Emperor of Havoc: Chapter 25

Katarina thinks she has me figured out—knows every move I’ll make before I make it, every angle I’ll try.

That’s the problem with someone who’s used to being the smartest person in the room—even though, in her case, Katarina usually truly is. The smartest, I mean.

That kind of person always thinks they’ve accounted for everything. But they never account for me.

I sit in the darkened corner of the study I’ve claimed as mine since moving into the Ishida compound, idly spinning a glass of whiskey. The amber liquid catches the faint light, swirling like smoke against the cut crystal. My thoughts are less elegant.

I exhale slowly through my lips and turn to glance at my newfound ally here in the Ishida house. Currently, that new ally is happily ignoring me while he devours yet another obscenely expensive cut of Matsusaka wagyu steak.

Why, yes, I have been buying Katarina’s questionable choice in pet’s love with billionaire-level luxury meat. Not to be an asshole or to try and steal away something she loves.

…Because it’s a fucking tiger, and yes, I’d like it to think of me as a provider of yummy food when it looks at me, not a fucking source of it.

I watch as Furrcules finishes the outrageously priced steak I just gave him and then looks up at me hopefully.

“You understand that your ancestors were perfectly content with village goats and carrion, right?”

Furrcules makes a meowling sound and pads over to rub his nose against my leg.

“Couldn’t have a thing for fast food burgers, huh?” I sigh. “Not hotdogs? Had to be hundred-dollar an ounce steak?”

My new tiger friend butts my leg again with his head and then paws at my shoe.

“Bougie little bitch,” I smirk, reaching down to scratch under his chin. Furrcules drops his hind quarters and then sinks to the floor, apparently placated by head scritches for the time being.

I exhale again as my brows knit.

Replacing Katarina’s pills was…a choice. Maybe not a good one. But⁠—

I glare into my glass.

Okay. Fine. It was a bad choice.

I know that. Somewhere deep down in the black pit where my morals used to be, there’s a faint, nagging whisper that what I did was wrong. But that’s the thing about me—I’m fully capable of recognizing my wrongs without an ounce of regret. And when it comes to the pills, if I’m being honest, I don’t regret it. Not for a second.

It’s not what she thinks. Yes, I fucked with her birth control pills in the hopes she might end up pregnant. But not for the reason she believes.

Katarina sees betrayal lurking in every shadow, a conspiracy behind every move I make. And while I’d love to claim it’s because she’s paranoid, she’s…not entirely wrong.

The problem is that I have two motives, and they’re at war with each other. One of those motives just threw water in my face. The other?

The other is lying in a hospital bed.

I set the glass down and push to my feet, the leather of my chair creaking in protest. Time to pay a visit to Yuki no Akuma.

AKA, my father-in-law.

The hospital is quiet, the halls dimly lit as day edges toward evening. Kolya’s private suite is on the top floor. The guards outside his door eye me warily as I approach. But thankfully, the dust-up with Katarina this morning hasn’t resulted in her telling everyone to give me the cold shoulder again.

…Not yet, at least.

The guards still exchange uncertain glances, though. I exhale sharply.

“In case it’s slipped your fucking minds,” I say. “Kolya-sama and I are now family.”

I resist the urge to add in a line about doing my bit to make him a grandfather.

Restraint, self. We’ve established that tampering with your wife’s birth control without her knowledge or consent is…bad. Yes?

My eyes narrow on them. “Move,” I growl.

They glance at each other again, but then step aside, allowing me entry. The door clicks shut behind me.

Kolya looks tired, propped up in his hospital bed. But his eyes are as sharp as ever as they narrow on me.

“Takeshi,” he says, his voice rough but steady. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

“We’ve gone so long without some quality son-in-law/father-in-law bonding. I thought we could rectify that.”

Kolya gives me a slightly annoyed look.

“Are you actually used to your charm and bullshit working on people?”

“Perhaps ask your daughter.”

Kolya’s jaw tightens, his eyes lancing into mine. But he doesn’t take the bait.

“What do you want, Takeshi.”

I step closer, the faint smile on my lips cool and calculated. “In all seriousness, I thought it was time we had a chat.”

“A chat,” he repeats, his tone dark with suspicion. “About what.”

I drag a chair closer to his bedside, the scrape of the legs against the floor deliberately slow, grating. I settle in, leaning back as if I have all the time in the world.

“I see right through you, you know,” Kolya says before I can speak. “Do you think for a single solitary second that I allowed you to marry my daughter and didn’t see you scheming a mile away?”

I chuckle darkly. “Scheming is such an ugly word. I prefer ‘strategizing’.”

His lips curl into a snarl as he studies me with his piercing eyes, his jaw tightening. “I have a hundred eyes on you at any given moment, Takeshi. I see everything.”

“I doubt that,” I reply smoothly. “Or you’d be out of that bed trying to strangle me.”

Kolya’s fingers twitch against the blanket. “Provoking me isn’t going to work. Now, are we going to dance all evening, or are you planning to tell me why you’re really here?”

Slowly, I lean forward a little. “I wanted to ask you about Akira Ohno.”

There’s a flicker of something in his eyes. A slight tick of his jaw. But he shakes his head.

“I’m unfamiliar with the name,” he says evenly. “But I assume you are?”

I let the silence stretch out. “Akira was a friend of mine,” I finally say. “Back when I was young. He taught me a lot about myself…cars…women…about channeling certain impulses.”

Kolya’s expression doesn’t waver, but the tension in the room winds tighter. “What does this have to do with me?”

“He disappeared,” I continue, my tone casual but measured. “Shortly after returning to Tokyo. I’ve heard he might have had dealings with the Ishida-kai.”

Kolya’s eyes flash. “And you think I had something to do with it?”

“Did you?” I counter.

He doesn’t answer immediately. Finally he exhales, his gaze steady, his voice quiet. “If you’re here to dig up ghosts, Takeshi, I suggest you tread carefully. Some things are better left buried.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I reply, rising to my feet. “Thank you for your time.”

“I didn’t mean that as a threat, you know.”

I turn back at his words, eying him as he steeples his hands in his lap.

“Call it well-intentioned advice,” he adds.

“Well, thank you again.”

Kolya doesn’t respond, his gaze following me as I make my way to the door. Just as I reach for the handle, his voice stops me.

“Are you keeping her safe?” he growls, his tone deadly.

I glance over my shoulder, my gaze dark and unyielding.

“Katarina’s tough, and strong, and brave,’ he murmurs. ‘But she’s still…” He looks away, gritting his teeth. “She means the world to me, Takeshi,” he continues, turning back to me. “So⁠—”

“Whether or not I’ll protect your daughter is the last thing you ever have to worry about,” I reply quietly. “I’d kill for her, Kolya-sama.”

He nods. “I appreciate it.”

“You could always thank me by helping me dig up some ghosts.”

He smiles wryly, shaking his head. “All I can do is caution you, as a man who’s dug up enough ghosts in his day, to let it be.” His eyes lock with mine. “Nothing good ever comes from raising the dead, Takeshi.”