by K E Osborn
Sighing, I glance at Trax not knowing how he will take this news. He’s so volatile at the moment, any little thing could set him off. Hell, he could turn on me for all I know. But I steady my shoulders and brace myself. “Aiko Ishikawa, he comes from the same precinct in Japan my mother hailed from. She was married to him in Tokyo before she managed to fake her own death and flee for her safety. When she fled, she was pregnant with me…” I pause for a moment trying to build up the strength to tell my brothers the truth of our situation. “Ishikawa is… my blood father.”
Everyone sits up taller, their eyes almost bursting from their sockets as Trax’s mouth opens wide— for once he’s stunned into silence.
“Holy shit,” Surge murmurs under his breath as I glance at him sideways.
Torque moves forward in his chair placing his fists on the table. “As you can see this is a big fuckin’ deal. We don’t know why Ishikawa is here, but it seems too big of a coincidence he chose Chicago out of all the states to settle down in.”
“When he saw you, did he know who you were?” Trax asks, his voice stern and low.
My hands roll to the sides in a gesture of uncertainty. “I don’t fucking know. If he did, he didn’t show it.”
Ace appears in the doorway with my father, looking stoic, and my mother, her eyes to the floor as they walk in. I sigh as I watch my parents file into the chapel. I hate that it’s come to this. I hate that my mother is probably going to have to tell her story. She already appears so defeated.
“Hiro, Shinobu, welcome to the chapel. Please take a seat,” Torque offers.
Surge and Chains to my left both stand and walk to the back of the room offering up their seats next to me. Mother sits beside me and Father next to Torque. I don’t miss Trax eyeing them suspiciously.
The damn fool.
“Thank you for having us in your clubhouse, Torque. We do appreciate your hospitality,” Father relays and Torque nods as I reach out for Mother’s hand. She’s still looking down at the floor.
“You’re welcome to stay for as long as the threat is critical, even then, your family’s always welcome, Hiro… but, our club is up against a new adversary here, and Sensei tells us you have had… dealings with him?”
Mother visibly shudders, and I grimace as I notice everyone look to her, including Father. He exhales and nods. “It’s true, we have dealt with Aiko Ishikawa in the past. But we wish for him to remain… in our past.”
I tense up as Torque rolls his shoulders. “The thing is… he’s not going away. And for us to know who we’re dealing with, we need to know more about his background. What kind of man he is… do you understand?”
Mother sniffs, her head finally lifting as she looks Torque right in the eyes, hers glistening with salt water. “Aiko Ishikawa is a beast!”
“Shinobu, you don’t have to—”
“Hiro, I need to,” Mother interrupts him.
Father swallows a lump down his throat and reaches out taking her other hand in his. She has me on one side and Father on her other supporting her through this.
She looks around the room to each of my brothers. The vulnerable, timid woman suddenly looking more fearless. “The way you treat a woman, says a lot about a man. About his character, about his humanity. In all of you…” she stops and pauses looking at Trax, “… all of you, I see humanity in your eyes. I see deep down, a kindness. You may look rough, you may act rough, but deep down you have heart.”
Trax breaks his eye contact with Mother and looks down to his lap as Mother turns peering back to Torque. “When I was forced to look into the eyes of Aiko Ishikawa as he repeatedly beat me…” she sniffs, tears slowly falling down her cheeks, “… as he…” she pauses closing her eyes tight, “… as he continuously and violently raped me, over… and over again… I saw no humanity.” Her hand breaks free from mine wiping her face from her tears as my hands ball into tight fists. “I saw no heart. He has no soul. He is emotionless, a cold, calculating monster… nothing more.”
Silence fills the chapel as I grit my teeth feeling sick from hearing the story all over again. Knowing she went through this is a pain no child should ever have to know.
“How did you escape?” Trax’s voice is low like he’s unsure of whether he should be breaking the silence in the room.
