With my saddlebag in hand, I stalked over to Wolf and asked, “Got a place for my ride in that garage?”
He nodded. “I’ll have someone take it in if you’ll give me the keys.”
I stared at him. He had to be fucking kidding. No one touched my girl but me.
“He’ll need someone to show him where to put it, but no one is to touch it but him,” Mimi explained, and then she just had to add, “Bikers see their rides as their women. Well, a woman they would want to keep forever. Meaning they’re very protective over them and would kill if any harm came to them.”
It was true, but she could have said it without the dig.
“Very well.” Wolf waved to the man waiting on top of the steps. He looked like he was in his sixties, but he jogged down those stairs like he was forty. “Katon will show you to the garage. Katon, Ruin is a guest. Please assist him in storing his ride inside.”
“Yes, Taro-sama.” Katon bowed at Wolf. It was obvious I’d arrived at a place set back in time with maids and butlers… or Mimi’s family was so rich they probably wiped their arses with a five-hundred-dollar bill. “This way, sir,” Katon said.
“Ruin. It’s just Ruin.”
“Of course.” He bowed.
Wolf smirked and guided Mimi towards the front door. “We will see you inside.”
I gave him a chin lift and followed Katon over to my bike. “Ah, Katon, no disrespect, but can we cut out the bowin’? I ain’t used to it. Unless it’s somethin’ you were ordered to do, then go for it.”
Katon’s lips twitched, but he nodded and waited for me to set my bag back on my ride. I handed him my helmet while I steered my ride towards the garage.
“Guess the family has owned this place for a while?”
“Yes, sir—excuse me, Mr Ruin.”
I sighed. “No mister, Katon. Just Ruin.”
Katon smiled over at me. “To answer your question, the Takahashi family has owned this house for generations. It wasn’t until fifteen years ago when it became their permanent residence instead of the one they have in Japan.”
Yep, they were filthy rich.
“Have you been with them a while?”
“Ten years.”
“That’s a while.”
“Taro-sama hired me. I am honoured to serve him.” Taro, that was Wolf’s real name. I’d heard Mimi use it.
Loyal. Got it. He wouldn’t dish out any juicy details on his boss.
Still, I could find out a few things that weren’t going to give too much away, and he wouldn’t feel guilty for it. “Is it only Wolf who lives here? And what’s with that thing you say after using his name?”
“The whole Takahashi family does. Taro-sama’s father and mother. Taro-sama’s two uncles and their families. As well as trusted guards and workers, but they’re situated in their own wing. Sama means leader or master. When Taro-sama took over, he offered the choice to call him Wolf or Taro-sama. I prefer the formal title.”
Huh. Hoped Wolf wouldn’t get his panties in a twist when I didn’t call him master. “What types of businesses?”
His lips thinned. He pulled a device out of his pocket and pointed it at the garage. The doors slid open.
“They have many.”
I had a feeling he wasn’t pleased by some of them. I walked my ride into the garage and whistled at the large number of kickarse cars.
“Colour me impressed,” I told Katon, who just smiled in return. We made our way back out, and Katon closed the door after us.
At the front door, Katon turned to me. “Please remove your shoes, and I will lay them in the cabinet near the door.”
“What?”
“Your shoes, please remove them. We do not wear them in the house.”
I slid my boots off, and Katon picked them up before he opened the front door just as an intense voice hit me from the large entryway. “You bringing her here shames the family. She left, became a whore—”
“Whoa,” I called out when I saw Mimi flinch. “Watch what you’re fuckin’ saying.” I stopped beside an older guy standing in Wolf’s face. Katon had made himself scarce. Shit, I probably should have done the same, but I didn’t like the situation and wasn’t running from it if I could stay and help.
“Who is this?” the man demanded as his judgemental gaze ran over me.
“Jiro Oji-san, this is Ruin, a friend of Mimi’s and a guest of mine.” Jiro, whoever the fuck he was to Wolf and Mimi, screwed up his face, and I knew a rant was about to come, but Wolf got in first. “You need to remember who is in charge of this family, Uncle. I will not have Mimi and my guest disrespected.”
Jiro, their damn uncle, snarled, “It was the worst choice your father has ever made, leaving everything in your name. You will dishonour this family, and I won’t stand by to watch it.”
Wolf’s hands clenched at his sides. “What are you saying, Uncle? Because the next thing out of your mouth had better be that you’re leaving and taking your family with you. If you mean war between us, because I will fight, I will not back down and fold to your ways, then prepare to lose everything you love.”
Holy fuck. Wolf wasn’t messing around, and shit, the way he talked and stood up for Mimi had me wanting to have his back through it all. For Mimi’s sake, I’d fight at his side.
The uncle ground his teeth together, glaring at Wolf. “We will see what the outcome is in the end.”
Wolf’s upper lip lifted when he growled out, “Yes, we will.”
Jiro turned and stalked off, heading down a hall, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to back down anytime soon. What would be his next move though? I didn’t trust Wolf, but my damn warning bells were ringing loudly when it came to the uncle.
“Taro, you shouldn’t have done that,” Mimi uttered.
“Bullshit,” I commented.
They ignored me, and Wolf glanced down to his sister. “They have dominated our family for too long. Controlled in ways I would never. It’s time to stop, and the sooner they realise I won’t fold to their barbaric ways, the better.”
“But, Taro, they’re… lethal.”
Wolf grinned, and if anything, it was a wolfish one. “So am I. I promised you that you had nothing to fear coming back, and I will honour my words.” He tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear. “Things will change.”
“I fear for you.”
He smirked. “You have nothing to worry about. I have protection, and you know I can take care of myself.”
She nodded, frowning. “I know, but still, maybe it wouldn’t have escalated if I hadn’t come home.”
Wolf cupped her cheeks and squished them together a little. Christ, it brought a smile to my face because it was something I’d do to my sister. “It was going to happen no matter what. I will not allow you to think this is your fault. It’s not.”
Mimi glared and pushed her brother’s hands away. “I’ll think how I want to.”
Wolf smiled and curled his arm around her shoulders, moving them down the opposite hall to where the uncle headed. “Of course you will.” He grunted after I heard a slap and then he laughed down at Mimi. “All I mean is that you’re smart, Mimi. You got away. I should have, but now I’m neck-deep, and honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way, because I get to be the one to clean this family up.”