Yori yawned, wondering how much longer before their plane touched down in New York. They had been flying over twenty-four hours and he was tired of being in his seat, and Ichiro and Takumijo's constant prattle and excitement about being in the United States. Satoshi was sleeping in his seat oblivious to anything around him.
The time change also had him a bit loopy. He looked down at his watch. It was six in the morning.
"We'll be there in less than an hour," Masaaki told him as he left his seat across the aisle and sat down next to him.
"I'm beginning to hate flying. There's nothing for me to do."
"You should be sleeping."
"I can't sleep. I'm too excited."
The pilot made an announcement about landing. "We will be arriving in New York shortly. Please fasten your seatbelt and turn off all cell phones and laptop computers. It's a beautiful eighty degrees. Thanks for flying with us."
Yori looked out of the window. It was smoggy. Then he saw the tall buildings and skyscrapers. It reminded him of Japan. The plane descended and he felt the wheels drop. Moments later, they touched down.
Masaaki rose, walked over and shook Satoshi awake. He opened his eyes, yawned and then stretched. Takumijo's long legs appeared and then the rest of his body. Ichiro bounced up and down excitedly, waiting to get off the plane to see New York. Yori had his suspicions that Ichiro was anxious to get to the hotel room so he could telephone Shaundra, which he promised not to do. They had made a pact that no contact with her was better than getting involved with her again.
It had been a week since they'd seen her and poor Ichiro was climbing the walls. The announcement of Yori's and Amaya's wedding date guaranteed that he would not have any contact with her. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do, but in the end, he could see that it was for the best.
Hopefully, he could get through the next week without making contact with her. They were just there to do a concert and then off on the next leg of their tour, New Orleans.
He rose, grabbed his carryon bag and followed the rest of the passengers off the plane.
There was a long wait at the Custom line. After he finished, he sat down in one of the seats and watched the American news on a television while waiting for the others to get through Customs.
"Local news. Romance writer, Shaundra Love Morrison, is still recovering at a local hospital after an explosion rocked her home two days ago. Ms. Morrison, known for her erotic romance Temptation had just arrived home from a two month publicity tour in Japan."
Everything in Yori's mind moved in slow motion as the news reporter continued to talk. Satoshi walked over and sat down next to him. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Yori pointed at the screen.
Satoshi looked down, listened and then gasped, "No!"
Yori tried to quiet him before he could draw attention over to them.
The gasp drew Ichiro over. "What's going on?"
"It's Shaundra," Yori explained. "She's in a hospital."
Ichiro placed his bag in a chair. "What happened?"
"Someone blew up her house."
Ichiro bolted for the exit doors. Satoshi and Yori ran and tackled him down to the floor to stop him from going off like a lunatic.
Tons of fans waited as they hurried through the terminal. Normally, the sight would have pleased him and the others. Yori didn't remember much of what happened, recalling only hearing his name shouted countless times and flashes from cameras in his face. A news reporter tried to get an interview, but the guards ended it so they could get out of the terminal as quickly as possible once the others traveling with them found out what had happened.
Masaaki made a couple of calls to find out more information while he got Mr. Niigata and the rest of the entourage out of the airport and into the cars without incident. He advised the drivers to take them immediately to the hotel so they could get the details from the police on what had happened before storming the hospital.
Ichiro rode in silence, staring out the window at the crowds of fans that lined the streets. He'd gone silent again and was probably thinking of a way to get to see Shaundra.
On the way to the hotel, Yori saw their images flashing on big screens in Times Square. On a normal day, he would have been impressed, but his mind kept darting back to the previous two months when Shaundra Morrison had first entered their lives.
Fans were camped out all along the roadway and in front of the hotel when they arrived, but unfortunately, none of them could stop to give autographs because Masaaki didn't think it was safe. He didn't know whether most of these fans knew about what was going on or what their connection to Shaundra was, but until they found out, everyone was a threat.
Tourists and employees gawked at them as they got their keys at the registration desk and walked through the lobby to the elevators. Masaaki's phone went off just as the doors to the elevator opened. "Yes, thank you very much," he said after a few minutes of conversation with whoever was on the other line. "She's at a nearby hospital and she is unconscious.
Luckily, she does not have any serious physical burns or lacerations."
Yori said a silent prayer.
Ichiro tried to exit the elevator, but Masaaki stopped him. "It will do you no good to go off angry and half-cocked. Let's take our things up to our rooms and plot our strategy. The police seem to think that someone intentionally set a small bomb in her home. Thankfully, no one else was there at the time. It happened just after she arrived from the airport."
The elevator door opened and Aomori and their entourage found their rooms and put away their luggage. Less than an hour later, they were on their way to the hospital.
"She still hasn't awakened," Charlotte told Harper as he entered the hospital room baring two cups of coffee. Charlotte had volunteered to sit with Shaundra while her kids went home to rest and to change. The youngest daughter, Tricia, hadn't left her mother's side since she'd come home and learned of the explosion. "Every now and then I can see her eyes move under her lids like she's dreaming." She accepted the coffee from her boss.
