Wheels of Steel Book 4

  Riyu grit his teeth although he made sure his face remained passive. He placed the white handkerchief on the dirty cement floor and then he rested his left hand on top of it.

  So what if he would no longer be able to type the letter ‘A’, he thought. And then he stabbed the tip of the blade into the first knuckle of his pinky, quickly separating the joint before he swiftly made two rapid slices severing the digit.

  He was able to hold back his tormented cries since the pain didn’t actually reach its epoch until after the deed. He quickly folded the bloody handkerchief over his digit and then he wiped the blade clean on it. His hand was screaming with pain but he kept his face calm.

  He offered the blade to Yori with a polite head bow and then he offered the handkerchief, which was now covered in the blood that was seeping from the wound in his hand.

  “Please accept my offering in the hopes that this forgives my misdeeds,” Riyu muttered, the pain of severing his digit causing sweat to run down his body in rivulets.

  It wasn’t Yori that accepted the finger, but his next in command. The man then offered Riyu a second handkerchief, which he promptly wrapped around his finger and pressed protectively to his chest.

  Yori spoke in a cold voice. “This is not mine to accept. This will go to Yagano.”

  “What?!” Riyu roared. “No! NOOOO!” He screamed. Yori’s men physically escorted him from the warehouse. And then Yori turned to attend to his nephew. The American had gone pale at what she’d witnessed but at least she didn’t faint and scream. He rather liked her because of it—and because even now she was still holding Yagano protectively in her arms.

  “Thank you for watching over my nephew,” Yori said to Robin in English. “We’re going to take you to the hospital now.” He lifted Yagano’s unconscious body from her grasp and then headed out the door. Robin wasted no time following.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  When Yagano opened his eyes, he jumped, ready to swing. But he was surprised to find himself in a clean, sterile environment.

  Robin had been slumped in a nearby chair and she jumped, looking like she was ready to swing as well.

  She hurried to his bed and Y realized that he was in a hospital room. The curtains around his bed were drawn, separating him from the beds of the other patients.

  “You’re awake,” Robin said. She gripped his hand and when he looked down at their clutched hands he saw that his arm was bandaged nearly to his elbow. He also had an IV in the back of his other hand. He studied these things tiredly, feeling as if he was just swimming upward through a fog. And then he looked at her, his eyes scanning her form for injuries. She was a little dirty and her face was stained with tears but she didn’t appear any worse for wear.

  “Robin.” He tried to sit up.

  “No, lay down,” she said.

  “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you did they?” His eyes suddenly became alert. If Riyu had done anything to physically hurt Robin—he tried to sit up again but this time Robin placed a hand on his chest to settle him back down.

  “I’m okay.”

  “They didn’t hurt you?”

  “No,” she said in a hollow voice. Y noted that her eyes were even more droopy then usual—she had what people would call, bedroom eyes. Normally they were alluring but right now they just looked tired.

  “Robin, you’re exhausted,” he said.

  She gave him a half smile. “They gave me something for my nerves.” She gave him a full smile then. “I’m just … you know ...”

  “High?”

  She shrugged and just continued to smile. Yagano frowned. The bed was small but he scooted over until he was pressed against the bars. “Come here and lay down.”

  Robin chuckled but then saw the nice fluffy pillow and she kicked off her slippers—of course street shoes weren’t allowed inside—and then she climbed into the bed.

  Yagano opened his arms and Robin lay down carefully against him and then Y closed his arms around her.

  “I’ll just lay here for a minute until the others get here. I talked to Jason and they’re on their way here—but you know how long it takes to get to Tokyo.”

  “I should call Amberly,” he said tiredly.

  “Your phone is by the bed,” Robin yawned.

  Y looked over at Robin snuggled in his arms. His brow drew together.

  “I’m sorry that I put you in danger.”

