Reckoning - Chapter 9

Kaori could feel the others staring at her, him staring at her, but her gaze was locked on the bastard in front of her.

Kaibara Shin. .

Leader of Union Teope. .

The son of a bitch who’d caused so much grief, suffering, and death. To Kaori-ko, to Hideyuki, to her, to Ryo. .

The son of a bitch who was smirking at her. “Makimura Kaori in the flesh. I heard a lot about you.”

“Likewise,” she replied pleasantly.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Kaibara said.

“Pity I can’t say the same.”

He chuckled, but his eyes were dead. “I can see the family resemblance. He looked at me the same before he died. Your cousin.”

There was nothing showing on her face, in her eyes, or in her demeanor; she made sure of it. On the inside, though, she was screaming.

He’d hoped to elicit a response, an attack, maybe, and the lack of it made him frown. He pursed his lips as he stared at her as if she were a new species he couldn’t understand. Then he tsked. “You can’t touch me, Kaori-chan. You have absolutely nothing on me that isn’t circumstantial, I made sure of it.”

She took a step forward, so, thanks to her heels, they were nose to nose, and lowered her voice so only he could hear. “I have no intention of arresting you, Shin, I want you dead.”

He smirked. “And who will kill me? You? Ryo?”

“I don’t care who does it. I will watch you die. Before the week is through, you will die.”

He shrugged. “I’ll extend the same invitation to you as well, then. I bet you know where my yacht is, come and visit.” And he brushed past her, leaving her alone with Ryo, Mary, Umibozu, and Mick Angel.

She grinned and waved. “Hello, gang. Is there any coffee left?” And, knowing the way, went into the kitchen. This would take a while; she needed a little kick.

She grabbed her cup from its little hook, poured the coffee from the carafe, tasted…And promptly spat the swill into the sink. “Holy shit!”

“What are you doing?” Ryo growled from behind her, Mick and Mary peeking into the kitchen around him.

Kaori turned, lifted the cup in her hands. “I see where you learned to make coffee. This could strip paint.” She grabbed the carafe, poured the dark, oily contents down the drain, and checked that the kettle was full. Then she thoroughly rinsed the carafe and her cup, took a fresh filter, and carefully measured the ground coffee into it.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ryo repeated as he came to stand beside her.

“What does it look like?” She started slowly pouring the boiling water. “Making coffee.”

“Why?”

She knew he wasn’t really asking about the coffee, but she could play dumb, too.

“Because I need it. And I like my stomach lining.” She looked at Mick and Mary, still loitering in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at her like she had wings. “You guys want some?”

Mary, eyes wide, shook her head no.

Mick grinned. “I’m good.”

“Umibozu!” she called. “Want some coffee?!”

The giant appeared behind Mick and Mary. “No, thank you.”

“Suit yourself.” She pressed her hips against the counter, watching the water slowly trickling through. “This’ll take a while, you might as well wait in the living room.”

No one budged.

The next couple of minutes were the longest and quietest in Kaori’s life, but at last the coffee was ready. She poured it into her cup, added the perfect amount of sugar and cream, took Ryo’s cup down from its own hook, filled it, left it black—as he liked it—and offered it to him.

Out of habit, he accepted it, and they took the first sip together.

“What a domestic picture you two paint,” Mick said with a grin.

“Don’t piss me off, Angel,” Kaori calmly said as Umibozu smacked him upside the head for good measure. She fought a grin and went into the living room, leaving the four of them to follow.

Or not. It was their choice.

She made herself comfortable on the couch, crossed her legs, and took another sip of her coffee. “Go ahead,” she said as they joined her, and Mick and Mary sat on the couch perpendicular to her, while Umibozu and Ryo remained standing. “Ask your questions.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Ryo snapped before she finished the sentence.

“Makimura Kaori.”

“Bullshit!”

She lifted her butt and fished her ID card out of her back pocket. Offered it to him.

“I don’t give a shit what it says, it can be faked.”

She blinked. “Why would I fake it?”

He glared. “Oh, I don’t know. You faked everything else. You lied.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You haven’t been exactly the paragon of truth either.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “How many lies have you told me in the past four years?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “That is beyond the point.”

She slammed her cup onto the table and stood. In her heels, they were almost eye to eye. Almost. His lips were directly below her line of vision. But she refused to be distracted by those full, expressive lips, so she met his glare with her own.

