by Katee Robert
But he’d also turned around and walked away once she fulfilled her part of the bargain. That spoke of a thread of honor, which didn’t match up with what Ryu knew of both his father and his father’s operations. Who was this guy?
Tristan shook his head. “You should have come quietly. My people are in all the surrounding buildings. This will be over soon.”
It would be over soon.
He meant they would kill Ryu’s rescue party. His family.
He threw himself at Tristan, knocking the other man to the ground with a surprised curse. Ryu didn’t give him a chance to recover. He punched him in the face, using the stunned moment afterward to go for the gun. A mistake, as it turned out. Tristan pulled a move that landed Ryu on his back. He started to surge up, but the cold press of metal against his forehead stopped him. Damn it, but he’d been fighting Kenzie for too long. She never would have managed that.
Tristan glared down at him, his gray eyes stormy. “Nice try, asshole.”
“He’s not the asshole.” The voice came from behind them, and Ryu’s heart actually stuttered at the sound. Delilah. What the fuck was she doing here, in what was essentially a kill box? Goddamn it. He struggled, but Tristan had him too effectively pinned. Movement in the corner of his eye had him turning his head even as he told himself not to. Delilah stood there, looking both terrified and determined. “Let him up.”
“Somehow, I don’t think I will.”
A shadow fell across them on the other side. “Somehow, I think you will.” Luca. He had a gun pointed directly at the other man’s face.
Tristan sighed and straightened, lifting his weapon slowly and letting it dangle from his fingertips. Delilah darted in and snatched it, the gun appearing obscene in her hands. She didn’t try to use it. She simply moved back into place near the wall.
“Up.”
Tristan gave another sigh, like they’d just fucked up his day, and climbed to his feet. “This is a mistake. He only wanted to talk.”
He.
Fai Zhao.
Father.
Ryu slowly sat up and then rose. “If that’s the truth, there are a thousand better ways of getting a hold of me than playing the blackmail and kidnapping game.” It wouldn’t make a difference. Nothing would make a difference. Father or not, blood relative or no, he was the enemy. He’d committed too many sins to be pardoned, and somewhere along the way, it had become Ryu and his siblings’ role to punish that evil. To put a stop to it for good. Nothing he could say to them would alter the path they’d set themselves on fifteen years ago.
All working to a final moment Ryu had hoped to spare his sister.
It wouldn’t happen now.
He carefully took the gun from Delilah. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you the same thing.”
He managed to spare her a smile that couldn’t be reassuring in the least. Ryu turned back to Tristan. “Tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you right now.”
“Because my man has a line on your lady.” He nodded, and Ryu followed his gaze. Sure enough, a little red dot appeared on her chest.
Fuck.
Ryu stepped in front of her, but it was a lost fucking cause. A bullet from a high-powered rifle would tear right through him and into her. He pointed his gun at Tristan. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“You sure? Last chance to end this peacefully?”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. “Do you call this peaceful?”
Tristan shrugged and straightened his jacket. “I’m not talking about this. I’m talking about later.”
Later. The summit.
He’d as much as admitted that Amarante was in active danger. Ryu had known, of course. If they planned to kill his father at the summit, surely the other side planned the same thing. But hearing it stated so baldly made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He caressed the trigger. “I could remove one enemy right now.”
“Yeah. You could.” Tristan shrugged again, as if he didn’t really give a fuck. This man made no sense. “Your call, but clock’s ticking. I don’t walk out of here in thirty seconds, my man knows what to do.”
He could put down this asshole. It would hurt his father’s operation. They’d pruned his supporters too effectively, and Tristan running this operation on his own meant he was high up the hierarchy.
If Ryu shot Tristan, Delilah would be hurt.
She might die.
He couldn’t be certain of the angle of the bullet, couldn’t guarantee anything at this point. It wasn’t worth the risk. Not to her. No matter what it meant for the future of the Horsemen’s plans. He finally lowered his gun. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“Wait.” Delilah closed a hand around his arm. “What guarantee do I have that you won’t pull this same shit again?”
“You don’t.” Tristan gave her a small smile. “But I’m not in the habit of wasting time and resources. You’re burned as a contact, so why the hell would I bother to off some college kid? Not worth the effort it’d take to get to her.”
Delilah frowned. “I don’t get you.”
“You don’t have to, dove.” He turned and walked away, apparently unconcerned with offering his back to Ryu and Luca.
Ryu looked at his brother and shook his head slightly. They couldn’t just shoot the guy in the back. They couldn’t even knock him over the head and take him back to the Island of Ys, because there was the sniper to consider.
But.
He was alive. More importantly, Delilah was alive. He turned and pulled her into a crushing hug. “What the hell were you thinking? You could have been shot.”
“Me? More like you could have been killed.” She hugged him back just as fiercely. “God, I’m lightheaded.”
“Let’s get inside.” He nodded to Luca, who fell into step behind them, still scanning for threats. Just because they made it out of that altercation didn’t mean there wasn’t more danger. He wouldn’t breathe easily again until they were back on the island.
