What Men Want - Chapter 19

At Cat’s Eye, Miki was munching on her lower lip while holding the receiver as far away from her ear as possible. Her husband’s eyebrow started climbing a while ago, and it didn’t seem inclined to stop. She knew how that eyebrow felt. The curses and rants coming from the other end of the line were enough to raise the dead, not only eyebrows.

After a few more seconds of listening to the sweeper yelling at her—for no reason, mind you!—she’s had enough. “Saeba!”

“What?” he growled.

“You can’t just call people and start yelling at them, you know. You might have been raised in the jungle, but you’ve spent enough years in civilization to have become accustomed to some modicum of decorum!”

“Miki.”

“You just stop growling! It’s not my fault, I don’t know where Kaori is. Isn’t she your partner? Like I’m to blame that you misplaced her!”

Falcon chuckled on the other side of the counter.

“Tell that octopus you call husband to stop laughing!”

“Bite me, moron!” Umibozu retaliated immediately.

“Stop it, both of you! You’re old enough to start acting like adults!” Miki rolled her eyes. It was such a pity men became more and more stupid the older they got. “Now, Saeba, tell me what’s got your knickers up in a twist.”

“Kaori’s missing! Are you deaf or something?!”

“And what do you think of accomplishing by yelling at me on the phone? Shouldn’t you go out in search of her? Hey, activate a tracker!”

“She has none on her! As I keep telling you!”

Miki rolled her eyes. Like she was able to understand anything between the yells and curses. Men! “And why doesn’t she have any on her? Are you going to tell me Kaori went out on the streets naked?”

Another chuckle from the other side of the counter.

“She’s in her pajamas! And she didn’t make the bed! Tell me the truth, Miki, is she there?”

Kaori was in her pajamas. And she didn’t make the bed before going out? That made Miki seriously pause. Was it possible something happened to her friend? No wonder Saeba was a nervous wreck. She could even forgive him yelling at her.

“No, she’s not here. Look, have you tried looking for her in your building?”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure you looked everywhere?” She knew she was probably signing her death warrant.

“Miki!”

“Okay, okay, sorry, I asked.” She thought for a while. “Well, if she’s in her pajamas, she cannot be far, and she sure as hell didn’t leave the building like that. It’s not in her character.”

“Miki!”

“Oh, do shut up! I’m trying to think here, because you obviously aren’t!”

There was a roar of frustration. “Listen, woman! I have thought, and I have searched the building. Twice! And don’t tell me to shut up, because I have all the right to be angry and upset, you hear! Kaori is missing! She might be in danger, and you just fucking stand there in the middle of your fucking café, telling me to fucking calm down!”

Her mouth dropped open on a gasp. She’s never heard him speak like that. At least not to a woman.

Umibozu, hearing his friend’s outburst and understanding perfectly well the reasons for it, decided to take matters into his own hands. Miki was truly just standing in the middle of her café, telling Ryo to calm down. How could she not be worried about her friend? Oh well, she was probably giddy as hell for yet another proof of Ryo’s love for his partner. Women!

Grabbing the receiver out of his wife’s lax fingers, he stomped into the back of the café. “It’s me. Try to calm down, man. You’re not helping her by panicking.”

Hearing his friend’s deep, commanding voice seemed to shut Ryo up. At least temporarily.

“What do we know?” Umibozu thought for a second. “Apparently she left in a hurry, the door was unlocked, but you didn’t feel anything off, right?”

There was a tomblike silence on the other hand.

“Right?”

Ryo mumbled something.

“Even having a wet dream cannot prevent you from sensing danger, man.”

A gasp.

Umibozu grinned. “Gee, you’re like an open book. Anyway, that proves she wasn’t kidnapped. Maybe she started walking in her sleep.”

“It’s broad daylight now!”

“So?” Umibozu sighed, leaning against the wall. “Can you imagine Kaori waking up somewhere outside and walking back home in her pajamas? I don’t.”

“Yeah. She’s probably hiding somewhere, raging at the sky.”

“Exactly. Which means we go in search of her.” He sure as hell didn’t want to be the one to find her. Not with her in the mood she was probably in. “I’ll look around here, you get Mick and comb the parks in your area.”

“Does Mick have to know about it?”

Umibozu grinned again. “Better Mick finds her and sees her in her PJs than a stranger.”

Another mumble, and the line went dead.

Umibozu shook his head ruefully. The man had a major jealous streak when it came to Kaori. Poor bastard, indeed.

X Y Z

Mick poked his head into his small kitchen, winking at Kaori as she stood, munching on cereal over the sink.

“I do have a table, you know.”

She lifted an eyebrow, her eyes traveling over the table. Even the worst bars had cleaner tabletops than that. “You need a housekeeper, Mick,” she mumbled over a mouthful. “Or you could learn to clean yourself.”

He actually looked offended. “I do clean!”

“Your apartment, not your guns, buddy. Sheesh! Even pigs live in a better environment. I’m afraid of even taking a shower! God only knows what sort of bacteria infestation you have running in there!”

