Emperor of Rage: Chapter 24

The cool evening breeze brushes over my skin as I step off the sleek private jet onto the top step of the stairs leading down to the tarmac. The sky over Kyoto is a perfect twilight, with deep purples and blues casting a serene glow over the distant city.

The very air here feels different—calm. The quiet hum of the private airstrip nestled into the hills above Kyoto envelops me, and I let the peace and serenity of the moment sink in.

…That is, until said peace and serenity is smashed by a shrill scream.

I beam as my attention snaps to Annika, who’s waiting for me at the bottom of the steps, a grin stretched wide across her face. With a scream of my own, I race down to her.

As soon as my feet hit the tarmac, she shrieks in excitement, bolting toward me. Without hesitation I run to meet her, the two of us colliding in a tight hug, laughing and spinning each other around like we haven’t seen in each other in years.

“I’ve missed you so much!” she gushes, pulling back just enough to hold me at arm’s length, her eyes bright and joyful. “This is going to be the best week ever. Kenzo and everyone are so excited you’re here!”

I smile and try to focus on her excitement and genuine happiness as she continues to babble on, but all I can think about is who won’t be happy to see me.

Mal.

It’s been almost a week since that night at the club, and—no surprise—he’s gone completely radio silent again. No calls, no texts. Nothing. I only know he’s even in Kyoto because of other people’s socials, which I may or may not have been stalking.

What?

As much as I want to say I was right to leave and to tell him our arrangement was over, I can’t lie.

I hate not having him around. A lot. It’s like he got me hooked on him, and then cut off the supply. I hate the ache his absence creates inside me—the gnawing emptiness that tugs and pulls me in his direction no matter how hard I try to resist. I hate how much I find myself hoping for a message, knowing it’ll never come.

I hate how much I still want him despite the chaos he brings into my life. I’ve even been having insanely vivid dreams, two of which I woke up from outrageously wet and legit breathless.

Shoving those thoughts aside, I focus on Annika, who is still talking animatedly before her eyes suddenly widen as she looks past me.

“Oh my god! I was wondering if you’d actually come.”

Kir chuckles as he walks down the stairs, followed by the quiet-as-usual Isaak.

“Being that we’ve entered into this peace treaty with the Yakuza⁠—”

“You mean being that I married into the Yakuza, but yes, please, go on,” Annika grins teasingly.

Kir rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “Well, exactly. It felt like a good opportunity to come and visit Sota too. We can talk business all day over the phone, but it’s important to occasionally break bread and share a drink with your allies.”

Annika gives first him and then Isaak a hug before we all pile into the cars and leave the airstrip. Japan has been on my bucket list forever, and Kyoto is stunning, so I keep my face glued to the window as we wind through the scenic hills, taking it all in.

Annika’s voice lowers conspiratorially as she whispers to me about Kenzo’s mansion. “This place is insane. Kenzo took it over from the head of this other Yakuza family that he…you know…”

I draw a line across my neck and make a dramatic “death” sound.

Annika snickers. “I fucking missed you, weirdo.”

“Ha! Missed you more.”

Kir chuckles. “You know, she’s a married woman now, Freya.”

“Yeah, to her second hubby,” I shrug. “You know I’ll always be her first and favorite.”

Annika hoots in laughter as she hugs me. Kir just sighs.

“Judging from the glow she’s got on her face,” he grins, “I’m not so sure I’d bet on that, Freya.”

“Pfft. Who asked you, anyway,” I tease back, returning my attention to the window and the stunning views.

Gorgeous as it is, the closer we get to the house, the more my thoughts are completely consumed by him.

Mal.

The moment we arrive at Kenzo’s mansion, I understand what Annika was talking about. It’s breathtaking. Nestled high in the hills overlooking old Kyoto, the estate is a mix of traditional Japanese architecture and modern style, blending seamlessly into the lush gardens surrounding it. It’s a fortress of luxury where old meets new.

“A toast!” Kir smiles, tapping the side of his vodka glass.

We’ve had dinner in one of the lush gardens on the grounds of Kenzo’s estate, and now the whole mad gathering has turned into a party. Everyone’s here: Annika and Kenzo, Hana, Takeshi, Kir, Isaak, Sota, and a number of Sota’s and Kenzo’s people. All smiling around the garden, drinking and having a grand old time.

Well, not everyone is here. In the four hours I’ve been here, I’ve still yet to get a single glimpse of Mal.

Just the same, I’m having fun. I’m ignoring the black cloud that his absence always brings, and instead choosing to have a ball with my best friend in the world and the man she is clearly now head over heels for.

I limit myself to one joke about being Annika’s “first wife” and telling Kenzo that he’d better watch himself. But he appreciates my weird humor, or at least does a really great job of pretending to.

