“It’s not about mistakes.” Wynn tried to pacify her, a hand overtop hers. “It’s about the mission with the highest likelihood to succeed.”
“What does that mean?” She pulled her hand away. “I’m a liability?”
“You’re a distraction, little vixen,” Ryuji said softly. “A beautiful one, but all the same. Trap, distraction—whatever we want to call it. It’s best that you stay here while we do what we do best.”
“The world’s best assassins can’t handle a woman existing on the same job? Unbelievable.”
I shook my head. “Volpe has his sights set on you. If you are not there, it gives us an advantage.”
And it would allow us to remain clear-headed. Focused on the task at hand.
“What about Cas?” She pointed at her bodyguard. “Max hates him, too. He’s out to get both of us.”
“Princess,” he murmured, reaching for her.
“Cas?” she asked, avoiding his touch.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I agree with them.”
“Fuck, no,” she said. “Wynn?”
“Darling…”
Her hands fisted at her sides as she looked at us all like we had betrayed her. While I understood her pain, this was also why I needed to remain in control—to direct us to victory. I couldremain in control of my emotions—I could see the right paths to take—even if she could not.
“I am in charge of selecting which contracts we take on, and which we do not,” I said sternly. She had unlimited potential, which I wanted to cultivate. But even queens needed to learn, and to know when to defer to the knowledge of their advisors. “There are decisions that need to be made in order to secure the safety and future of our organization, even if they appear upsetting on the surface.”
“You don’t trust me,” she accused. “You don’t trust that I can handle this.”
“It’s not about trust. Regardless, I will make the final decision.”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Slowly, she closed it, and left the room without saying another word.
In the silence of her leaving, my chest twisted.Instinctively, I pressed a palm against it.
There were realities in our world. If things were going to go according to plan, we needed to make the most strategic decisions. Without feeling. With logic and control.
So why did seeing the hurt on her face feel like a dagger to my ribs?
7
RYUJI
Ihissed as I peeled off the bandage from my forehead and inspected the stitches.
The last few days hadsucked. Taking the brunt of the collapsed ceiling had done a number on my body, but worse than the physical pain was the fact that one of my fucking clubs was out of commission. I was losing money daily.
When I wasn’t sleeping off my aches and pains, stretching in the gym, or planning our next move, I was trying to do damage control.
The cops had paid my general manager a visit, promising to open a full investigation into the safety of my property. What a fucking headache. I sent my contact in the police force a large bribe to help wrap up the investigation and get official eyesoffmy business. They had to write a report to explain the cause and, when these things happen, use the standard criminal excuse of a fucking gas leak or something.
But the whole thing set me on edge.
One wrong move could put me and my investments in the attention of the feds. If someone decided to look just a little closer and realized who owned the club and who was responsible for its demise, we’d be crawling with cops just trying to pinus with something. I couldn’t think of a faster way to lose the freedom I’d worked so fucking hard for.
In the meantime, I’d paid all my employees double their salaries to keep their mouths shut until I could either find a new location, get this one up and running again, or transfer them to one of my three other clubs. Alec was working triple time, trying to wrangle everyone together and stay on top of loose tongues. I was bleeding cash and fucking pissed.
This incident was a wake-up call.
