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“Why did you come here to warn us, Kenji? You don’t know us. You owe us nothing.” Kingston said as he pulled over a dining chair and Kenji smiled softly, letting go of my hand to wrap his own around the mug.
“I may not know you personally, but I do know you. I spent weeks looking you all up. I know a lot about you, I’ve stared at pictures of you for hours on end. I know your secrets and your past.” He stared at Kingston for a moment too long and Kingston swallowed slowly, looking away.
“That doesn’t explain why you are here telling us. Surely you have an alliance with the Yakuza, and this is breaking something.” I said, trying to understand.
“I came for you, Aurora. I don’t agree with the hit, and I couldn’t bear the thought of knowing I could have done something to stop you. Fabian doesn’t deserve to experience what I did. You don’t deserve to have your life cut short for the greed of others. I…” He looked away shyly as Kingston and I shared a look, knowing this changed everything.
"I care about you. I know that sounds stupid, but I feel like I know you. Not in a creepy way. Well, I guess it is in a creepy way, but I still feel like I know you. I want to know you more. That’s why I had to come. I can’t trust that my phones and computers aren’t tapped so I came on foot instead.” He took a sip of the tea as I put mine down on the coffee table and placed a hand over his arm.
“Thank you, Kenji. What you did was so damn brave, and I understand it took a lot out of you to do it.” He smiled as the door opened and Fabian came out, a curious look in his eyes as he walked towards us.
“Fabian.” Kenji said, his eyes wide with joy and excitement as Fabian frowned with confusion.
“It’s me, the Wizard.” Kenji said with a lopsided grin, and I watched as every part of him relaxed into the moment, Fabian’s own eyes lighting up with joy.
“Really? Oh wow. How did you... why are you here?” He glanced at me then Kingston, his eyes full of too much knowledge.
“I came to talk to your mama about something. We met yesterday. She told me that it would be okay to meet you in person so I thought I could come here, tell her the information I had, and also get to say hi to my favorite hacker.” Kenji said with a wink, and I watched as his entire body language changed. Gone was the scared kid and in his spot was a young and cocky man.
“That is so cool. Can you stay long enough to play a game with me? Maybe go over the code we were working on?” Fabian asked as he looked at me expectantly.
“I would like to stay, if your mama doesn’t mind.” Kenji said as he also watched me. There was something there beneath his smile, something that I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I wanted to say yes to him anyway.
“Of course, Kenji. You can stay as long as you like.” I said as Fabian whooped with excitement, running back to his room to get things set up. Kenji grinned at him before he looked at me.
“Aurora. I know this might sound a little forward but, if it is okay with you, could I stay the night? I…I think if I stay and my dad makes an appearance, I have a better chance of talking him out of this. Please.” He added, his voice laced with fear and desperation. Kingston shrugged, indicating he didn’t mind, and I knew Luca wouldn’t question it.
“We only have the couch left for space. Surely you would rather have your own bed.” I said and Kenji shook his head.
“No. I can sleep on the couch. Let me do this, please. I don’t think I could go home and sleep anyway. I know enough about my dad to know how he works. I could help.” I sighed, feeling like this was going to start a war with others that I couldn’t handle but I had no choice. Kenji felt like he had an air of destiny surrounding him and though I may not be religious like my own mama, I couldn’t deny that I felt like he was meant to be here.
“Okay. You go hang out with Fabian who is fangirling right now, and I’ll set up the couch for you.” He grinned, that same lopsided one that I found adorable and cocky all at once before he headed in Fabian’s direction.
“Oh, Kenji? It would help me a lot if you could talk to him about what got him upset today. He won’t tell us what happened.” I figured if Fabian loved him so much, he would be willing to open up.
“Of course. I’ll see what is on the little guy's mind. Thank you again, Aurora. I’m glad I met you.” He said before heading into Fabian’s room.
I looked at Kingston as Luca came out of our bedroom, glancing at Fabian’s room where the door was still open, their voices softly filtering through the apartment.
“Well, that took a turn I didn’t expect. He has a major crush on you by the way.” Luca said as he flopped down on the couch next to me.
“I spoke to Benjamin. He said Kaito is someone we should be worried about, but his MO is silent, not public in any way and unless he is trying to make a statement or send a message, it is generally made to look like an accident and painless. The Yakuza call him the Ghost because of his skills of coming and going without a trace.” He winced as he said it, a look of determination in his eyes and Kingston’s.
“Well, I guess that is a plus then. Kenji did hint that he would probably come here.” I said with a smile, trying to make a joke out of this. Kingston sighed, shoving me closer to Luca as he sat on my other side.
“I am going to up the security tomorrow. Call some old buddies of mine who can help. He isn’t going to get anywhere near you.” I nodded, not wanting to let them know that fear was swirling around in my gut and a pang of sadness cut deep.
My brother had officially put a hit out on me and that hurt more than I thought. He truly wanted me dead. I always thought we would somehow work through this, find our way back to each other if we could get rid of Rocco but this was a clear sign that he was gone and preparing to take my father’s place as the monster who sat at the head of the Italian mafia.
Now I had to show him that I wasn’t going to accept this lying down and I would fight back. I just had to figure out how.
Chapter fourteen
Kingston
Itwasearlymorning,the grey light telling me it was hinting at dawn, and I hadn’t slept. I was too worried about this new threat towards Aurora, the knowledge that someone was hunting her.
She stirred in the bed next to me, her warmth reminding me that she was here, she was alive, and she was mine.