Sota is tickled when I lift my shirt up to my ribs and show him my Memento Mori tattoo after a few drinks, hooting that perhaps we need to strengthen the Yakuza-Bratva bond by having me marry Takeshi, since I’ve already got his last name on my skin.

There’s an even bigger laugh from the older Yakuza boss when Tak and I make the same puke face at the same time.

That said, even though I’d never in a million years marry Takeshi, I like the guy. All of Kenzo’s siblings—yes, including Mal—are different, and yet seem to carry the same fierce streak. Hana is a boss bitch on steroids—all business and clean cut, surgical edges. Mal’s the dark, somber, slightly scary one.

Takeshi, though, is pure unadulterated chaos, to the point where I’m legitimately wondering if he actually has crashed one of his barely street-legal motorcycles and done some brain damage. He’s constantly in motion, with this almost maniacal, psychotic glint in his eye, like he’s about to challenge death to an arm wrestling match or a car race down a mountain road.

He’s also fun as hell, and even loves some of the same weird, esoteric bands that I do. Plus he’s promised to take me out on a couple of his crazy souped-up bikes for a ride around the hills outside Kyoto while I’m here, which sounds super fun.

I laugh and have some drinks. Hana, Annika and I do some lame karaoke and throw an impromptu dance party, even getting Kir out on the floor.

This is what I need—normalcy. Friends. A night of fun without constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I just can’t shake the emptiness that lingers.

Mal’s absence feels like a weight that pulls me down even when I don’t want it to.

Kenzo and Annika are standing at the far end of the garden, wrapped up in each other like they’re the only two people in the world. There’s something about the way they look at each other—unspoken, easy. It tugs at something deep inside me that leaves me feeling hollow.

Love should be simple.

But with Mal… Nothing ever is.

I force a smile and walk over to grab Annika’s hand, pulling her toward the dance floor. “You owe me a dance, bitch.”

She laughs, glancing to Kenzo before letting me drag her away. “God, I’ve missed this,” she says, her eyes sparkling. “Just us, having fun. No drama.”

I grin, spinning her around as the music picks up. “Yep, no drama.”

No Mal, either.

Fuck.

After…okay…a little bit of drama involving Sota’s business manager Tengen getting seriously drunk and saying some disgusting shit to Annika, the party keeps going. But eventually, once Kenzo and Annika—unsurprisingly, given how cozy they’ve been all night—disappear, the party starts to wind down.

Takeshi is off in the huge garage, which he apparently lives above, showing off his bikes and cars to Kir and Isaak. Sota bids us all goodnight and heads back to his place in Nakagyo-ku in central Kyoto with his guards.

Eventually, it’s just Hana and I sitting in the garden, each with a glass of wine as we gaze up at the stars overhead.

“I really needed a night like this,” she sighs, turning to glance at me. “You?”

“Same,” I nod. “Tonight was fantastic.”

I swirl the drink in my glass, trying to lose myself in the quiet, but my mind is elsewhere. Hana eyes me for a moment, the weird silence dragging on. Suddenly, she clears her throat, and when I glance over, she’s smirking at me slightly with a raised brow.

“If you’re looking for Mal, he’s in the guest house.” She turns and nods across the gorgeous landscaping and gardens of the Mori estate, to the faint light of a smaller house in the distance. “He’s basically taken it over as his spot, like Tak has coopted the garage.”

I tense, my heart skipping a beat.

“Why would I be looking for Mal?” I ask, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Hana raises a perfect eyebrow.

“I’m not,” I insist, but the denial sounds weak even to me.

Hana just laughs, giving me a knowing smile. “It’s none of my business. Anyway, I’m off to bed. Night, Freya.”

“Night,” I mutter, watching her head indoors.

Mal is here. I’ve been biting back the urge since I got here to ask anyone where he might be, assuming he’s away on a business thing.

And he’s been right here all night, a hundred feet away.

I should feel relieved—or maybe angry—that he never even popped his head out to say hi. But all I feel is my chest tightening at the prospect of seeing him again. At the idea of him being so close, yet so far away.

I take another sip of my wine, trying to ignore the ache that never seems to leave. I could go find him, confront him, ask him why he always disappears, why he’s put me through this twisted game over and over.

Instead, I sit back on the outdoor lounge chair, staring out at the soft glow of Kyoto’s city lights.

Why should I be the one to go to him?

I drain the rest of my glass and set it down, the weight of the night pressing down on me. I tell myself that this ache, this need for him, is all in my head.

Deep down, I know that’s a lie.

Mal is here. And as much as I hate to admit it, I just wish he’d come find me.