Chapter 31: Emperor of Wrath: Chapter 31

For the next two weeks, life is all a hazy dream.

I spend my nights tangled up in Annika.

…I spend a lot of my days the same way, to be honest.

It’s as if I’m addicted to the scent of her. A junkie for the taste of her. Hooked on the feeling of her lips on mine.

Sota officially announces his retirement, and sets the timeline for the Akiyama-kai to be folded into the Mori-kai. There’s some grumbling here and there, but for the most part, everyone in both organizations seems excited and ready for the full strength of the new Mori-kai empire to flex its muscles.

Yes, it’s all a little nerve-wracking. At the same time, I’m beyond ready to lead. I was born for this. It’s in my blood. And with Annika by my side, I feel unstoppable.

Kir heads back to New York, but Freya ends up staying a while. She and Hana are already pals-slash-partners-in-crime, and the fact that Freya can ride seems to win Tak over, too.

Mal, meanwhile, has suddenly found himself fully embroiled with work and has utterly disappeared for the last week.

I have questions. Several of them. But they can wait.

For now, I’m simply enjoying the moment. I’ve got a throne to ascend. An empire to rule.

A wife to love, and a partner to call my equal.

Life is fucking good.

“How’s New York?”

“The same. You miss it?” Kir chuckles over the phone.

I sigh. “Sometimes, a little. Others, not at all.”

I do love New York. But it’s Kyoto that feels like home—doubly so now, with Annika here too.

“So—talk to me about Yelizaveta Solovyova.”

This time it’s Kir’s turn to sigh heavily. “My cousin is a complicated woman, Kenzo.”

That’s putting it mildly.

Yelizaveta Solovyova, known as The White Queen due to her albinism…and that’s a nickname she gave herself, by the way…has ruled the Solovyova Bratva with an even temper and iron fist since she was twenty-three years old. She never married, never had any children, and in the extremely patriarchal world of the Bratva, she’s dominated everyone.

She’s not a pushover.

“Let me guess: she’s mad about Valon.”

He grunts. “She was bizarrely cagey about it, but yes, to say the least.”

“Even though he was a piece of shit,” I persist.

I know that Kir doesn’t know the full history between Annika and that fuck, just that she worked for him. Annika’s told me repeatedly she never wanted him to know about that dark part of her past.

“If we didn’t do business with pieces of shit, Kenzo,” he sighs, “then most criminal organizations wouldn’t exist.”

That’s fair. And I can’t exactly tell Kir about what really happened with Valon and Annika and let him use that to cool Yelizaveta down, because that would be a massive breach of my wife’s trust.

“My cousin did a lot of business with Leka,” Kir mutters. “I mean, he was probably a third of her export network.”

Shit.

“Look, she’s aware that it wasn’t you who personally killed him. But…”

“But it was Annika’s fight with Ulkan that led to his death. And her being my wife complicates things.”

“Exactly,” Kir grunts. “I’ve been on the phone with Yelizaveta all day. A lot of this is reading between the lines, because she’s playing it extremely close to the chest for some reason. But the fact that you went after Leka’s network over the last week has seriously soured things with her.”

I smile smugly. With Valon dead, I have made sure that my people—or people we hired—have gone after that asshole’s network. I had two dozen of his warehouses around Europe and the Mediterranean burned, four of his cargo ships ratted out to various international law enforcement agencies, and another two of them sunk while in port just because why the fuck not.

Yes, his brother, Besor, is in jail for life. But he expressed an interest in taking over for Valon, and someone with resources could very well break or bribe him out. If that happens, I’ve made fucking sure he has nothing to work with.

“I’m not apologizing for anything, Kir,” I growl. “If Besor manages to pay or tunnel his way out of jail, there’s not a chance he’s going to take over⁠—”

“About that,” Kir growls quietly, cutting me off. “Besor was killed in prison yesterday.”

My brows arch. “Really.”

“Yeah.”

“Typical prison violence, or…?”

“He was beaten to death in the yard. But that’s not the interesting part.”

“Go on.”

“When the guards found him, his chest had been tattooed with a message about his brother’s debt not being paid yet, and a promise to go after the extended Leka family outside prison if those debts were not settled quickly.”

My brows knit. “Apparently whoever paid for that ink didn’t get the memo that Valon is dead.”

Kir is silent.

“Kir—”

“This is a delicate question, and please don’t be insulted,” Kir growls. “But exactly how in your pocket are the local Kyoto police?”

My teeth grind. “Very…I thought.”

“They’re the ones who found Leka’s body?”

Fuck.

I’m already up and running out the door, sprinting through the house to the driveway.

“They are,” I mutter as I leap behind the wheel of my black Porsche 911 and slam on the engine. “Where’s this going, Kir?”

“Yelizaveta isn’t so convinced that Leka is dead.”

I gun the engine, screaming down the driveway. My men yank open the gate and nod as I roar through onto the open road.

“Why is that,” I hiss.

