would get them into trouble.
“Of course not, but we’re careful,” Mae insisted.
“So careful you got caught up talking with a man this morning at breakfast when you should have walked away?” Macey declared as they cleared the crush of people.
“We didn’t want to be rude. We weren’t going to go anywhere with him.”
“You have to be more cautious. There are bad people out there who would do you harm.”
“You just want us to be paranoid like you,” Mae hotly declared, tearing free from his grip so she could confront her mother.
“It’s called staying safe,” Macey said primly.
“No, it’s not. You’re afraid of something,” Mae stated.
“Don’t be silly.”
“Then you’re okay if I call Pedro from school and let him know we’re okay? He’s probably worried and all, given that our house burned down.” Lin was the one to provide the sly request.
“And what about the police? I’m sure they want to talk to us. Arson is a crime.”
Ted saw the trap the girls laid, with no way for Macey to escape it. He jumped in and threw himself on the grenade to save her.
“You can’t call anyone. Because no one can know we’re together.”
“Why not?” Mae’s gaze slewed in his direction.
He needed an excuse. One good enough to keep the girls from questioning the subterfuge. One that would take the focus off Macey and put it on him.
He blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I think it was my ex-wife who burned down my dojo and your house. If she finds out I’m on this cruise with your mom, who knows what she’ll do. I’m afraid she’ll come after us.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ronin
Ronin flew to the United States the moment it was confirmed.
Macey lived. As did his daughters. Very intelligent girls, according to school records. It was via their classmates that he got the most details and a picture. Serious-looking, and most definitely his.
Macey had much to answer for.
By now, Macey probably suspected that Ronin was coming after her. He’d not been exactly subtle when he set fire to all the places connected to her and his daughters. Let her fear his wrath. Let her lie awake at night and worry. Twitch at every shadow.
She deserved it for what she’d put him through. She’d pay, once he found her.
Which was proving more difficult than expected. It would seem that Macey had a knack for disappearing. And she’d once more vanished. However, unlike a decade ago, when he thought she’d died, this time, he actively sought her. She could try and hide, but he wouldn’t stop looking.
Given that he couldn’t exactly sit on his hands and patiently wait, he’d flown to the States, and was now in the penthouse condo he owned in San Francisco. Someone had kindly fetched Ralph, the last person to have seen Macey.
A man who was proving disappointing in the information department.
“Let’s start over,” he said, pulling the gag from Ralph’s mouth.
“I don’t know anything else. I swear.”
Ronin glanced at Jiao, his current right-hand man, the newest in a long line of disappointments since Chen. Some days, he regretted not killing his old friend. Other days, he thought about bringing him back. But then he would appear weak.
That wasn’t something he ever allowed.
“I think our guest needs softening.” A statement that led to Jiao hefting a hammer.
Ralph squeak and began pleading. They always did. Ronin had long ago learned to tune it out.
Once the screams tapered to moans and sobbing, Ronin stepped close and pressed his fingers into a wound pierced by bone.
Ralph blubbered. “I don’t know.”
Ronin believed him. But his frustration demanded some kind of satisfaction.
His phone went off, a standard ring because he couldn’t stand all the ridiculous sounds other people chose for theirs. There was nothing wrong with being traditional.
Lee, his manservant, held it up. “Kira calling, sir.”
“I’ll take it.” Wiping his bloody fingers on a rag, Ronin then took the outstretched phone. “You’d better have news.”
“I do.”
“Give me a second.” Ronin cast a glance at Jiao. “Dispose of him.”
Ralph roused enough to moan and beg, “No, please.”
Ignoring the plea, Ronin stepped out of the concrete bunker—with walls so thick, no one could hear the screams. Built as a panic room in the center of the condo, it served as a place to handle delicate matters. The drain in the floor had been added in after the fact.
Only once he’d entered his office and closed the door did he speak again. “What did you find out?”
“Not much yet. Whoever is helping her, hid her tracks