Shinobi (A Katana Novel) (4 page)

“But what?” He moved closer. The smell of his sandalwood cologne enveloped me, threatening to pull me into a pit of memories I wasn’t sure I’d be able to dig out of.

I stepped back. “But … I lost someone really important to me recently and … I guess I’m just not ready for a relationship. I’m not over him.”

“That’s good.” He pulled his hands from his pockets and grabbed my arms, his touch electrifying my skin. “Because I’m not over you.”

My pulse thrummed inside my head. This couldn’t be real. Maybe I’d fallen asleep on the blanket and was dreaming. “What are you talking about?”

He placed his hands on either side of my face and drew me forward so that only a breath separated his lips from mine. “I remember, Rileigh. I remember everything.”

Before I could respond, his lips were on mine, kissing me in such a way that I knew—without a doubt—my Kim was back.

5

I
pulled away from his kiss with a gasp and brought my hands to his face, wanting to feel with my fingers what my eyes refused to believe. “Is it really
you
?”

“Yes.” He placed his hand over mine and drew them toward his lips, kissing the inside of my wrists.

Delicious shivers ran down my arms and along my spine. I blinked rapidly, trying to sort through the mess of emotions tumbling inside me. “How? Your memories—Q erased them and—”

His lips met mine again and swallowed my words. He could have them. When he’d lost his memory of the past—of me—I thought I’d lost a piece of my heart. But now I realized it hadn’t been lost, only missing. And now that it was back, words no longer mattered.

“When I went to bed last night, my dreams were filled with past-life memories,” he said. “And when I woke up, it all clicked into place. I remembered everything.”

“That’s incredible.” I slid my hands to his neck and pressed myself against him, wanting to feel the thrum of his pulse as proof that I wasn’t dreaming. He responded by snaking his arms around my waist and pulling tight, as if by sheer force we could fuse ourselves together to prevent ever being torn apart again. His head was low so his breath tickled along my neck. “I warned you I would never let go.”

A strange sort of hiccup escaped my lips, a cross between a laugh and sob as I remembered when he spoke those words to me nearly a year ago when I was the one who didn’t remember him. So many things had transpired since that meeting—so many attempts by others to keep us apart and yet, finally, here we were.

Behind us, the metal door leading into the building screeched open, and Kim and I jerked apart. Still, he slipped his fingers through mine as if unable to fully let go.

“What the—?” Q stood in the doorway with his mouth open, balancing a plate of nachos in one hand and holding the door open with his other. Braden and Michelle peered over his shoulders, their lips parting in unison.

“What’s the hold-up?” Drew called from behind them. He appeared a second later but jerked to a halt the moment he stepped around Q. His eyes traveled from me to Kim to our interlacing fingers. “I don’t understand … ”

Kim smiled. “Brother. It’s so good to see you again.”

Drew staggered back a step, nearly colliding with the nachos teetering in Q’s grip. Michelle darted forward and placed her hands under the nachos, preparing to catch them.

“Please tell me this is you—
really
you.” Drew spoke slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. “This last month, thinking that I’d lost you forever—”

“You’ve lost nothing,” Kim said. “I remember everything—from this life and the last.”

Without warning, Drew launched himself at Kim. I released his hand and darted out of the way before I became the mustard in one very beefy sandwich. Michelle squealed, and Braden laughed out loud as they rushed to join the group hug. Someone snagged me by the arm and pulled me into the mass of laughter and tangled limbs.

Warmth radiated throughout my body as I clung to my friends. It was crazy to think that only moments ago I wasn’t sure if this day would ever come. And now, everything was perfect, or at least thought so until I noticed a distinct absence from our group.

“Q?” Carefully, I untangled myself from the knot of arms and backed away from the samurai.
Q
hadn’t moved from his spot at the door, only now the nachos were scattered at his feet. Lines of worry etched across his brow.

“What’s wrong?” I took a step toward him. “Isn’t it great that Kim’s back?”

Q blinked several times before answering. “Of course it’s great.” He gave a weak smile.

