“Because I’m married to Augusto.” Realizing he must be worried out of his mind, I ask, “Do you have a phone so I can call him?”
“You’re not calling that bastard!” Ryo shouts before he makes a visible effort to calm down again. Framing my face with his hands, he shakes his head. “You’re safe now, Yuki. I’m going to protect you. We’ll get the marriage annulled once we’re inTokyo, and you can do whatever you want with the rest of your life. I’ll provide for you.”
I lift my hand and wrap my fingers around his wrist. “Thank you for coming to me, Ryo.” I tilt my head as I smile at him. “But I don’t want to divorce Augusto. I’ve fallen in love with him.”
A heartbroken expression flits over his face before it’s replaced with more anger. “It’s Stockholm syndrome. I’ll get you help.” He shakes his head as he moves onto his knees, and his tone is filled with urgency as he says, “Everything will be better once we’re back home.”
“No, Ryo.” With a pleading look, I spell it out for him. “Augusto has been nothing but kind and caring. He’s treated me with respect, and not once has he forced me to do anything I didn’t want to. I have fallen in love with my husband, and I want to stay with him.” I pause to take a deep breath before I quickly continue, “Come home with me and meet him. You’ll see he’s a good man.”
When Ryo just stares at me, my stomach sinks, and it’s only then that I think of something and ask, “Were you the person behind the attack on Augusto?”
“Yeah, but the plan didn’t work. I was hoping he’d go to Japan to kill Father, and while he was gone, I’d get you out of that house. Once Father was dead, it would’ve been easy for me to take over as the head of the Yakuza. ”
“Oh, Ryo.” I grip his hand between mine, my eyebrows drawing together. “You didn’t have to do all of that. I know if we talk with Augusto, he’ll help you take down Father.”
The man who drove the van places two cups of tea on the floor, then takes a seat on the other sleeping bag.
“Who is he?” I ask, leaving the tea untouched in case it’s spiked.
“Takeru Mashima. The monk who trained me.”
Takeru nods his head at me, once again smiling.
Turning my attention back to Ryo, I say, “We need to go back to my house. Augusto will worry about me.”
“You’re not going back to that man, Yuki,” Ryo growls.
I climb to my feet and hurry to the door, but before I can open it, Ryo grabs hold of me and drags me away from it.
“Stop!” I shout angrily, and swinging around, I shove at his chest. “I missed you, and I really wanted to see you again, but I won’t let you take me away from Augusto. I’m finally happy, Ryo!” Tears begin to trickle down my cheeks as I meet his eyes. “I’m happy, and it’s all because of my husband, who has done nothing but go out of his way to be good to me. I’m going home. You can either come with me or let me go.”
“Yuki.” There’s heartache in Ryo’s voice as he stares at me. “Don’t ask me to let you go. I can’t do that.”
“Then come with me,” I whisper. “Don’t make me choose between you and Augusto.Please.”
Chapter 25
Augusto
“What the fuck happened, Rocco?” I bark over the phone.
“Mrs. Vitale’s been taken. I heard her scream, and when I got to the front door, Aldo was unconscious, and a white van sped away. I tried to catch up to them, but they disappeared.”
The blow to my heart and fucking soul is more crippling than when I got the news that Riccardo had been shot. I stagger a step backward, shaking my head as the shock flays me raw. “No,” I hiss as the world is ripped from under my feet.
“I’m sorry, boss. I just got back to the house from trying to find the van,” Rocco says, “I see Aldo’s conscious. Let me ask him what happened.”
“Give him the fucking phone,” I growl, my entire body shaking as I fear for Yuki’s life.
It takes seconds too long before I hear Aldo say, “Hey, boss. It was an Asian guy. He wore a delivery uniform and had the groceries Mrs. Vitale ordered.”
“How the fuck did he get past you?” I shout, rage burning through me like an uncontrollable wildfire.
“I was caught off guard.”
“You better stay out of my way until I find my wife,” I growl.
I end the call and begin to run out of the warehouse while dialing Rosie’s number.
