1.1 | The Yakuza Bride

Chapter 59

Morning brought to him the faint drifts of cigarette smoke and muted conversation. After blinking the sleep out of his eyes, then shaking his arms to get his blood flowing, he snuck to the door, the better to listen.

The guards were talking about mundane, everyday stuff. There was nothing he could pick up on except for the weather and their pay, nothing useful at all.

He was about to slip back to bed when one of them mentioned a 'big fish' that the boss had captured.

' - no idea what he's thinking. It's fucking mid-winter and he wants to fight a war.'

'You know how he is,' came the second voice.

'Heard he got the girl too. Must be mad to try and fuck her.'

'The boss does what he wants.'

This was followed by a disdainful grunt and the grinding of a boot on concrete floor.

'Hey.'

'What.'

'Marie.'

Leon straightened and his brow creased.

'What's she doing here?'

Soon he heard the clicking of heels, preceding a flowery perfume.

'Juan asked me to bring the prisoner his food,' came a firm, feminine voice.

The prisoner, eh?

He took a few steps back from the door to drop onto the bed, as if he had been there the whole time. The lock clicked, and the door swung open to admit someone whom he thought he'd never see again.

'Oh, hello,' he greeted her nonchalantly, though his heart pounded in his ears as he tried not to stare at her obvious pregnancy.

She paused just inside the door.

'So, I heard that you're...Russian mafia.'

'Yes,' he muttered.

'And your name isn't Vasily either.'

He chuckled.

'Not at all.'

'You don't look surprised to see me,' she said.

Her lips were painted a ruby red, and her thin cardigan emphasised her round belly. In her hands was a tray that she set at the foot of the bed.

He shrugged a shoulder.

'Honestly, I thought you'd be in Mexico by now.'

'I see.' She gave the closed door a nervous glance. 'Can we speak for a moment?'

Leon's eyes travelled to the locked door, before going back up to her. His lips tilted into a lopsided smirk as he said, 'Sure. It's not like as if I can go anywhere.'

~

'Do you have a plan?' she whispered abruptly as she stepped away from the door and hung about the other end of the room.

'What?' He raised his brows and scoffed. 'Look at the position I'm in now. Does it look like I have a plan?'

Marie crossed her arms over her belly and took a step closer to Leon.

'You don't want to get out of here?' she asked anxiously.

He tilted his face to her and regarded her tired features for a moment.

'I'm fine where I am.'

'You're lying.'

'Am I? And whether I tell you anything or not you'd still run back to Juan and report our conversation to him