“Neither will you,” Koji said, jumping out his truck and following him down to the beach. There was a briny and decaying smell in the air, as if something had died and washed up with the surf. When he was within striking distance, Frank had turned and swung at him but missed. Koji stepped forward, hitting Franklin in the face again. He was ashamed at how good it felt when Frank stumbled and fell on the sand. “How much?”

“Too much,” Franklin said, staying seated.

“How much?”

“Three hundred.”

Koji always knew Franklin’s luck would change. He couldn’t always win, but Koji was willing to pay him to save the house, and for him to stay out of Mariko and Daniel’s lives.

“Meet me back here tomorrow night, same time, yeah. I’ll have the money for you,” Koji spit out. “Then you leave them alone. I want you gone for good.”

Franklin stood shakily. “A ready-made family, yeah. Not a bad deal for three hundred,” he said.

Koji ignored him. “Tomorrow night,” he said, walking back to his truck.

* * *

When Koji returned to the beach the following night, the ocean was rough and restless, mirroring his own emotions. He turned, sensing movement, and saw Franklin walking out from a grove of trees toward him. Everything moved quickly as soon as Franklin demanded more money for the price of his family.

“I need more,” he said. There was a smirk on his face.

Koji had nothing more. He’d depleted his savings and borrowed the rest of it. Even if he did have it, he wasn’t going to give one more penny to Franklin. He threw the envelope of money at him. “That’s it. No more,” he said. They argued, their rising voices lost in the roar of the ocean, their angry words carried down the empty beach. Somewhere along the way it wasn’t about the money anymore. This time Franklin swung a hard right and connected with his cheek. Koji didn’t hesitate after that. His strength came from years of working in the fields. He hit Franklin several times before Koji saw him reach toward his back, returning with the glint of the knife he suddenly held in his hand.

“Go ahead, come again!” Franklin yelled. “I’ve killed pigs bigger than you!”

Before Koji righted himself, Franklin lunged at him, the sharp sting of the knife slicing across his stomach. He saw a flicker of surprise on Franklin’s face before it turned to anger and determination. The knife came at him again, but this time Koji stepped back and grabbed Franklin’s wrist with one hand while throwing a punch and hitting him hard in the face with the other. Koji pulled back and threw another one-two punch with all the strength he had, hitting him hard in the ribs and watching him fall heavily to the sand, the bloodied knife still in his hand.