  Robin looked up at him, not seeming to be concerned with the close contact—in fact, craving it due to their shared near-death experience. Seeing Yagano alive and well solidified their connection, deepening the friendship that she already felt for him until it had now transcended into a bond that she could not quite understand. All she knew is that Yagano could have died and yet here he was worried about her.

  “You didn’t do that, it was Riyu.”

  Yagano was still frowning. “Did he bring us here?”

  Robin shook her head, still looking up at him from where her head rested half on the pillow and half against his shoulder.

  “No, your uncle came right after …” she glanced down at Y’s bandaged arm.

  Y’s frown deepened. “My uncle? But how?”

  Yagano’s uncle had talked to her during the car ride to the hospital. Robin recounted what Yori had told her. After Amberly had contacted him, he’d called the studio-“

  “Wait! What happened to the people at the studio?!”

  “They were robbed,” Robin explained. “Your uncle said it was in an attempt to camouflage the true purpose of the invasion. No one was hurt.”

  Y closed his eyes in relief.

  “Anyway, James explained that you and I had been taken. Well Jason knows I have locate my iPhone turned on to his computer. So he pulled it up. And your uncle knew where we were so he came and got us.”

  Y shook his head in confusion. “Why would my uncle save me …?”

  Robin’s brow lifted. “Why wouldn’t he? He picked you up and carried you out of that warehouse. And you should have seen what he did to your broth—to Riyu.”

  Yagano met her eyes with interest. “What did he do?”

  “He hit him across both cheeks with that hot poker. It messed up his face too. And then he—he,” Robin grimaced.

  “What?”

  Robin stared into his eyes, a haunted expression caught on her face. “He made Riyu cut off part of his pinky finger.”

  Yagano seemed stunned. It didn’t make sense … could it be that he had misunderstood that his uncle and Riyu were not in league with each other.

  “I need to speak to my uncle-“

  Robin sighed. “He’s here at the hospital. He’s been on his cellphone since he brought us here. I’m sure he’ll be back up to check on you.”

  “My uncle is here?”

  “Why do you seem so surprised? That man obviously loves you. I don’t know all that he said to Riyu but he was furious.”

  Yagano sighed, still confused but also too tired to work through it all right now.

  “Did they give me a sedative too?” He yawned.

  “You aren’t screaming in pain …” She looked down at his bandaged arm again. “What they did to your arm is pretty bad. The surgeon said that the burn was bad but could have been worse. They did a skin graft from your inner thigh. You should regain some sensation.”

  Y reached beneath the covers and located a bandage on his inner thigh close to his testicles. He frowned with unease. Then he touched his face and found various bandages stuck to him. Robin watched him explore his injuries.

  “You’ll still be handsome.” She suddenly covered her mouth. “Oh my God, I have no idea where that came from!”

  Yagano just smiled. “Sleep, Robin. You’re tired.” He pulled her close again and she snuggled against him. He felt the lure of sleep begin to overtake him but before he went completely under he turned and regarded Robin in his arms and then he leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead.

  When Yori returned to the room a few m
oments later, he stopped at the curtain and gazed down at Yagano and Robin sleeping in each other’s arms. He wondered if this woman was his nephew’s mistress—and if not now how soon that would happen.

  He knew that Yagano’s wife would soon arrive so he moved to the bed and gently lifted Robin from the bed. She was so tired that she barely stirred. He carried her to a spare bed and placed her there gently. The nurses had offered earlier but she had stubbornly declined the offer so that she could sit by Yagano’s side.

  Yori had been grateful because it allowed him to make some calls and to handle some important business concerning Daisuke’s sons.

  Yori returned to Yagano’s bedside and sat down in the chair next to the sleeping man. He reached out and brushed his hair from his face and then he examined the terrible damage that had been done. It would heal but it pained Yori to see it.

  With a sigh he woke up his nephew. Yagano’s eyes flashed open and he looked alarmed until he met Yori’s eyes.

  “Ojisan.” Yagano looked around. “Where is Robin?”

