By the time the elevator reached the ground floor of the Tres Spades, I knew where I was going. Mei was with Inui and Inui's grandmother had owned an inn. I was sure that's where he would have taken her. I ran out to the taxi stand and jumped in a cab, giving the driver the directions to the neighborhood that the inn was in before calling Kyoichiro and telling him to have some men meet me there. I tried calling Mei, but the bitch had blocked my number or turned off her phone entirely.
It took nearly half an hour to get to the inn. Half an hour in which I pictured Soryu surrounded by guards and waiting, just as I had done in the barn when I'd been kidnapped. I couldn't believe it. Even someone as powerful and strong as Soryu had been taken down. There was no telling what they'd done to him in order to kidnap him and now his life was hanging in the balance. If we couldn't find one selfish spoiled bitch, he was going to be killed. And that bitch could be anywhere in Japan.
My feelings were a twisted panic. I felt as if I couldn't really breathe, couldn't really think. All that I could do was worry. What was he thinking and what was he feeling? Would Simon Lee really kill him? Wouldn't that start a war between the Bell Crickets and the Ice Dragons? But if Simon Lee made a threat he would have to follow through with it, isn't that the way these things worked?
When the taxi finally dropped me off in front of the inn, Kyoichiro and two other men were standing on the sidewalk.
"We waited for you because you're probably the best person to talk to Mei," Kyoichiro explained when I stood in front of him.
"Will they really kill Soryu?" I asked. "Mei could be anywhere. It might be impossible for us to find her."
Kyoichiro stared down into my eyes and I knew what his answer was even before he opened his mouth. "Yeah, Lee isn't one to make idle threats. This is his daughter we're talking about. He won't let this pass."
I took a deep breath and looked at the old fashioned wooden doors of the inn. They had to be in there. This is where Inui would have wanted to go. Mei had already seen tourist attractions and she was used to staying in expensive hotels. I thought it was a fair bet that she'd want to know what it was like to stay in an inn for the 'common people'.

There was a middle-aged woman standing behind the desk inside the inn. I went over to her and showed her one of the pictures that Mei had sent to me during an outing. In it she and Inui were standing smiling next to a monk at a buddhist temple. They looked innocent and carefree. I was beating myself up for not suspecting the worst from Mei. I should have known that she would pull something like this again, even when Baba and Ota were spending so much of their time escorting her around.
The woman eyed me suspiciously and said that she hadn't seen them. She probably thought that I was trying to catch my cheating husband. "You don't understand, the guy who owns this inn-" I began, but Kyoichiro interrupted me and pulled a stack of bills out of his wallet.
"Would it be okay for us to look around?" he asked and the woman took the money and quickly agreed to let us search the inn.
I started to follow Kyoichiro and the other men but something stuck my feet to the floor. I turned back to look at the woman. "Are they really not here?" I asked, taking the time to read her expression this time.
"They're really not here," she said. This time her eyes held sympathy.
I nodded to myself and started towards the front door. There was one more place that I should look. I really didn't need to have anyone with me. I was the one who would have to talk to Mei anyway, and it was best for Kyoichiro to search the inn just in case the woman was lying.
I went outside and got into another taxi, instructing the driver to take me to Harajuku.

Twenty minutes later I stood on the sidewalk in front of the Hello Kitty themed hotel that Mei had pointed out that first day when we'd taken her to Harajuku. This time she had to be here. This was the only other place that I could think of for her to be. If she wasn't here, I would have no idea which way to turn. I'd end up back at the Tres Spades sitting around doing nothing while Eisuke's team did the searching. It would probably kill me.
A teenage girl with pink highlights in her hair and a Hello Kitty t-shirt was sitting behind the cutesy desk inside the hotel. I showed her the picture of Mei and Inui and said, "I'm looking for these people. Are they here?"
"Oh, well… I'm not supposed to give out information about guests," she said, refusing to meet my eyes.
