Chapter Twenty-Four

S itting in the closet is doing nothing for my anxiety. At first, it's dark and silent. I feel around, pulling some clothes on in the dark. I don't even know if they are mine or his.

Then I stand and wait. I don't know if one minute or a whole hour has gone by. Being in that closet seems to have warped time for me.

My heart is racing in my chest as I listen for any sign of Kado.

I need him to come back to me.

All of a sudden, the light in the closet comes on as the alarm stops. Then I hear a big crash from outside the bedroom. Kado told me to wait for him here, but I can't. Not when I know he is out there fighting.

What if he is in trouble?

Even worse, what if he dies?

I will never be able to live with myself if he dies while I hide in a closet. That's not who I am. I'm not a demure woman who is going to sit by and wait to be rescued. I'm the hero in my own story.

Carefully, I leave the closet. I let out a relieved sigh when I see the bedroom door is closed.

As quietly as possible, I make my way to the nightstand on my side of the bed. Inside, I find my pistol where I left it. After checking it like Kado taught me, I turn the safety off.

Another loud bang rings out, making me hasten my steps.

Looking both ways after opening the bedroom door, I determine the noise is from the living room or kitchen. What I see when I round the corner will haunt me for the rest of my life.

There, on the ground, Kado lies with a man on top of him. I can't see his face, but I have a feeling I know who it is. Suddenly, Kado pushes the man away from him. He stumbles a little, trying to catch his footing.

I don't hesitate. I aim at him, praying to God I don't hit Kado. Then I pull the trigger several times.

The man falls to the ground.

My ears are ringing from firing without ear protection. Now I get why Kado is always insistent.

I walk closer to the man I shot. It's Ben. I recognize him right away. I'm not sure he is breathing.

A panic clings at my chest.

Did I kill him?

I can't get over the thought that I might have taken this guy's life. I mean, he deserved it. He was trying to hurt Kado, but still. It's a heavy weight on me. I can feel tears starting to fill my eyes.

"Lucy."

My head snaps Kado's way as the ringing starts to recede, staring at my man on the ground, holding his gut.

"Don't talk. You're hurt. Oh goodness. We need to get pressure on it."

I grab a throw blanket from the couch and rush to his side. I press against his wound, making him hiss.

"I'm sorry. I know it hurts."

"Lucy," he starts again.

"No, Kado. Stop talking. I'm going to take care of you. You aren't going to die. Not on my watch."

He growls, his bloody hand coming up to cup my face. "I love you."

"Shhh. Talking hurts you. Please. I can't stand to see you hurt." Tears start flowing down my face.

He wipes them away with his bloody hands. "You need to hear it. I love you."

I shake my head. "I don't need you to say the words, Kado. I feel them. Right here."

I place one hand over my heart, the other still pressing against his wound.

Then I lean forward and kiss him softly. "I love you too, my big, strong, silent man."

He pulls my face to his until our foreheads are touching. I make sure that I am keeping his wound packed as I soak in the comfort from the gesture.

"Did I kill him?" I finally ask the question that has been weighing on me.

Kado cups my face, making me open my eyes.

Then he does one quick shake of his head. Grabbing the knife on the floor, he scoots away from me toward Ben.

"Hey, stop. You are hurt."

He glares at me as he moves around me. He feels for a pulse before nodding to me.

A weight lifts off of me. I didn't kill the man. He is still alive.

In the next instant, I gasp. Kado leans over, using the knife to slit the man's throat. Then he drops the knife, crawling back to prop himself against the wall. He grabs my hands, still holding the throw blanket, and presses it back to his wound.

I have never felt safer than I do in Kado's arms. Even now, with him injured, I know he would fight until his very last breath to keep harm from me.

I know without a doubt that Kado is the man for me and always will be. No one would ever be able to take the place he carved out for himself in my heart. That's okay, though. I have my own little home inside his.

Now, if we could take care of this bleeding, I think I would feel better.

"We need to get to a hospital," I tell him.

He shakes his head no.

I'm about to argue when I hear feet coming up the stairs. I grab my gun, turning to face the door, pointing it at the opening.

Kado's hand comes up, pushing the gun down, just as Kenji and Haruaki come rushing through the door. The room fills with Yakuza men as they make their way toward us.

I drop the gun, turning back to Kado to press on the wound once more.

"He's injured. A knife wound to the gut, I think." Kado nods, confirming. "He needs a hospital."

Kenji moves to my side. "I've got this."

I move to Kado's other side as Kenji pulls a medical pack out and starts doing things to Kado that I never knew about.

"I want to learn to do that," I tell him.

He smiles at me. "Cleo did too. I can teach you. Or he can. He knows how to tend wounds."

I look up at Kado, but he is already staring intently at me. He tugs my hair and crinkles his nose at the blood.

He mouths, shower to me.

"I'm not showering with you hurt."

He growls, making Kenji freeze for a moment.

"Seriously?" I cross my arms.

He nods, then points at himself.

I sigh. "You want me to shower for you?"

"It probably makes him angry to see the blood on you. I know it would drive me into a rage if you were Miya," Kenji mumbles, not looking up from his task.

I look at Kado, who nods sadly.

"Okay. A quick one, though."

He smiles, nodding.

Leaning forward, I give him a kiss.

Then I get up, ignoring the men disposing of Ben's body as I head down the hall to our bathroom.