  “She is sleeping in her own bed. It would not bode well for your wife to see you so intimately with another woman.”

  Yagano’s mouth opened and then closed as he blushed. “It’s not that way. She-Robin is my friend-“

  “I know,” Yori waved his hand dismissively. “Robin-san protected you even while Riyu stood over her threatening you. She is a good friend.”

  Riyu stared at Yori. “Robin said that you rescued us. So you weren’t a part of orchestrating this?”

  Hurt filled Yori’s eyes before he covered it. “You would ask me that after all that we have meant to each other?”

  After a moment, Yagano lowered his eyes. “Forgive me Yori-oji-san. But …” he met his uncle’s eyes again. “I came to your house and heard you on the phone talking to Riyu. I heard you say that you would give him my position with the company.”

  “You heard correctly.”

  Yagano shook his head, a look of hurt and betrayal filled him. “But why would you do that? You know how important the studio is to me.”

  “I did it to save you, Yagano. I did it because it was the one thing that Riyu would accept to forever leave you alone.”

  Yagano shook his head angrily. “What? I don’t care about Riyu leaving me alone! I put my heart-“

  “Listen,” Yori continued. “Riyu wanted to force you to work the illegal hostess dens. He has wanted that for years. And finally he wore your father down who said that he would not interfere in the matter between a gang leader and Yakuza work.

  Yagano blinked, a deep frown settling across his face.

  Yori continued. “To Daisuke-san no Yakuza business is beneath him or his sons. Just as he had Riyu do it, Riyu would now have you do it.”

  Yagano looked at his uncle. His father had forced his own son into human trafficking?

  “As you know my gangs have no dealings in forced prostitution. I abhor it, but it is an important part of the money that is made by our family. When I learned of Riyu’s plan I … I mistakenly offered him something that I should not have bartered. Your happiness and well-being is rooted deeply in Akita Tom Productions. And because of my actions you have not only lost it, but also your connection with the inagawa-kai.”

  Yagano watched his uncle in thoughtful silence. “You bartered for my well-being when my father would not?”

  Yori looked away. “Your father is a complex man. He is rooted in the old ways. He doesn’t do these things because he lacks affection for his sons, but because he thinks it will make you stronger men. But his attempts to try to appease Riyu has compromised his relationship with you.”

  Y sighed. “I’m sorry, uncle. I’ve misunderstood everything and I’ve judged you unfairly.” He reached out and grasped his uncle’s forearm. “You are the only father I know.”

  Yori swallowed back his emotion and grasped Yagano’s arm in return. “And you are my son in all ways but blood. I will always be your protector, even though my last breath.”

  Yagano suddenly smiled. “But I didn’t lose the company.”

  Yori frowned. “Did you not give up your shares of the company?”

  “Yes,” Yagano stated. “But I placed them in a limited liability company along with the stock of the board members that attended the meeting that Riyu interrupted. Akita had left a million and a half American dollars to run the company and we used a portion of that to purchase enough stock so that the new LLC owns the majority of the label. FOAT LLC—Friends of Akita Tom LLC, now runs the company. The Yakuza will never see another dime from Akita Tom Productions, and we can now offer the best deal to our newly signed artist.”

  Yori was scratching his chin but he couldn’t hide his smile. “I do not know how your father will accept this news but I am very pleased.”

  Yagano’s smile faded. “You are the only father that I now care about.”

  Amberly rushed into the room and Yagano looked up from his conversation with his uncle. She flung herself into his arms, and with a happy oomph he accepted her hug.

  “Oh no Yagano! Oh my God, look at your face!” She cried while he hugged and caressed her.

  “I’m okay honey. I look worse than I feel.” Although he was sure that was because of the heavy sedatives. When they wore off he realized that he would truly feel the effects of todays events.

  Jason appeared in the doorway and he looked around frantically. “Where is Robin?!”