“Oh, sorry for this not being a five-star hotel! I wasn’t expecting guests, you know! Now you’re going to tell me Ryo actually cleans your place.”

“Nope.” She swallowed. “That’s what I’m for.”

Bastard!

“Mick!”

He grinned. “Oops.”

“He’s your friend!”

“That doesn’t give him the right to treat you like a slave.”

“I volunteered.”

No, you didn’t. You fell in love.

She rinsed her bowl. “Hey, you got a point there. But apparently it only works on women.”

He stared at her questioningly.

Kaori grinned at him. “You’re in love with me, but it didn’t improve your housekeeping skills.”

He'd never expected her to use his confession against him. “That’s a cheap shot, Kaori.”

She lifted a shoulder. “I learned from the best.”

“Speaking of which...” He sighed. “I tried calling, but the line was busy.”

Her eyes were shadowed. “Oh.”

It made him want to hug her, but he was afraid it might not stay at just a hug.

“You wish.”

“Would you stop?”

“Can’t.” She winked. “Stop thinking. You’re blond, it shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Ouch!”

She stuck out her tongue at him. “Look, if you can’t reach him, you could go there. I mean, he’s probably still sleeping, so you could just slip in and get me something to wear.”

Mick leaned against the doorjamb, his eyes twinkling. “I offered to lend you something, but you refused.”

“I might wear mannish clothes, but I can’t imagine walking around Shinjuku in an Armani suit, Mick.”

“True.” He nodded. “So true. It must be quite a step forward from the bum clothes Ryo shows off.”

“Could you be more childish?”

“I could if I tried really, really hard.”

“Would you just go, please?” She slipped past him into the living room. “And stop at a store on your way; I left you a list on the table.”

“Store? Why?”

She turned, hands on hips, glaring at him. “Because, contrary to all beliefs, Pop Rocks and beer don’t constitute a food group.”

“This could fit into a notebook!” He glanced at the thick list. “Why is a cooking book in here?”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Can you cook?”

“No!” He sounded positively outraged.

“There’s your answer.”

“Kaori,” he growled.

“Shush!” She pointed at the door. “Go!”

“But—”

“Go!” She shuddered. “And I’ll give a try at that shower.”

“What about the bacteria?” he laughed.

“I’ll take my chances!” And she slammed the bathroom door shut.

X Y Z

At his apartment, Ryo stared at the phone, a dark scowl marring his forehead. He would go with Umi’s theory of a sleepwalking Kaori, though he had a hard time believing it. But if he didn’t go with it, the only other possibility was her being kidnapped and him not being able to sense the danger to her. But Umi had a point. Even in the midst of an erotic dream, a guy of his background should be able to sense the danger. How the hell did his friend know about the dream, was an idea he refused to think about.

So, as much as it pained him, he would have to call Mick and ask him for help...And hope with all his heart to find Kaori before his American friend did. Kaori in her nightwear was something only he should see, damn it!

Heart heavy, he dialed the number.

 

Cringing, Kaori pushed her face under the water spray. God, Mick’s bathroom looked like a set straight out of a prison movie, complete with yellow stains in the sink and toilet. She just hoped a cockroach wouldn’t come crawling from between the enormous gaps in the tiles. Yuk!

Standing on tiptoes, deciding not to think about what sort of invisible critters might crawl over her feet, she slicked her hair back, her face still under the shower spray, when the phone started ringing.

It figured someone would call Mick when he was out and she was in the shower. How people knew just what time to call was beyond her. She’s never had a similar knack.

The ringing didn’t last long, though, so with a contented sigh, she went back to letting the water massage her face and scalp. She needed to think of some excuse for her disappearance. Ryo probably didn’t even notice, so hopefully she didn’t have to come up with some lame excuse like sleepwalking. She grimaced at that thought.

She also needed to think of a way to block her mind-reading ability. Knowing Ryo and his super-healthy libido, he was probably dreaming of having sex every night, and she certainly didn’t want another reprise of last night’s dream. But she also didn’t want to sleep elsewhere, not that he’d let her anyway. With Hitotsugi Amaya underfoot, he was edgy as hell, and he’d want those under his protection nearby in case they needed it.

So, sleeping at Miki’s wasn’t an option—even with Umi hovering; peeking in on his dreams wasn’t an option she wanted to consider either...What were her options, then? It would appear that she had none.

Deciding she was clean enough and not wanting Mick to come back and find her still naked in his shower, she switched the water off and reached for the towel—the cleanest one she could find in his apartment.

Wrapping herself in it—surprised it even smelled decently clean—she, cringing, stepped out of the shower. For such a polished guy, Mick was a real slob. Hopefully, he was smart enough not to invite any of his conquests over. Talk about a turn-off of major proportions.

As she was on her way to the bedroom, with her pajamas balled up under her arm, a scratching noise at the door made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on air. Has she really been in the shower so long that Mick was back already?

She didn’t have time to run to the bedroom.

The front door slammed into the wall—

And then there was silence.

Her back to the door, Kaori felt a shiver run up the length of her spine. She knew she wasn’t shivering because of the cold. And she also knew that the person behind her, staring at her in utter silence, wasn’t Mick.