Page 76 of Secrets & Sake
“Stay away from Raiden. I won’t tell you again.”
My jaw clenches. “Not happening.”
Takada barks a laugh. “You’re no different from any of the other little twinks he fucked. He’ll use you until he tires of you, then throw you out like trash.”
His words leave cracks in my armor, but I try to ignore it. “If you really thought that, you wouldn’t be here.”
“I will say, it’s odd he’s kept you around as long as he has. Got no clue what he sees in someone like you.”
“A human, you mean?”
Takada’s eyes narrow. “He told you. And you didn’t run for the hills.”
“Nope. Turns out, monsters kind of do it for me.”
A growl rumbles from Takada. My instincts scream to back up and keep distance between us. Takada looks human, but I know that behind that ordinary veneer is a predator that could rip my throat out with a single bite.
“Trust me, I’m as confused as you are, but I think he enjoys being treated like an actual human being. Instead of, you know, a piece of meat.”
Takada chuckles darkly, his smile revealing a hint of fang. “He told you about me?”
“More than enough.” I reach up and touch Raiden’s necklace, needing the coin’s coolness to ground me. If I start thinking about what Takada did to him, I’ll lose it.
Takada’s lips grow thin, nostrils flaring. “You really think he’ll ever be satisfied with you? You’re human. What the fuck do you know about our kind? You will never know how to give him what he needs. You’ll never be good enough for him!”
I want to shrink away as he cuts down deep into insecurities I didn’t know I had. “And you are? I’ll never understand what it means to be yakuza or a werewolf. But I’ll never hurt him like you did. You tormented him. For years. He was only sixteen years old. What is wrong with you?”
Takada’s mouth splits into a grin. “I made a man out of him. He came to me a broken, lost boy, and I fixed him. You really think he’ll ever be happy with you? That he’ll settle for a normal life? White picket fences, a normal job, a civilian life. That will never be enough to satisfy him.”
His words break through my defenses like water through the windows of a sinking car.
Takada’s grin widens. “You don’t know him, pretty boy. But I do. And I know that there’s bloodlust in him. Oh, he hides it well, but it’s there. You think you like him now? You haven’t seen the worst that he can do. He’ll throw you aside and come running back to me.”
“You’d do anything to have him, wouldn’t you?” I cross my arms and stare him down.
“I would,” he says without missing a beat.
“Even abduct people to incriminate the Namikawa-kai?”
Takada cocks his head. “Now, why would you say that?”
“If people keep disappearing on their turf, the Namikawa-kai will lose face. People will turn on them. The cops will catch on. There will be arrests sooner or later. Once they’re gone, you can swoop in and take Taito Ward for yourself. Raiden, too.”
A bark of laughter escapes Takada. “Well, aren’t you a little sleuth. You’ve got nothing to prove I’m the one responsible. But I’d look closer to home if I were you. Your boyfriend will get bored with you and come crawling back to me, begging me to—”
I’ve heard enough. I slam my heel down on his foot and he yelps, stumbling back.
I dart around him, so my back is to the door.
He snarls at me, fangs sharp and glistening with spit.
“Maybe you’re right.” I force myself to meet his snake-like gaze. “Maybe I can’t make him happy. This could all just be one big mistake for both of us. I don’t know. But regardless of how things end between us, I will never hurt him like you did.” Fury rises in me until I’m shaking with it. “And I swear, Takada, if you ever hurt him again, I’ll kill you myself.”
Before he can say anything more, I storm back out.
Ren glares at me. “What happened?”
I shrug. “Nothing.” My face burns, and my heart keeps tripping. What if Takada’s right? What if I can’t give Raiden what he needs?