Darkest Fire by Tawny Taylor Page B

just wish you’d trusted me before.” When he stopped the car at a red light, he gave her a long, hard look.
    She lifted her chin, making sure he saw the determination in her eyes. “I wouldn’t have accepted the money without marrying you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
    “What about a loan?” he asked, turning when the light changed.
    “I couldn’t pay that much money back.” She shook her head, more convinced than ever that she’d made the only choice she could have. “There was nothing you could have said or done to make me take money I couldn’t repay.”
    At the next red light, Drako commented, “You’re stubborn.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “When it comes to some things, like matters of honor, I guess I am.”
    “That makes two of us.”
    They shared a smile, a moment, and in that magical second or two, as they gazed into each other’s eyes, Rin wondered if she hadn’t, by some bizarre twist of fate, found the man of her dreams.
    Of course, it was way too soon to tell. In her current state, she certainly couldn’t trust her intuition or gut feeling, not when her emotions were so stirred up. She was anxious, petrified something would go wrong with Lei, confused and worried about her new marriage, and unsure whether she’d made the worst mistake of her life.
    But there was something in her heart now that hadn’t been there for a long, long time. Hope.

    Drako hid his thoughts from his bride as he drove down familiar streets, knowing what he was thinking would make Rin even more upset, feel guiltier. He wasn’t happy about this situation, but he couldn’t blame anybody but himself, certainly not Rin. He hadn’t known the details, but that didn’t mean he had been taken by complete surprise by her story either. Women didn’t marry men for fifty thousand dollars, cash, every day. There was a very good reason why she’d done something so odd, so desperate.
    Her sister was a sex slave? That wasn’t something he’d exposed himself to in a while. There’d been a time or two—he’d been at his worst—when he’d resorted to paying for some female company. He hadn’t asked, but one girl told him, after she’d serviced him, that she had been kidnapped from her home, shipped out of her country, and forced into prostitution. He’d briefly considered helping her, had in fact planned to hire her again and ask her some questions, but when he’d called the call girl agency, he was told she was gone and nobody knew what had happened to her.
    Much later, he learned she’d been found dead, the supposed victim of a mass murderer who had been killing local, high-priced prostitutes.
    After that experience, Drako never hired another prostitute again. He also decided, after the fact, that getting involved in smuggling a sex slave out of the country wasn’t something he needed to be doing, for a lot of reasons. How ironic that he was facing a similar situation now, so many years later.
    At least he had learned something useful. He knew that one small mistake could cost Rin’s sister her life.
    He’d have to use a fake name. No doubt about that. Above all else, he had to protect his family and the secret they were charged to keep. He wouldn’t ask his brothers to help, even if it was a temptation. He’d have to go alone.
    He parked the car in the lot next to the massage parlor where Rin had been working, and as she jumped out of the passenger seat with a quick, “I’ll be right back,” he stared at the little piece of his face that was reflected in the rearview mirror. How could he disguise himself?
    Sunglasses and a hat would have to do. He’d make a quick stop somewhere to pick some up.
    When she returned to the car, she turned a nervous smile his way. “He’ll meet you in a half hour. Here.” A little reluctantly, she handed him the envelope of cash.
    “Perfect. That gives me enough time to take you home.” As he shifted the car into gear, he warned her, “You can’t