“Really?” I crossed my arms. “Because you’re wearing the same expression that I have right before I get a cavity filled.”

“I know. It’s just—” He looked to the sky, as if searching for the words. “It’s just—if Kim remembers … ” He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

“If Kim remembers … ” I prompted.

“There’s something wrong with my memories?” Kim asked.

Startled, I looked to my right to find Kim beside me. I’d forgotten how supernaturally quick he could be. Michelle, Braden, and Drew stood behind him, the smiles gone from their faces.

“No!” Quentin shook his head rapidly. “There’s nothing
wrong
with your memories. I wasn’t sure you’d ever get them back. Rileigh’s missed you so much—everyone has.”

I hugged arms across my chest to ward off the chill creeping down my spine. Something wasn’t right. Kim glanced at me and, given his tightly pressed lips, I knew he felt it too. “I sense there’s a big
but
coming, Q.”

“You’re right.” He nodded. “And I’m not saying that something
is
wrong, but I was thinking—and this is just a theory because I’m pretty new to this healer stuff.” He licked his lips. “You guys know I don’t fully understand the extent of my powers. And the night I’d erased Kim’s memory by mistake, I’d only known about my powers a couple of days. I had no idea if my attempt to wipe Sumi’s memory would even work, and if it did, how long it would last. Now that Kim has his memories back … ” He shrugged helplessly.

The meaning of his words hit me like an axe-kick to the gut and I grabbed onto Kim’s arm to steady myself. “Son of hibachi.”

Kim’s head jerked back as if he’d also been struck. “You mean—”

Q nodded. “Exactly.”

Michelle brought a hand to her mouth, and Drew went rigid beside her.

Braden looked at everyone and frowned. “I’m sorry, am I missing something? Kim’s memory is back. I fail to see the problem.”

Michelle dropped her hand, her skin visibly paler. “Quentin is worried because he erased two sets of memories that night. If one person got their memory back, it’s only logical that the other person would have too.”

Braden’s eyes widened. “No. Oh, God. You mean … her?”

“Sumi.” Kim spit her name through clenched teeth. Afterward he grimaced, as if the word alone left a foul taste on his tongue.

My fingers reflexively curled into fists. “If she has her memories back, she’s going to be pretty pissed we took them away in the first place.”

“Agreed.” Kim nodded. “She’ll want revenge. And the first ones she’ll come after will be you two.” He motioned to Q and me.

Q and I exchanged uneasy glances.

Drew folded his arms across his chest. “This is serious.”

Angry heat flushed beneath my skin. It wasn’t fair. I’d only just gotten Kim back and five seconds later we had to deal with Sumi. For the millionth time, I wished I could have a normal relationship—one where I didn’t have to worry about my boyfriend’s psycho ex-fiancée trying to kill me. “It
is
serious,” I agreed. “Sumi’s tough, conniving, and let’s not forget how annoying it was that she kept sending ninja to kill me. But Q and I handled her once. We can handle her again.”

Q shot me a skeptical look.

“Rileigh.” Kim shook his head. “I’m afraid you got
lucky last time. She was able to alter our minds, to make us all think we hated you, with only a fraction of her powers. Now she’ll be coming at you with her full powers—”

“Which means she’ll be close to unstoppable,” Q added.

Kim nodded, his lips forming a grim line.

I gave a frustrated laugh. “So what are you saying? We’re dead no matter what, so we shouldn’t even bother to fight back?”

“No.” He raised his hands. “That’s not what I’m saying at all—the opposite, in fact. If we have any hope of taking down Sumi once and for all, we’re going to need backup.”

My stomach dropped. “Oh no. Isn’t there another
option? Some other solution we haven’t explored? I hear honey badgers are pretty good fighters. Maybe we can have one shipped to us and—”

“I’m sorry, Rileigh.” He shook his head. “But desperate times call for desperate measures. Your safety is something I won’t risk.”

“Son of hibachi,” I grumbled.

“Do you want me to get him?” Michelle pointed to the door.

