I turn. The cry comes again.
The yacht is already floating away from the dock, its moorings thrown off so it can burn in the middle of the bay for everyone to see.
I have to go. Now. If I don’t …
I back up to the rear edge of the dock, then run full force.
“Kaz, don’t!” Toru yells as I leap over the dark water and barely manage to snag the lower railing of the blazing yacht.
Something inside explodes, and the ship lists so violently it almost throws me off. But I don’t let go. Not when Mei needs me.
I pull myself up and stay low, black smoke billowing all around me and flames consuming the bridge. “Mei!”
I hear her faint cry. It’s coming from below deck. Flames lick up the stairs as I rush down them. Hitting my knees, I whip my jacket off and wrap it around my head to fend off the choking smoke. I feel my way along, crawling until I reach a door. But when I press my hand to it, it burns. She’s not in there. Can’t be.
“Mei, where are you?” I call.
“Kazuo! I can’t breathe.” She’s close.
I turn to the sound of her voice and get to my feet, rushing headlong through the heat and smoke.
“Here, I’m here!” She coughs.
I grab her, another explosion rocking the yacht as I pull her into my arms and drape my coat over her face.
There’s no time to waste. I run back the way I came, flames creeping along the ceiling overhead as pieces of timber and twisted fiberglass fall around us. I lunge up the stairs, my eyes teary, my throat burning.
When I get back to the deck, the entire ship starts to list hard starboard, taking on water as the flames devour everything above the surface.
If we stay here, we die. Hugging Mei tightly against me, I dash across the deck, then jump the railing and fall into the cold, dark waters below. Right as we hit, another explosion shatters a piece of the yacht, and chunks of flaming lumber fly overhead. We submerge, the water shockingly frigid despite the raging inferno overhead.
Mei starts to flail, but I hold her tightly and kick to the surface. When we breach the water, we both gasp in air. Smoke still swirls around us, but it’s not the same choking thickness like it was on the boat.
I strike out with one arm, swimming toward the dock where Toru is already throwing out a line for us. I take it, and he pulls us in as the yacht creaks and whines, half of it submerged.
Mei coughs as I hand her up to Toru. Then I climb up behind her and sit heavily on the dock as Toru looks us over.
“Holy shit.” He’s pale, as if he’s seen his own goddamn ghost. “Holy fucking shit, Kaz.”
I lean over Mei and put a hand to her soot-smudged cheek. “Are you okay?”
She coughs some more and nods. “I—I think so.”
“Are you sure?” I pull her into my lap and look her over, examining every bit of her I can see. “Are you burned or hurt at all?”
She shakes her head. “No.” Her eyes water. “But I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She bursts into tears and buries her face in my chest. “I’m so sorry.”
I want to be angry with her. And I am, to a point. Because she scared the fucking life out of me. If she’d been hurt, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.
Hugging her close, I rock her gently as my men return to their cars and leave. Sirens sound in the distance as I get to my feet and carry her, still crying, to my car. I sit in the backseat and hold her as Toru drives.
I’ve never been so scared in my life. That’s saying something after the things I’ve done, the things I’ve been through. But when I heard her terrified scream–screaming for me–a shiver runs down my spine as I remember how it sounded.
“Why, little rebel?” I wipe her wet hair from her forehead. “Why did you do that?”
She sniffles, her tears still flowing as I stroke her cheeks. “I thought you were–I thought…” She coughs.
I snap my gaze to Toru in the rearview. “Get my physician to the house now. I want him to check her out immediately. Pay double, triple, whatever it takes.”
“Got it.” Toru nods and pulls out his phone.
Turning back to Mei, I press a kiss to her cool forehead. “Now explain. I need to know what just happened so it will never happen again.”
“I wanted you to come to bed, but you didn’t, so I listened in a little to you and Toru, but I couldn’t really tell what you were talking about. I knew you were going somewhere, so I stowed away in your trunk.” Her voice rises, and she’s talking fast.