His Revenge Baby: 50 Loving States, Washington (29 page)

She stopped, the “early” dying on her tongue. Because the person in the driver’s seat wasn’t Dallas Montana. Not even kind of.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“DON’T.”

One word, uttered in crisp, almost accent-less English when she immediately tried to go for the Escalade’s door handle.

“You will not like what happens next if you open that door.”

Okay, as far as threats go, that one was pretty benign. And the driver—he was actually pretty hot, with high cheek bones, almond shaped eyes, and a piercing stare that could’ve earn him a modeling contract. But there was something about him that froze Lilli in mid-action. A quiet stillness that set her senses on red alert and had them screaming that this man was lethal and not likely to go easy on her if she tried to escape.

With a forlorn look toward all the people streaming in and out of passenger loading at the hospital’s entrance, Lilli lowered her hand. Maybe if she kept him talking, he wouldn’t try to drive her off to a second location.

“So…um…how can I help you?” she asked, voice shaky.

“I am not sure,” he answered.

Then he said, “You are not Norio’s usual type of woman. In fact, you are nothing like the women he has dabbled with before this. I am trying to figure out what his intentions are with you.”

Lilli wasn’t exactly sure what to make of that comment.

“Has Norio told you anything about me?” he asked Lilli, his dark eyes still scanning her face.

Lilli’s first instinct was to tell the man the truth. That she had no idea who he was.

That No hadn’t shared so much as a speck of non-revenge-related personal information with her since they reunited. That they didn’t have that kind of relationship this time around.

The man now sitting in Dallas’s driver’s seat had so much “you don’t want to fuck with me” coming off of him, it was hard for Lilli not to blurt out an instant answer to his questions, to tell him whatever he wanted to know.

Her second and much stronger instinct, however, was to say nothing at all. To stare back at him in a very un-Japanese way, letting him know she wasn’t the person to ask where information about No was concerned.

And almost casually, the man said, “I used to be his family’s hitman. It’s not a fact they widely advertise, but it is something you should be aware of right now…”

Now that threat was more than obvious to Lilli, and being a human, she couldn’t help but flinch. But still she said nothing. Clamping her lips over her fear rather than betraying No.

Oddly enough, her refusal to say anything seemed to amuse rather than enrage the thin man in the driver’s seat. “I once knew another woman who refused to talk to me, and now I walk with a limp.”

Another threat? A chastisement? It didn’t matter. Nothing would change her position on the matter. Lilli would never again relay information about No to anyone.

She didn’t care how lethal this man might be.

“
Ah sooooh
…” he said, issuing the particularly Japanese exclamation with a small bow.

But then his head gave a sharp turn over his left shoulder, his eyes apparently catching sight of something Lilli couldn’t see. “It would seem our time is up, but please let Norio-chan know that though I am not in the habit of hurting women…I shall not hesitate to do so if I discover he came here to the States with plans that will not benefit
my
family.”

Okay…so the threat was no longer implicit. And her breath caught when he made a sudden movement in the front seat. But all he did was climb out of the car.

The driver’s door opened and slammed shut, and then Lilli watched the mystery man walk—no, limp—away.
Apparently he hadn’t been lying about that,
she thought to herself as she sat there breathing hard. For a moment, the only sound in the limo was that of her rapid breathing. Then her door suddenly opened.

“You okay? You okay?”

Lilli turned to make eye contact with a very worried Dallas and nodded.

“Good! Thank fuck! I can’t believe that guy made off with my car. I’m going after him...”

But she could have told Dallas not to bother. Because by the time she glanced back out the SUV’s front window, the mysterious stranger had already disappeared.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“AH, the little dragon has decided to pay his brother a visit.”

It had been over a decade since No had laid eyes on his older brother. However, Tetsuro Nakamura didn’t seem all that surprised to find No sitting there in an overstuffed chair when he walked into the suite he’d rented under an alias at the Benton Seattle. A luxury hotel just down the street from Ana’s hospital.

