Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“What?”
“An intensity." She dialed.
I watched.
Who is she calling?
The person must have picked up because then, she spoke, "Kenji."
I raised my eyebrows.
Her voice was very careful in tone. "I believe we should postpone tonight."
Oh shit.
Silence.
Of course. I couldn't hear his response.
Hiroko sighed. "I understand, Kenji, but I really think—"
More silence.
Hiroko's face shifted. She'd definitely been cut off. "Kenji—"
Nothing.
“Kenji? Kenji?” She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. “Well. . .he hung up.”
I blinked.
Hiroko was quiet for a long moment and stared at the phone for another second. After another minute, she straightened her spine, smoothed the front of her leather kimono, and slipped it away.
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
She caught it anyway. "Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"Your face said plenty." She shook her head. "I guess we're still doing this."
“And what are we doing exactly?”
“You will see.”
“You’re nervous about us doing it, so maybe you should tell me.”
“I can’t. He wants you surprised in the moment.”
The golf cart slowed to a stop.
A structure emerged from the trees. Smaller than I expected. Traditional Japanese architecture—dark wood, sloped roof, paper screens glowing warm from the inside. A stone path led to the entrance, lined with lanterns that cast soft gold circles on the ground. Somewhere nearby, water trickled. A fountain or a stream.
It looked peaceful. Innocent even.
But I was learning that nothing on this island was as innocent as it looked.
"Where is this, Hiroko?"
"This is the villa Kenji assigned me.”
“Nice.”
“It is." Hiroko stepped out of the cart. “A lot of the gear I'm going to put you in is here. And then we'll go to the next location."
"What's the next location?"
"The Dragon doesn't want you to know until you arrive."
I did my best to hide my annoyance.
What the hell do you have planned, Kenji? And why does the not knowing make my pulse race like this?
Chapter nineteen
The Slave in the Cage
Nyomi
We entered her villa.
Oh, this is nice.
The living room had been transformed. Racks lined the walls—red lingerie, leather pieces, harnesses, straps.
Incense curled from somewhere I couldn't see, filling the space with something dark and sweet.
And in the center of it all. . .Zo.
I grinned.
In true Zo fashion, he was lounging on a chaise. A king holding court. Silk pajamas. Martini in hand. One leg extended while a person knelt at his feet—tall, beautiful, with sharp cheekbones and long painted nails—carefully applying a top coat to his toes.
Another person stood beside him holding a small plate of grapes, occasionally placing one between his lips.
He looked ridiculous and glorious all at the same time.
He saw me and gave a lazy wave. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,”
Zo assessed my gown and hair. “Granted I would have done even better.”
“No doubt.”
"I would stand, but I don't want to mess up my nails."
“Oh, we wouldn’t want that.”
“I know. Right?” He wiggled his freshly painted toes.
I couldn't help it. I chuckled. "I see you've been having a difficult time on the island."
"Oh, the most difficult." He pressed a hand to his chest. "The stress, Nyomi. The trauma. You have no idea what I've endured on this island. No idea."
"Oh really? What trauma have you gone through. Was it the pyre?"
He blinked. “The what?”
Hiroko shook her head. “She’s talking about the BBQ we weren’t invited to.”
I quirked my brows.
“I told him not to think about it.” Hiroko shrugged her shoulders. “Surely, there will be other BBQs. Right?”
“Uh. . .yes.” I figured Hiroko did not want to deal with a Zo that knew there’d been a pyre of hundreds of people burning today. And being that I’d dealt with an anxious Zo many times before, I understood. “Yeah. And don’t worry. I didn’t go to the BBQ either.”
“Oh.” Zo nodded. “Then, clearly they didn’t want the best people there, because honey, we are everything and more.”
“Yes. We are.”
“It did smell so good.”
My stomach twisted. “Yeah. . .delicious.”
"But anyway, let’s get back to my hardships.” Zo waved that away. “First, there was the lack of proper skincare products. Then the absence of decent Wi-Fi. And don't even get me started on the thread count of the sheets in my room."
He shuddered. "Criminal. Absolutely criminal."
I laughed, and it felt good. A pure release after Hiroko’s little horror story in the golf cart.
"But I persevered." Zo took a grape from the attendant's fingers and popped it into his mouth. "I found the weed hookup. I connected with Deja and Nika. And you know how Deja’s cousin is. . .a pure cheapskate. She took all my weed, so I had to go back and get more. That’s the last time I’m smoking with Nika. Like talk about poverty mindset! Anyway, I demanded better pillows and received them. All and all, I survived."
"You’re a true hero."
"I know. It is exhausting being this resilient."
The person at his feet finished the topcoat and began gathering their supplies.