“I know my father well. His secret weapon is surveillance. He sees everything, even before it happens. The only way to beat someone like that. . .is to vanish. Not hide.Vanish.”
I shivered.
“You will have a new team of men here too.”
“Why not the security guys that I already had?”
Worry crossed his face.
Oh fuck. What’s wrong?
Chapter seven
Suspicions
Nyomi
“Well. . .” Kenji gazed off at the sky. “I know Reo learned that the saxophone player told the location but. . .I’m still not convinced it was just him, especially when I didn’t know the location myself.”
"So. . .now you're suspicious of my guards?"
"I'm suspicious of everyone."
"Still?"
"Yes."
I hesitated, the pieces beginning to connect in my head. "Yesterday, there was one guard that was in and out of Zo’s apartment all day, but I thought you had instructed him to give you information."
Kenji's gaze sharpened.
"Every time a delivery came—groceries, water, even those French pastries from this place Zo likes—he insisted on carrying them in himself and bringing them in the apartment. Wouldn’t let me lift a finger. Again, at the time, I thought it was just your brand of overprotectiveness."
"And now?"
"Now I’m not so sure. Plus, I was calling different jazz bands that day, trying to find the best one for our date. I had names and notes scribbled across my notebook."
He nodded once, taking it in.
"During the second delivery, I caught that same guard looking at my notebook. He didn’t even flinch when I turned around. Just smiled and said, 'You’ve got good taste in music.'"
Kenji’s eyes darkened. The shift was subtle, but I felt it. "Do you remember what he looks like?"
I took a breath, sifting through the memory. It wasn’t hard. That guard had a kind of presence—quiet, unassuming, but sharp around the edges. "Long, gold hoop earring on the right. Long black hair, mostly tied back, except for this one braid that hung low on the left side."
“Watari.” Kenji looked at me. "You remembered everything. The earring, the braid, the timing."
“I’m a writer that likes to observe things. People are the biggest book inspiration of all.”
“Hmmm.” He looked in front of us, but I could tell that a lot was spinning in his mind.
I quirked my brows. “Are you going to talk to Watari?”
“I am. Your other guards too. Just in case.”
“And. . .if you discover that it is him?”
“Then. . .he’ll be having a very bad day, Tora.”
