on another level. My car is searched thoroughly by his guards before I’m allowed through the gate.
I don’t have to drive up to the house, though. The only person I’m here for doesn’t spend much time indoors.
After parking the car near the back garden, I remove my heels and leave them beside my car, then step onto the grass barefoot.
The cold sensation is soothing against my hot, aching skin. It’s been that way since Sebastian touched me and spoke against my ear, awakening memories he had no damn business awakening.
And what’s with the whole, be there if you want to find out what I want?
Does he really think I’d start an affair or something?
Though I was about to when he had me by the throat against the door.
My thoughts scatter when a rustle of movement catches my attention.
A petite woman dressed in kendo gear is holding a bamboo sword and training by hitting a tree.
Her sharp, precise movements and erect posture are part of the discipline she’s been maintaining for over a decade.
My baby sister might only be twenty-one, but she has the aura of a thousand-year-old wise monk.
“Mio,” I call out gently.
She turns around, her sword held high and her dark eyes gleaming beneath her helmet. “Onee-chan!”
Older sister.
I never thought I’d like being called that until Mio said it shyly the first time.
Can I call you Onee-chan? She asked in a low voice while hiding behind Kai and that fucker Ren. Back then, she had her hair braided and wore a cute white and pink dress with matching flats. A blush covered her cheeks as she stared up at me for long moments.
I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with someone faster than I did then.
Mio was just another innocent soul trapped in the middle of bloody madness.
She quickens her steps toward me and stops a few steps away. “I’m sweaty.”
“Come here.” I pull her into a hug and she giggles against me, her helmet nuzzling into my chest.
We didn’t use to be so touchy when we first met. Mio was raised in the strict, traditionalist way and is usually against any type of touching. Sort of like Akira, who likes physical contact only when he initiates it and on his terms.
But my sister and I have become close enough to hug whenever we see each other.
She removes her helmet and grabs a towel from a tree, then wipes her neck and the sides of her face.
Her dark brown hair is tied in a bun. If it were loose, it’d reach the small of her back, but she never actually lets it down.
Her almond-shaped eyes give her round face a softer edge that fits with her tiny voice. Sometimes, I have to lean close to hear her talk.
“Papa told me you were coming back, but he didn’t tell me more, and Kai isn’t cooperative.” She speaks in a sophisticated American accent, thanks to all the homeschooling and prim and proper private teachers she’s had since she was born here.
“When is Kai ever cooperative?”
“You’re right.” She smiles. “I’m glad I can speak to you face-to-face and not through a phone.”
“Me, too, Mio.”
We talk about Japan and the cherry blossoms that she loves so much. Then Mio tells me about her studies and her kendo training that she’s obviously obsessed with.
When she’s done, I clear my throat. “Do you have something else to tell me?”
She traps her bamboo sword between her legs as she picks at the grass. “Like what?”
“Kai was actually cooperative for once and told me what’s going on.”
She frowns. “That fox. He promised not to get you involved.”
“You think he promised, but he probably manipulated you into thinking that, Mio.”
“Probably.”
“So?”
“So what?” She’s still gripping grass in her fists.
“Are you going to tell me about agreeing to marry some Russian mobster?”
“Papa said it’s to help our family.”
“Your papa only cares about himself, Mio. You should know that by now.”
“But…I don’t want him or you in danger.”
“Me? Why would I be in danger?”
“Papa said you and Mori-san could be targeted because of Mori-san’s new business endeavors. He’s having problems setting up his new company because of all the customs bureaucracy, no? If I marry into the Russians, they won’t only help, but they’ll also provide you protection.”
That bastard.
He knew exactly which cards to play to make Mio agree. Father and I are her world, and she’d agree to hell if it means protecting us.
“Akira and I aren’t in danger. And even if we were, we can protect ourselves.”
“You don’t