The only thing I can think is that I'm glad Kado taught me to shoot and bought me a gun. Without it, I don't think he'd be alive right now.

Without him, my life means nothing.

Kenji's words were true.

Seeing Lucy covered in blood was leaving me in a state of rage. I wanted to kill that fucker all over again.

Only I can't.

When I crawled over there, I really thought Ben was still alive. He wasn't breathing, though.

I know I promised never to lie to Lucy, but seeing the fear on her face, I couldn't let her bear that weight. So I took it from her. As I always will. There will never be something that she carries without me helping her.

So I will take the knowledge that she killed Ben to my grave. I already have so many bodies on my soul. One more won't hurt me.

She might think she's okay with murder, but I don't think she will ever do it herself. She is too good for that. Her soul is too bright.

She can be the moon that brightens my darkness. The one shining thing to keep me company and provide companionship during the dark nights.

I can't believe she loves me.

How did I get this lucky?

I hiss as Kenji pushes a little harder on me.

"Sorry. There's a lot of blood, but he didn't actually get you too deep. From what I can tell, he didn't hit anything. We can take you to the doctor to confirm, but I'm going to clean the area and stitch it up. You good?"

I nod, keeping my gaze on where Lucy disappeared to.

"Let's move you to the table then."

Kenji helps me up. It hurts like a bitch, but I suck it up. If I make any noises and Lucy hears them, she will be upset.

Once he has me at the table, I lie down.

"Do you want me to get you pants or something?" Kenji asks.

I smile at him and shake my head no.

"Of course not," he mumbles as he pours alcohol on my wound.

I turn my head, looking toward the hall as he works. It hurts at times, but I don't care.

"The body is taken care of. Do you want me to send someone in to clean, or will you be handling that yourself?" Kai says, standing in the way of my view.

I frown at him and point at myself.

"Of course. You have this whole-ass plot of land out here, and we only find out about it because you set an alarm up? I'm hurt," Kai deadpans.

I shrug then point toward the door.

"I have no idea what you're saying, but I get it. Safer if no one knows where you live. You think he followed you here?"

I shrug, then hold my hand out for his phone.

Either that, or he put a tracker on Lucy when they met. I would have noticed a tail. I think if we check her clothes from that day, we will find she was tagged.

Kai hums for a moment, tapping his chin. "It's possible."

I start typing again.

Artem is the man he was taking cargo to. They paid him a commission based on what he brought. Artem is a Ukrainian name. He said the next auction is in three weeks. He didn't say where.

"Got it. I'll relay the information to our friends. Are you good?" he asks as Kenji finishes the last stitch, pouring more alcohol on it.

I nod, handing back the phone.

I sit up, watching as they leave, closing the door behind them.

I go and lock it, resetting the alarm. I have no idea how Ben got in here, but I will figure it out tomorrow.

Tonight, I will stay up and watch over Lucy.

Speaking of Lucy, I go into the room. It takes me several minutes to find the clothes she wore that day, but I don't find anything.

She walks into the room as I'm considering how he could have found us.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I pull out my phone to tell her.

I thought he may have tracked you, but there's nothing.

She frowns before her face lights up. She goes to the dresser and pulls out an outfit I haven't seen her wear.

"I was trying this one when he ran into me. So maybe on here?"

Searching her clothes, I find what I'm looking for. I growl at the sight. I want to destroy it, but Isamu may be able to get information from it.

He tells me to leave it outside somewhere and send him a photo. He will come get it.

I don't even question how he knows where I live. He is the one who helped me remotely set up my security system. I'm sure he peeked at where I was.

I hold my hand up for Lucy to stay and rush to do what he says.

When I get back to the bedroom, Lucy is lying down wearing a small tank top and sleep shorts. I don't blame her. After our earlier wake-up call, I wouldn't sleep naked either.

Pulling on a pair of sweats, I make my way to the bed. I lie next to her, ignoring the pain in my stomach.

After several minutes of her fidgeting, I pat her nose, and she smiles at me.

"I have this energy inside. I'm all keyed up."

Running my hand down the front of her body, I let my hand slip under her shorts.

"You're hurt, Kado." She tries to stop me.

I whisper to her, "Want you."

She looks conflicted, but eventually moves her hand.

I run my fingers through her folds before I start to strum on her clit. She moans out my name as I pick up the pace. Then I slide my fingers into her, finger fucking her hard.

I feel the moment she comes, flooding my fingers with her fluid. I bring them up to my mouth, sucking it off, before kissing her cheek lightly.

"Oh no. I don't get some without you getting some. You think you can sit still enough for a blow job?" she asks.

I nod.

She smiles, kissing me deeply before pushing me onto my back and pulling my sweats down. I'm already hard for her.

Then she bends over, taking my entire length into her mouth. She starts off slow, teasing me. It has me aching for her, but I let her lead the pace.

At least, I do until she looks up at me with a devilish look in her eye.

That's when I slide my hands into her hair and hold her down on my dick, making her swallow around me. I let her up for air, but I repeat the move over and over.

Finally, I come, coating the back of her throat with my release.

She smiles, looking up at me as she sits up. "I love you, Kado. Forever and always."

I tap my chest twice, making her smile.

"That's how we will say it from now on." She taps her own chest twice, making my heart fill with joy.

My woman loves me.

Nothing else in this world matters anymore.

Only her.

My Lucy.