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I snorted with laughter, and even Rafael cracked a smile.
Quentin shook his head, unable to suppress a grin of his own. “You’re just never going to give up on that quest, are you?”
Niko dug back into his spaghetti. “It’s the most honorable quest there is. But I guess I’ll just be pleased that Jasper isn’t feeling the need to pour maple syrup all over my country’s cuisine.”
I muffled another laugh. “This isn’t evenyourcountry’s cuisine.” Although I had to admit there was something about the Japanese take on the seafood fettuccine I’d ordered that really hit the spot. For some reason I can’t figure out, Italian seemed to be the most popular foreign food offered around Tokyo. Every mall had a floor of restaurants up at the top, and every one of those sort-of food courts included at least one Italian place.
Rafael grunted. “If you can find someplace in this city that makes authentic ropa vieja, then I’ll be impressed.”
Niko beamed at him. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I chewed my mouthful of prawn and tomato sauce happily, letting the cozy atmosphere wrap around me. There hadn’t been many moments in the past few weeks when we’d been able to simply relax and enjoy ourselves. It was nice to forget all our troubles for an hour or two.
Of course, Rafael never stopped his periodic scans of the restaurant. We’d shed our police protective detail the last time we’d been at the big arena—I didn’t want the cops knowing where we were living or our non-professional activities, and Niko had managed to convince them to stick to guarding me at that rink. For all I knew, Mom or one of her Devil’s Dozen allies had hacked into the Tokyo Police computer system and would find out anything they committed to record.
Those crime bosses could insert themselves into almost any organization. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least a couple of the officers themselves were on one or another Devil’s Dozen member’s payroll. The criminal element in Tokyo would be under someone’s domain, and they’d need ways of keeping the cops out of their business.
Quentin gulped down his last bite of chicken and cocked his head. “I could see spending more time here. If the rest of you were sticking around to keep some distance from the States.”
Niko’s eyes gleamed. “I’ll have to get going with teaching you all how to speak the language.”
Rafael guffawed. “Good luck with Lou. From what I heard, it was like pulling teeth getting her to even learn Spanish, and that’s her family’s heritage.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “My great-grandparents’ heritage. Even Mom had to learn from tutors.”
His voice fell into that teasing tone that never failed to get me all kinds of heated up. “I still think you could have a little more cultural appreciation.”
I opened my mouth to give him a smart-ass reply, but a sharp trill from my phone cut me off. It was the ringtone I’d assigned to the trio of Deadly Rose lackeys who’d gone rogue.
The delicious flavors in my mouth turned to ash. I fished the phone out of my purse and yanked it to my ear. “Hello?”
Dámaso’s thick voice carried through the line. “Luciana? Are you at the Sky Castle Mall?”
A chill washed over my skin. “How do you know that?” I hadn’t talked to the defectors all day.
He swore under his breath. “We got a tip from one of our friends who’s still working under Mireya—he’s not ready to jump ship to your side yet, but he’s hedging his bets. It sounds like someone working for your mom spotted you going into the mall, and she’s sent a bunch of her people over to ambush you.”
“Fuck.” I pushed to my feet, my dinner forgotten.
“Yeah, exactly. Get out of there if you can. We’re on our way over to see if we can help.”
With that, he hung up.
My head spun for a second, but I squared my shoulders and willed down the worst of my panic. My men were all staring at me, Rafael braced like he could already guess what I was going to say. Which knowing him, maybe he could.
“My mom’s people are heading to the mall to attack us,” I said, snatching up my wallet to toss a handful of yen onto the table that should more than cover our meal. “We’ve got to leave—now.”
I didn’t need to say anything else. The guys surged into motion like one being, as coordinated as any skating routine the three of them might have performed. They leapt up, and we hustled across the tiled floor to the glass doors, tugging on our jackets as we went.
I made a beeline for the elevator, my heart thudding. If the defectors had warned us in time, maybe we could make our escape before Mom’s allies even got here.
Otherwise… things were about to get really messy.
The elevator car seemed to take years to arrive. We bolted inside, Rafael jabbing the button for the main floor. As the car whirred downward, he retrieved one of his pistols from its concealed holster and tucked it into his jacket pocket where he could keep it in his hand.
With a chime, the door opened. We hustled through the wide hallway past the main-level stores, most of which had already closed for the night. The darkened displays gave the mall an eerie quality, but I had to be grateful for the lack of bystanders.
The broad front entrance came into view up ahead. I picked up my pace, my spirits rising but my hand dipping into my purse for my own small pistol, just in case. “Looks like we made it in—”