They were there. Relief poured over me so thickly that I had trouble holding back tears. I pulled out my wallet and took out every bit of cash that I had. It was nowhere near as impressive as the stack of money that Kyoichiro had handed the woman in the other hotel. It was a good thing that I only had to impress a teenager. The girl's eyes lit up when she saw the money.
"I need to know what room they're in," I said with a smile. "It's a matter of life or death."
"Ummm...okay," the girl said guiltily, her eyes searching the room to ensure no one was there to witness her breaking the rules. "They're on the top floor in room 401. The Kitty Princess Room."
'The Kitty Princess Room.' The words made me want to throw up as I rode a Hello Kitty patterned elevator up to the fourth floor. Now that I knew that Mei was there my fear was giving way to an all-consuming anger. I did my best to push it down and keep it contained. I'd have to be nice to Mei to get her out of the hotel. If I pissed her off, there was no telling what she would do.
When I stepped off the elevator I took a couple of minutes to send a text to Eisuke and Kyoichiro to let them know that I'd probably found Mei and where we were. If Mei put up a fight and refused to leave, I'd have the men drag her ass out kicking and screaming.

The first time I knocked on the pink door of the Kitty Princess Room I was met with silence. The second time there was a loud thump and the distant sound of voices. The third time I accompanied my knock with, "I know you're in there. Open the door!"
The voices got louder and I could hear the sounds of movement. After a couple of minutes Inui opened the door. His hair was mussed and he had a fluffy pink robe that must have been provided by the hotel cinched tightly around his waist. He stared at me in shock when he saw me standing in the hallway. "Princess Mei! What are you doing here?"
I pushed past him and stepped inside the room. It was a mess, clothes thrown on the floor and food containers littering the surfaces. It smelled like a mix of sweat, sex and old food. It was disgusting. Mei was walking across the room wearing a robe that matched the one Inui wore but she hadn't bothered to tie the belt. The look on her face was bored and annoyed.
"My name is Sakiko, Inui," I said. "That's Princess Mei."
While Inui made shocked noises, I turned my attention to Mei. She was sitting in a fancy chair poking at a few pieces of cold pizza that sat in an open box. She'd let her robe fall open, probably intentionally. Her breasts were covered with hickeys and bite marks. The thought of poor innocent Inui ravaging her tits made me sick.
"Get dressed," I said, fighting to keep anger out of my voice. "Your father's in Tokyo. You need to get to Bell Crickets headquarters as soon as possible."
"I said in my note that I would be back when I decided I had had enough fun. I am not finished. I will come back another day," she said in a haughty voice.
'Don't explode. Don't kill her. Don't explode. Don't kill her.' I took several deep breaths and then said, "Your father has Soryu. He's going to kill him if we don't bring you back. Put on your clothes. We are leaving immediately."
I saw the shock in Mei's eyes. She knew that her father was serious. She stood up with an angry huff and walked over to a pile of shopping bags that had been thrown against a wall. Behind me, Inui had started sputtering. "The Boss? He's going to kill the Boss?"
I turned around and took in the look of sheer panic on Inui's face. "Get dressed, Inui. You need to come with us."
I walked over and stood in front of the door - blocking it so no one could try to run out of the room and facing it to give them their privacy while they put on their clothes. Mei was saying, "Do not worry, Inui. I will take all of the responsibility for this. You did not even know who I was. Daddy will not punish you for this."
I was picturing erupting volcanoes and exploding nuclear bombs as I added endangering Inui's life to Mei's list of crimes. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so thoughtless and selfish. I considered dragging her out of the hotel by the hair just for the fun of it, but it would only cause a disturbance and make it impossible for us to get a taxi. I'd received texts back from Eisuke and Kyoichiro and it seemed unlikely that anyone would reach us before we were ready to leave. I would not be waiting around for an escort. I was going to get Mei back to her father as soon as humanly possible.