“You accused me of lying, I’m just pointing out your hypocrisy.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not excused,” she snapped. “I never lied to you.” She lifted her hand to stop him before he could speak. “I never lied. I just didn’t tell the whole truth.”

He snorted. “That’s the same as lying.”

“Is it?” She mirrored his pose by crossing her arms over her chest. “There’s lying and there’s withholding truth. You’re an expert in both.”

“While you turned them into an art form,” he shot back.

“I never lied to you, you jackass!” Her arms were no longer crossed but stiff at her sides, fists clenched.

“Oh, really?” Ryo arched an eyebrow. “What about you not knowing how to shoot?”

Kaori wanted to deck him. “Not even you could hit anything with that piece of shit gun you gave me.” She poked him in the chest. “You lied, while I just omitted the fact I do know how to shoot.”

“Enough!” Umibozu roared, and they both turned to look at him in bewilderment.

They’ve forgotten they weren’t alone, pent-up frustrations bubbling to the surface. As usual.

“You two are incorrigible.” Umibozu shook his head. “Kaori, if that is really your name, why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“Right. Sorry.” She once more took her seat. “Well, I’m Makimura Kaori, an agent with the MPD Drug and Firearms Countermeasures Division.”

Ryo hissed a curse.

“Hideyuki was my cousin. When his baby sister died of an overdose, we swore revenge on Kaibara and the Union.”

“Which brought you to me,” Ryo muttered and went to stand by the window, looking out, hands in pockets.

She turned after him, as if the others weren’t there. “Yeah. We knew sooner or later he’d make contact. We just didn’t know he’d take his sweet time doing it.”

“You two really had me fooled.”

Kaori winced at the tone of his voice. There was so much hurt and disappointment in it. “For what it’s worth. I am sorry. So was Yuki. We never meant to hurt you.”

“No, just use me.”

The end justified the means. He wasn’t a stranger to revenge. He should understand. “Ryo…”

He turned to glare at her. “I can’t believe you were so quick to replace Maki after he died.”

“He didn’t.” At least not four years ago.

“What?!”

“He got the opportunity to infiltrate the Union and we made the switch.”

Ryo scowled. “It was staged?”

She just nodded.

“And you have the guts to tell me you didn’t lie?! You said he died!”

Kaori scrunched her nose. “No, you said he died. I just didn’t correct you.”

The expression on his face was priceless, a mix of incredulity, anger, and exasperation; she almost laughed out loud. To keep a straight face, she bit the inside of her cheek and strove to look as innocent as possible.

The little twinkle in his eye told her she didn’t fool him in the least.

“So he’s still alive?” Ryo couldn’t wait to get his hands on the man he’d considered his friend. Makimura Hideyuki was in for quite a beating. That’ll teach him to pretend to be dead. That will teach him to extract stupid promises from people.

“Not anymore,” she murmured, looking down at her hands, clenched into fists in her lap. “Two weeks ago, he suspected his cover was blown. He was right. Kaibara had him killed. I found out that night.”

She didn’t have to say which night. It was the night she’d disappeared. Four days ago. Fuck!

Ryo stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets, lest he do something he shouldn’t. Like grab her and hold her. He didn’t want to feel sorry for her, damn it. But he did. Jesus, first she’d lost her little cousin, now Hideyuki. And all at Kaibara’s hand. No wonder she’d looked at the bastard with murder in her eyes earlier. She wanted revenge. She needed revenge. Ryo knew very well how that felt.

In her shoes, he would have done the same. Get close to the one link that could lead to his target, use whatever means necessary to achieve his goal. Achieve revenge.

He suddenly understood completely. Understood and approved. He might even forgive her. A little. Eventually.

He huffed. Fuck it, she was screwing with his mind. Again. Still. He was such a sap when it came to this woman.

“Why are you here, Kaori-kun?” he asked, reverting to his former attitude when it came to her. It was easier teasing her than— “If it’s because you want my help with Kaibara, you can forget it. I only accept jobs from women, remember.”

Her eyes lit up as she smiled. “I love you, too.”

That smile, coupled with her words, was like a kick to the gut. What the hell? Usually, he got a mallet to the head.

Her expression earnest, she shook her head. “No, I came because you deserve the truth, and I wanted to apologize. For everything.”