Ryu’s phone rang the second the door closed behind them. He dug it out of his pocket while still keeping an arm around Delilah. He wouldn’t be letting her go anytime soon. “Yeah?”
“Sorry.” Kenzie sounded winded. “There were more snipers than we expected. I got four, but missed that last fucker.”
“It’s fine.” And it was. They had accomplished what they set out to do. Esther was safe. The threat to Delilah had passed. He had no reason to believe Tristan would follow through on leaving her alone and yet … His gut said the other man spoke the truth.
He really, really didn’t get that guy.
Kenzie huffed out a breath. “You want me to go after the blond?”
“Yes.” Now that they were out of the line of fire, if they could go on the attack, he would. “Let me know when you have him.”
“Your confidence is, as always, inspiring.” She laughed and hung up.
Ryu didn’t let go of Delilah as they strode through the building, back to the front and out the doors. A risk, this, but they couldn’t stay holed up there indefinitely. A car veered out of traffic and stopped in front of them. The window rolled down and Cami grinned at them. “Did someone call for a driver?”
Ryu opened the door and all but shoved Delilah inside before following her. Luca hurried around to jump in the front seat. And then they were off, merging into traffic and moving away from the restaurant. From the attack. It took him half a second to realize they weren’t alone.
Delilah let out a cry and threw herself across the seat at a younger woman who could only be her sister. They shared the same light brown skin and wave in their black hair, though Esther was built a little leaner than Delilah. She was also wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and her feet were bare.
“Oh god, you’re okay.” Delilah gripped her shoulders and pushed her back to survey her as if she expected Esther to be bleeding from half a dozen wounds, and then hugged her tightly again.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Est
her looked happy and confused. “Though this is the weirdest ass prank. You know it’s finals week, right?”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
He waited for her to explain what was going on, but she seemed to force herself to relax and sat back. Delilah gave a sheepish smile. “You know how I like pranks.”
“When we were kids.” Esther frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “You’re safe. He’s still in Texas. Everything is fine.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Esther made a face. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but it’s kind of suspicious when a strange woman hauls me out of bed and basically drags me away, all while telling me it’s for my safety.” She frowned harder. “Delilah, what’s going on? Don’t lie to me.”
“I, uh …”
Ryu wanted nothing more in that moment than to reach out and comfort her. She obviously wanted to shield her sister from the truth, and even if he questioned making that call, it was her call to make. He cleared his throat. “She wanted to introduce you to me.”
“To you. Sorry to be rude, but who the hell are you?”
Delilah gave him a searching look, as if she couldn’t understand why he’d put that truth out in the world. It struck him that she actually expected him to end things. He loved this woman, and she thought he had one foot out the door.
“Esther, this is …my boyfriend.”
Suddenly, her sister seemed a whole lot more interested. “Boyfriend? For real?” She ran a critical eye over him, and Ryu couldn’t escape the sensation that he’d been judged and found wanting. It was such a …mundane thing. To meet his woman’s family. A privilege he never thought he’d have.
The fact they’d just come from a firefight and attempted abduction only made the whole situation that much more surreal.
“I guess he’s cute,” Esther said doubtfully.
“Thanks.” Delilah laughed. “Ryu, this is my little sister, Esther. Esther, this is my boyfriend, Ryu.”
Boyfriend.
He didn’t think he’d ever get used to that label coming from her lips, certainly not in connection with him. He liked it. He liked it a lot.
Esther yawned. “Maybe we can have like dinner or something tomorrow? I really do have class in …” She looked at her empty wrist. “In the morning.”
“Right. Of course. I’m sorry.” Delilah gave her a soft smile. “We were just in town for a few hours, but why don’t I fly you out after finals are over? You can get some relaxation in and we can spend some time together.”
Ryu couldn’t quite catch his breath. Her words made it obvious she intended to come back to the island with him. He’d hoped, of course, but he’d barely dared dream it could be reality. Now that her sister was safe, he’d fully expected Delilah to pull the plug. How could she not when her very proximity to him made it possible something like this could happen again?
He sat back while they chatted on the way back to the college, trying to find a logical way forward. All the while, he kept his phone in his hand, waiting for a report from Kenzie and Liam.
Cami finally parked them near the dorms and Esther said, “This is me.”
“I’d wish you luck during finals, but you don’t need it. You’ll kill it.” Delilah gave her sister one last long hug. “Call me when you’re done?”
“Sure.” Esther gave Ryu one last long look and climbed out of the car. She paused and stuck her head back in. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Delilah waited for the door to close and then slumped back against the seat. “Is it really over?”
No. It was nowhere near over. They’d won a small skirmish in a line of small skirmishes, but the true conflict was yet to come. Pressure built around him, worry and stress and fear for the future. They hadn’t found a solution to keep Amarante from falling on her sword for them. “This part, yes.” He hesitated, but the need to touch her, to comfort her, was too strong. “Come here.”
She immediately climbed into his lap and clung to him. “God, I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you.”
