Page 22 of Bound By the Yakuza

The yakuza raised his eyebrows at me and flicked his hair back. “You really think that? Considering even I didn’t get out unhurt?” He scoffed.

I bristled and felt the heat rising in my cheeks. “Don’t underestimate me, Tatsuya.”

“I’m not!” Tatsuya sat up. “I wouldn’t do that. I’m just worried about you.”

“Worried about me?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

Tastuya looked away. “Well, I mean, yeah. You’re an easy target here all by yourself. There’s no tenant downstairs. Who would have saved you if I hadn’t come along?”

I glared at him. “This may come as a surprise to you, but I can save myself. I’ve already proved that.”

Tastuya shook his head. “It just isn’t the way,” He said. “It’s not what I’m used to.”

I couldn’t deny that despite our lives growing up in crime, there were still countless cultural differences that separated us. I knelt down beside him and sighed. He looked at me and our eyes locked. I wanted to be with him so badly, but if he was going to try to take away my freedom or my power, then he was no better than any other man I had known.

“Tatsuya,” I said. “I need you to understand that I will never, EVER be some docile little housewife.”

“I know that,” He forced out. “But that’s why I want you.”

I melted then. My strength and anger faded. Here was a man who wanted me exactly how I was. Not as a prize or a trophy, but for who I was. He saw my flaws as beautiful. He respected me. He loved how I could fight and how I spoke my mind. He was being protective, maybe - definitely - overprotective, but it wasn’t because he thought I was weak; it was because he loved me.

I fell into his arms and kissed him. “What have you done to me, Tatsuya?” I asked.

Tatsuya let out a low chuckle. “Probably the same thing you’ve done to me.”

Weakness. I was weak for him now. This was what I had been dreading. The feelings of lust and vulnerability. Love? No, I couldn’t call it that. Yet, anyway. Maybe in time. Love scared me more than anything.

? ? ?

KARINA

I woke to a blip from my cell. I ignored it by rolling over and cuddling into Tatsuya. The sun was streaming through the window and casting shadows across my tiny one-room apartment. My closet back home had been bigger than this place but here I found a different kind of happiness I didn’t even know I was missing.

Tatsuya mumbled in his sleep and I watched him. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping. When he was relaxed, it was almost possible to forget that he was a hardened yakuza hitman. How many men had died at his hand? He never told me that. I didn’t care.

I understood crime and I could be there for him in ways that no regular civilian girl could. That was why I wanted to be with him so badly. The word love had played on my lips a few times, but I still couldn’t let myself say it. He made me weak, but my defenses wouldn’t come down after only a few dates. This would be something we had to work on together.

My phone buzzed again. I sighed and grabbed it from where it lay beside by bed. It was a text from my brother: I NEED TO MEET WITH YOU

“Aleksey?” I whispered. Meet with me? How? He was in Russia and I was here in Japan.

Another text: MEET ME AT THE ROYAL PARK HOTEL BY HANEDA AIRPORT.

My mouth went dry. My brother was here in Tokyo? I clenched my teeth and let out a frustrated sigh. Of course he was, things were just getting perfect, and he had come to screw things up. That was my big brother - the road to hell was paved with his good intentions.

I slipped out of bed and texted back: I’LL BE THERE IN TWO HOURS.

I had no choice but to meet him. He’d flown all the way here without so much as a warning; what else could I do?

I quickly showered and dressed in a form-fitting navy business dress. I was putting on makeup when Tatsuya sat up.

“Where are you going?” I didn’t miss the accusation in his voice.

“Family stuff,” I said. I glanced at him and smiled. “I didn’t want to wake you because you looked so peaceful.”

“Family stuff?” Tatsuya repeated.

I finished applying my mascara and turned from the mirror. “Yeah, it’s a long story. But I need to meet my brother.” I pulled my long hair into a sleek ponytail and secured it tightly.

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