In fact, Suro not only closed the door behind him, but continued into the room.

Taking off his suit jacket and limping over to the closet to hang it up. As if this were merely the end of another long business day.

“Please do not get up, Norio-chan. I would prefer to sit while we have this conversation,” he said, sinking down on the couch across from where No was seated. “I find the Seattle weather doesn’t agree with my leg.”

No remained where he was, but didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “If you ever approach her again, I will ensure your death myself.”

His brother studied him, an amused smile flitting near, but not quite making it to, his mouth. “I believe you would try,” he answered, in a tone that somehow conveyed respect without actually admitting to the possibility.

Too Chinese. His father had complained about the influence of another culture on the disavowed brother who’d chosen to make his own way in the United States. A prime example, his father had told his two “legitimate” sons, of why the mother of your children should be chosen with the mind rather than the heart.

“I may not be a killer by contract,” No answered Suro’s skeptical look. “But you will find I am a man who keeps his word.”

“This woman you wish me not to ever speak with again—she is pretty in her own way…and in a helping profession, too. So warm, and after the way we were raised, a woman like that would be hard to resist. I do understand…”

Another almost smile, then Suro continued, “But in any case, it is not me you should be worried about. You bought the Seattle Fishers. Formed your own business with an American Father considers an enemy. And now you have moved to Seattle. You either are suffering from the aftereffects of a brain aneurysm, or you have hatched a plan. I was merely attempting to find out which it was based on your odd behavior and rather unusual choice of mistress. It seemed to me she would be the easiest way for me to

gain knowledge about you.”

Was she still an easy way for others to uncover his secrets?
No wondered to himself, thinking back to their past in Japan.

As if reading his mind, Suro said, “Do not worry, brother. She did not tell me anything. Which is a surprise, considering who sent her to you the first time around.

You do know who that was, yes?”

“Of course I do. I am not an idiot.”

“I agree, you are not. Yet you have taken this woman into your home and not, as I originally suspected, because you wish to keep your enemies closer.”

No remained silent. But Suro had never been the kind of person who needed answers to his inquiries. He studied his younger brother hard, seeming to find the answers he sought in his mutinous silence.

“I do believe she is in love with you, Norio-chan,” Suro said with considered casualty. “She refused to say a word about you to me, even under the implied threat of death. I don’t meet many people who can out-quiet me in a conversation. Especially women. So my next question for you is…” Now his voice became especially quiet. “Has she seen your tattoo?”

Again No did not answer, and again Suro appeared to get all the answer he needed from his brother’s lack of response. “I fear this will not end well for you, Norio-chan. Or her.”

“Is that why you decided to make this trip to Seattle?” No asked him. “Out of fear?”

“Yes,” Suro admitted with a quiet smile. “But now you have piqued my curiosity also.”

He reached into his inside suit pocket. And No stiffened, prepared to go for a weapon as well.

But then his brother said, “Not a threat, Norio-chan. A gift.”

His older brother pulled out a rectangular-shaped silver case and turned it forward so No could clearly see the swirling words etched across its surface:
Happy Anniversary,
Suro - Your Loving Wife, Tasha

A gift, obviously. One Suro carried with him regularly, even though neither brother typically favored shiny things on their persons.

Suro pulled a single business card from the case. Then he set it aside, before presenting the card to No in classic Japanese style. Two hands holding it out with a bow.

“If you ever have need of me, use this card to contact me. No need to come looking for me in my hotel suite, understand?”

A gift indeed, but not one he could necessarily trust.

After all, Suro was still his father’s child. Their father’s first and oldest son.

But No took the card anyway, deciding there was some truth to his half-brother’s words. Despite all of his attempts to keep their association a secret, Suro had easily found No’s American. Had even managed to get close enough to ask her questions.

Just one more indicator that the plan he’d concocted to keep her safe while he carried out his revenge was for the best. He needed to distance himself from her, not draw her closer.

