Page 10 of Crossed By the Stars

“It was an unmarked sedan. We lost them a few blocks away, but I think the driver was female,” Rana said, sending a knowing look at Jada.

Until two years ago, Jada’s driver and bodyguard was a female in her father’s employ. I wasn’t sure what had become of Kaida Ito since Jada had left the fold, but as there were very few women in that kind of position in theKyodaina, there was a good chance it had been her at the wheel.

Proving the unspoken thoughts right, Ito-san strode into the restaurant. She ignored the eager hostess and approached our table as our teams closed in, shielding us. She’d bleached her hair since I’d seen her last. The short, white-blonde spikes and shaved sides gleamed against even whiter skin, making her eyes stand out, dark and cold, as if all emotion had been removed along with her color.

Rana’s hand collided with Ito-san’s chest, but Ito-san acted as if Rana and the rest of the team were invisible. She spoke through them to Jada.

“Oyabunrequests you meet with him. He’s waiting in the car.”

“I suggest you take a step back,” Rana said, shoving against Ito-san’s sternum harder. In a flash, both women pulled knives from nowhere and had them held to each other’s throats.

Ito-san still didn’t acknowledge Rana, even with the knife pressed against her skin. Instead, she kept her eyes sealed to Jada’s. When I looked over, Jada had gone stiff with a face as blank as her old chauffeur’s.

“If you don’t come,” Ito-san said with a growl, “it’ll be an admission that you’re working against him again, and you know what that means for your friends.”

My stomach plummeted because I knew more than I should about what happened to friends of the Moris.

Rana pushed her knife harder against Ito-san’s throat, and a nick of blood appeared on the white column. Ito-san matched the movement with her silver and ruby-studded knife against Rana’s skin.

Jada slid around the opposite side of the booth.

“Jada, no,” I said, a guttural protest that she didn’t even acknowledge.

She forced her way past Cillian, standing next to the two females stuck in a battle no one dared interrupt.

“I have nothing to hide,” Jada said to Ito-san. “But Rana will come with me.”

Rana’s lip quirked, and Ito-san snorted.

“You won’t need her, but even if you did, she wouldn’t be able to protect you.”

Rana’s fingers tightened on the knife, the small cut on Ito-san’s neck growing. “Want to make a bet?”

“Enough!” Jada demanded in a hushed voice as concerned expressions drifted our way from guests in the restaurant. “Rana, back off. Ito-san is simply doing her job, just like you.”

Both women considered each other for a moment longer before slowly withdrawing their knives and shoving away from each other.

I rose from the booth and pushed past Cillian and the two guards from Jada’s penthouse.

“Jada!” I couldn’t keep the torment from my voice, and when she glanced my way, I added on, “If you go, then I’m coming, too.”

She shook her head. I ignored it, stepping closer and looking down at Ito-san. “I’m coming,” I repeated.

“Suit yourself,” she said. “But your friend has to stay here. Only this one can come.”

She pointed the blade at Cillian and then back in the direction of Rana.

Ilan burst from the kitchen with a plate in one hand and a wine bottle in the other. His eyes widened at the guards and the tension.

“Hold that thought, Ilan. We’ll be right back,” I said with a confidence I felt far from.

“Stay here,” Jada hissed at me.

“If you go, I go,” I hissed back.

“Why do men always insert themselves where they aren’t wanted?” she demanded.

“It has nothing to do with me being male and everything to do with me being your friend.”