I sat in the front seat of the taxi silently cursing Mei, repeating 'That selfish fucking bitch.' over and over again while I stared out the window, willing the traffic to clear and the car to go faster. In the back Mei snuggled up to a terrified Inui and spoke to him as if there weren't a ton of worries hanging over us. She would be fine, of course. What would her father do to punish her, stop letting her fuck the help?
The Bell Crickets headquarters was in a six story office building. Mei flirted with the guards as they escorted us up to an office on the fourth floor where Simon Lee was waiting for us. Mei started pouting and giving her father the silent treatment as soon as we entered the room. Inui tried to hide behind me. I stepped forward to introduce myself.
"Hello, Mr. Lee. My name is Sakiko Koizumi. I work for Eisuke Ichinomiya and Soryu Oh. I found Mei Ling. Please release Mr. Oh now," I said, keeping my poker face firmly in place. I didn't want to let him see how scared I still was. I had no idea how these things were supposed to go. If he was certain to follow through with his threat to kill Soryu, that meant he would follow through with his promise to release him, right? I had to hope that it was true.
"Thank you for finding and returning my daughter," Mr. Lee said. His voice was casual and he wasn't bothering to try to hide his feelings behind a mask. There was no need. His every movement spoke of self-control and power. "Please explain to me why she was allowed to run away in the first place."
"I'm afraid that I don't know the answer to that, Sir," I said. "It seems to be a mistake on the part of the guards, but I don't know exactly what happened."
"I tricked them," Mei said behind me. She sounded like a snarky teenager. "It was far too easy. Ichinomiya needs to find some competent guards."
"I don't think that's the case. Those men were your guards, there to protect you. You should have been working with them to keep yourself safe. You obviously needed jailers instead. Everyone did their very best to make you happy and you still ran away-" I stopped as I realized what I was saying in front of Mr. Lee. I turned back around to face him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lee. We did know that Mei wanted her freedom. We tried to give her that as much as we could. I guess it just wasn't enough."
Simon Lee ignored me and said something to Mei in Chinese, his voice angry. Mei stepped up to stand in front of the desk that her father sat behind. She looked ridiculous standing there wearing a Harajuku-inspired outfit in baby pinks that was far too young for her. When the conversation between the two of them had gone on for a couple of minutes, I gave Inui a look and we took a seat on a couch on the side of the room.
Mei and Mr. Lee went back and forth for over half an hour. Mr. Lee's voice remained even and angry. Mei's voice jumped from pleading to angry to crying to indignant to whining and back again. When the conversation was finally over, Mei had landed on angry. Whatever the result was, she was not happy with it.
Mr. Lee glanced at me and held out a cellphone. It was Soryu's. "The man outside will take you to Soryu. Mei will remain here. You can have her things sent over. Her little vacation from reality is over."
I thanked him and accepted the cellphone. Inui followed me out of the room as I stepped into the hallway to find the man who would lead me to Soryu. I didn't even bother to say goodbye to Mei. Fuck politeness. I just wanted Soryu back.

When we stepped out of the elevator onto the second floor, I could see a door with two guards posted on either side. I couldn't stop myself from taking off at a run. I had to get to him as soon as I possibly could. The guards didn't stop me from opening the door and I flung myself inside, nearly at a frenzy.
"What the fuck?!" I exclaimed as soon as I set eyes on Soryu. He was lounging on a couch watching soccer on an enormous television. I was frozen as emotions plummeted through me. Fears that I'd been suppressing exploded out, relief at seeing him alive and in one piece washed over me, shock at finding him sitting at his ease made my head spin. I held up my hands, reaching towards him. He was already on his way, crossing the room with quick strides, pulling me into his arms.
"Sakiko," he said, hugging me tightly to him. "Have they already found Mei?"
"Yeah, I found her. We don't have to worry about her anymore. It looks like her father is going to send her back to Hong Kong," I said, pushing away from his chest so that I could look at him.
"You found her?" he asked, his voice amazed. "Where are the guys?"
"Inui's out in the hallway. I texted Eisuke and Kyoichiro and let them know that I found Mei as I was bringing her here," I explained.
