My eyebrow lifts as I glance at Raffaele. “What if Tanaka doesn’t have a son, and we had his daughter? He could disguise her for her protection?”
“Fuck if I know. Either way, that woman is important to Tanaka if he sent his underboss to check on her.”
Even if she’s Tanaka’s daughter, I still feel a fuck ton of guilt for hurting a woman.
When we reach the first floor and exit the elevator, Santi and John are already waiting for us.
“Ride with us. We’re heading back to the hospital. The Yakuza’s there,” Raffaele updates them as we head to one of the SUVs.
After we all pile into the vehicle, I dial Rosie’s number again.
“Hey. They’re still at the hospital,” she informs me the instant she answers.
“We’re on our way. Let me know if they leave before we get to them.”
“Okay.”
During the drive, I send a text to Enzo, telling him to call me once they land in New York. I want to be the one to tell him that we beat a woman. I don’t want him to hear the upsetting news from someone else.
As we approach the hospital, I put my phone away and draw my weapon from my holster. Taking off the safety, I say, “Try not to die on me. The goal is to make them pay for what they did to Riccardo and our fallen men, and not to lose anyone else.”
“Yes, boss,” the three men answer me in a chorus.
Just as the SUV is steered into the parking area, a message comes through from Rosie.
They’re on the move.
My eyes lock on the exit where I see the six men, but I’m shocked to see the woman with them. She’s swaying on her feet, and every time she stumbles, one of the men yanks her arm to keep her on her feet.
“Okay, so maybe she’s not Tanaka’s daughter,” Raffaele says, sounding confused.
There’s a twinge of pity in my chest for the woman. “They’re probably going to interrogate her to find out what she told us.”
When our SUV comes to a stop, I order, “Don’t hurt the woman and don’t kill the underboss. The rest is fair game.”
We jump out of the vehicle, and we stalk toward the group, one of the men notices us and shouts something in Japanese.
While Kano grabs the woman, hauling her in the direction of a black sedan, the other five men run toward us. Bullets begin to fly, and we take down two before the remaining three get close enough for hand-to-hand combat.
They move fucking fast, clearly trained, and as I block and deliver punches and kicks, I quickly work up a sweat.
The one I’m fighting pulls out a knife, and I dart backward to avoid the blade, but he manages to cut me across my collarbone.
I hear a gunshot, and when Raffaele shouts, “Fuck!” I glance to my right. Just as I see the blood blossoming by his shoulder, the man I’m fighting delivers a kick to my gut, and I stagger backward.
Rage ignites in my blood, and letting out a growl, I storm the fucker. Using a move my father taught me, I wrap my arm around the man’s neck, and as I do a flip, I hear the crack as I snap his spine.
I drop his body, and turning toward Raffaele, I shoot the fucker he’s fighting before I run toward the sedan that’s already on the move. I fire one shot after the other, blowing out two of the tires, and when the underboss gets out of the car, I train my weapon on him.
“Don’t fucking move, and you’ll leave here alive,” I shout.
Even though all my attention is on Tanaka’s second-in-charge, I notice the woman struggling out of the car and trying to stumble away.
I hear Raffaele curse under his breath, and knowing he’s behind me, I focus on Kano, who’s covered in scars and tattoos from all the wars he’s waged alongside Tanaka.
“The Yakuza will retaliate,” Kano snaps angrily, then he also notices the woman and shouts something in Japanese at her.
She stops, and I hear a muffled sob before she slowly turns around to return to the car.
