Because It Is My Blood (Birthright #2)(48)

“Why haven’t you been picking up your phone?”

“I have been occupied with—”

I realized that I didn’t care what he’d been doing. “I need to know if Leo is okay,” I said.

For a second, Yuji didn’t answer me. “There was an explosion.”

“An explosion? What kind of explosion?”

“A car bomb. I am sorry, Anya. Your brother’s girlfriend was hurt very badly, and—”

“What about Leo?”

“I am sorry, Anya. He is dead.”

Oddly, I knew I was not going to cry. Some once fleshy part of me had turned to bone, and I was no longer capable of such displays. “Was it you, Yuji? Did you plan all of this? Just because I wouldn’t marry you? Was it you?”

“It was not me,” Yuji said.

“I don’t believe you. No one else had the information. No one else knew where I was and where Leo was. No one except you!”

“There were others, Anya. Think about it.”

I couldn’t think. Leo was dead. Imogen was dead. Someone had tried to kill Natty and me. Theo was gravely injured because he had gotten in the way of a bullet meant for me.

“Say who you mean.”

“I choose not to speculate. I can only say that it was not me,” Yuji repeated, “but I did not intervene to stop these events from happening either.”

“Are you saying that you let my brother die? That you would have let me die, too?”

“I said what I meant. I am very sorry for your loss.”

I hung up on him. I was sorry, too. If it turned out he had killed my brother, Yuji Ono would have to die.

XI

I LEARN THE COST OF FRIENDSHIP; MONEY STILL MAKES THE WORLD GO ’ROUND

THE PLANE WAS BARELY larger than a bucket, and the ride was bumpy. Though I hadn’t slept for over twenty-four hours, my mind would not rest. I couldn’t stop thinking of Leo and every time he’d ever asked to come with me and I’d refused him. I’d been the one to send him to Japan. Had that been a mistake? Why had I ever trusted Yuji Ono? How could Leo be dead when we hadn’t spoken in almost ten months? None of this seemed possible.

My eyelids would begin to flutter shut, and it would seem as if unconsciousness might temporarily absolve my guilty conscience. That was when I’d start thinking of Imogen. When Nana had died, I had accused Imogen of unspeakable acts. Imogen, who’d done nothing but take care of Nana and Natty and me. And now Imogen was dead. Dead because of us.

I’d think of Theo. They’d said he was stable, but he could still die. What would they do on that farm without him? Theo ran that place, and because of me, he wouldn’t be able to do that for a very long time. And then my thoughts would return to my brother. I began to feel as if I would never sleep again.

The plane touched down on Long Island around four in the morning. I looked out the window. The tarmac was reassuringly desolate. As I walked down the steps, I got my first whiff of New York air—filthy and sweet. Though I had loved Mexico and though I wished I were returning under better circumstances, I was happy to be restored to my city. It was freezing, by the way. I was still wearing the clothes I’d worn to visit the factories in Oaxaca, where it had been 72°.

A solitary car, black with tinted windows, was parked in the lot. On the driver’s side, the window was rolled down about three inches, and I could see Simon Green sleeping. I tapped on the glass, and Simon started. “Annie, come in, come in,” he said as he popped the locks.

“No cops,” I pointed out once I was inside.

“We were lucky.” He put the key in the ignition. “I thought I’d take you back to my apartment in Brooklyn. Imogen’s murder has attracted a fair amount of attention as I’m sure you can imagine, and there are too many people around Mr. Kipling’s apartment and yours.”

“I need to see Natty tonight,” I insisted. “If she’s at Mr. Kipling’s, that’s where I need to be.”

“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea, Annie. Like I said—”

I interrupted him. “Leo’s dead, Simon, and I don’t want my sister to have to hear it from anyone but me.”

For a moment, Simon was speechless. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I honestly don’t know what to say.” Simon shook his head. “Do you think Yuji Ono was involved?”

“I don’t know. He said he wasn’t but … It doesn’t matter right now. I need to get to Natty.”

“Listen, Annie, you’ve experienced a very great loss. You’re tired and you’re overwhelmed, for completely understandable reasons, so please take my advice here. It will be much better for you and for Natty if you aren’t apprehended by the police tonight. We should negotiate your surrender if that’s something deemed necessary. Let me take you back to my apartment—no one will look for you there—and I promise to bring Natty to you as soon as it can safely be arranged. I don’t want to compromise either of you.”

I nodded my consent.

We didn’t speak for the rest of the drive though I could tell Simon Green wanted to. “There’s blood on you,” he commented as we drove into Brooklyn. I looked at my sleeve: the blood was either Theo’s or the masked man’s. It had been that kind of day.