Fire and Ice - Anne Stuart [4]
He climbed off the motorcycle, pulled off the helmet he’d worn more for disguise than safety, shook out his hair and waited.
He recognized the driver of the limo as he lumbered his way out of the front seat. Kobayashi was a former sumo wrestler and his grandfather’s personal bodyguard. He was huge, powerful, but not very fast, and Reno figured he stood a good chance of taking him in a fight. He wasn’t about to disgrace his grandfather, however, and he simply stood still, waiting for Kobayashi to open the limo door and his grandfather to emerge.
Reno bowed low, and his long tail of hair swung forward, hitting the street. Unfortunate—Grandfather disapproved of the dyed hair and the tattoos almost as much as he disapproved of Reno’s new name.
“Hiromasa-chan,” he said sternly, merely dipping his head in return. He had always been a small man, but he looked even more frail in the cold winter light. He was getting old. “What are you doing here? Have your new employers dispensed with your services?”
Belatedly, Reno whipped off the sunglasses his grandfather despised, knowing the tattooed, blood-red tears on his cheekbones would be almost as offensive to the old man’s sense of what was proper as the heir. “I’ve come back for a reason.”
“I had no doubt you would have thought of some excuse. I wonder why you didn’t think it was necessary to inform your grandfather that you’d decided to disobey his orders and return home.”
“It concerns the sister of Taka-chan’s wife.”
“And you didn’t think your grandfather was capable of seeing to the family honor?” His grandfather’s voice was soft, deadly.
Reno bowed again. He’d almost gotten out of the habit in the short time he’d been in England, but his grandfather was enough to scare the shit out of anyone. “We didn’t wish to disturb you, Ojiisan. We thought it was a matter for the Committee—”
“We?” his grandfather interrupted. “It is only by my kindness that I allow you and your cousin to work for this…Committee. But when it comes to matters of family I am the one who decides what needs to be done.”
Shit, shit, shit. Peter Madsen liked to think he was scary—he was nothing compared to the Old Man. Another goddamned bow. “Apparently she’s come to Japan to visit her sister.”
“And Taka-chan and his wife have gone to the mountains until the Russians can be dealt with,” his grandfather said smoothly.
Reno wasn’t surprised he knew so much—it would have been more astonishing if he didn’t. “We don’t know for sure that they’re Russians,” he said.
“Yes, we do. But the arrival of Su-chan’s sister is something new. Surely Taka would have told her not to come once he learned of the danger.”
“Apparently it was an impulse. She didn’t tell them.”
The old man’s expression signified his opinion of the younger generation, gaijin and impulses. “When is she arriving?”
“I don’t know, Ojiisan. She may be here already.”
“And where would she be staying?”
If it weren’t so cold, Reno’d be sweating. The wind was whistling down the alleyway, but compared to his grandfather it was tropical. “I don’t know.”
“Did you check the hotels?”
This was the tricky part. “I don’t know her full name. It’s Jilly…something. She’s Su-chan’s half sister and her family name is different.”
The sigh his grandfather emitted was so soft that the wind could have whipped it away. But Reno heard it. “Her name is Jillian Lovitz.” He snapped his fingers, and one of the men who’d emerged from the black cars hurried to his side. This was someone new since Reno’s banishment. His grandfather said something under his breath, and with a low bow the man returned to the car.
“Hitomi-san will find out what he can. In the meantime, you will come back to the compound and I will see what I can do—”
“No.”
The silence was absolute. His grandfather froze.
“No,