family was involved with the Kyōdaina when I’d moved across the country. I’d thought Mori Enterprises was a legitimate shipping business. And Raisa and I had found each other through our love of science and the joint project U.C. Berkeley and Stanford University had done my sophomore year.
But the world felt small when I considered the coincidences.
My worry for Jada turned into worry for Dawson as he was pulled from our dance and left the room. Thoughts of him sliding his hands and tongue over every inch of me as he had the night before disappeared in a flash, replaced by thoughts of wanting him to come back at all. To be safe. To finish whatever it was that had sent him across the Atlantic and back with a hold full of cash.
I turned back to Jada, determined to pull her from Malik’s embrace, when the sound hit me. Gunfire. Barely detectable over the sound of the band, it might have been mistaken for fireworks if it were the right season. If my eyes and ears hadn’t already been on high alert, I wasn’t sure I would have caught it at all.
But Malik and the man Dawson had left behind both did. Malik froze, feet stalling, causing Jada to ram into him. He dropped his arms from her body, turned, and, without a word, headed for the doors. The man Dawson had left followed him without hesitation, leaving Jada and me with the crowd.
The crowd, which was still laughing and dancing, unaware of anything else going on.
I grabbed Jada’s hand as she started after Malik.
“Jada. No, let him go.”
The gunfire repeated. Louder. Closer. This time, it was clearly identifiable. It halted the band and caused the guests to panic. There were screams and shouts, and people began scrambling in all directions.
Jada turned to me, fear skirting her face, and she pulled me in the opposite direction of her terrified guests. We went out the open doors to the tent, pushing aside the canvas and traveling down the side of the house.
“Where are we going? Dawson said to stay with the crowd,” I said, breathless, heart beating so hard I could barely hear my own voice over the pounding in my veins.
Dawson.
It caused my feet to halt. Gunfire and Dawson. Fear spiraled out through my entire being. I couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not after everything. Not after barely making him mine.
“There’s a safe room,” she yelled over the noise as she continued to pull on my arm.
When we reached the door to the kitchen, Jada finally let me go. Inside, she opened what appeared to be a pantry to reveal a door and a keypad. She typed in a long number, and the door hissed open just as the back door slammed against the wall.
Ken’Ichi emerged from the darkness with a face clouded with rage and a gun in his hand. It took him a moment to register we were there, just like it took my body a moment to catch up with my brain. Once everything collided back together, I was the one doing the pulling as I tried to drag Jada into the hall leading to the front of the house. Ken’Ichi raised his gun in our direction, and his voice halted us.
“Where do you think you are going?” His voice was dripping with hatred, but there was no sense of panic in him. He seemed calmer than he should with the FBI on his tail.
“What did you do?” Jada asked, pretending she had no clue what was really happening. “Otōsan is going to be furious.”
Ken’Ichi’s face grew even darker, if that were possible.
“You. You betrayed us. You and your friends.”
He moved closer, and Jada stepped in front of me, drawing me close up behind her.
“Inside,” he said, waving his gun in the direction of the safe room.
“Otōsan will kill you if you harm even a hair on my head.”
Ken’Ichi laughed. “I’m not losing everything because of you, Jada-chan.”
Jada was a queen. Strong and brilliant. And she held her chin up to him. I, on the other hand, was shaking like a leaf, trying to figure out how to get us out of this mess. My eyes darted to the archway, hoping to see a familiar body heading our way.
“I’ve told you not to call me that,” Jada said firmly. “After tonight, Otōsan will have no choice but to remove you from our lives.”
Ken’Ichi waved his gun. “We will see who Oyabun keeps around. Move.”