Law number two: once a Chinmoku always a Chinmoku.
If you broke law number two, you could die at your hand or theirs—honourable or dishonourable. Or…challenge and win.
If I had the ability to challenge, this would all be over because it didn’t matter if I won or lost, the moment my life was claimed, every scrap of history between us would vanish and they would bow and walk away, leaving Pim, Selix and Mercer’s family alone.
Their karma scales balanced and bound by their code.
But if I won….
If I was strong and well enough to kill Daishin—the current emperor of the Chinmoku—then I would become God and have the power to tell them to stop. Fuck, I could command them to fall upon their samurai swords and they’d have no choice but to obey.
Daishin.
Ha!
I rolled my eyes as old memories filled me. Of lethal commands and a heartless ruler. What a laughable name. In Japanese, it meant Great Truth. A Buddhist name—a temple—yet he was one of the most feared, secretive men in the world.
Mercer continued talking to his team, pointing out weaknesses in his front line, sipping his drink while listening to fresh strategy. His right-hand man, Franco, stood by his side, glowering at Selix and me, blaming us not so subtly for everything.
I didn’t even have the energy to hate him or Mercer anymore.
After three hours of waiting, the only thing I felt was guilt. Guilt and shame for being stupid enough to put yet more innocent people in peril because of my screw-ups. Guilt that Pim wasn’t safe. Guilt that she’d fallen in love with a man who lacked in so many ways.
Pim.
Fuck, I missed her.
My eyes trailed for the thousandth time to the ceiling where I assumed Pim was locked away and untouchable with the others. I had no clue where Mercer’s bedroom was, but I hoped to hell it was well fortified.
Because even with the men we have, we might not have enough.
Mercer clapped his hands, ending the current discussion. Abandoning his station and schematics, the glint in his eye said he was satisfied his men knew their part to play.
Carrying his crystal goblet half-full of liquor, he stopped beside me, eyeing up my bandaged shoulder and curling his lip at the brace around my ankle. “Perhaps, you should go with the women.”
I wanted to wring his fucking French neck. “I may not be running at full capacity, but I can still kill a Chinmoku or two. And that’s more than I can say for you.”
He sipped his drink, smiling slyly. “If they’re anything like you when you fight, then I won’t have a problem winning.”
“You’d shot me, asshole. It wasn’t a fair fight.”
“I’ve been shot before and still killed my enemy. Been stabbed a few times, too.” His eyes darkened. “Don’t give excuses for failure…especially when failure is not an option.” His attention flickered to the ceiling, no doubt thinking of his wife just like I thought about Pim.
I narrowed my gaze. “Who?”
“Who what?”
“Who shot you?”
He shrugged, swallowing his secrets with his liquor. “No one still alive.”
We stood in silence for a while, listening to the murmuring of men and occasionally studying the security feeds showing every vulnerable part of the house.
When would they arrive? The tension in the room multiplied until the very air hissed with pent-up aggression and need to attack.
Franco marched up to us followed swiftly by Selix, who treated Franco as a dirty shadow, constantly trying to erase his presence by turning on a proverbial light.
Ignoring me, Franco spoke to Q. “I wish to fuck we hadn’t dismantled those snares and traps in the gardens. What if the motion sensors fail at the perimeter?”
Q shot back the rest of his drink. “We had no choice. I couldn’t let my son crawl around or Tess run with the dogs knowing any wrong step could mean their remains became fertilizer on the flowers.”
Franco grumbled something that didn’t sound like he totally agreed. Returning to his post, Selix rolled his eyes as if to say he was over the dramatics of Mercer’s second and followed.
Mercer twirled his empty glass, his own gaze drifting to the ceiling again.
I spoke before I could censor and stop myself. “You love her very much.”
His green eyes latched onto mine, a dare lurking in their depths, just waiting for me to say something bad about her so he could attack. Slowly, the rage simmered. “Yes.”
I looked at where he was staring, imagining Pim and Tess above, laughing and safe—exactly how they’d stay as long as we did our job correctly. I’d done unspeakable things and some in the name of protecting Pimlico. Had Mercer done the same? “Have you killed for her before?”
His sharp chuckle ran nails down my back. “I’ve ripped out hearts for her before.”
“Interesting analogy.”
“Interesting fact.” He smiled with sharp teeth.