Page 101 of Cunning Lies

“Don’t‘sweetheart’ me,” I hiss. “What’s going on in the desert?”

Seconds pass. My heart races, and my throat runs dry. Jay’s lips pry back into a smile, and every hair on my body stands on end.

“Come on, Vi. You knew this is what it’d come down to, right?” he chuckles, but there’s nothing funny about this.

“No,” I say. “I didn’t.”

“The Endo-kai took my son. Took your marital status. Took my pinky. The least we can do is take some of their guns.”

My ears drum. “I couldn’t even break into Kenzo’s office. How the hell do you think you’ll have access to their gun storage?”

Jay holds up a black smartphone.

“I’ve got everything we need,” he says. “When Dice was waiting for Tomo to show up, he left me with one of his guards. This four-eyed fucker. New guy. All it took was the promise of riches, and he practically gift-wrapped it for me.” He belly laughs, then winces in pain. “We’ll be rich, Vi. Fuckingrich.”

My blood runs cold. “Rich,” I repeat, my voice barely audible. It’s the only thing that matters to him.

“Rich,” Jay says. “Richer than your mafia husband. Richer than—” he sees my expression and stops. “Rich enough to finally get you that house you want. On the beach. Seventeen rooms. An infinity pool. A movie theater. I don’t care. Just let me do this. For you, Vi.”

Everything seems surreal right then. I used to want everything Jay said to be true so badly, but everything he said was a lie to keep me calm and obedient.

“This is suicide,” I say, pleading for him to stop. “Kenzo literally saved us, when he was supposed to kill us. If we take their guns, theywillcome after us. And there will be no saving us this time.”

“Oh, hush,” Jay says. “All we have to do is be on the run for a few months, and then everything will be over. By then, they’ll have lost the war.”

My heart pounds.War?What war?

“What?” I whisper.

“Come on, Vi,” Jay says. “Our client from Tokyo? They’re not going to put up with the Endo-kai taking more money from them. Especially cutting out Shabu Eight! From what I hear, that’s theonlytrade they have right now. Cutting out their gun deal is like a slap in the face. They’ll obliterate the Endo-kai, and you won’t have to worry about divorcing that asshole. You may even get to collect! I’m sure he’ll put something in his will.”

He beams like even Kenzo’s will was a part of his plan.

I can lie. I can run away. I can do a lot of things.

But I can’t let Kenzo get hurt.

“This isn’t right,” I stammer. “You can’t do this. I won’t let you.”

“Why do you care?” he snaps. “They aren’t your family. I am.Move on.”

His words are callous, bringing me back to when I was eight years old. I still kept that turquoise jarred candle with me everywhere we went, but when I was sleeping, Patrick had scooped the wax on the carpet and mashed it into the fibers. The hotel room reeked of salt, sunscreen, and grief. I couldn’t fix it. And I couldn’t stop crying.

Jay was red-faced as he yelled at Patrick, but then he turned to me, his jaw tight. I sunk inside of myself.

You need to move on, Vivy,he said coldly.They’re not your family. We are.

“Kenzo was right,” I say. My body constricts with nerves and I laugh, every muscle in my body pulsing. “You don’t care, do you?”

“About what?”

“About me!” I shout. “You say this is about vengeance, but it’s an excuse. You hardly even cared when your own son died at the hands of the yakuza. Why would you care if I died too?”

“You’re not going to die,” Jay scoffs. “Kenzo loves you too much. The dumb bastard.”

Love.Real love.

Giving your wife and her crappy fake uncle twenty-four hours to skip town isn’t the sweetest way to show that you love someone, but it’s the only way Kenzo can save me.