“I was in an arranged marriage with Aiko. My family traded me to get them out of a tough situation. The marriage was not filled with love. I didn’t even like Aiko. Not when the man repeatedly beat me, raped me, made me do unspeakable things. I tried my hardest to take as much alone time as possible.” Mother glances to Father, that look of adoration crossing their faces I often see from them as she manages a smile. “That’s when I found solace in Hiro. We met in the gardens. He found me battered and bruised. He made me remember there was beauty in my tainted world.”
His fingers gently stroke up and down her hand as he looks at her lovingly. “Seeing you so badly treated. I needed to get you away from him. Away from Tokyo,” Father replies, and Mother nods.
“So we forged an escape plan.” She sniffs. “Over the torturous years with Aiko, I formed a friendship with one of Ishikawa’s underlings. We hatched a plan where the underling would find two cadavers of the same stature as Hiro and myself… not a nice job, but we were desperate.”
You can feel the tension in the room, my brothers all listening to my parents’ escape plan with intensity even though they know they obviously got out.
“The underling placed the cadavers in a small hut, shot them to seem as if they were killed, and set it on fire where Aiko would find the bodies and assume Hiro and I were dead. An elaborate plan to carry out, and one where the underling took great risk.” She looks at Father who greets her with a kind smile.
“The plan was successful, and we managed to escape to start a new life in Chicago. Though the thing we weren’t expecting was from one of Aiko’s many…” she winces, “… rapes…” she glances to me, her hand reaching out and cupping my face, “… a miracle was conceived.”
Grimacing, I move my hand to hold hers as all my brothers look to me. My stomach is still in knots from hearing their story again, even though I know it so well, it tears me up hearing it for another time.
“Keiko and Mei?” Trax asks bluntly.
I glare at him, he seems so unaffected by this, unlike every other brother in the room who all are quiet and listening intently.
“They are our children,” Father says, and I weakly smile.
Trax nods sitting back in his chair folding his arms over his chest like he’s processing.
Torque sits forward, his hands knotted together on the table as he shakes his head. “I knew Ishikawa was an ass, I just didn’t know how fucked-up he was until now. Shinobu, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that. And trust me when I say we’re gonna do everything to get this fucker.”
“Here, here!” resounds through the room, and a slow grin creeps up my face as Mother begins to beam with pride.
She sniffs. “You’re always so good to my family and my boy,” she says, and then I watch her face change like she’s remembered something, so she continues, “Just one thing… Aiko is smart… connivingly smart. Watch your backs because just when you think you’re ahead, he will be behind you slicing you through with his Katana.”
Torque exhales. “Thank you, Shinobu. I know that must have been hard to relive. But we fuckin’ appreciate it.”
Mother lets out a small giggle. “You bikers and your swearing…”
The room lets out a collective laugh as Torque tips his chin to Ace. He walks over to my parents, and he waves his hand in a gesture for them to stand. Mother stands quickly and bows to the room making my brothers smile.
My father turns back to Torque. “Aiko is a threat to my family. If you can… dispose of him… I will be forever grateful.”
Torque winks to my father in response as Ace leads them to the door and ushers them out. Surge and Chains take their seats again. I let out a heavy sigh a
s I crack my neck to the side feeling all eyes on me.
“So, how do you wanna play this, Sensei? Do you wanna be kept out of dealings with Ishikawa in case he knows who you are?” Torque asks and my stomach knots.
“That may be unwise. If, for some reason he doesn’t know who I am, me not being around will only raise further suspicion. I’d like to check him out a little more, learn what I can about him. Not from a father point of view, but from the ‘Oyabun of the Yakuza’ point of view. If I can see his methods, then maybe I can learn a way to…” I pause thinking carefully about my next words, “… take the fucker out.”
Trax leans forward. “Is him being blood going to be an issue for you when push comes to shove, Sensei?”
Everyone in the room shifts uncomfortably as I watch them all obviously thinking the same thing that Trax was brave enough to ask.
My fists clench, and I grit my teeth. “My allegiance is to the club, to my brotherhood, and to my family. Being blood has nothing to do with where my allegiance lies. He means jack shit to me. What he is… is a man who beat my mother callously. Raped her to get her pregnant. He deserves nothing more than my fucking Katana through his cold… dead… heart.”
