Whiskey's Redemption (Crown and Anchor)

by Kerri Ann

  “You know you have this fucked up way of getting under my skin, tossing my insides into knots and lighting a fire that I can’t bank.” Brushing stray hairs from her face, I kiss her cheek. “I would give up the snow for you. I’d live in stinky warm LA, just so you can have your bullshit quinoa salads and froufrou water systems. I’d even move here and cramp myself into a tiny apartment, being eyeballed as a giant. Just for you, Carli. Just for you.

  “You know I haven’t been with anyone since you left me. I couldn’t. I tried to get on with life, but none of the girls compare. You are one fucked up woman, and you messed me up. I’m wrecked, and only you can fix it. So you can’t go. Show me how stubborn you are by living.” Kissing her over and over, telling her stupid shit, speaking about dumb antics I suspect she’ll pull me into in the future, I babble to keep her with me.

  When the medics come in, I don’t even notice them until one appears at my side. Ushering me away, I watch in a detached way as they work to save her life and our child. It may sound cruel, but if the baby dies and my Carli lives, I’ll live the rest of my life making it up to her. But she has to live for me to do that.

  Once they feel she’s stable, and Kano is situated, the medics move them out. Turning to Miori, they talk in Japanese. I watch, unable to understand. As they head out the door with her two sisters, she nods her approval as they’re whisked away.

  “They’re taking them to Osaka General. It’s a great facility. We should go tell your family what’s going on before we head out.”

  “Fuck. I forgot they don’t know what’s going on.” Normally, I’m more on top of that stuff.

  Rushing down the hall in the opposite direction of the medics, Miori talks somberly. “She’ll be okay. I don’t have to tell you my sister is as stubborn as a mule.”

  “You have that right.” I agree.

  “She’ll live, because to die would be to give in. Kaori never gives in.”

  Moving quickly down the hall, the two of us quickly become silent. There’s no need to talk about her uncle or the other two men dead on the floor. They’re not important. All that matters is that her family is safe. Her sisters are in good hands.

  Stepping into the main hall, I find Circe alone at the table. As Miori walks off to deal with a call, I think of how to explain it in a way that we can leave quickly.

  “What’s going on?” Our faces must show stress, as her question is teeming with concern.

  “Carli and Kano were shot. They’re on their way to the hospital in Osaka. Where is everyone?” I ask. My mind swims with worry for Carli, but there’s nothing more I can do right now except hope for the best.

  “Wyatt’s in the room resting, and the other two went to check out the mountain trails.” Stepping up to me, she hugs me with her good arm. “I’ll go wake him up.”

  “No, you stay here. Miori and I are going to grab the other chopper. We’ll call you if there’s any change.” I turn to leave. “It’s best you stay away from the other wing of the building for a bit, though, Circe. There’ll be police all over it. And tell that ex-cop of my sisters to stay clear too.”

  “Yeah, got it. But don’t think Wyatt and China will stay here long. Expect us to be hot on your heels.”

  Coming over to where we are, Miori pockets her phone. “The chopper is ready to go. We need to leave, Jamieson.”

  Moving away from Circe, heading out the door as quickly as I can, over my shoulder I yell, “I’ll let you know when I have news, Circe.”

  Striding away, Miori leads us out to the chopper pad where the waiting bird is running. Thinking about everything that’s going on, my thoughts are scattered, and yet succinct. I may not have thought through to the end of my life, but I’ve just figured out that Carli is the woman for me.

  Without her, I’d still be whoring my way through girls. And very, very alone.

  To lose another will absolutely crush me.

  Jamieson

  What feels like days has only been hours. It’s been two hours, and I check my watch every minute. Sitting with Miori, the two of us have been awaiting news. Good news or bad, any news of any kind would be appreciated. We haven’t talked much, as anything we’d talk about is related to her, her sister, or her uncle and his hateful betrayal. Kano joined us after they’d stitched her up, but they said the drugs they gave her will make her sleepy, so we’d sent her back in the chopper to the resort to rest. I knew what sending that bird back would do. It would give my family a way to join us. And stepping through the doors with determination and a million questions, leading the way is my little brother.