"I have some good news. The police have taken someone into custody."
"That's great news," Charlotte exclaimed. "Who is it?"
"You're not going to believe this. It is one of Shaundra's male fans.
He's like the president of her New York fan club."
"Shaundra has male fans?"
"Apparently. He told them that he was upset because he saw that picture of her and Yori in the newspaper. He's built some fantasy in his head that she was meant for him. The police found email messages on a laptop they confiscated from her home and there was even letters from him in her hand when they found her after the explosion. She must have just taken them out of the mailbox."
"You think she knew about the emails? She did have a laptop with her."
"Honey, Shaundra has been too busy with others things to even read her email." He sighed. "Funny, we suspected that she might be in some type of danger when Yori and the others started getting threatening fan mail once the magazine cover was published. Shaundra kept making jokes about Aomori's fan girls having a contract on her head. Who would have thought the threat would be this close to home."
"Still doesn't mean the fan girls won't try anything. He just got to her first."
"I'm way ahead of you. There are security posted on this floor and all around the hospital."
"Speaking of Aomori. Are they as impressive in person as they are on that picture you gave me of them?"
"Shaundra seems to think so." He paused. "By the way, they're giving a concert here in New York next weekend."
"I wonder if they know that she's been injured?" Charlotte asked.
Flowers and cards had been arriving from her fans, but nothing from Japan.
"Probably not. They were supposed to leave Japan yesterday. I don't know if their plane has landed yet."
The door to the room opened and Charlotte gasped. "I think they know."
Harper turned and nodded. "It is them."
Charlotte recognized the first one in the door as Aomori's leader, Yori.
She sighed. The magazine cover did not do him justice. He was tall, gorgeous and had a very concerned look on his face. Three other young men came in the door behind him. Oh, my, they were all over six feet tall and dressed in various states of hip, popular fashion. One of them wore a pair of shades and a baseball cap. She thought it was the youngest member, Ichiro, but she couldn't be sure.
"Where is she?" Yori asked.
Harper and Charlotte moved so he could see her sleeping form on the bed. The one with the baseball cap rushed over, took one of Shaundra's hands and held it gently.
"What happened?" Yori asked.
Harper relayed the story as the other two members approached the bed and began speaking to each other in Japanese. Charlotte sat down in one of the chairs to give them room and to recover from the sight of them.
"The police have arrested the president of one of Shaundra's fan clubs."
"One of her fans?" Yori asked. "Not one of ours?"
"No, it was some man who just got pissed off when he saw you and her on Flowing's magazine cover. He has confessed to everything."
Yori moved over to the bed and took Shaundra's other hand while Satoshi and Takumijo moved to the foot of the bed.
"That is no reason to blow up someone's house," Takumijo said to Charlotte.
Charlotte blushed from the attention. She moved her eyes away to gaze over at the scene unfolding at Shaundra's bedside. She knew about Shaundra's blossoming romance with Yori, but not with the one in the baseball cap, who was obviously trying to hide his identity. Satoshi walked over and watched the monitors that Shaundra was hooked up to, but Takumijo just stood there and looked at Shaundra with his shoulders slumped.
A nurse entered the room. "Oh, I didn't know she had this much company. Some of you will have to leave while I check her vitals." She moved over and grabbed the blood pressure machine.
Satoshi and Takumijo meandered over to the door. The nurse gave them more than just a passing glance.
"Come on," Harper told Charlotte.
Charlotte rose from the chair. "What about those two?"
"It is going to be very hard to pry either of them from her side."
"Huh?"
"I'll explain it to you in the waiting area."
Harper took her hand and led her out. His warm hand sent a jolt of adrenaline throughout her body.
The waiting area was filled with Japanese people, which she deduced had to be the rest of Aomori's entourage and their security guards. Nurses giggled and glanced over at Takumijo and Satoshi who smiled at them, but continued to talk with two of the other men. Harper walked her over to them.
"Mr. Niigata and Mr. Fugimoto, this is my senior editor and Shaundra's best friend, Charlotte Martin."
The two men rose and bowed.
"It is nice to meet you," the one named Fugimoto replied. "But I wished it could have been under better circumstances."
"It is nice to meet you too."
The elevator door opened and four African Americans got off and headed toward them.
"Who is that?" Satoshi asked.
"Those are Shaundra's kids. I sent them home to rest, but apparently, they just didn't listen." The two girls approached first. The youngest one, Tricia, eyed Satoshi and then Takumijo, obviously recognizing them.
Juanda, the eldest daughter, spoke up. "My name is Juanda Morrison and this is my sister Tricia." She pointed to the boys. "Those are our brothers Clarence and Earl. You must be Aomori. No wonder my mother didn't want to come home."
Clarence and Earl waved, but they stayed off to the side talking to each other.