Torque clears his throat and nods once. “Well, that settles that then. We have to think about what the hell we’re gonna do about Ishikawa. Do we wait it out, see what comes next? Do we seek him out, see if we can settle him down a little? What’s the best play?” Torque asks the room.
“I believe we need to negotiate a deal. We were able to leave the rail yard with the help of Andretti, but the Yakuza still have our guns. Maybe we need to ask them for something in return. See if we can manage a push and pull with them. See if we can feel them out?” I question.
Torque rallied the Andrettis to be our backup when the Ishikawa Yakuza stole our gun shipment. We placed a tracker in with the guns, so we went to get them back, but when we arrived, the tracker was there but the guns were not. This was the first time we encountered Ishikawa in person. It was lucky Torque had enough forethought to bring Enzo Andretti in for backup, or we would have been toast. Enzo saved our asses that day. That’s when the tide changed, and the Defiance slash Andretti alliance truly began.
Torque nods, his lips turning up in a sly smirk. “I like it, and I have just the thing in mind.”
CHAPTER SIX
SENSEI
The Next Day
After church last night, we came up with an idea to take to the Ishikawa table. Whether they take the deal or not, we’ll have to see. Trying to make contact with them is another issue we need to solve, and while we still need to figure out a way to do that. I have things I need to do today.
So while I stand back and watch Ruby chat frivolously with my family during lunch, my mind’s been occupied on one thing all day. And now that Vibe’s truck is back, I’m ready to go.
Vibe grips my shoulder. “You’re ready to go? Yes?”
Nodding, I slide my ninja star which I placed on the bar into its sheath in my back pocket and my cell into my side pocket. He grins, and we walk out of the clubroom to the awaiting truck. I hoist myself up and into the cab as Vibe jumps in the driver’s seat and starts her up.
We take off through the gates as Gatekeeper does his job, and we’re driving toward Smokin’ Joe’s Garage to see Ayla. I don’t know why I’m so tense about this meeting, but seeing her today has me on edge and in knots. Especially after our phone conversation last night.
“So, why are you bringing Scratch’s ride to the mechanic and not Scratch?” Vibe asks while the cab jostles about swaying from side to side as we make our way closer to Ayla.
“Scratch is complaisant about how to best do things… he would go about it all wrong. He loves his ride, but knowing she can’t be fixed, he would simply throw her away in the excitement of getting something better. I can step in and organize proper compensation for the selling of the parts of his bike. Unlike him, I am well versed in the art of trade.”
Vibe bursts out laughing. “Ahhh… bullshit, brother. You’re doing it to see the girl!” He chuckles as he shakes his head.
Giving him side eye, I try not to smile. “Ayla being there is merely… coincidental.”
He snorts out a laugh. “Pillu.” He chuckles under his breath, and my brows draw together.
“I can easily find out what that fucking means, Vibe.”
He laughs. “You don’t have to… I called you a pussy!” He bursts out laughing again as I lean out and slap him up the back of his head making him laugh harder.
“And people say you’re nice? How wrong they are,” I murmur.
His laughter dies down as he turns a corner leading down an industrial street. “Me? I am the nice one. You? You… you’re the crazy one with your ninja moves and torture grooves… you’re a fucking badass motherfucker, Sensei.”
My lips turn up into a faint smile as I crack my knuckles, one hand then the other. “Now, you’re rhyming? Did the Ishikawa break something in your damn brain when they hit you?”
“No, brother… I just like to be fucking cheery…” he pauses. “Oh, we’re here.” He yanks the truck to the right into a large driveway then pulls it to an abrupt stop. I jolt forward with the force, almost shooting through the freaking windshield as I don’t have a seatbelt on and place my hands on the dash to stop me from colliding with the glass.