  “Any news?”

  Shaking my head, I blow out a frustrated breath. “Nothing yet. They took her, but no one has come out since.”

  “There’s cops everywhere in the hotel.” He’s obviously quite flustered.

  Before I can answer him, wrapping her arms around me, China hugs me tight. Not what I was expecting, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Pulling back, I give her a kiss on the top of her head. “Thanks for that, China.”

  “No problem. What’s going on? They took our passports, James. They promised we could have them back after we were questioned about everything. I think their broken English made it hard to understand. What the hell happened?”

  “Her uncle shot Carli and Kano.”

  “Who’s their uncle?” Looking at Miori, she turns back to me. “Am I missing something?”

  “Kato is our—was our uncle.” Seemingly keeping things together, Miori is amazingly stoic. She’s been dealing with this lifestyle of guns, death, and danger for far longer than she should have. She’s only China’s age, and I find her surprisingly strong, commanding, and forceful. She impressed me.

  “And I thought our family was fucked up. You have uncles trying to kill you?” China clips off quite loudly.

  As everyone turns, they glare at Doll. Risen drags her close, tucking her into his chest. “Get over here, mouthpiece.”

  Murmuring into his shirt, he tries to stop her, but it doesn’t work. “What? I’m just saying, we’re messed up, but—”

  “Ms. Katana.”

  Appearing beside Miori, dressed in surgeon’s garb, is a stout young man. Bowing in a sign of respect, he immediately switches to Japanese. Rhyming off word after word quickly, it makes no sense to me or the others. As we wait patiently, watching, listening, taking in Miori’s every move, her expression darkens considerably as the doctor runs things down. With a few nods, he bows and walks back through the staff only doors.

  “What did he say, Miori? What’s wrong?”

  She looks me in the eye, tears slowly starting down her cheeks. “They said she’s stable.”

  “That’s good.”

  She shakes her head and wipes away a few tears, smudging her makeup. “He hit one of her kidneys and nicked the other. The one was too damaged so it had to be removed, and the other won’t stop bleeding. They’ve tried stabilizing the bleed, but it’s not responding. She’s going to need a donor.”

  Without thought, I fall. Thankfully, it’s into a chair.

  I can’t be here again. Why is life so cruel that a second person in my life could die from my errors? Two people I’ve cared deeply for. One that’s becoming a part of me, stronger than I thought she could, and one that left me far too young.

  “James, she’ll be okay,” I hear Wyatt say. Of all the people here, he knows what’s going through my mind. How it was with Petra. How our lives changed forever when we lost her. How the world is taking the mickey out of me yet again.

  “Why? Why me? Why is it always me!” I’m yelling so loud, the room full of patrons waiting on news about their loved ones stop what they’re doing and stare.

  Softly speaking, bending low, Wyatt tries to calm me. Right now, my insides are tearing up. My heart is shattering again, and I have no words.

  Kano

  If they thought I’d stay here, knowing my sister is out there fighting for her life, when I’m surrounded by police, the family, and vari
ous other insistent assholes, they were wrong. I’ve lived this life of never asking, never waiting for permission, and deciding my own fate. No one here will stop me from hobbling back to that hospital.

  I’d sent the chopper I rode in on back to the city with the Crown’s, but the second helo is due back anytime now. Texting Jacob, our full-time pilot, I tell him to be ready.

  Doctors told me I wasn’t allowed a shower to wipe off the grime or the reminders of my uncle’s dishonor, but I sure as shit wasn’t being told I couldn’t change my clothes.

  Putting on pants would be a chore with the stitches and pain, so I opted for a dress. Gathering up the crutches, step-hopping back out to the landing pad, I start up the stairs. In theory, it looks awkward, but in reality, it’s a fucking bitch. I must have cursed every muscle movement as I hobbled up one riser at a time. Reaching the pad, Jacob was there waiting with the engine in slow motion. Gathering my crutches in quick motion, he picked me up. Carrying me to the awaiting ride was not quite what I expected, but I won’t turn it down.