Before Kim could answer, I raised my hand to stop him. “Don’t bother. I’ll do it.” With a sigh, I began a slow march to the stairs. The man was like a wart, annoyingly embedded into my life. When I alerted him to the new situation, it certainly wasn’t going to help get him out of my business. But there was no denying we needed his help.

It was time to get Dr. Wendell.

6

T
here you are!” Debbie stopped tossing paper cups into
a garbage bag long enough to wag a finger at me as I
trudged through the door with the rest of the samurai in tow.

Dr. Wendell glanced up from the vegetable platter he was covering in plastic wrap. His eyes widened in silent alarm when he caught sight of Kim standing beside me.

“Don’t you know how rude it is to abandon your party?” Debbie continued. “Everyone left shortly after you disappeared. They must have been so insulted.”

Maybe not insulted—but they sure were going to be angry when they found out there were no Jell-O shots.

Debbie picked up a stack of abandoned plates and shoved them in the bag. “Where did you run off to anyway?”

I exchanged a glance with Kim. How was I going to get rid of her long enough to get Dr. Wendell alone?

Lucky for me, Q whispered “I got this” in my ear as he brushed past me. “I have good news and bad news, Deb.”

“Oh, Lord.” Debbie pinched the bridge of her nose. “What is it
now
?”

“Remember when I told you about the bedbugs?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Yes.”

“The good news is I was wrong. Terrance McGill doesn’t have them.”

Her body relaxed. “Thank goodness for that.”

“The bad news is he has fleas.”

“What?” Debbie screeched. The trash bag fell from her hand.

Before I could question what he was up to, Q grabbed my arm and lifted it in the air. “Rileigh already has several bites.”

When I didn’t immediately move, Quentin nudged me with his hip.

“Oh …
right.
” I rubbed my arm. “I do.”

“Me too,” Michelle added, scratching at her own invisible bites.

“Yup,” Drew said, itching his leg.

“All over!” Braden scratched wildly at his stomach and back.

Kim only nodded and swept his fingers through his hair.

“Oh, God!” Debbie spun a circle, her eyes darting wildly around the room as if anticipating a sudden bug ambush. “What do we do?”

Kim shot Dr. Wendell a pointed look. He, in turn, gave a subtle nod before slamming the roll of plastic wrap against the counter. “This is a very serious situation,” Dr. Wendell said. Debbie covered her mouth with her hand and nodded. “Then this is what we’re going to do. Debbie, I need you to run to the store and buy the biggest bug bomb they have.”

Leaving the garbage bag at her feet, she raced to the counter and snatched her car keys from a bowl. “What are you going to do, Jason?”

“I’m going to finish cleaning, and then I’m going to get us a hotel room. We won’t be able to stay here tonight if we’re fumigating the apartment.”

To my relief, she nodded. If Sumi was coming after me, the safest thing for my mom was to get her out of the house.

“Rileigh,” Dr. Wendell continued, “do you think you
can stay at one of your friends’ houses tonight?”

Q raised his hand. “She can stay at mine.”

“Good.” Dr. Wendell clapped his hands together. “Let’s do this.” When Debbie didn’t immediately move, he slapped his palm against the counter. “Hurry, Deb! Before they breed!”

The color drained from Debbie’s face. With a quick nod, she dashed to the door, her high heels wobbling dangerously in her haste as she exited the condo, slamming the door behind her.

After several heartbeats, Dr. Wendell walked around the counter and climbed onto a bar stool. “I don’t know what’s going on, but from the looks on your faces, something tells me I’m going to need to sit to hear it.”

“Kim has his memory back,” I said.

“That’s wonderful news!” A smile flitted across Dr. Wendell’s face before it quickly dissolved into a frown. “But I think I see the problem. If Kim has his memories, then logic would dictate that so does—”

“Sumi,” Kim finished, folding his arms across his chest.

“Right.” Dr. Wendell took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Let me start by saying, Kim, that I’m thrilled to have you back and on the team.”

Kim nodded.

“It’s too bad,” Dr. Wendell continued, “that your return coincides with such a serious situation. Luckily, the Network has a plan ready for this very outcome.”

