Rise

A myth come to life may be worth far more than his freedom. An ex-mobster must choose between breaking a promise to his parole officer, which will send him back to the slammer, or angering a powerful supernatural being. He's caught in an impossible situation. How will he ever forge a path to redemption? Umeji Tatsuya moves from Tokyo to a small town after leaving the yakuza, the Japanese mob. He knows all too well that his past can't stay buried. 'Once Yakuza, always Yakuza. The tattoos mark you for life.' Nakamura Hisako, the town's beloved dowager, learns about Umeji's past and tries to oust him, but Umeji just discovered her own long-held secret. If he keeps it for her, the cost is his recently regained freedom. If he doesn't, Nakamura might have to leave her home, and he risks angering forces he barely understands... and barely believes in. As the mundane and Spirit Realm intertwine, so do the modern-day and the Pre-Meiji eras. Centuries-old rivalries flare up again, and the past returns in the present. Umeji's second chance is only the first step of his journey to discover myth, social redemption, and found family. Rise is the first book in the Liminal Chronicles series.