Free Sweet Seduction Sayonara by Nicola Claire Page A

saying. I pretend I’m all about the innocence. I sure as hell don’t want him calling Koki in here.
    And then I have a thought. Koki hasn’t told Nick about his sister and what happened on High Street. Otherwise Nick wouldn’t have reacted that way.
    What is Tanaka thinking? You don’t keep that kind of thing from your securities expert boss.
    Nick picks up the phone off the floor, as if it being on the floor is perfectly reasonable, and presses a button. He holds the hand-piece to his ear and watches me. Sometimes being the sole focus of that icy stare can be unnerving. But then he says, “Charlie, I need you,” clearly proving he’s able to stare me down and demand an audience with one of his subordinates at the same time.
    He hangs up the phone and holds up a finger to me, as if I was about to say something. I’m not at all sure what to say next, so I just nod my head.
    Charlie walks in without knocking a few seconds later, Adam is with her. I stiffen in my seat. It’s not that I don’t trust Adam Savill, but the less people who know about this, the better. Adam has been a friend to Koki for years. Maybe he even knows Momoko.
    “You need us, boss?” Adam says.
    “I need Charlie.”
    Both Charlie and Adam flick their gazes off Nick and then look at me. Yeah, not like this is uncomfortable or anything.
    “OK,” Adam says. I can’t tell if that’s suspicious or just his usual over the top drawl.
    “I’ll catch up with you,” Charlie says to her husband.
    “There’s no way you’ll catch up with me if I leave now,” Adam counters.
    “Have you seen me on the Ducati?” she challenges.
    “Every time I close my eyes and dream, firecracker.”
    She snorts. “Get out of here. I’ll catch up.”
    Adam chuckles, but turns to leave. Before he makes the door, Nick says, “Tell Eric I want Hi-Spec at Finn’s address.”
    “Hi-Spec?” I query.
    “The full works,” Nick says. “Cameras, locks, sensors, tripwires.”
    “Is that necessary?” I ask, a little alarmed he’s not mucking around with this.
    Nick just stares at me and then nods his head toward Adam. “Today,” he says, not taking his eyes off me.
    Adam whistles low and leaves the room, silence follows in his wake.
    After a few stretched seconds, Charlie moves forward and sits gracefully into the spare armchair beside me. She doesn’t stare at me like Nick does, but I’m sure the ex-spy sees everything.
    “This might be overkill,” I feel obliged to say.
    “You think it’s the 14K that broke into your place or not?” Nick demands. Charlie doesn’t even flinch at the direction of the conversation.
    I rub the back of my neck, uncomfortable. It’s either them or Momoko’s father. No, it’s them. Why else the hanzi characters?
    “It’s them,” I say.
    “Wanna take us through from the beginning?” Nick suggests.
    What else can I do? I’m the one who came here. I’m the one asking for help. No one could be better than ASI.
    But Koki works here and their loyalties will be with him, no matter what. And suddenly I’m second guessing my decisions this morning. Second guessing all of my choices over the past few days.
    To tell them about the Triads, I’m going to have to tell them about Momoko.
    And I can’t.
    I put my head in the centre of my palm and try to think.
    No one says a thing while I do this, and I’m not sure if I’m alarmed at their nonchalance or relieved. But even with the silence, I can’t think.
    “Finn,” Charlie says. I turn and look at her. “There’s a strong chapter of the 14K in Auckland. It’s the Triads’ main representation here in the South Pacific. If you’ve had a run in with them, it won’t go away. They pride themselves on finishing business. Once something is started, it always gets finished. One way or the other.”
    “What does that mean?” I demand.
    “If you’re on their radar, you won’t get back off. Unless someone does something about it.”
    “Like you?”
    She shrugs her