"So, you and Inui found Mei?" He was having trouble believing me.
"No, I found Mei and Inui. They ran off together." I reached up a hand and stroked it over his cheek. I understood why'd he'd wanted to fuck me following two of my disappearances. A desire to touch him and have him inside of me was strengthening with each passing breath.
"You did it by yourself? Why was no one helping you?" He frowned down at me.
I gave a huff of exasperation. I wanted to talk about him, not about what I'd been doing. I needed to explain myself quickly so that we could move on. "It was faster to go by myself and it wasn't dangerous. I needed to get you out of here as soon as possible. I've been so worried about you. I thought they might have beaten you up whenever they took you, but you look fine."
I eyed him suspiciously, there wasn't a scratch on him. "And you're hanging out in here watching tv…"
"It wouldn't have done me any good to try to fight off the guys that Lee sent to take me. I'd only have gotten myself hurt. And I have been watching tv, but I haven't been paying much attention to it. I've been wondering what steps the guys would be taking to find Mei, and I've been worrying about you. I know how terrible it feels to have someone that you love snatched away and in danger."
He pulled me closer and kissed me, his lips slow and gentle, moving tenderly over mine to share his feelings. "Thank you for rescuing me. It shows me how much you care about me."
How much I cared. His words reverberated through me. I knew that I loved him, but I'd never told him. I'd been struggling with the feeling, not sure whether I could accept it or if I needed to fight it off. Not sure what it would mean to me and how it would affect my life. I'd never told him that I loved him and he could have died without ever hearing me say the words. The thought made tears fill my eyes. This man was kind enough to love and accept me for who I was and brave enough to invite my fucked up ass to share his life with him. I was a coward for not accepting him. He was honest and strong and I would be able to depend on him without a single doubt. Only a fool would turn away from him.
"Let's get out of here," I said. "I want to leave this place."

Kyoichiro was waiting to drive us back. Inui sat in the front seat and Soryu and I sat in the back. He held me to him, stroking my back as I cried silent tears. He could have been killed. I could have lost him and he could have lost his life, all of the precious days of his future. I could have been stupid enough to run away from him. I could have told him no and disappeared of my own accord, leaving behind the best thing that would probably ever happen to me in my entire life. I still wasn't sure that I'd be able to stay. I was ready to try, I was ready to give it everything that I had in me, but it might not be enough. My fear and my stupidity might win out in the end. I couldn't even trust myself to do the right thing.
We all moved slowly when we climbed out of the car in the underground garage beneath Ice Dragons headquarters. We were heavy with thoughts and emotions. It looked as if Inui had been doing a bit of crying himself. I thought about the times that the other men had talking about how often he'd screwed up and how many chances Soryu had given him. It made sense that he was worried that he'd just blown his last chance.
"Boss," Inui said when we were all standing in the parking garage. "I'm so sorry. I-"
 "Not now," Soryu said, his voice weary. "Just go upstairs."
When Kyoichiro and Inui started across the garage towards the stairs, I tugged on Soryu's sleeve to stop him. "Will you let me deal with Inui?" I asked. "I have an idea."
"Yeah, of course," he said, taking my hand and starting off towards the stairs. "You're my partner now...if you want to be."
Jets of fear automatically began erupting inside of me. My hand captured in his, his words trying to tie me to him, they made my feet itch to run away. But his words also made me feel proud and strong. I pushed away the fear to let the good feelings fill me. He wouldn't want me to be his partner unless he respected and trusted me. It felt good, very good, to know that he thought about me that way.
We ran into Satozaki in the hallway on the first floor.
"Boss! You're back safe and sound. I knew the Crickets wouldn't be able to get the best of you," he said with a proud smile. "And Mrs. Boss! I heard that you're the hero of the day. You rescued the Boss singlehandedly. You're awesome! Are you gonna make dinner?"
"No, she's not going to make dinner," Soryu said irritably. "You guys order something or go to a restaurant. Get out of here and leave us alone."