Vibe lets out a loud chuckle as he turns the truck off and opens the door jumping out of the cab. I steady myself and open the door, my feet falling to the gravel with a thud. My boots sink into the pebbles as they land, and I look up to the worn signage as I listen to the sounds of a garage in full swing behind me. Vibe walks to the back of the truck to lower the hydraulic tailgate. I nod at him to let him know I’m going in search of the woman I want right now.
I mean need.
The woman I need right now.
Shit!
Shaking my head, I walk to the giant open garage door and immediately notice three blue mechanical lifts all with cars lifted into the air. Another section to the side there’s what looks like a dyno tuning area and another section where tires are being fitted.
This place holds a lot of cars and actually appears busy. Smokin’ Joe is doing well for himself. I walk in to see him in his office, the giant window a little too dirty for my liking as he sits working on some paperwork, a nasal oxygen tube is placed under his nose.
Pursing my lips at the sight, I turn to look at the mechanical lift I’m the closest to and notice the figure under the car is definitely not that of a man. Those curves could go on for days as she stands under the mechanical lift in her steel-toe boots and her blue coveralls smattered in grease. Her arms are stretched up into the undercarriage of the car, and she’s tinkering away while I stand here folding my arms impressed by the fact she can do this.
She really is something else.
“You gonna stand there all day ogling or you here for something?” someone asks walking in behind me carrying a tire under each arm. Grease is smeared over his scruffy face, blue baseball cap on backward while he looks me up and down taking special time over my cut. He drops the tires on the ground leaning them against the frame of the doorway and looks at me wiping his hands together.
I curtly smile. “Afternoon. I’m looking for Ayla.”
He folds his arms over his chest raising his chin, a look of skepticism crossing his features.
I glance at Ayla as she pulls away from underneath the car she’s working on when she spots me. Her eyes sparkle with mischief. There’s a smear of grease on her cheek, and it only highlights the dark shades around her eyes which bring out the gold and green flecks in her irises. Ayla waves, and I smile as she shoves a wrench in her back pocket and jogs over to us.
“Hey, what’s up?” she calls out, as I assess the scruffy guy while she leans on his shoulder smiling at us both.
“Not sure who this guy is, but he’s looking for you.” He gazes at her questionably. “Everything okay here?”
&n
bsp; She rolls her eyes. “Heath, calm your farm. This is Sensei from Defiance. These are the guys Dad deals with. Remember, I told you he’s bringing that bike in for spare parts for us to look over today. Fuck slick, I hope you weren’t being an asshole to my new friend here?”
Heath huffs. “No, not being an asshole. Actually, I said nothing at all.”
I raise a brow. “Your silence spoke volumes.”
Ayla bumps into Heath’s side. “Thanks, little bro, but I can take this from here.”
This guy’s her brother?
Well, fuck.
A stern scorn crosses his features as he looks at her.
She smiles a dazzling smile. “Seriously, Heath, I got this. Trust me, I have way more control over Sensei than you ever could. I got his dick all kinds of tangled up.”
Heath bursts out laughing while I wrack my jaw from side to side at her comment. Heath drops his arms from his defensive posture and nods. “Sure thing, sis… holler if you need me.”
“Will do. Now fuck off.”
Heath pivots and heads off into the garage leaving me with a sassy-mouthed Ayla.
She raises her brow at me like she’s seriously unimpressed. “Right, mister, you think it’s okay to keep a girl waiting?” Her hands sit perfectly on her curvy hips as she looks at me with a giant smirk on her face.
I take a steadying breath and stare into her stunningly beautiful hazel eyes. “Ayla, the quicker you learn that delayed gratification is a real thing, the better at receiving your pleasure you will be.”
She tilts her head. “You saying you’re going to give me pleasure for making me wait?”
I chuckle. “Is my company not pleasurable enough?”
She looks down at my crotch and licks her lips quite obviously as she slowly drags her eyes back to mine. That little movement made my cock ache like it never has before. I’ve never met a woman so fucking forward other than a club girl, and they’re meant to be that way. But this woman is no club girl, and she’s doing it of her own fruition.