  Yori rose. “I’ll take you to her. She’s sleeping.” He guided Jason down the aisle of beds and pulled back a curtain to where Robin was curled in a fetal position and sleeping deeply. Jason sighed in relief and then bent down and kissed her forehead.

  When Robin felt the soft curls from Jason’s head tickling her cheek she smiled in her sleep and then reached up to clutch his head and bring his face down for a kiss.

  He kissed her repeatedly, deeply and then he stroked her face and examined her for injury.

  “You didn’t get hurt did you?” He asked.

  She sat up, still hugging him. “I’m fine.”

  He cradled her face, fear still plain on his face. “What the fuck, babe? What happened? Why did you get kidnapped by the Yakuza?”

  Robin suddenly recalled the vision of Riyu crouched down before her. You don’t know anything. You don’t know my name. You don’t know why you were brought here. The only thing you know is that I can find you whenever I want you …

  “I don’t know, baby,” she whispered as she buried her face against Jason’s neck.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  “You’re not signing that contract with that Yakuza bastard!” Jason yelled.

  “Shh!” Robin said. They were in the bedroom back at the house. Robin had been released from the hospital with a clean bill of health but Yagano would need a few more days there to monitor his skin graft.

  “Fuck that!” Jason exclaimed while throwing clothes into his suitcase. “We’re getting the fuck up out of Japan and away from this bullshit!”

  He had been in a rage since the hospital and the long drive back to the house had only caused him to stew in his anger. Amberly had stayed at the hospital with Y—which was probably a good thing.

  Upon learning that Amberly had knowingly married into a crime family Jason and Peter had been disappointed and angry. Jason quietly placed the blame squarely on Amberly’s shoulders. How could she have kept something like this from them? But in an attempt to defend Amberly’s actions Belinda revealed that she and Robin had been aware of Yagano’s connection with the Yakuza and tried to assure everyone that he wasn’t a member. This only meant that he was angrier that Robin, Belinda and Amberly had withheld something so important.

  Whether or not Y was a true member of the Yakuza meant nothing to Jason. His connection to a dangerous mob had placed Robin in danger. He also didn’t buy that the attack at the studio had been just a random robbery attempt. Y had a fucking finger in his desk and Jason knew that it wasn’t the property of Akita’s. A fuck
ing finger!

  “Jason,” Robin said while clutching his hands in an attempt at stopping him from wrecking the bedroom. “None of this was Y’s fault. It was just a robbery-“

  “But you were kidnapped-“

  “That’s not Y’s fault,” she averted her eyes from his, “those men snatched us because he refused to give them the money they demanded-“ she lied.

  “Why didn’t he give it to them?!” Jason demanded, his face red to the point that his freckles looked like they were on fire.

  “He told the police that he didn’t have the new combination but they didn’t believe him. None of this is Y’s fault.”

  “Yeah, well he has a finger in his desk drawer.”

  Robin grimaced, wondering whose finger it was. “Well that doesn’t mean it has anything to do with Y …”

  Jason gave her a long look. “Do you think Amberly’s been collecting fingertips?”

  “JASON!” She finally screamed. “I don’t know where the finger came from, I don’t know why I was kidnapped! I don’t know if Amberly has anything to do with anything—“ she began to sob hysterically, “I don’t know! I don’t know anything-!”

  Jason grabbed her and pulled her against him. “Shhh, baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He blew out a frightened breath. “I’m so sorry, okay …?” Robin shook as she sobbed against him.

  Peter rolled his wheelchair away from Jason and Robin’s closed door.

  “I think they’ll be alright,” he said to Belinda who was standing with her hands pressed against her mouth. Tears had wet her eyes. She was afraid, afraid for the first time in a long time.

  She nodded quickly.

  He held out his hand for her, “Come here, B.” She came to him and sat in his lap where she then placed her head in the crook of his neck.

  “They’re okay. We’re all okay …” he murmured.