“I’ll tell you later.”
“Tell me now. Why don’t you come by the club? It’s packed—”
“Not tonight. I’ve got things to do.”
“Oh really?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’ll tell you more about that later too.”
“Hmmm. It looks like you finally are living.”
“Perhaps.”
Chapter 17
Bullet Kisses
Ebony
The sound of Yoshiro’s truck roared outside.
I made myself stay on the couch. My nerves had been on a frenzy all night.
He’s back. Thank God. I just have to make sure he’s okay.
Minutes later, the door opened.
I looked up.
Holding a big book bag, Yoshiro stepped in and set the bag on the floor. “Lucy, I’m home.”
Frowning, I rose from the couch. “Are you okay?”
“No scratches or bruises.” He shut the door, walked over, and stopped a foot in front of me. “How are you?”
“Don’t worry about me. What happened?”
He scanned the space. “Where are the kids?”
“In bed. Stop avoiding my questions.”
Yoshiro curved those lips into a wicked smile. “Relax, Ebony. I’m fine. I’ll tell you everything.”
I reached my hands out and then brought them back to me.
He looked at them. “What were you going to do?”
“See if you were hurt.”
He raised his hands in the air. “Go ahead. I love it, when you touch me.”
I glared at him.
“I can’t believe you’re still mad at me.”
“Did he see you?”
“No, but I saw him.” He grinned. “Twice.”
I trembled.
His grin left. “Ebony, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to make light of the matter—”
“This is not a funny thing.”
“He’s caused you terror, but understand, I’m not afraid of him.” Slowly, he opened his arms. “Can I get a hug?”
“What do you mean you saw him twice?”
His voice went low. Yoshiro reached out, grabbed my arm, and gently tugged me to him. “Hug first, please.”
I pressed my lips together, resisting for one long pause. My emotions tangled in a ball of confusion by this crazy man.
“Ebony,” he whispered.
Giving up on my questions for now, I leaned into him wanting his touch and so much more than I couldn’t articulate. I got into his arms. The hardness of his body pressed against mine. As soon as we made contact, my tension disappeared.
We stood in the space clinging to each other, and it felt so right.
The fire crackled and snapped around us.
And then, silence settled for a few seconds.
Nervous, I asked, “Are you sure he didn’t follow you or anything?”
“Wyatt never saw me, Ebony. I watched him walk out to the movies with the woman. I waited a while and then went into her house.”
I leaned away and looked up. “You broke into her house?”
“I did.” Yoshiro kept his arms around my waist. “I went through the house, making sure that most things were put back in their rightful place.”
“What do you mean most things?”
“I flushed his antibiotics and pain pills down the toilet.”
It shouldn’t have, but a soft giggle left me. I shook my head and stopped.
“I also took all his guns and ammo.”
I let out a long breath.
“And. . .”
Stunned, I whispered, “There’s more?”
“Wyatt had a journal that he wrote his thoughts in.”
“He used to go to a therapist, when he first got out of the military. She told him to keep a journal. I guess he’s still doing it.”
“Well, I tore out some of the pages, put them in my bag, and wrote him a message in his journal.”
“What?” I left his arms and stepped back. “Yoshiro—”
“I didn’t leave my name and address—”
“But, still—”
“I just told him that he doesn’t know me, but I’m going to kill him.”
I shook my head. “Yoshiro—”
“I had gloves on. No fingerprints were left. It’s fine.”
A few bumps came from the stairs.
I looked over my shoulder. Several hushed whispers came name next. I walked over the bottom of the stairs. “Kia and Jalen?!”
“See. I told you that you were too loud.” Kia frowned as she walked to the top. “Yes, Mommy?”
“You both are supposed to be in bed.”
Jalen got to her side. “We wanted to know what happened?”
I placed my hands on my hips. “Go to sleep.”
Yoshiro walked up to the bottom of the stairs and waved. “I’m fine, guys.”
Kia went down one step. “You saw my daddy?”
“Did you fight him?” Jalen asked behind her.
Yoshiro cleared his throat. “He didn’t see me. I just wanted to make sure he was far away, and you all were safe. I confirmed it.”
The kids looked my way.
“You heard it yourself.” I frowned at them. “Everyone is safe. Goodnight, guys.”
Kia mumbled something as they both headed back to their room.
Once the door shut, I turned to Yoshiro. “You said you saw Wyatt twice. What does that mean?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “I found a sort of office that he uses. It had maps on the walls. He’s trying to figure out, if you’re in Oregon or maybe fled to Washington. He has pins in the capitols and big cities. None of the pins are near us.”