Takumijo towered over her. "Yes, we are Aomori. What do you mean by that statement?"
"Look at you. You're tall, gorgeous and obviously virile. You must be Yori."
Takumijo shook his head. "No, I'm Takumijo. Yori is at your mother's bedside."
Satoshi walked over to Tricia. "My name is Satoshi Hayashi. Your mother has told me so much about you."
Tricia bowed to him. "Yes, I'm Tricia, but my mother failed to tell me about you." She looked around. "One of you is missing."
Satoshi nodded toward Shaundra's room. "He's at her bedside along with Yori."
"Both of them?" Tricia asked.
The door opened and Yori came out. Harper introduced him to Shaundra's children.
"Has there been any change?" Charlotte asked, not knowing what to make of the entire situation.
"Her blood pressure is still elevated," Yori replied.
Juanda walked up to Harper. "She's probably been eating too much salt in Japan and not taking her medication."
"She's on medication?" Harper asked.
"Yes," Juanda replied. "You're her boss. You drug her halfway around the world and didn't ask if she had any health problems?"
"Never came up in the conversations," Harper said in his own defense.
Yori rolled his eyes at Harper.
Charlotte saw it. Apparently, there was a bit of friction between the two men.
"You know what size underwear to buy her, but not the condition of her health?"
Everyone turned to stare at Harper. "I needed to order her clothes for the photo shoots. Anyway, you're her lover and you didn't know she had high blood pressure." They all stopped fussing long enough to watch a doctor enter Shaundra's room.
Charlotte felt her own pressure spike as Clarence and Earl walked over and sized Yori up. Shaundra's sons were tall, but they had nothing on Yori, who towered over them.
"How old are you, dude?" Clarence asked.
Yori looked down at him. Yori was taller, but Clarence had more muscle. "Twenty-five. Why?"
"Shit, you're younger than I am."
"And taller," Yori corrected.
"Does my mother know your real age?"
Yori nodded. "It has come up in conversation from time to time, but she does not have a problem with it." He paused. "And to set the record straight, I am not Shaundra's lover."
Earl stepped around Yori, looking him over. "Juanda was trying to tell me that Mama was seeing someone in Japan, but I assumed it was him."
He pointed to Harper.
Harper shook his head. "No, Shaundra and I are just friends."
Earl looked at Harper like he didn't believe him. "None of my friends buy me underwear."
Charlotte figured it was time to break up the conversation before it got out of hand. The testosterone flying in the air made her dizzy. "What good is it doing any of us, or her, which one of these guys she is dating? We should be praying for her recovery." Knowing that Shaundra hadn't given Harper the time of day pleased her immensely.
The door to Shaundra's room opened and the doctor and the nurse exited. The nurse walked over to them while the doctor went into the room next to Shaundra's.
"How is our mother?" Juanda asked.
"Her vitals are stable," the nurse replied, still gazing at the three members of Aomori. "And she's awake."
"Can we see her?" Tricia asked.
"As soon as her fiance comes out."
Both sisters looked at each other. "What fiance?" Juanda asked. "Is Donald here?"
"Who is Donald?" Takumijo asked.
"Shaundra's ex-boyfriend," Yori told him.
"His name isn't Donald," the nurse said, looking down at her clipboard. "His name is Ichiro Yoshida. He asked that all the medical bills be charged to him and he wants her to be moved to a more private room so she can rest." She smiled. "He is so attentive. He hasn't left her side since I walked into the room."
"Who the hell is Ichiro?" Clarence asked as he gained control of the conversation.
Charlotte smirked. Shaundra had told her that her boys were overprotective.
The door to Shaundra's room opened again and the young Japanese man exited, minus the baseball cap and sunglasses. There was a congregation of gasps from the females in the waiting room. Both Tricia and Juanda stood star-struck.
"That is Ichiro," Satoshi announced. "Isn't he something?"
"He sure is," Charlotte replied breathlessly as the blue-eyed angel walked toward them. He was the loveliest man she'd ever laid eyes on.
She rose from her chair and stood next to Harper.
"Stop staring," Harper told her.
"Shaundra has awakened," Ichiro announced.
Charlotte trembled at the sound of his voice. She could see why Shaundra had chosen him, but was pissed because her best friend hadn't told her about their relationship. Maybe she was too embarrassed because he was so young. She looked him over. Pearly white skin, a perfect nose, beautiful blue eyes and full, pink lips. What beautiful babies the two of them would make if Shaundra was still fertile.
"You must be her kids," he said to Juanda and the others. "She's asking for you."
All four kids hurried into the room while Ichiro joined his friends.
"Fiance?" Takumijo asked.
Ichiro smiled. "I proposed the moment she opened her eyes."
Takumijo punched him playfully on the arm. "You sly dog."
Yori didn't appear to be too excited about the announcement. In fact, he looked like he was about to blow a gasket. "I need coffee," he replied, and stormed out of the waiting room.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Huh, this is interesting.