Ryo’s heart skipped a beat. It sounded like goodbye. What was she planning? Did she want to go against Kaibara and the Union alone? Fat chance. She wasn’t getting anywhere near the son of a bitch. Not until he had any life left in his body. He’d promised Hideyuki he’d protect her. And that’s what he’d do, even if it killed him. He wasn’t losing her again.

He grabbed her by her upper arms and hauled her to her feet. “Don’t even think about it, you hear?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“Going after him alone.” He shook her slightly. “Forget it. Leave him to me.”

“Get your hands off me.” She glared. “You tried it once, and you couldn’t kill him.”

He let her go as if scalded. “What?”

“You tried going after him after he betrayed you, after he was kicked out of the army. You couldn’t kill him then, you won’t be able to now.”

He scowled. Of course, she knew every sordid detail. She’d known from the beginning. Even before Mary had opened her big mouth.

It was true; he’d tried to kill Kaibara a long time ago, but he’d still been fighting the aftereffects of Angel Dust then, and he’d been filled with hatred, anger, and resentment. No wonder Kaibara had gotten the upper hand.

It wouldn’t happen again. It couldn’t happen again. He’d had nothing to live for back then. He had everything to live for now.

Her eyes were shiny. “He let you live once, he won’t repeat the same mistake again.”

He smiled slightly. “I’m not the same man as I was then. This time, I will kill him.”

“And we’ll help,” Mary chimed in.

Both he and Kaori started. They’ve once more forgotten they weren’t alone. The other three had been silent so far, enjoying their free movie.

“Hell, yeah.” Mick pumped his fist in the air, his eyes twinkling in expectation. “I’m ready, willing, and able.”

Kaori rolled her eyes. “Stay out of it, all of you, or I’ll throw your asses in jail faster than he can draw his Python.”

Ryo arched his eyebrow as Umibozu chuckled.

Mary blinked. “She can’t do that, can she?”

“You’d be surprised at what she can do,” Saeko said from the doorway, her fingers clenched into fists. “That badge at her waist lets her do pretty much whatever she wants.”

Kaori grinned.

Saeko glared. “She has absolute immunity.”

“Within the scope of my duties,” Kaori elaborated.

“And who determines what’s inside the scope of your duties?” Saeko snarled.

Kaori cocked her head, a smirk playing on her lips. “Why so angry, Saeko?”

“You lied to me.”

Kaori rolled her eyes. “Here we go again. We were operating on a need-to-know basis. You simply didn’t need to know.”

“He should’ve told me!”

“Why? It was beyond your paygrade, and you weren’t a couple anymore.” She pursed her lips. “You’re not really angry with me, are you, Saeko? You’re not even angry with Hideyuki. You’re mad at yourself. Because maybe if you had accepted his proposal instead of dumping him, he wouldn’t have volunteered to infiltrate the Union. If you hadn’t been so proud and stubborn, he might still be here. If you hadn’t been such a coward, Hideyuki might still be alive.”

“This is better than a soap opera,” Mick stage whispered, his eyes round as saucers.

“By now, it should be clear to everyone,” Kaori emphasized, “that you never know what you have until you lose it. And by then, it’s way too late for recriminations and what-ifs.” She buttoned one button on her blazer and nodded toward Saeko. “I gather you received the tablet. I expect it back, by the way. Now you know where to find me.”

“I’m head over heels in love with you,” Mick blurted.

“Grow up.” Kaori glared at him and walked to Saeko’s side. “It is what it is,” she murmured as Saeko’s startled gaze met hers. “It was his choice. You better start forgiving yourself, or the guilt will eat you alive.”

“Where are you going?” Ryo called after her as she opened the door.

“Home,” she replied without turning. “I have a ton of paperwork to sort through.” Then she gave them a backward wave. “Make good choices!”

“Hey, Kaori!”

She sighed and turned, one eyebrow arched.

Ryo flashed his trademark idiot grin. “You know, from behind, someone with poor eyesight might even mistake you for a woman.”

Kaori mentally rolled her eyes. The man had no idea how transparent he was. How easily she could read him. To an untrained eye, he had one hell of a poker face, an impassive, impenetrable facade, but to someone who knew what they were looking for, knew him, everything he was feeling, every truth he was hiding was blatantly evident. Both on his face and his body. He always ended up betraying himself.

She smiled. She probably looked as besotted as she felt, but she didn’t care. “I love you, too, Ryo.”