"If you want it to be a threat, then it"s a threat."
In the still moment, Maddox and Rie stare at each other. The air around them freezes as they regard the danger that the other one promises. Kiyohira watches the two, thinking deeply.
Rie is not angry. She"s rather pleased. They are showing their true faces now. She has never liked people who say one thing and does a totally different thing. Maddox has been acting like a love fool for the past five years. To this fanatic man, love has a completely different meaning. Five years ago, he helped her because the DH"s leader asked him to. Now, she"s finding it odd. This man has been following her for a long time. It was him who told her in the chatroom that Ren went to the DH for her sake. He"s been following her since she came to the world hack series. It was around the same time when she got the invitation from DH"s inner circle.
Is she wrong?
"I can"t stop you if you want your son to go." The corner of his eyes wrinkles when he smiles. "Maybe it"s best for him, but you can"t go if you want to live. Rie, I wouldn"t like it if you die too soon. Boss will be regretful."
If she dies too soon, she wouldn"t be able to finish the jobs that only she can do it.
"Boss is so worried about me, huh?" Rie glares at him. "Maddox, I am not afraid of death or torture. I had experienced a fair share of it. However, if anyone touches my precious ones, I swear that it will become the end of the Dark Hackers. I will destroy every one of you including the boss."
"You should learn to keep your mouth shut," Maddox tells her calmly. "Threatening me won"t work. If the boss wants, all five of us will not see the sunlight after a few hours."
"When I signed up for DH, I didn"t sign up with my family. How they live or where they live is none of his business. If he can stop having interest that"s not best for him or DH, then we are good." Rie warns him again. "Tell your boss. I am not an idiot. Trust is a double-edged sword. If one edge of that sword is directed toward me, the other edge can also cut him in a half. He"s living in a delusion if he thinks that his ident.i.ty is a secret."
Maddox leans forward, interested. "Do you know who he is?"
"I have an inkling." She smirks at him. "Can"t you guess who he is?"
He shakes his head and grins. "I know that it"s not you and Bo. Bo is too young. Is it Law or Nina?"
She laughs when she hears that question. Kiyohira grabs her hand and squeezes it. "Both of you had the talk. It"s my turn to speak."
Maddox raises his brow sharply, eyeing him darkly. "What do you have to say? You are an outsider."
"I am not." Kiyohira pulls her closer to him. "I have been involved since you dragged my wife in it."
"That was her choice," Maddox replies with a monotonous voice.
Kiyohira doesn"t argue with him. What he says is the truth.
"Your boss has a problem if she goes back to T City as Umezaki Rie, my wife. Then, we will move to another country where n.o.body knows us. I will stay with her and Yuta from now on. That should be fine with your boss, right?"