Kiko’s eyes shot daggers at Hiro. She looked like she wanted to rip out his tongue, but she turned back to me and tried again, this time with more sweetness in her voice. “Please. . .Kenji. . .can we speak alone? Away fromher. Away from your brother.”
“We cannot.”
“But I have grievances, Kenji.”
“That is not my problem. You have a situation. Talk to Eiji. I put him in place to handle your needs.”
“I was taken from Kyoto in the middle of the night with no explanation—”
“Doyouneed an explanation?”
She blinked.
Once.
Slowly.
“No.” She cleared her throat.
I sneered. “Are you sure. . .Ear?”
A small sound escaped her. Almost a cough, but not quite. Another attempt to reset the mood. “I-I’m sure.”
“Good.” I leaned my head to the side. “Anything else?”
“They say you bombed Tokyo and you are going to war with the Fox.”
“Whosays?”
“Everyone.” She trembled. “I do not have my phone. Your men took it from me.”
“You don’t need your phone to enjoy this island.”
“I have family in Tokyo. I want to check on them.”
“I see.” I let the pause stretch. “And what family of yours would still be in Tokyo? Reo made sure that your aunts and cousins were brought here.”
Her voice faltered. “Family does not mean blood. I have others. Plus. . .friends. Please. . .I would like a phone.”
“You will not get one.”
Her mouth pressed into a tight frown. Then she turned to Nyomi, and her voice grew cold. “Who is she?”
I didn’t owe Kiko a goddamn thing.
Not an explanation.
Not a name.
Not a breath of clarity to soothe her pride.
She wasn’t my wife and damned sure not my queen. She had always been only a tool I used for strategy and like all tools, her value diminished the second she stopped serving her purpose.
But I didn’t answer to her. Not when I was the one who’d pulled her out of a brothel in Hiroshima. Not when I’d put a roof over her head, trained her tongue to speak lies sweet enough to seduce diplomats, and taught her how to weaponize silence like a second skin.
But Nyomi would want me to answer. It appeared that she still did not know her place in my life. Nyomi didn’t ask the question out loud, but I saw it in the tilt of her chin.
Tora. . .you still doubt my feelings for you?