“Because she had a video call with him this morning.”

Holy fuck.

The Kyoto Prefecture Takaragaike Police Station falls silent as I storm through the front doors. Most of the officers bow formally to me as I surge past them with curt nods.

They know who I am.

I’m the guy who pays their second salary. The guy who pays for vacations, cars, and schooling for their kids that a police officer could never otherwise afford.

Do I feel bad about the naked bribery in the criminal justice system?

Fuck no.

One, this is just how it’s done. Two, if it wasn’t me, it’d be someone else. And three, as Kir said, if we didn’t do business with shitheads, criminal organizations wouldn’t exist.

…And I would not play nicely in a corporate office.

Deputy Chief Tetsuya looks up quickly from his desk as I poke my head into his office.

“Kenzo-san,” he growls, standing quickly and bowing. “I didn’t know you were stopping by⁠—”

“Come.”

He doesn’t falter at all or question me.

I like Tetsuya.

Silently, he follows me down the hall, and remains quiet as I kick in the door to his boss’s office. Chief Hajime scrambles to stand from his desk as I storm in.

“Kenzo!” He smiles brightly, though it looks like he’s suddenly started to sweat bullets. Some of that could be the way I just roared in here like a bat out of hell.

It could also be because this fuck’s been lying to me, and he’s just figured out that I might know it.

“Close the door, Tetsuya,” I growl.

The door clicks shut behind me. Chief Hajime pales as I approach his desk.

“I want to see it.”

He forces a nervous smile. “See…what?”

“The body,” I growl. “And I would highly suggest you not ask me which body I’m talking about.”

His throat bobs, his eyes darting past me to Tetsuya, pleading for backup.

Something tells me he’s not going to get it. Not from a man who stands to benefit from his downfall.

“Valon Leka?” Chief Hajime blurts. “You mean⁠—”

“Obviously. Well?” I gesture to the door. “Shall we?”

“Ahh, Kenzo,” he stammers. “I wish you’d called ahead so that I can make sure we have access to the correct⁠—”

“Exactly how many fucking white gaijins do you expect me to believe you have down in the morgue?”

“Kenzo—”

Chief Hajime blanches as I open my coat just enough for him to see the cold metal of my sword’s blade glint in the light.

“I’m going to ask you this once and only once, Hajime,” I growl tightly. “Did you find Valon Leka’s body.”

I want him to tell me yes. Truthfully. Because it’ll mean this idea that a ghost from Annika’s past is still out there is as ridiculous as I need it to be.

Leka is dead. Has to be. I saw him lying motionless on the ground in a massive puddle of his own blood. Even if he made it over that wall, there’s no way he had enough blood left in his body to make it twenty feet, let alone live.

But I need this fuck to say it. I need him to tell me I’m not fucking crazy.

But that’s not what Hajime says. He says nothing at all. And that’s what sends a cold knife slicing up my spine.

“Kenzo,” he chokes, his eyes widening in fear. It’s as if he’s remembering all the times he bragged to me about being single. About having no family or children to “weigh him down”.

I’m not exactly a forgiving man. But small details like that may have saved him today.

“Who paid you.”

He starts to sob. “Kenzo, please! I⁠—”

“Who. Fucking. Paid. You,” I snarl.

“I don’t know!” he protests. “A man…a white man. He had an accent. Maybe Turkish…Greek…”

“Albanian?” I growl.

“Yes! Maybe!” Hajime blurts hopefully. “He came and offered me an envelope if I said we found that body. He looked not so well. Kenzo, please! I knew your father! And you and I⁠—”

“You ready to step up?” I turn to level a look at Tetsuya.

He glances apathetically at his sobbing boss before turning back to me and nodding.

“I certainly am, Mr. Mori.”

Smart man. And cold, and ambitious.

I knew there was a reason I liked Tetsuya.

“No!” Hajime screams. “No, wait⁠—”

In one motion, I whirl, draw my sword, and slice the razor tip of it across the front of Chief Hajime’s throat. A tsunami of red spills out as he clutches at the wound, his eyes bulging.

In seconds, the light goes out in them, and his body slumps to the ground.

I’ve paid Hajime a fortune for his loyalty. I will not tolerate him double-dipping, and there is certainly no place for him in my empire because of it.

I kneel and wipe my blade clean on his lapels before I stand and turn back to Tetsuya, who doesn’t look remotely distraught by this turn of events.

Excellent.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Chief Tetsuya.” I glance back at the body and the growing puddle on the floor. “Sorry about the mess.”

“Not at all, Mr. Mori.”

“I can assume I’ve made it clear that loyalty to me means not seeing other people?” I growl.

“Perfectly clear, Mr. Mori,” Tetsuya says with a polite smile, bowing. “And thank you.”

My foot is heavy on the accelerator as I drive home. When I call Annika and she doesn’t pick up, it gets a lot heavier.

