Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
"You’ve got to because I have a lot of shit to do today, Zo. I have a party to finish."
"I know, I know." He held up his hands. "I'm so sad, but don't worry. I'm still coming to the party."
"I know you are."
"Like, don't even question that. I'm devastated, but I'm not missing this. Hiroko would kill me if I didn’t dress you into some lethal dominatrix.”
“Yeah. . .” I thought about her and did my best to hold my tears. “She would uh. . .treat this party as another moment to dominate.”
“Because it is.”
“Yeah. . .”
He took a breath and steadied himself. "Okay. I'm going in and. . .I’m going to tell them. It's going to be horrible and I'm going to cry again and they're going to cry and it's going to be a whole thing."
"See if the assistants want to move into the house too and even. . .I don’t know. . .come to the party too."
He raised an eyebrow. "And the slave? Where will he live?"
“Fuck. Will he get out of that cage?”
“Never.”
“Damn. Then. . .I’ll have someone put him in my office?”
“And will he be at the party?”
I considered how Hiro and Kenji would react. “Oh God, no. I’ll just have someone stand by to help him with his needs. How does he sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom?”
“Hiroko would tell him when to do those things.”
“Oh God. What the fuck? Has he been holding his urine the whole time?”
“Probably.”
“Jesus Christ! Tell him to go to the bathroom and eat please.”
“I will.”
“This is too much.”
“It’s a whole shit show of mega proportions. Hopefully, she has a will and he’s in it.” Zo looked at the door one more time, squared his shoulders, and sighed. “We’re going to be okay.”
“We are.”
“But. . .we are going to be miserable for a while without her too.”
“Facts.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll tell them and then get back to you.”
“Alright. I’ll see you soon.”
He headed off, and I remained, watching him disappear into the villa.
The door closed.
For a moment, I could almost see Hiroko’s ghost lingering in the threshold, dressed in leather and smirking down at me.
I’m going to write that book for you, Hiroko. Trust me.
Now that Zo knew, Hiroko’s death became more real. Carrying it alone, I could still move around it, still outpace it when I had to. But saying it out loud to someone who loved her too and watching it land in Zo’s body, watching his face change. . .that was the moment it stopped being a distant truth and became a permanent fact.
I can’t believe she’s gone.
I felt it now in a way I hadn't let myself feel it yet. My palms prickled. My throat cinched tight as the skin of my neck drew into the point of bruising.
Pressure gathered behind my eyes.
Nope. Don’t cry. You’re the Heart. And even Hiroko would tell you not to let everyone on the island see you cry. We are at war. Look strong.
I turned and started walking back toward the house.
Again, my guards fell into formation around me.
The path stretched ahead.
A minute later, three figures walked toward me on the path. I recognized the one in front before I could truly see his face due to the bandage wrapped around the side of his head where his ear used to be.
Kiko's cousin.
The maybe-baby mama’s cousin.
The one who'd been so disrespectful to Reo and me.
The one whose ear Kenji sliced because he couldn’t harm Kiko.
He better not be walking to me? This is not the day.
Two women flanked Kiko’s cousin. I didn't know their names, but I recognized them from her little entourage when they were laughing at me.
Both women looked at me the way someone gazed at a person they wanted to hurt. Like if my guards weren't standing between us, they would love nothing more than to slice my neck open and watch me bleed out on the pretty stone path.
I glared.
You two better fix your fucking faces. I’m not even in the mood.
Whatever my expression showed, it was enough to relay the message because their faces did indeed turn neutral.
And then the three got closer, stepping directly in front of me.
Yep. They want to talk.
I sucked my teeth.
My guards noticed too. Their energy shifted and their hands moved closer to weapons as their bodies angled.
The first time I'd seen these people, I was out of place. I was new. I was an outsider from America who didn't understand the rules, didn't know the language, didn't know how to stand in a room full of killers without shaking.
That woman was gone.
I was a queen now and this was my motherfucking island.
And they were going to come correct.
My guards and I stopped.
The three idiots reached us and got in front.
I looked at the cousin and his bandage over that missing ear.