Page 11

We sat and chatted, but after ten minutes, I looked down the hallway, wondering what was taking her so long. At thirty minutes, I walked down the hall in search of her. I knocked softly on her bedroom door.

“Regan?”

“Come in.”

I froze. That wasn’t my sister’s voice. It was Kaito’s.

I quickly swung the door open, not sure about what I was about to see, but when I saw Regan sitting quietly in a chair by her desk, I relaxed some.

But that moment of respite lasted for only a second. Kaito walked over to stand behind her and placed his hands on her delicate shoulders, stroking them before leaning down, his mouth close to her ear.

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you, darling. Such a fine woman you’ve become. You should ask your sister to let you come out with me. I’ll treat you to anything your heart desires. It’s the least I could do as your future brother.” He locked eyes with me and smirked.

I watched as he trailed a set of fingers up the side of her neck, his lips dangerously close to kissing her in the same spot.

“I’ll have to check my calendar, Mr. Yamazaki. That’s very kind of you,” Regan said, her voice a note away from quivering.

“Kaito, what are you doing here, in my sister’s room?” I had to play this safe, but I demanded answers. How dare he invade her private room and not even come in through the front door!

“I was just looking at what is soon to become my newest investment.” His hand gestured around the room, but his eyes peered down at Regan and back at mine as his smirk grew.

His insinuation was clear. And it made me sick.

“Well, I think you’ve seen quite enough,” I said coldly.

He stroked my sister’s shoulders one last time before straightening up and walking over toward me, coming to a stop right in front of me.

“You are quite right. It is time for us to go home, my dear . Grab your things. We’re leaving.” He locked eyes with mine, daring me to challenge him.

I said nothing. Instead, I walked past him and over to my sister.

She stood and hugged me, whispering in my ear, “I wish you didn’t have to go with him.”

I gave her a quick squeeze in reply. She slipped the book into my hands and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I gave her a weak smile and turned. Kaito gestured for me to walk in front of him, and I did. We walked out of her room and down the hallway.

“About time! I was about to call a search part—” Sydney’s voice trailed off as soon as she saw me and Kaito come out of the hall. “What are you doing here?” she snapped angrily.

He sneered at her. “Ahh, the brazen one. Still as classless as ever, I see. Don’t worry; once you move out of this hovel and in with me, we will fix that disrespectful attitude of yours.”

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Fat chance. Why don’t you get out of our house? Last I checked, I never invited you here, so you need to leave.”

I knew Kaito was about to do something to her, so I immediately grabbed his arm, looping my arm around his. “Kaito, we really need to get back. I’m sure you have some important business to attend to.”

He glanced down at me and composed himself. “Of course I do. Let’s go.”

He didn’t even let me say goodbye to Sydney. I peered over my shoulder back at her. She looked sad and waved at me. I gave her a nod.

I walked with Kaito to the car, where his bodyguard opened my door first. I slipped inside before Kaito joined me on the opposite side.

I thought I was in for a very uncomfortable ride home, but Kaito didn’t say two words to me. He pulled out his cell phone and began talking to someone on it. He was completely ignoring me, which was probably part of his plan to keep me tense over the whole situation that had just happened.

I yanked out my phone and stared at it.

Did I dare text him? While sitting next to Kaito in the car?

I glanced toward Kaito, and he was deeply engrossed in his call, so I shifted in my seat to prevent him from being able to see my screen and sent off a message.

Raven

Today has been … well, stressful would be saying it nicely.

I was surprised that he responded pretty quickly. Usually, AJ didn’t reply with anything that wasn’t straight-up sexual, so I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to get as a response. But I didn’t think he would say what he did.

AJ

What’s wrong, baby girl?

I hesitated, waiting for him to follow it up with some offer to get back into his bed, like he typically did. But that message never came.

Do I text him about what happened?

To be honest, I should have ended our conversations weeks ago.

Shouldn’t be sitting here, considering if I should let him further into my life.

If these messages were ever found out … I didn’t want to think what type of punishment Kaito would give out for a transgression like flirting with another man.

But I didn’t have anyone else to talk to.

Raven

My life is just a mess right now. I wish I were back at that bar the night I met you and that I wasn’t thinking about this looming issue ahead of me this week.

I couldn’t believe I’d just sent that. What the hell had I been thinking? Kaito was literally sitting next to me. He could reach over and grab my phone at any moment.

AJ

That’d be fine by me, baby. What’s the issue?

I didn’t realize we had pulled into Kaito’s estate and up to my house there until we lurched to a stop and I almost dropped my phone. I looked at Kaito, waiting to be dismissed, and he waved his hand. I got out of the car and hurried up the stairs of my house as the car drove away.

I closed the door and leaned against it. Sending him one final text.

Raven

It’s fine. Nothing you need to worry about. I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.

And with that, I slipped my phone into my pocket and resolved to focus on the task at hand.

Making sure Kaito never put his hands on my sister like that ever again.