  Once we’re settled with me in the back and him in the pilot’s chair, I turn on my headset. This is the smaller of our two choppers. It lacks the creature comforts of style and silence. This is less Airforce One and more crop duster, but who gives a crap if it gets me back to the hospital and to my sisters.

  What she did today was beyond heroic in my book. Kaori has only just come back into our lives. She doesn’t know us, or what our lives have been like. She put her life that she’d built on hold as soon as she was commanded to come back to Japan. Am I stupid? No. I know the reason as to why she came back. They coerced her with our eminent nuptials. Father, or asshole who may not be named, had pimped us out to two men from the family. He would have rather wed us off for position than care for our futures. He had no idea what either of us wanted, who we were growing up to be, or what we wanted for our futures. That’s the shit stick of being born into the Ryu Yakuza family; our lives didn’t matter.

  As the chopper starts to rise, Jacob cuts in. “I don’t have to ask, do I, Kano?”

  “Nope. You don’t.” He’s known for a while what was happening within family. We all knew that something would eventually give.

  “Will you need assistance again?”

  “More than I want to admit,” I murmur.

  He laughs into the mouthpiece. “I’ll help you, Kano.” Lifting off the ground, we head toward Osaka. “We won’t be long. I already informed the hospital to expect us on the pad. Unless there’s an emergency chopper coming in, we’ll land without issue.”

  “You can just leave me with my crutches, I’ll get down to my sisters. It’ll just take me a bit of time. You don’t have to stick around.”

  “Think of it as Star Wars. I’ll piggyback you like Yoda.”

  “That’s a visual.”

  “Well, someone has to help you. You looked pretty awkward hobbling up those stairs. I can just imagine down.” Pausing, controlling the helo, Jacob cuts back in. “Where’s Muki? Shouldn’t he be here helping?”

  Wow. I’ve been so worried about my sister that I forgot about what he did. When Hiro showed up with Taka, that big, stupid brute, I wondered why he wasn’t by Miori’s side. It made no sense to me. Obviously, it didn’t make sense to Muki either. He may have been a big oaf to others, but I found him sweet, attentive, a great friend, and a warm body when needed.

  What would you expect when he’s been my bodyguard for close to five years, and he’s only two years older? He may have been built like a brick shithouse, and toed the company line when necessary for me, but he wasn’t a yes man of my father or uncle. I appreciated how often he swayed their decisions regarding me.

  And Taka shot him point blank in my room. Walking in behind Muki, Taka raised the gun, fired, and didn’t even blink.

  They knew. They knew he wasn’t their tool. Wiping away a tear, I think about the situation that we’re in now. I need all the strength I can muster for my sister. Later, I can cry my eyes out for my friend, but when we land, she’s my only priority.

  Kaori couldn’t have flown all the way home just to die because of us.

  Life couldn’t be that unfair, could it?

  Miori

  It’s all my fault. Everything. All of it.

  I’m watching the Crown’s, seeing how concerned they are for my sister, how they care for each other, respect one another, and comfort Jamieson as he’s clearly dealing with an old pain. It’s hard to watch because I’m the cause of this. Me. No one else. Not Kano, not Uncle Kato—well, yeah, it is, but not fully.

  I was the catalyst to everything that’s happened since Kaori returned to Osaka.

  Fuck.

  If my sister dies because of the deal I made with Chen, I don’t know if I can live with it. It is a great dishonor that I’ve created. My sister does not deserve this, and she didn’t ask for it. She tried to leave this life behind.

  If I’m the cause of her losing the baby or her life, I’ll never forgive myself.

  Kano

  “Thank you. You were a big help,” I say to Jacob as we enter the elevator, descending toward the critical care floor.

  “I’d always help you, Kano. No matter what, you just need to ask.” Yeah, that’s what Muki used to say, too. Now he’s dead. Clearing my head of that reminder, I shake off the loss of him and concentrate on my family.

