Thousands (Dollar 4)

I would never get over that fact.

Never take her for granted.

Never let her go.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so content.

And that was my utter downfall.

She’d taken over my senses.

Every. Single. One.

I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings because all I cared about was the sea breeze coiling her hair and how her smile made my heart fucking stop. I didn’t notice the stillness or wrongness because all I saw was a goddess who’d somehow managed to bring me back to life.

I really should’ve paid attention.

I should’ve noticed how deathly quiet the Phantom was.

I should’ve found it odd that no staff greeted us.

No captain to inform us of tides.

No music floating from the kitchen.

No deck hands checking the rigging.

Nothing but empty decks and vacant rooms.

I didn’t notice any of that as Pim and I stayed wrapped in each other, drifting toward my bedroom, stopping to pull each other close for another lust-quick kiss.

The pennies on her bracelet were the only noise in the dense early morning air.

The sliding doors to my quarters were open—nothing unusual as I often left them wide. The lights were off—again, nothing unusual as I wasn’t there to require them to be on.

My room was quiet and still.

My bed untouched and white in the moonlight.

My instincts dulled and focused on Pim and only Pim.

But as I turned to close the doors and flicked the switch to turn the glass from clear to opaque, and Pim drifted forward to turn on the floor lamp by my desk, and the sound of her dress was replaced by the click of a gun, and the lamp flooded the empty space revealing it wasn’t truly empty, I was gripped with ice cold rage and lava hot panic.

My life fucking ended before I could even yell. “Pim—no!”

Too late.

Too motherfucking late.

A man’s arm shot out in the receding darkness, wrapping around her neck, holding her in front of him. His smile leered over her shoulder, heralding my worst fucking nightmare.

Two seconds in my domain and I’d lost my woman to my enemy.

Fuck!

How had I let my guard down so badly? What sort of idiot had I become?

My hands balled as I stalked toward the man holding Pim.

A Japanese man.

A man with thin lips and a red birthmark on his cheek.

A man I’d fought with so many years ago.

“Let her go.” My voice was nothing more than a thunderous snarl.

“I don’t think you’re in the position to give instructions.”

My blood froze as another man switched on the overhead lights, drowning the bedroom in light.

Shit, shit, shit.

He moved toward his colleague holding Pim, his steps elegant and controlled. His head was bald—as it had been in my youth. Tattoos ran over his skull and around his ears, ending in whips of Japanese characters at the tips of his cheekbones.

He was a scary son of a bitch and a cold-hearted killer.

Pim’s eyes turned wild, but she didn’t utter a sound. Her muteness might help in this situation. As long as she stood still and didn’t antagonise them, they would keep their focus on me.

Please let them keep their focus on me.

If they killed her—

My heart wrenched itself into pieces at the thought.

I couldn’t go there.

I wouldn’t.

Gathering my strength, I calmly did up my tux button and stood to my full height. I wouldn’t be intimated. Not by him. Not by anyone.

This was my yacht.

They were trespassing and would die a slow death because of it.

I bared my teeth. “Hello, Kunio.”

The second-in-command of the Chinmoku stood smiling, knowing full fucking well he’d bested me. He should never have gained access to my boat, let alone put his goddamn hands on my woman. “Hello, Miki-san.”

I shuddered.

I wasn’t Miki anymore. I hadn’t been him for a very long time.

My mother had given me a Japanese name, calling me after the moon. I’d changed it to the name my father had wanted when she’d banished me.

It wasn’t a name I ever wanted to hear again.

The fact that Kunio was here and not the master of the Chinmoku was grotesque disrespect.

They didn’t see me as worthy enough to be addressed by their leader before killing me.

My fists tightened, but I did my best to keep my full temper from showing. My hands craved the samurai swords I trained with. My heart howled for their blood.

“Let her go.” I did my best to keep my voice bored when really it was lethal with hatred. “She’s not part of this.”

Kunio glanced at Pim with a condescending smile. “Not part of it…just like your brother and father weren’t part of it? Just like the rest of your family aren’t a part of your blood debt?”

Every muscle locked in pure fury. “Exactly. You’ve already claimed two innocent lives. You don’t need another.”

“They were never innocent.” He moved slowly around the room. “They were yours. You let us down. They were ours to punish.”