"Yeah, Boss, I get it," Satozaki replied with a smirk before he turned on his heel and ran off down the hallway.
Soryu gave a sigh of disgust and then said, "Hey, in all the confusion I nearly forgot. You wanted to spend the night in your dorm room tonight. Do you want me to take you to the Tres Spades?"
"No," I answered, pulling on his hand and heading towards the stairs. "Like you said, I need to fuck you to confirm to myself that you're okay."
He laughed. "I think I said that I needed to touch you to confirm to myself that you're okay, but fucking is even better. I won't argue with that. I need to make love to you all night to show you how happy am I that you rescued me, and how grateful, and how proud."
"Hmm, sounds like I might not be up to making breakfast either," I said with a smile.
"I'm going to order us some dinner, but I'll still probably need a couple of midnight omelettes if I'm going to make it through the night," he said.
"I'll make you omelettes any time you want."

When we reached his bedroom I had him sit on the edge of the bed. Standing in front of him, I examined his face carefully, taking in every curve and line. Letting the knowledge fill me, so poignant it was nearly painful, that he was mine, that I could keep him, that I would keep him. I was going to open up my heart and let him in. I'd be vulnerable to him doing his worst, but I knew that he'd do his best. He'd told me so, and I was going to hold him to it.
I traced his jawline with fingertips that were trembling and looked into his eyes. No mask, no games, no holding back. I was ready to take the first step in giving him everything. I was afraid, my bravery felt tenuous, but there was no holding back. I was drawn to him, I was falling into him, and I would no longer be able to deny it or put it off.
"I love you. I really love you. I can't promise that things will be perfect. I already know that I'll have to run away sometimes, but I'll always come back. I'll never be able to stay away from you."
"That's the only thing I want," he said and pulled me towards him.
I climbed onto his lap, straddling his waist, my torso was pressed to his and I was overwhelmed with the feel of him. I could barely suck in air as my body tightened and rejoiced at his nearness. He was alive. He was safe from harm. He was mine.
I buried my face in his neck, my ragged breathing edging on sobs. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, feeling the muscles of his back under my hands. He was strong. Strong enough to handle me, even though I was broken. His hands rubbed up and down my back, soothing me, pulling me close. He tilted his head and whispered in my ear, telling me that everything was going to okay and that he loved me, over and over again.
When I'd calmed down and raised me head to look at him, he was smiling. "I'm so happy that you love me," he said. "You love me and you can say it. I might have to send Mei a bonus."
I cringed and shook my head. "That selfish spoiled bitch doesn't get anything."
"That's right. You get the bonus. You're my hero." He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight as he raised up and turned around, lying me down on the bed and hovering over me. "I'm going to show you just how grateful I am and just how much I love you."
"No," I said, pushing on his shoulders until he rolled over onto his back and climbing on top of him. "First I get to show you how much I love you."
"I can't say no to you," he said, relaxing beneath me. "Do your worst."
I laughed and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I'm starting to hate your suits. You look so fucking sexy in them, it drives me crazy, but they're such a pain to take off."
"I don't think I can get away from the suits. They're standard business attire and I'd look bad dressing casually when Eisuke is almost always in a three piece. Maybe I can talk to my tailor about break away buttons." I loved hearing happiness and humor in his voice.
"Yes. Your pants need to be like the ones that basketball players wear. The ones that just tear right off," I said with a laugh. "You might not be safe, then. I could attack you at any moment."
"I hope that's a promise. I'll call my tailor first thing tomorrow." He raised up and helped me peel off his suit jacket and shirt. I stroked my fingers lightly over his hard pecs and abs, feelings his heat and strength, before I pushed him back down onto the bed.
Pulling my shirt off over my head, I tossed it to the side and began attacking his chest with kisses and licks. His hand stroked over my back, tracing over my bra, looking for the clasp. "It's in front," I breathed, popping up to unhook it and throw it over the side of the bed. His hands reached up, cupping my breasts, squeezing gently and thumbing over my nipples. I moaned, arching into his touch, feeling my arousal increase and pool hotter in my pussy with every brush of his fingers.
