Page 119 of Blood in the Water

They each wanted something. They had their own goals and desires. Wynn cared about eradicating trafficking. Ciel wanted to find his parents’ killers. Ryuji loved his clubs and just wanted freedom over his future.

Could I develop a proposal that would get them all to agree to workwithme? Would they help me build my empire… maybe as partners?

Yet Obi was utterly unknown to me.

Behind those dark eyes, what didhewant? What could I offer him to get him to agree to support my mafia?

I nodded slowly. A tiny flicker of hope took hold in my chest, flaming to life once again. I could do this. I could get them to agree, especially now that it was for me. There had to be a common ground where everyone could benefit from this relationship.

“Thank you, Obi,” I said with a small smile.

He grinned back at me, his handsome face crinkling at the eyes. “You are most welcome.”

Movement to my right had my attention snapping across the room.

“Good morning,” Wynn said as he strolled into the room. He nodded at Obi and casually walked over to plant a kiss against my hair before he poured himself a cup of coffee.

My cheeks burned. Obi laughed and took another sip of coffee from his mug. Then, as if our conversation never happened and he hadn’t just watched Wynn blatantly kiss me, he opened the newspaper and continued reading.

I practically jumped out of my seat. I needed to move my body and get some of this pent-up energy out while I thought about what to offer each of them. The best way to let my mind wander freely was to keep my body occupied.

“Wynn.” I stretched my arms over my head. “Want to work out?”

Getting my blood flowing would help me process. Then, when Ciel woke up, I’d ask him to help me track down my money and crack those restricted files from my father’s hard drive.

Wynn grinned. “What kind of weapons today, darling?”

I blushed again at the endearment, but Obi didn’t even flinch; somehow, I found that comforting. Like I was starting to belong here, and maybe my quest for my legacy wasn’t dead in the water before it started.

“Dealer’s choice.”

“Brass knuckles it is,” he said as he set his coffee on the counter. “Let’s warm up with some grappling.”

I followed him toward the elevator.

“Oh, Leona,” Obi called without looking up from the newspaper. “I will tell Ciel to find you when he wakes up. Good?”

I called back my thanks as the elevator door closed.

It wasn’t until we were ten minutes into warming up that I realized I never told Obi that I was looking for Ciel. He just knew.

42

RYUJI

Islept like fucking shit. The clock read noon, far earlier than I usually woke up, but my stomach screamed, and that was enough reason to get out of bed and search for my beloved breakfast.

As soon as I stepped out of my room and into the hallway, I slammed into her. She recoiled back with a yelp while I jumped back.

“Shit. Sorry.” She rubbed her nose where it had bumped against my chest. “Morning.”

“Hey,” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck and took her in. She wore workout clothes again, with those tight leggings that defined every curve of her waist and thighs.

“Oh, I’m glad to see you actually.” She took another step back and shifted on her feet. “I wanted to say thank you for last night. We wouldn’t have gotten out of there alive without your help. So though it kills me to say, I appreciate it.”

My eyes caught on a droplet of sweat that fell down her chest and into the valley between her cleavage. Had she been working out with Wynn? Already today, after everything she’d been through the night before? Was she even cleared to exercise withthose stitches in her arms? How had she slept? Had she slept at all?

“Ryuji?” she asked, the corner of her mouth lifting into a smile as I stared at her, totally transfixed by how her chest heaved like she was still trying to catch her breath. “Are you even listening to me?”