74 – Alex
“You should know sake fucks you up.” Sota chuckled as I stumbled down the street. I glared at him, barely missing the pole in the middle of the path.
“Fuck off.”
I knew sake fucked me up. When I was younger, when we’d just started with the clan, sake was my drink of choice, because I knew I wouldn’t remember the bad shit I did the night before, when I woke up the next morning,
The problem was, I’d usually wake up in the shittiest of places, like gutters, or the bed of a clan groupie.
I was amazed I didn’t either die or catch something.
“Where is this damned ice cream shop!”
I was sure we’d been walking for at least the last fifteen minutes. But when I looked behind us, the hotel was still in sight. “Still another ten minutes‘ walk, at least,”
For fuck’s sake.
If it had been Joey who wanted ice cream, I would have run all the way to Las Vegas and got it for her in two seconds flat. But I did not like the idea that as his head of security, Yuka was making me go and get him ice cream. I was not a delivery man. “This is shit. I don’t want to do this.”
“Neither do I.” Sota said, “But someone has to bring your drunk ass home.
“I am not dr-“I stopped mid–walk, my stomach plummeting to my feet.
“Alex?” Sota came back to me. “Are you okay?”
I looked up at him. “I–I don’t know. Some–something doesn’t feel right.”
I had always trusted my gut.
Except for in that alley… but something suddenly felt wrong about Sota and I being out here, walking to get ice cream, while Joey and Yuka sat at the hotel.
I fished out my phone and dialed Joey.
It rang and rang and rang and rang…
“Come on sweetheart…”
The fuzzy feeling I had been experiencing from the sake was starting to clear rapidly.
Joey’s phone rang out and I dialed Yuka.
Same with his and now I was starting to feel sick
I turned and started to walk back toward the hotel, Sota running to catch up to me. “Alex?”
I hung up and tried Aoto.
When his phone rang out, I started running-
“Alex
“No one is answering their phones!” I ran like I had never run before, as if the sake was burning through my veins, fueling
and as I ran, I kept trying to call the people in that room.
- mc.
No one answered and the pit of sickness grew
I knew I shouldn’t have left them in that room unguarded.
I didn’t give a shit if Yasu and his team were in the next one, or if Aoto was with them, they were my responsibility, and I should never have left them. Yuka could have kicked my ass, for not going out, I wouldn’t have cared.
As we neared the hotel, Sota grabbed my arm. “Alex, slow down. If something has happened, don’t draw attention.”
It took all of my strength to stop myself from running inside and making a scene.
The last thing we needed was for the police to be called. I would be surprised if they hadn’t already, especially if my gut was right and something had gone wrong.
ir way to the elevators and rode up them to our floor.
Moving through the lobby, we made our
By now, it was well established that no one was answering, and in the elevator, I reached into the pocket of my jacket and pulled the small flick knife out. It wouldn’t save me against a gun, but it might give me enough time to get out of the way of
We stepped out of the elevator and moved down the corridor.
Thank fuck for Yuka and his money. He’d hired out the whole floor, for our three rooms, which meant it was deserted. Or so we thought
One of the rooms we’d hired, but not gone into, had its door open and Sota quickly looked inside, clearing it, before we moved along the hall.
But as we neared the room where Yasu had been with his team, I knew…
Something had gone horribly wrong.
There was blood on the carpet, leading from the room, and into the next… into Yuka’s room.
“Sota.” I whispered, stopping just past the door, my knife in front of my face.
“On it.” He whispered back. He moved into the room, then came back out. “There’s no one in there. But there is carnage.”
“Fuck.”
“When we get to Yuka’s room, just inside the door, is a small bag. Bright pink. It holds your pistol.” Sota said and I turned, looking at him. “What? No one would look in there. Mine is in the blue one.”
While at any other time, I would have probably chided him for the stupid idea, right now, it was brilliant. As a Yakuza soldier, I myself would never have thought to look in a bright pink bag for a gun.
“Ok, on the count of two. We go in, quiet and get our guns and then clear the-
My phone pinged in the silence, and I froze.
I waited for a few moments, wondering if someone was going to
happen, I pulled my phone out and looked down at it.
There was a text with three words.
WE SEE YOU,
come shooting from Yuka’s room. But when it didn’t
My stomach dropped to my feet, and I looked up, my gaze scanning my surroundings, noticing the camera in the corner of the doorway. That hadn’t been there when we had checked in….
My phone pinged again.
WE WANT TO PLAY A GAME
1 closed my eyes and stood straighter, looking directly at the camera.
“What-?”
“Top corner.” I said to Sota, as I walked toward the room Yuka and Joey had been in.
“That wasn’t there when we checked in.”
“I know. We’re being watched.“1 grumbled. “Keep your voice low and head down.”
Sota followed me into the room, and I stopped at the carnage.
The door had been kicked off its hinges and lay at a weird angle in the entrance. The chairs of the table had been up–ended, the table itself tipped on its side. There was broken glass and blood everywhere. “Fuck..”
I stooped and picked up the pink bag from the floor and bought out my gun, loading it, and cocking it, holding it up in defense, as Sota moved through the room.
“Alex, this door is locked.”
I turned and went to where Sota was. It was the main bedroom, and I stepped to the side, as I called out. “Yuka? Joey? Aoto?”
I heard movements from the other side of the door, and I looked at Sota, nodding. I moved to behind him, and he moved to the door and smashed his shoulder against it, splintering it open.
We both stepped to the side, expecting bullets to come flying out, but when there was none, we both poked our heads
74 Alex
through the doorway.
Lying on the floor, gagged, were Yasu’s security, Yasu and an injured Aoto.
“Aoto!” I scrambled to the big man, pulling the gag from his mouth. He was trying to break free from the bonds that were holding his arms behind his back, but he just couldn’t muster the strength, and with the bullet wound to his shoulder, it was almost impossible.
“They took them!”
My hands stilled on his bonds and I looked at him. “What?”
“Yuka. Someone came in and took Yuka.”
I fell back on my ass and stared at Aoto, and the pool of blood under his shoulder.
“I tried to stop them. But there were too many. I got shot, and when Yuka tried to help me…. they shot him too.”
I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, staring at Aoto, as Sota took over in releasing him.
No.
I looked around the room, before looking at Aoto again. “Joey? Where’s Jolene?”
Aoto was up now, leaning against the bed, his face one of pain, but I could tell he was pissed.
“They took her too. She said she was Yuka’s doctor and if they didn’t take her with them, he might die. I’m sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry, I failed.”
My head ran in a million directions.
They had Yuka.. but worse.. they had my girl.
My bottom lip trembled as the emotions of what this might mean, came bubbling up. Tears started to burn in my eyes, and I fought to keep hold of my sanity.
They had Joey…
I clenched my jaw and lifted my chin a little and looked at Aoto, shaking my head.
“No, Aoto. I failed. I should never have left.”
My phone pinged again, and I looked up at the corner of the room, seeing a blinking red light. Closing my eyes, I pulled out my phone and looked at the message.
I TOLD YOU YOU WOULD REGRET COMING BACK TO MIAMI
