Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
I nodded and headed off. “Good. We’ll deal with him tomorrow. Do you think he’ll talk?”
“I’m hoping he will. I left a few bodies from your and Hiro’s work in the bamboo room to keep him company.”
“You put the other traitors’ corpses in the cell with him?”
“I believe the decor will give him a lot to think about.”
“It may.”
“Also. . .speaking of bodies. . .I have narrowed down the serial killer in Tokyo to two people.”
Along with the pressure in my chest, I could feel a headache coming. “I keep forgetting about Mr. Slice-off-women’s-feet-man.”
“Yeah. Well. . .Ali and I have not forgotten. I’m actually sending Ali back to Tokyo later this evening to get a closer look at the two suspects.”
“Have him take Scales.”
“I will, and none will be from the eastern side of the island. It will only be the most trusted that fly back with him.”
“They can’t get caught by my father’s men.”
“They won’t. Besides. . .Ali has been instructed to kill our Scales if they are caught.” Reo appeared tense as he said it. “And. . .Ali said he would kill himself.”
That couldn’t happen. While I didn’t care much for Ali, Reo loved him a lot and saw him as a brother.
“No.” I shook my head. “Send triple the men. The only people that die if the Fox’s men come around, is them. Not our side. No sacrifices.”
“I didn’t want to use up too many Scales for this mission—”
“You need Ali by your side in this war, which means I need Ali alive. Send triple the men.”
Reo let out a relieved breath and then slowly nodded. “Okay.”
I considered Nyomi and that whisper to Reo.
Tora. . .how did you figure out the guard was suspicious? Was it really just a look?
The pressure band around my chest yanked another hole tighter at the thought of her name within the context of a dangerous traitor.
You keep surprising me, Tora.
She didn’t grow up in this world, knew nothing of our rules. However, she’d been able to help me catch Watari and now Oguri.
We continued toward the stairs.
Reo cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, I was going to chat with her about the second spy, let her know all of the information, the location of signal, and all the people that lived there.”
I stopped in front of the stairs and scowled at him. “My Tiger is a journalist. It would be like giving a dog a bone. She would want to go out there and start fucking sleuthing. So no. She found two spies. She’s done.”
“I can give her the Claws to go to the eastern side of the island. There’s a nice beach there. Many of the families relax over there during the day. I would just want her to look around a little bit. She could talk with some of the people on the beach and hang out. It would be fun in the sun.”
“Fun in the sun?” I pointed at him. “The only way I would allow that is if I was with her—”
“This won’t work if you go with her. The spy will be on guard.”
“I don’t want the fucking spy anywhere near her while I’m not there.” Somehow even more pressure filled my chest. I kept breathing like nothing was wrong—short, shallow lies dressed as composure.
Reo’s tone remained maddingly calm. “She’s good, Kenji. She could find the other spy. That would give us a big leg up in this war. And Hiro would never let anything happen to her. He knows how much you love her, and. . .after Nura. . .he’s going to be even more protective than you.”
“That’s not the point.” I gripped the banister hard enough to make the wood groan. “You don’t put a crown jewel in the middle of a minefield just because you’ve got killer guards with her.”
“She’s not just a jewel. She also could be a weapon in this war. . .not in our way of course, but in her way. A big mistake on your part would be, if you kept her locked in a box on this island like she’s breakable.”
“She is breakable,” I snapped. “And unlike you, I’m not interested in seeing how far she can bend before she snaps.”
Reo didn’t blink. “Kenji, she’s your Heart.”
“And I need my Heart to live.”
“You will also need your Heart to win, and that means letting her be helpful.”
“Reo. . .what you’re not understanding is that I’ve changed since she’s entered my life.” I stepped closer and lowered my voice so no passing guards or staff could hear me. “If she dies, the war is over for me. Everything is over for me. There would be no more Dragon. Do you understand? I would be. . .nothing. . .”
Reo pursed his lips.
I stepped back. “You think winning this war matters more than her life? It doesn’t.”