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madman. And none of this explained why he had said what he did to her earlier.
    "Kiara, you must think about what you can live with, without regret, or with it, in order to live your life in safety.” He released her hand, and she stood, took her hair out from behind her ear and strolled over to where Ayumi built a sand castle.
    "Need some help?” she offered.
    Ayumi grinned. “Sure."
    They worked together shaping the sand, running back and forth with a bucket for more water and using cups to form towers and the keep. Ayumi dug the moat and then spent the better part of forty-five minutes trying to fill it. The water kept being absorbed into the sand. Finally, she gave up and sat back on her haunches.
    "Well, it still looks great. Don't you think, Ms. Kiara?"
    Kiara nodded. “Yes, I think we did well, if I do say so myself."
    Ayumi moved to stand. “Let's show it to Jiro-san. He'll be impressed."
    Kiara grabbed her arm. “Wait. Not just yet, okay?"
    The girl hesitated. Her wise little eyes bore into Kiara, making her squirm, like she knew all of Kiara's insecurities, just as her brother seemed to know. Ayumi's gaze dropped to the sand, and she idly scooped moist sand from the moat. “You found out what he does, didn't you? And now you don't like him."
    Kiara gasped. “W-What he does?"
    She nodded. “Yes, that he's an assassin, kills people for a living."
    Her head beginning to spin, Kiara put up a hand to her temple. She wanted to deny Ayumi's words, chalk them down to the active imagination of a nine-year-old, but she couldn't. Jiro had been hesitant about saying exactly what he did. And he had said he could help her, but she would need to be able to accept her decision without regret. Why would she need to think about regret if Jiro were only offering her a way out that didn't weigh on her conscious?
    Ayumi had said it so matter-of-factly. This type of lifestyle was apparently normal to her. To deliberately take another person's life was wrong. Assassin? That meant someone out there decided they wanted another dead, and they paid Jiro to do it. She glanced over her shoulder at him sitting calmly in his chair. As usual, she couldn't see his eyes, but he had seemed to be the nicest person she had ever met, if a little on the stiff side. Underneath it all, he was a ruthless killer. That goes to show what a poor judge of character she was.
    Taking for granted that Kiara accepted her brother's vocation, Ayumi stood and pulled Kiara to her feet. “Come on, let's go for a swim."
    They ran hand-in-hand to the water. Kiara echoed Ayumi's shriek at the chilly spray, and then they boldly splashed into it until they could dip down neck deep. Teeth chattering, Kiara stumbled backward when Ayumi flicked water on her and bumped into a hard chest. She turned to find Jiro gazing down at her wet T-shirt.
    "Oh, sorry.” She looked down too realizing her nipples were clearly defined. She crossed her arms over her chest and squatted again.
    "No harm done.” He smiled. “I decided to prove my little sister wrong when she said I never have any fun at the beach. I'm proud to say I did not take one phone call or read one report."
    Ayumi whooped and threw herself into her brother's arms. Kiara laughed. A Japanese Americanized girl probably threw his whole ordered life off kilter. She had a suspicion that no matter how much he tried, Ayumi would be her own woman when she grew up. She might respect his traditions, but embracing them was a different matter entirely.
    "Let's have a race,” Ayumi suggested. “I've been practicing my swimming and I'm pretty sure I can beat you, Jiro-san."
    He smirked. “I doubt that."
    "Well?” she challenged.
    His grin included Kiara. “All right. Will you join us, Kiara?"
    She shook her head. “Oh no, you two go ahead. In fact, if you go down a little ways and swim toward me, I will be the judge."
    They agreed and moved off while Kiara watched them. Jiro didn't show much affection in public, but she