Yet when he returned home, it was to her room he went to and not his own. He thought he’d entered quietly, but she turned over as soon as he opened the door.

As if she’d been waiting up for him, even as she asked with a sleepy smile, “How was Portland?”

“Fine.”

“Okay,” she said after a long study of his face. “If you don’t feel like talking about your day…”

He hated what it did to his heart when she turned over and lifted the covers, so he could get in with her. The way it melted, wanting nothing more than to crawl into the bed with her and pull her soft body into his arms.

Weak. That was how his heart felt when she offered this space beside her in bed.

Yet, he climbed underneath the covers anyway, wondering at how she always seemed to know exactly what he needed from her.

This relationship wasn’t about need, he reminded himself. It was about revenge. Yet her warmth..the sleepy smile she gave him as she pulled the covers over them—it was blurring the lines.

He kissed her hard then and with cold precision. Erasing the tender moment with his bald lust. No…he couldn’t want her that way. Couldn’t have her that way even if he dared. Couldn’t be weak.

He rolled on top of her, slamming her hands above her head, expecting her warm, soft body to be ready for him, and…

He hissed out in Japanese, because she was. He sank into her, grateful when the wet grip of her sex erased any residual tenderness the moment might have carried.

“No. Oh God, No!” She groaned as he rutted her, taking her hard as proof against everything his brother hadn’t said, but insinuated loud and clear.

That she wasn’t a liability. That she didn’t make him weak.

And perhaps sensing his mood, she let him take what he wanted. Asking nothing of him, just moaning loudly when the first orgasm overtook her. God, the way she responded to him. Hips bucking underneath his body. Grabbing desperate fist fulls of his hair as her legs tightened around his waist, as if trying to hang on to the hawk as he flew her over pleasure’s edge.

He came just a few seconds after she did. Seeding her. Planting himself in her womb.

Declaring her his.

Has she seen your tattoo?

“Something happened today.” she said in the aftermath of their sex, when the quiet had settled around them. “This guy…”

“I know,” he answered before she could finish. “It was a mistake. And he won’t be visiting you again.”

A beat, then a careful sigh of relief.

“Okay,” she said. “Awesome, but just so you know…I didn’t tell him anything.”

“I know.”

“Okay, as long as you know…” she said after a long while.

And that was all they said to each other. Tonight No wouldn’t make them bother with a bath or move rooms. Instead, they stayed put on opposite sides of her bed, No listening to the sound of her soft breathing long after she’d fallen asleep.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“ARE YOU BOYFRIEND GIRLFRIEND NOW?”

Lilli was fairly sure her niece’s breakfast table question took them both by surprise, but in typical No fashion, she was the only one who showed it. Blinking several times before she answered, “Okay, I see why you might think that…”

They’d been as discreet as possible, and thank God Ruby’s room was on the other side of the enormous house. But there was only so much hiding two people could do when those two people were going at it like rabbits whenever a door closed behind them.

However, none of this, she was deeply aware, made them boyfriend and girlfriend.

“It’s…ah…complicated,” she told Ruby, not sure how to explain their status, even to herself.

“Is it?” Ruby asked, looking across the glass table to No.

Ruby had been, like, 150% more respectful as of late, but old habits died hard, and she didn’t even attempt to hide the fact that she trusted No’s word way more than Lilli’s.

“Your question is inappropriate,” No answered with a hawk blink. “Now finish your breakfast. It will provide you with strength for tomorrow’s trip.”

Ruby grew quiet and continued to pick at her
tamagoyaki
. Her discomfort evident in her actions if not her words.

“We’re confusing her, I think,” Lilli told him after Ruby left.

This was another weird thing that had just started happening. On the days Lilli didn’t have to go into work early, she and No often lingered at the table after Ruby left for school, and they actually had real conversations.

Sometimes, they’d even share their respective plans for the day. Like a real couple.

Even though they were anything but.

“The question
was
inappropriate,” he repeated.

“Maybe, but this is still very confusing for her. And she already has enough of that in her life.”