Pushing his hands away, I went back to his chest. I felt his nipple pebble as I swirled my tongue over it and then sucked it between my lips. He let out quiet gasps and moans as I played with his tender flesh. The sounds called to me, and I trailed kisses up his neck to lose myself in his mouth, reveling in the taste of him as our tongues tangled together. I kissed him again and again, short and sweet, deep and searching, gentle and fierce, exploring every way that I could enjoy his mouth.
When I finally broke off our kisses, my breath was ragged, my skin was sweating and my body was clamoring for him. "Pants," I said, and we rolled off of the bed to finish stripping, moving quickly, tumbling back together as soon as possible, enjoying the feel of skin against skin.
I straddled his thighs and held his gaze as I trailed my fingers over his taut stomach and down to his cock. I watched every flicker of anticipation and pleasure move through his eyes as I curled my fingers around his thick shaft and slowly stroked up and down his length. A smile played over his lips as he pushed himself against my hand. "Let me inside of you," he said. "Don't make me wait."
It wasn't the time to tease him. I moved up over him and guided the head of his cock to my pussy, moaning as I slid down on his shaft and chills of pleasure shuddered up my spine. He was so long, riding on top of him kept him pressed hard against my womb, kept me on the edge of insanity. I rocked my hips slowly, savoring the feel of him filling me, playing with the edge of oblivion, feeling as if I was going to explode at any moment.
"Pinch my nipples," I said and his big hands grabbed my breasts, his fingers twisting my sensitive skin just a little too hard, just the way I like it.
"Fuck," I said, biting my lower lip and squeezing my eyes shut, trying to contain the ecstasy that was threatening to tear me open. My body moved on him with a will of its own, seeking more and more of the near painful bliss.
"What are you doing?" His thumb brushed over my lips.
"Uh…" I dragged myself up from the ocean of sensations that I was drowning in, to a spot where I could tie thoughts together and speak. "I want to get really loud but I can't. The guys will hear."
In response, his hands grabbed my hips and he began thrusting himself up into me hard. I'd been controlling myself, playing with the boundary of an orgasm, only letting myself go so far. He stripped away my control, plunging me back into a sea of pleasure, forcing me over the line into immediate release. My cries echoed off the walls. I was no longer able to think or care about being overheard, even if I was, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself.
He flipped me over onto my back, pushed my knees up, gripped them tightly and began pounding into me hard and fast. Keening shrieks burst from my mouth, I could find no refuge, no way to escape the electricity that jolted through me with his every thrust. The culmination of every stroke was deep and forceful, a mixture of pleasure and pain that pushed me from one orgasm to the next. I gripped the blankets beneath me, moving my hips to meet his movements, completely lost to him.
When he pulled out and moved to the side, I knew exactly what he wanted. His fingers tangled into my hair and pulled me up, guiding me to his cock. I took him into my mouth and shoved forward, taking in as much of him as I possibly could before I backed up until my tongue played at his tip. In response, he grabbed my head and pulled, pushing himself past my lips and burying himself in my throat. I fucking loved it when he was forceful. I gave myself over to his command as he fucked my mouth. Savoring the taste and feel of him until he spilled himself over my tongue and I swallowed down his bitter seed.
We collapsed down onto the bed and he immediately began playing with my breasts. "No," I said, when his fingers began to trail down my stomach. He always did this, always wanted to put things out of order. He came in my mouth to keep my pussy clean so that he could go down on me after we fucked. "I told you. I'm just too sensitive right now. You have to give me a break."
He groaned in disappointment and changed tactics, moving to drop kisses on my mouth. "I love you," he said. "Tell me that you love me again."
I laughed, letting the feelings flow through me without trying to fight them, happiness and warmth and anxiety and fear. I was going to have to accept it all if I was going to be with him and I'd learned that there wasn't going to be any leaving.
"I love you, Soryu. I love you so much."