The Love of Money II – Chapter 19: In the Cage

Friday, September 13th, 12:27 am

Fifteen minutes later found me standing in front of the elevator in the main foyer. Chloe was already there, arms crossed, eyeing me as I approached.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” Chloe replied.

She looked as tired as I felt as we waited for the elevator to arrive. It wasn’t surprising, considering everything we’d been through.

“After surviving the day that wouldn’t end, I’m surprised you wanted to come with me.”

Chloe snorted. “I was tempted to just stay in bed, but considering who it is, I didn’t want to miss out on the fun.”

“Yeah, I can’t blame you,” I admitted.

The elevator opened, and we both stepped inside. The awkward silence was so thick I could’ve cut it with a knife. As the doors shut, I looked over at her.

“Are we okay?”

“Are we?” Chloe asked, looking me dead in the eyes.

I always admired that about her—she never looked away, never flinched.

“I’m sorry, too,” I said, referring to the apology note she’d left in my study… the one Erin had mentioned.

The corner of her mouth twitched—the ghost of a smile on her lips. She didn’t say anything else. Typical Chloe.

I wanted to say more, but it didn’t feel right. That hint of a smile had been her version of anyone else screaming acceptance and forgiveness. Trying to pry anything more out of her probably would’ve just brought us right back to square one.

I wanted Chloe in my life, but that meant taking her as she was—a surly, terse soldier who’d rather face an army than talk through her feelings. So I just smiled back.

The next two minutes were quiet between us until we were standing in front of an apartment door one floor above Phoebe’s. I knocked.

The door opened just enough to show Henry Psalter standing there, looking at me with an expression that suggested he could just as easily kill me as shake my hand. He looked me up and down through the three-inch gap in the doorway, then stepped aside, opening it wide enough to let me in.

“Where is he?” I asked as Chloe and I stepped into the room.

“In the dining room,” Henry said as he shut the door behind us. The tone of his voice made it sound as if it were just another quiet evening at home.

He didn’t waste any time leading us through a nice, spacious kitchen, an arched doorway, and into a respectably sized breakfast/dining room. Chloe and I passed several of Psalter’s men as we followed in his wake. I noticed one of them holding a collection of zip ties.

As soon as we stepped into the living room, I saw him.

“Mr. Upton,” Psalter said, gesturing to the small man sitting at a table in front of an empty plate. “I believe you’ve met Ryo Tanaka.”

He looked small.

I mean, Ryo Tanaka had seemed small before, but this was different. Back in Norway, his stature made me think of a tiny dog—not typically deadly except in the right circumstances. While he had hostages and a gun in my face, it felt like that small dog had its teeth around my throat.

Now, he just looked frail… like the little alien inside that robot mustache guy in the first Men in Black movie.

He was sitting at a small four-person table that held a single empty plate with a dusting of crumbs and a half-empty glass of water. It made sense that he’d be hungry… I can’t imagine Psalter provided in-flight snacks.

“What did you feed him?” I asked as I took the seat across the table from our captive. He simply stared back at me in sullen silence.

“Your maid brought it. Jenny?”

“Jessica,” I corrected.

“She brought a chicken sandwich—one for him as well as some for the men. They were quite good. Compliments to the chef.”

“Thanks. I’ll pass it along,” I said.

I studied Ryo for a few moments and then said, “How was the flight?”

He didn’t answer.

“I’m afraid he skipped that part. He only woke up thirty minutes before I texted you. Benzodiazepine… one hell of a drug. Especially if it’s being administered as a constant drip.”

I could see that now. He looked about five times rougher than I did when I woke up. I hadn’t been able to immediately tell because of the bruising along the left side of his face.

“Sounds kind of nice,” I said. “I’m still catching up on the sleep I lost while you were hunting me.”

Ryo stayed quiet.

“Fuck, Ryo!” I said, exasperated. “This isn’t going to be satisfying if you don’t talk!”