My jaw clenches as I grip the wheel tight, taking the turns up the winding roads to my house faster than I should, especially since it’s dusk now.

Leka is alive.

Okay, maybe not. But he’s also sure as fuck not “confirmed dead”, as I thought. There’s no body. No proof at all.

That…unnerves me, to say the least.

I roar up the driveway and jump out of the car.

“Annika!” I bellow as I storm into the house. “Annika!!”

“Kenzo?” I turn to see Mal stepping inside from one of the gardens. “What’s up?”

“Where is she?” I snap.

His brow furrows. “Annika?” He nods with his chin in the direction of Takeshi’s lair in the garage. “You just missed them.”

“What?”

“The four of them just took off up the mountain road on bikes. They’re headed toward Sakamoto Castle—Kenzo!”

He runs after me when I turn, bolt back outside and jump behind the wheel of the car again, revving the engine as my jaw grits tightly.

Mal opens the side door and jumps in.

“What are you doing?”

“Coming with you,” he grunts.

“Buckle up.”

I peel out of the driveway, roaring onto the main road.

“What the fuck is going on, Kenzo?” Mal mutters.

“Leka is going on,” I say, glancing over at him. “Hajime was paid off. They never found the body after all.”

“Fuck,” Mal spits. “He’s alive?!”

“Well, he’s not confirmed dead,” I throw back. “And that’s enough for me to worry when my wife goes for a drive and doesn’t answer⁠—”

“KENZO!”

I see the skid marks on the road just as Mal roars my name. My foot stamps on the brakes. My hand spins the wheel to the side as we come to a screeching stop right in front of the twisted pile of wrecked motorcycles.

Holy fuck.

I’m out of the car in a millisecond, bolting for the wreckage.

“ANNIKA!” I scream. My heart almost stops when I see the black, purple, and neon pink bike twisted and wrenched in half on the side of the road. “ANNIKA!!”

“Kenzo!”

Tak is bleeding from the shoulder and limping as he emerges from the underbrush and the trees next to the mountain road. He’s got his arm around a banged-up looking Hana, who’s pressing a hand to a cut on her forehead.

Shit.

I rush to them along with Mal, dropping to my knees to help Hana sit on the ground.

“They took her!” Hana blurts, wincing as she looks at me, her eyes frightened. “Kenzo, they took Annika!”

“Who?!”

“Leka!” Takeshi grunts. He shakes his head as my eyes go wide. “He made it,” he hisses quietly. “Somehow that fucker is still alive, and he’s got Tengan helping him. They slammed into us with a van, wiped us all out, and then dragged Annika into the back⁠—”

“Freya!” Hana winces, pointing across the road to the dented-up guardrail. “She went over!”

She’s barely finished getting the words out before Mal is bolting, hurdling over the guardrail like he’s trying to race a train before he disappears into the underbrush.

“Which way,” I snarl, turning back to Hana and Tak.

Takeshi points up the road. “Headed toward Sakamoto Castle. Black van, I didn’t get the plate.”

“Do you have your phone?” I blurt.

He nods, gritting his teeth and digging his phone out of his pocket.

It’s completely smashed.

“Shit,” Tak swears.

Hana shakes her head. “Mine’s gone⁠—”

“Take mine,” I growl, shoving it into my brother’s hand. “And call our people!”

I whirl, bolting back to the car just as Mal staggers up the embankment and climbs over the guardrail.

He’s carrying a body in his arms, draped with his jacket.

An anguished cry wrenches from Hana’s throat, but Mal shakes his head.

“She’s okay,” he grunts as he lays Freya’s body on the ground.

“I’m fine!” Freya’s pained voice calls from under Mal’s jacket. “My riding jacket tore off in the crash!”

Mal nods his chin at the sky.

It’s not quite dark out yet.

My eyes drop back to Freya, lying all covered up on the ground. Shit, that’s why Mal’s jacket is over her: her photosensitivity thing.

He knew about that?

There’s no time for questions. Glancing at my siblings, I yank the door open and slide behind the wheel of the Porsche.

Mal is instantly at the window. “Where the fuck are you going?”

“You know where I’m going,” I growl, revving the engine and shifting into drive. “And no, you’re not coming with me.”

“Like fuck I’m⁠—”

“Stay here,” I say coldly, my eyes locking with Mal. “Watch them until our people get here.”

He scowls. “Why Sakamoto Castle? Even at night it’s gonna be crawling with tourists, and all the park staff⁠—”

“They’re not going to Sakamoto Castle,” I growl.

“Kenzo, that’s the only place this road⁠—”

“No, it’s not.”

His brow furrows before it clicks. “No. No fucking way are you going there without any backup.”

“I love you, Mal,” I hiss. “But if you don’t step back from the car right now, I will run you over.”

His face is grim, but he nods. “If you find them, please, just wait until⁠—”

I gun the engine and speed off just as Mal jumps back. The engine roars as I stomp down hard on the gas.

I don’t have time to wait.

I don’t have any time at all.