Fire and Ice (Ice 5)

Hitomi’s faint smile wasn’t reassuring. “No, I didn’t think so, either. And as long as you’re around, there will still be a faction of the family who look to you for power. So I’m afraid you will need to be disposed of. You and your cousin and his wife.”

“And how do you intend to get to O’Brien-san? He was warned.”

“He was also told the sister of his wife has been killed. He won’t stay hidden for long with that kind of information.”

“Oh, shit,” Jilly said.

Reno didn’t turn to look at her. “You know she and her sister won’t be any threat to you.”

“Details, Hiromasa-san. If you had longer to live, you would learn to appreciate the necessity of paying attention to them. As it is, you’ll have to wait for your next lifetime.”

Jilly rose. “Look, haven’t we had enough of this evil-warlord shit? Why don’t you just—?” She’d forgotten that yakuza-boy was still behind her. Forgotten that he had a gun in hand. She felt the blow to the side of her head, and everything turned dark as she sank down onto the cold, hard floor. A roar of rage echoed around her as she lost consciousness.

15

“You’re an idiot.”

Not the best words to wake up to, particularly when she didn’t want to wake up. She felt fuzzy, disoriented, as if she’d been kicked by a horse, and she would really much rather keep her eyes closed and wait for the world to settle down.

“Don’t pretend you’re still unconscious—you don’t fool me. He didn’t hit you that hard.”

Jilly didn’t open her eyes. She was lying on something hard; it felt like the tiny cot in the storage room. She moved slightly, just to check, but she didn’t seem to be tied up. That was another improvement, even if someone seemed to have ripped off the top of her head and poured lye inside. Or tentacles.

“Go away,” she muttered into the mattress. She was facedown, and that was fine with her. It felt safer that way.

“I don’t seem to have that option.”

“Shit.” She lifted her head, slowly, gingerly, and looked toward the voice. It was Reno, of course, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Even in the dim light she could see he was a total mess. His white shirt was filthy, blood and dirt ground into it. Dried blood darkened his flame-colored hair, the cut on his cheek had opened again and he looked totally thrashed.

“What happened to you?” she asked, starting to sit upright when her head exploded. She lay back down. “Did you finally annoy someone enough to have them beat the shit out of you?”

“Let’s say someone annoyed me enough,” he said, his voice dry. “How’s your head?”

“It hurts. Why the hell do you care? And why are you here? Don’t tell me you came to offer yourself in my place, because I won’t believe you.” She didn’t bother disguising her grumpiness. It had been a very bad day.

“Of course you wouldn’t. You’re not stupid, and neither am I. I knew Hitomi-san had no intention of ever letting you go. He just wanted to get me in here, as well. As soon as Taka shows up, then nothing will stand in the way of his taking over my grandfather’s organization.”

A memory fought its way through her clouded brain. “He’s not really going to kill my sister.”

“He’s going to try. However, she’s well out of reach, and I don’t think she’s stupid enough to get her feelings hurt and go running out into the streets, straight into the arms of people who’ve been trying to kill her.”

“Feelings hurt?” she echoed, sitting up, her rage more powerful than her pain. “That’s what you call it? You miserable rat bastard, it was leave or kill you myself, and it’s not like I haven’t killed anyone before.” Her voice only wavered slightly.

He leaned his head back against the wall, and she could see a dark bruise forming on his chest beneath the ripped shirt. “You’re still an idiot. Why didn’t you keep your mouth shut in there?”

“Would it have made a difference? Would they have let us leave?”

“No. But at least you wouldn’t have a headache.”

“Thanks for the concern,” she said. “Give me a couple of aspirin and I’ll be fine in the morning.”

“You’ll be dead in the morning.”

“Aren’t you a bundle of laughs?” she said.

He pushed himself off the floor, carefully, and moved over to the bed. She scrambled out of the way, but on such a small surface there wasn’t far to go, and she wasn’t about to go for the floor.

He sat down, leaning back against the wall and letting out a sound halfway between frustration and exhaustion. “Just be quiet for a moment, Ji-chan,” he said. “I need to think.”