  When I rode over to the hospital with Kaori, the medics frantically poured over her vitals, working to save her as I watched with a vacant disbelief. My sister is a rock. She’s strong, willful, and stubborn. If father hadn’t died, and if Uncle Kato hadn’t forced her hand, she’d still be living her life in the US, far from this mess. This never would have happened.

  “She’ll be okay,” I say, more to remind myself than requiring an answer from Jacob.

  “From what I’ve seen lately, and from what you’ve talked about over the weeks leading up to Kaori coming home, then yes, I believe she will be.”

  “You’ve listened?”

  “I probably shouldn’t have, but it’s hard to miss conversations in the headset.”

  I guess our conversations have never been private before, what with family and law enforcement bugging us. So why would I expect the pilot of a chopper to be any less intrusive?

  Growing quiet for a moment, looking at him in the elevator mirror, I see the guy who’s always been there, but never seen. He’s always just there. That’s the downfall of our lives. We’ve passed through without seeing those beneath us. It takes something like this to take notice. It may sound awfully conceited, but the truth hurts sometimes.

  We’ve been taught that our family is the strength of Japan, that those who are not Yakuza are not the powerful. We reign. Miori believes it wholeheartedly. Uncle and Father molded her, worked her in a way that tainted her to their will. And I have been left alone to a point. My partial deafness has left me outside the inner circle for years. Because of that, I’m both thankful and disappointed. Just because I can’t hear them on one side, doesn’t make me an idiot. I know more than they think.

  He raises his eyes to look at me through the reflection in the mirrored wall. “I didn’t listen to Miori,” he says in flawless Japanese. His stare is electric as he tries to impart that he’s only listened in on me. I guess I’ve been just as bad as the rest, ignoring that which is outside my immediate bubble. Taking in Jacob, I have to admit, he’s a good-looking guy. His smile is sweet and his eyes are gentle. With a strong jaw, dark coffee skin that’s coated in freckles across his nose and cheeks, Jacob is a nice package. But not for now.

  Mentally cursing myself, I’m glad when the doors open. Hopping out, teetering slightly until I get a rhythm, Jacob stays back to catch me if I fall. Rounding the corner and entering the waiting area, I see everyone is clearly unhappy.

  “Mi,” I say to grab her attention.

  Looking up, her makeup is streaked and her eyes are puffy. Her usual contained self is breaking down.

  “What’s going
on?” I ask in Japanese, taking a seat in the chair beside her.

  Sniffling for a minute, she gathers her composure. “Why are you here? You’re supposed to be resting.” There was no way I was staying behind while I didn’t know the fate of my family.

  “Good luck with that, Ms. Katana. Kano wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Jacob says beside me. Looking around the room, the Crown’s don’t understand a word of what we’re saying, and that right now is okay with me. I have the feeling this private affair would be worse with more voices shouting.

  “She’s sustained heavy damage to her kidneys and they need a donor. They have her on support, but it’s only a matter of time.”

  “Kaori could die?”

  She nods, with fresh tears falling down her face. “Yes.”

  Attempting to rise back out of the chair, I lean on the crutches. “Then why are we sitting here? Let’s go tell the doctor we’ll do it. I will. I can’t believe you hadn’t already volunteered. Why haven’t you, Mi?”

  Standing, she puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. “It’s not that simple. We have to match.”

  She’s upset, but not enough it seems. At least not like I am. I shrug off her touch. “I don’t get you. Why wouldn’t we match, Miori? We’re her sisters.”

  “No. We’re her half-sisters.”

  What?

  “Pardon? What did you say? It sounded like you said we’re not her sisters?”

  Miori and I face off. “We are, but we’re not. Our father is the same, our mothers are not.”

  I’m stewing for a fight. Why would she spring this on me now? Ignoring the fact that I’ve been lied to and she knows the truth, won’t help Kaori. So instead, I settle and try again to convince my sister we need to help. “Miori, she’s our sister. Blood full or half, it doesn’t matter. We need to help her.” Making my way to the do not enter sign, I bang with my crutch. Shortly after, a nurse arrives.