Fire and Ice - Anne Stuart [71]
“I thought it might be you locked in here,” he said, his voice cold and deadly. “What the fuck is going on? Why are you locked up, and why is Great-Uncle in seclusion?”
Reno relaxed his body, just marginally. “Nice to see you, too, cousin. Here to play rescuer? All hell has been breaking loose while you’ve been in hiding.”
“Are you accusing me of cowardice, little cousin?”
He knew that tone of voice of Taka’s, knew the kind of danger it signaled, but now was no time to get into a fight. “You had no choice,” he said grudgingly. “The Russians who were after you were being paid for by Hitomi-san, Ojiisan’s new second in command. His family have gotten greedy, and they don’t like his rules, and neither of us was around to stop him.”
“And?” Taka was practically vibrating with rage—not a good sign.
“And they’re planning on getting rid of him and anyone who would inherit leadership. Which means you and me, and you just walked right in here, meaning we’re screwed,” Reno said bitterly.
“You’re screwed,” Taka said. “They don’t know that I’m even here, and I’m not about to enlighten them. How many are there?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think the older generation would turn against Ojiisan, but I don’t know who we can trust. You got any ideas?”
“Of course,” Taka said, his voice clipped. “I’ll get out of here the way I came in and get backup. In the meantime you can stay put so they don’t get suspicious.”
“And if they kill me?”
“Probably long overdue. But I have something even more important to ask you.”
He knew that tone of voice from his older cousin, knew that flat, deadly expression, and he was wary. “What?”
The fist came first, and it was only Reno’s lightning-fast reflexes that stopped it from landing in the middle of his face. He spun, and it landed on a rib that had already suffered a number of kicks from the night before, and he groaned.
“Christ, Taka, give me a break,” he said, knowing exactly what the problem was. “She…”
He came at him again, but this time Reno was ready for him, ducking in under him, knowing that Taka tended to head for the right. Taka fell back, murder in his eyes. “I’m supposed to tell my wife that my family failed her? I’m not going back to her until I beat the shit out of you.”
“Don’t you think dealing with Ojiisan’s problem might be a higher priority?” Reno shot back, panting.
This time Taka’s fist landed on his chin, a glancing blow since he saw it coming, but as he whirled backward he came up against the wall, and he stayed there, out of breath, glaring at his cousin.
“If I beat you to a bloody pulp, they may leave you alone while I go for help. Consider this a gift,” he said, slamming his fist into his stomach.
Reno doubled over in pain. Taka had learned a new fighting style in the past few years—he was no longer as predictable.
“You don’t…” he said, choking.
“Stop it!” The voice was muffled, the cardboard box thrashing around as Jilly tried to fight her way out from under it. Taka froze, staring, as Jilly finally managed to unbox herself. “I’m okay, Taka. Reno saved my life. Many times. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”
Taka didn’t move as he took her in. And then he stooped down, picking up a scrap of cloth from the floor. It would take a monk not to recognize the ripped thong, and Taka was no monk.
Added to that, Jilly’s shirt was misbuttoned, she had a very visible love bite on the side of her neck, and she simply had that well-fucked look that was impossible to mistake.
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Taka said in a quiet voice, leaping on him in a white-hot rage. They both went down, rolling around on the dusty cement floor, flailing at each other. Taka was a little taller, a little stronger, but Reno had more street smarts, and besides, Jilly was watching. Some other time Reno would take the punishment he endured like a man, but not right now.
He shoved his fist into Taka’s gut, getting no more than a muffled grunt in response, and then Taka was pounding him, a lot harder than