sisters, sewing garments that are meant to look like the real deal. Their wants and needs mean shit. If they argue any, their dead body turns up in an alley a few hours later. I can’t stop it, even though I’m the head of the family. I can try to implement changes through Kato, but, I have to do it with sneaky diplomacy. Like a thermonuclear strike hidden in a pink clutch, disguised as a tampon. No man in his right mind would expect it, and I’m doing it daily, bit by bit, second by second, until I’m wearing him down. Little bits of sweetness, giving in to his evil machinations, exhausting him with sarcasm, and not asking him to eat my American food anymore. Junk, he calls it. At least there are decent vegan stores, or I’d be eating bamboo shoots all day.

  Today, we’ve been in this meeting for forty long minutes, more than I’d like. And we’ve only been here for forty-five. I’ve looked at my watch, checked texts from my sisters, Chris and Circe, and fucked around on social sites. My mental Kung Fu is strong, ignoring so well that my head nod is sufficient enough for respectful conversation.

  “In the wake of Sunday’s arrest of Mato, Sho, and Takao at one of the heroine plants, the operation has to be closed temporarily,” Kou states. “NPA officer Chen Chow, that disgusting parasite can’t be bought. I’ve tried everything to pressure her. She has no family, no long-term boyfriends, no pets, and nothing of worth to scare her with.” His sweaty paunch and horrible comb-over, he’s the perfect example of why I don’t find Japanese men sexy. They let themselves go to pot when they find a wife, and concubines. But also, when the sake becomes their favorite thing instead of a gym and haircuts, I draw the line.

  While I’m reading a text from Chris, that shows his latest polls, I speak out about Chen Chow. “Maybe she’s gay.”

  “What would make you think that, Oya—”

  Giving him a stern look, Kou stops before finishing that word I hate. I’m not the boss because I fought my way to the top, killing opponents and torturing young souls. I have this because my father trusted that I wouldn’t screw it up. Well, I’ll screw it up, just not less than he expected my sweet sisters would. But I love them. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.

  With their dark chocolate eyes the size of dinner plates, thick eyelashes that I’d kill for, and perfect complexions, it’s easier to tell them apart now. Miori has short hair, and Kano has hair that rivals the best hair models. It courses the length of her back, spun up in lazy buns that make it messy and controlled. They’re the Olsen twins of Japan.

  And these old bastards wanted to take them as second wives? Fuck that.

  Turning my attention back to Kuo, I say, “If sh
e’s not dating a guy, and I’ve seen photos of Chen—she’s a good-looking lady—then she’s dating her best friend. Trust me, I have expertise in this. She’s tapping Georgia.”

  He looks confused. “Georgia? How do you know she’s Georgia?”

  Geeze! Stuffing my phone in my pocket, looking as annoyed as I can, I turn to Kuo. “She’s dating a girl. Saying she’s tapping Georgia is like saying girl on girl.” I’m exhausted talking to these stupid criminal minds. Sure, they know how to protect their financial interests in the dark, seedy corners of the business, but they don’t have a fucking clue about the workings of new love in this age.

  “Kuo, get one of the idiots you have grabbing your sake, and ask them to tail her. I bet you’ll find her going to clubs with different friends, going to coffee, dinner, the movies. She’s not specific on one girl because she’s not settled on one. You’ll have your blackmail that way.” Rising from the chair and pushing it back, I start away. “I’m bored with this. I’m going to lunch with my sisters. Don’t piss me off further today.”

  “Thank you, Obayun,” Kato says. Prick knows how that pisses me off. Fine, I’ll play his game.

  “Anytime, Jiji.”

  Fucker.

  Carli

  As usual, I rise, they rise. I tell them off, they bow and smile.

  Fuckers.

  Walking out of the room, I don’t have to turn to know that my bodyguard is hot on my heels. I can’t go anywhere without him. He’s always right there! Even at public washrooms.

  Entering first, checking that there’s no one hiding in the stall, he then clears the room and stands guard outside the door. A couple times, I’ve tricked his ass. Screaming there was a snake in the toilet, or that there was a ninja descending from the ceiling tiles. That one was fun. Well, it was fun until a whole fucking cadre of men showed up and ushered me out of there like Obama when a car backfires. Then it wasn’t fun. The look on the poor girl who’d waited on me in the Gucci store almost peed herself when he wanted her to strip in the middle of the store. He thought she was wearing the outfit under this season’s sarong. Awful, I tell ya. After that, we set ground rules. He stays his distance unless I expressly state I need him. At least fifty paces back, or I’m allowed to have him castrated with dull spoons.