He opened his mouth to tell her that she shouldn’t have endangered herself to come after him, that she should have made a run for it, collected her sister, and gone somewhere safe. But all he could see was the evidence of what she felt for him. “You were magnificent.”
His phone rang. “Yes?”
“The bastard slipped through our fingers. I don’t even know how he did it, but he’s gone.”
He exhaled slowly. Not what he wanted to hear, but not unsurprising, either. “It’s fine. We’ll get back to the island and figure out how to handle the summit from there.” Three weeks wasn’t nearly long enough, but they’d make do. They always made do. “I’ll see you back on the plane.”
“See you there.”
He hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Tristan got away.”
“What does that mean for us?”
“It means he’ll probably be at the summit Amarante is determined to attend in a couple weeks.” Ryu didn’t like that at all, but he couldn’t argue that the man had a strange code of honor. “I think he meant what he said about you and your sister.” A promise he had no business making, and yet …
He had a feeling it was the truth.
“I love you,” she said it in a rush, as if she thought he’d stop her. “I wanted to say it before, but you were right. We needed to wait then … But I’m done waiting now. I love you, Ryu. I know this won’t be an easy path, but I love you and I want to be with you. Just you.” She straddled him and cupped his face with her hands. “I can’t promise that it will be all rainbows and sunshine all the time, but I can promise you that I’ll never lie to you again and that I’ll be at your side no matter what happens.”
It was more than he ever dreamed of experiencing. It took him two tries to find the words to speak. “You would be so much safer if you weren’t with me.”
“Haven’t you figured it out by now, Ryu? Life isn’t safe. Maybe for other people, but not for people like us.” She smiled softly. “Do you love me? That’s really the only question that needs answering.”
“Yes. Of course. I love you so much, sometimes I think I’ll drown in it.” He hugged her close. This was happening. It was a fucking perfect moment in the midst of a nightmare. “Whatever happens next, we get through it together.”
“Yes.” Delilah kissed him. “Together.”
CHAPTER 20
“I’m glad everything worked out like you hoped.” Amarante latched her last suitcase and moved to the luggage cart just outside her room, her phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder.
“I would have liked to have Tristan to bring back to the island, but I suppose we can’t win them all.”
Tristan.
She certainly wasn’t going to think about the fact he was the man behind this particular mess. No, she wasn’t going to think about that at all. Her brother didn’t know about her tentative connection with the man, and Amarante wasn’t about to educate him. Not today. Not ever. “You did good, Ryu.”
“I’m bringing Delilah back to the island.” A hint of defiance in his tone. Even after all these years, her siblings continued to act like she was something set above them. Forever apart. Most days, they weren’t wrong, but some days she wanted to claw and scream and rip down the invisible walls between them.
Too late for that.
Too late for a lot of things.
“I like her,” she said. “I think she’s really good for you.”
He exhaled as if he wasn’t sure she’d give her permission. “I love her.”
“I know.” Emotion clogged her throat, but she refused to let it through. It didn’t matter that she felt like she’d lost her siblings, one by one, as they fell in love and their priorities shifted. She didn’t begrudge them their happiness. It had become an asset knowing what she did now. In the wake of events to come, they’d each need an anchor. Their partners would provide that. The
y’d see them through to the other side, would ensure that they didn’t buckle from the loss of her.
No use thinking about that. The time for thinking had long since passed. Now, the need to act propelled her.
“Anyway, we’re about to take off, so I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“See you then,” she lied. She hung up and allowed her shoulders to slump for the space of two breaths. Saying goodbye was never supposed to be part of the plan, but plans changed. She knew that better than anyone. She had a chance to end this for good, and she’d take it.
Better her than any of the others.
She scrawled out a quick note and stuck it on Ryu’s desk as she passed with her luggage. She’d lied too many times in the last two weeks, but the price was worth it. Safety for her family at all costs.
That’s why she hadn’t told them that the summit wasn’t in a month.
It was tomorrow.
Amarante took one last look around the room and closed her eyes. “Goodbye,” she whispered. Then she grabbed the luggage cart and headed out of the hub.
She had a plane to Switzerland to catch.
THANK you so much for reading Ryu and Delilah’s story! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review.
Make sure to pick up HER VENGEFUL EMBRACE to see the exciting conclusion to the Horsemen’s story! Amarante is determined to spare her siblings from any more pain, even if it means sacrificing herself to do it. The last person she expects to find at the summit is Tristan, the man who she might have fallen in love with if they were different people with different destinies. Will his presence be enough to derail her from her mission? Only one way to find out!
You can also pick up THEIRS FOR THE NIGHT, my FREE novella that goes back to where the Royal Triad of Thalania first began. An exiled prince, his bodyguard, and the bartender they can’t quite manage to leave alone.
If you’re craving something a little darker and a whole lot sexier, check out DESPERATE MEASURES! It’s the first in a brand new series I fondly call Kinky Villains, and answers the question—What if Jafar won and he and Jasmine ended up together? Available now!
