It was almost a relief to have something else to worry about besides where Jordie might be lurking, and I paced some more as I waited for Rurik to return. No amount of telling myself I had nothing to worry about could calm me down. He had clearly been unhappy having to leave in a hurry with the mysterious stranger.
Now it was nearly one in the morning, and he was still out there.
“I know I’m not a real wife,” I muttered. “Because there’s no way I’d put up with this crap if I were.”
It was easier to pretend I was angry instead of remembering that black eye I had to help him hide before our first meeting with the Koboyashis. Those scuffed knuckles. Was it really extra time at the boxing gym, or was he in danger when he took off with no explanation and didn’t return until the wee hours of the morning back in LA? Was he in danger now in a foreign country where he couldn’t speak a word of the language?
The more I paced and worried, the less I had to feign my anger. Soon, it was in full force. Fear was something I knew well, but it had never gnawed at me like this for another person. Who was Rurik to make me go through this? How would I even know if something really serious happened to him?
No, no, this was Rurik. Nothing bad could happen to him. Why? Because I couldn’t bear it? Anything could happen to anyone, no matter how big and strong and capable they were.
Wringing my hands and alternating between choking back tears and muttering swear words, I resolved to get the answers I needed as soon as he walked back through that sliding front door.
Because he would walk through it. He had to. I needed him.
Chapter 26 - Rurik
“Not too shabby, tonight.”
I peered at Konstantin as the early-morning dawn light filtered through the trees and buildings. He looked like shit, but was grinning happily. Straightening up, I dragged my hand over my own face, not sure if I looked much better. We had gone in hard as soon as we found where his enemies were hiding out, planning their own ambush against Kon.
We got there first, taking them completely by surprise, and it was over fast. Barely a scratch on me, or so I thought as I blearily raised my hands in front of my face to check for blood. Kon had an apartment where we’d gone to clean up, then he somehow convinced me we needed to celebrate our victory and catch up.
It had been more than a year since I saw him, and I was riding high from the fight, so I tagged along to one of the bars near his place that was still open. While I normally preferred a good book to a good fight, I could appreciate old-fashioned justice. I was sick to death of what was going on in LA. Sure, it was only a matter of time before whoever was fighting us this time would single me out and try to mess with Gavrik Imports. Or worse, Clem.
Something more dangerous than a fire in a warehouse, or the current issues we were having with trucks disappearing. All of it was coming to a head. Hearing that they might be searching us out in far-off lands pissed me off to no end. Kon swore he was here for a business deal and had been keeping to himself.
Did I fully believe him? No. But he was family. Blood. You didn’t mess with the Bratva, and you certainly didn’t mess with a Fokin, no matter where we were in the world. Now I wasstaggering back to the villa at dawn, invigorated by the victory, and yes, too much vodka.
Somehow, Kon always managed to get me to come out of my shell, and he was determined to meet Clem, whom I couldn’t shut up about once I was a few drinks in after the fight.
“Get lost,” I said. “She can’t meet you when you have blood on your neck.”
He had taken a hard hit in the ear, probably bursting his eardrum, and he looked rather gruesome as I perused him now. How we weren’t kicked out of the bar was beyond me. He rubbed at his neck and pointed to my own face. My lip and jaw were vaguely sore, numbed by copious toasts.
“She’s not going to like this,” I said. “And how am I supposed to explain it?”
I had filled Kon in a little bit on my situation with Clem. He found it hilarious, but looked at me seriously now. “Tell her the truth before she finds out herself.”
“When we’re back in LA,” I said. “When the time is right.”
“Then tell her we got mugged,” he suggested.
I scowled at him. No one in my family liked looking weak, but that was better than having to admit we’d been out kicking the asses of Tokyo’s crime elite, or that my uncle was most likely involved in something he wasn’t fully telling me about. Just the fact that we were a target because of our last name wouldn’t have put her mind at ease in the slightest and only opened a can of worms I wasn’t ready to deal with.
My only objective was to make Clem happy and keep her safe. Running out on her last night was bad enough. She wasn’t going to—
“Oh my God,” she hissed, flinging open the front gate and stepping out onto the sidewalk beyond the wall of our little sanctuary.
Her eyes swept me, her brows shooting together when she noticed my lip. I licked it and tasted blood. Damn it. Should have done a better job cleaning up. Grabbing my hand, she started to tug me into the courtyard, then noticed Kon and scowled at him.
Not an ounce of fear, only concern as she wedged herself between us. He laughed, thrusting out his hand.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he said. “Konstantin Fokin, this one’s uncle, though I’m barely older than his brother.”
“Old enough to know better then,” she said, as prim as a Victorian schoolmarm. Wrinkling up her nose, she accused us of smelling like we had taken a swim in alcohol.
Laughing, I pulled her into my arms. “I’m sorry,” I murmured against her sweet-smelling hair, sorry for infecting her with my stink. “We lost track of time after…”