This was news to me. I exchanged a sideways glance
with Q. “You’re not going to kill her, right? Sumi and Kim—”

“No, of course not!” He waved a hand in the air. “The Network is well aware of Kim’s connection with Sumi, as well as your connection to Whitley. We know that killing either one of them may inadvertently put either of you in great harm.”

“If by great harm, you mean our
death,
then yeah. That would be pretty harmful.”

Dr. Wendell frowned at me before continuing. “No. The Network prepared for Sumi’s possible awakening by preparing a cell specifically designed to contain her and her powers. We have a transport truck with the same perimeters so we can safely transport her to the headquarters in New York.”

Braden clapped his hand together. “That sounds great!”

I wasn’t so sure. “You say this cell can hold her, but for how long?”

Dr. Wendell slipped his glasses back on. “As long as it takes.”

“What does that mean?” Kim asked.

“It means the Network will do all they can to rehabilitate Sumi. But if that proves to be futile, we’ll hold her … ” Dr. Wendell shrugged. “Indefinitely.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s your plan? Hold her in a cage forever? This is Sumi we’re talking about—the most powerful kunoichi to ever live. Fat chance you’re going to be able to rehabilitate her. You might as well put a shark in a swimming pool and ask it not to bite anyone.”

He laced his fingers together and rested them on his lap. “I understand your concern. But I assure you this cell will be able to hold her. We can’t kill her—not without risking Kim’s life. So if you have a better idea, I’d be open to hearing it.”

“I—” But the words died on my tongue. Truth was I had nothing. I locked eyes with Kim but he only frowned. I then looked to each samurai, hoping to find a solution among them, but as I met each pair of eyes, they only turned away with sad shrugs.

I sighed. “All right. Cage it is. Do you at least have a plan for getting her
into
the cage?”

“It’s like I said,” Dr. Wendell continued. “We’ve had a truck engineered specifically to transport her. I’ll call and have it sent here. In the meantime, I need all of you to go to Sumi’s house and address the situation. There’s a chance we might be reacting over nothing. None of us fully understands the extent of Q’s powers, correct? So there’s still a chance Sumi could be without her memories and, therefore, quite harmless.”

A knot loosened inside my chest. Maybe we
were
getting
worked up over nothing. “So what do we do if she doesn’t
have her memory back?”

Dr. Wendell sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to contain her regardless. We can’t take any chances.”

“Agreed,” Kim said. He turned around so that he faced us. “All right. We have our mission.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from groaning. I’d had
Kim to myself a whole fifteen minutes before the Network
managed to assign us a mission.

“Remember,” Dr. Wendell added, “your objective tonight is strictly surveillance. On the off chance Sumi has regained her memories, I don’t want anyone confronting her until the truck arrives. Is that clear?” His eyes targeted mine.

I met his gaze with my own unwavering stare. “But if she attacks—”

“You retreat,” he finished.

I jerked back. “You want us to run away like cowards? Are you forgetting what we are?”

“No one is accusing you of being a coward, Rileigh. I simply know that Sumi’s powers killed all of you in your past lives.”

“We were caught off guard,” I argued. “Besides, now we have Q, who might be every bit as powerful as Sumi.” And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there was the teensiest part of me that wanted her to pay for all the hurt she put me and my friends through.

Quentin cleared his throat. “Let’s not make any assumptions about what I can or cannot do. I’m not sure
what
I’m capable of, let alone the extent of my power.”

“Exactly.” Dr. Wendell nodded. “We need to go into this situation with extreme caution. I will not put anybody at risk.”

“But—” I began.

“No
buts
, Rileigh!”

I snapped my mouth shut, stunned. After all the crap I’d given him over the last year, Dr. Wendell had never raised his voice to me before.

He slid off the stool looking more exhausted than he had a minute ago. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap like that. I just refuse to take any chances when it comes to Sumi. She bested you once before.”

“That’s ancient history,” I reminded him.

“Yes, it is.” He crossed his arms and locked eyes with me. “But that’s the thing about history; if you don’t learn from it, it has a funny way of repeating itself.”