Before anyone could even register her movements, Chloe stomped over to Ryo and hit him. It wasn’t an open-handed slap. It was a punch aimed so perfectly that the skin at his cheekbone split, adding another injury to his already pummeled face. It drove his head to the side, and blood spattered across the floor.

“Ah! No! I’ll tell you what you want! Please! Don’t hit me!”

His arms were raised in a defensive posture, and his eyes remained closed as he cringed away from my bodyguard. It didn’t stop Chloe; she grabbed his wrist in some kind of fancy hold and twisted it in a way that had Ryo leaning back into his chair, facing her as he let out a strangled gasp.

It left his face wide open for another punch—a firm jab to the nose accompanied by a loud crunch.

As she pulled her knuckles out of his face, I could see blood pouring from both nostrils. The bridge bent at an angle.

Ryo’s hands flew to his face, trying to stop the bleeding as Chloe released him.

“Oh, my,” Psalter said, shaking his head in dismay. “These are new floors, aren’t they?” He looked toward the kitchen and called out, “Ricardo, would you be so kind as to bring us some ice and towels?”

Ricardo did as instructed, handing them to Ryo, who was sobbing as he took the materials and began cleaning himself up.

“A bit excessive, don’t you think?” Psalter asked.

“He wasn’t talking,” Chloe huffed, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall.

“Thanks, Chloe,” I said. “Now…”

I turned my attention back to Tanaka, watching as he shakily applied a makeshift cold compress to his bleeding nose, whimpering as he adjusted it. His head was tilted in a way where he could peer at me out of one eye.

“Start talking,” I said.

“What do you want to know?”

“We came in peace. Why did you try to kill me?”

“You think Dad was ever going to get over what you did to him?” Ryo said, his words slightly muffled by the towel. “You hurt his pride. He doesn’t get over something like that.”

“Then why did he invite me out?”

“He was doing a favor for Mr. Håkansson,” Ryo said. “Dad has a lot of respect for him, and did it because he was asked. He never intended to agree to anything.”

“He didn’t?” I asked, a little surprised. I had a vague idea that Ryo had stepped out of line when deciding to kill me, but I hadn’t realized that Tanaka hadn’t even intended to meet in good faith. That made my stomach turn a little—not because of Tanaka’s subterfuge, but because of Astrid’s part in all this.

I didn’t know her father from a hole in the wall, so Astrid must have used her father’s social credit with Hiro to set up our meeting. Why had she pushed so hard to get me this opportunity? What was in it for her? Surely it wasn’t simple goodwill. I’d been around Astrid long enough to understand that she didn’t do anything out of the kindness of her heart.

Had I avoided owing her a debt because of this little asshole?

That brought up another question—if Tanaka had so much respect for Håkansson, then why the fuck was his son shooting his daughter out of the sky? Surely that would backfire.

“You do know Astrid was on that helicopter too, right?”

“You think I was going to leave any evidence that I had anything to do with it?” Ryo said.

“What do you mean? I was there to see you. Who else were they going to blame?”

“You know how many enemies the Håkanssons have? My family isn’t among them, and Dad is too ‘honorable’ to betray someone like that… no matter how much he hates you. There are no cameras in the cabin, but my phone hasn’t left that place, and I streamed nearly the entire time. As far as they are aware, I was there the whole time with two or three aides. Sure, people might talk, but that’s all it’ll be.”

“And you would have knocked me off, and… what? Gained points with your dad?”

Ryo just blinked, staring at me out of the corner of one eye, mouth open as he breathed loudly.

I had to hand it to him… the rocket launcher attack was heavy handed as fuck, but Tanaka Junior didn’t sound completely devoid of brains. There was enough plausible deniability there that it might have actually worked. At least… I would have had my doubts, no matter how flimsy the alibi.

Something else bothered me about his story, though… something I couldn’t put my finger on.

“So… what? I cross your dad once and I’m on his shit list forever?”

“You insulted his honor! He doesn’t take that lightly.”

“I won a boardroom deal!” I retorted.

“You turned his wife against him!”

Of all the mistakes I’d made since becoming a billionaire, that was probably one that I regretted the most. It had caused me no end of trouble.