Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 66993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
The car rolled through the quiet Tokyo night; neon lights reflected in his tear-filled eyes and bloodstained fingers.
Hiro’s voice broke the silence once more. “I didn’t even know what we would be.”
“I know, brother.” I couldn’t give him answers. Couldn’t give him comfort. All I could give him was blood.
And vengeance.
And fire.
And the kind of loyalty that would destroy dynasties.
So, I sat there in the shadows and stared at my brother as he wept some more.
When we finally pulled up to Hiro’s condo, the Rolls-Royce didn’t dare make a sound. Even the engine seemed to understand that silence was sacred now.
The other Claws waited outside. Their postures straight. Faces tense.
Daisuke was the first to spot us.
The moment Hiro stepped out, carrying Nura’s lifeless body in his arms, Daisuke’s hand went straight for his gun. His mouth parted in disbelief, in pain. His finger curled around the trigger like vengeance was just one exhale away.
Hiro whispered. “No.”
Daisuke lowered the gun with shaking hands, his gaze locked on Nura’s bloodstained foot dangling beside Hiro’s hip.
The chauffeur closed the door softly behind me.
I stayed inside, watching.
One by one, the Claws moved in, faces breaking. No words, no sobs. Just reverence. Just grief. Just rage written in the shadows of their eyes.
They gathered around Hiro, close but not touching. As if afraid they might steal the last warmth she had left.
Then, slowly, they guided him up the stairs of the building.
Hiro never let go of her. His arms never trembled. He carried her like a fallen queen.
When the doors finally swallowed him, the car pulled away.
Epilogue
For When You Must Burn
Kenji
Reo let out a long breath. “The Claws will want immediate vengeance.”
“Yet, they’ll have to wait until we have a strong plan. If my father were easy to kill, he would have already been dead. Even in that damned hospital room, he has an army guarding him.”
The city lights blurred outside my window but I couldn’t stop seeing Nura’s face as she smiled at Hiro right before that bullet hit her head.
Why did she smile?
Reo spoke. “Do you truly understand your father’s lesson?”
I didn’t look at him, “deal with the Lion. Don't let enemies too close. Control the optics.”
“No, Kenji. There was something else.”
Slowly, I put my view on him. “What?”
Reo stared out the opposite window, watching Tokyo disappear behind us. “Hiro has dated many. Slept with men even. Women of all sizes. Yet, all have been Japanese. Your father’s turned a blind eye to every single one.”
I knew where this was going but I prayed I was wrong.
Reo continued, “but tonight, the girl he grabbed? Nura? She had skin the same color as your Tiger.”
My jaw clenched.
Reo raised one finger. “But he couldn’t touch Nyomi. Not with your Fangs around her tonight, not with you watching her like a dragon over a crown jewel. And certainly not with you waiting at the restaurant’s private garden for her.”
I said nothing.
“Your father’s twisted but he understands one thing: he still needs you to rule the throne. Even the Fox respects certain limits.”
“If he understood limits, he wouldn’t have killed Nura.”
“He figured she was just another one of Hiro’s flings.”
“Well, he figured wrong. Hiro is broken. I’ve seen my brother dig a man’s eyeball out with a spoon while sucking a goddamn lollipop but I’ve never seen him cry.”
Reo pursed his lips.
I scowled. “What?”
“You can’t see Nyomi tomorrow night.”
I looked away, stared at the glinting city.
“If this is war, Kenji. We need strategy. We’ll place more men around her. Keep her protected. But you need to disappear for a while. We must also change your meeting place with the Butcher.”
“To where?”
“Paris. Where your father’s eyes can’t follow.”
I shook my head. “I promised Nyomi I’d see her tomorrow night.”
“Better to break a promise than carry her dead body in your arms,” his words stabbed me in the gut.
I inhaled sharply, reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my phone. My thumb hovered over her name.
Nyomi.
I exhaled like I’d been punched. My fingers trembled—just slightly—as I tried to figure out what to say to her. . .how to cancel tomorrow’s date with her.
God, I wanted to see her now. Even just a glance. Her laugh would be enough. Her skin, that scent. . .
I almost called the driver.
Almost ordered him to take me to her.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I slipped the phone back into my pocket like it was a knife I couldn’t unsheathe.
She’d never know how close I came to choosing her over vengeance.
Then my eyes drifted down.
To the seat beside me.
To that gift she’d given me.
I stared at it with the quiet ache of a man who didn’t know how to feel anything but fury. “I want to see her.”
“I know you do.”
“But I want her alive too.”
“Correct.”
“Hiro wasn’t sure what Nura and he would be but I am dead certain that Nyomi will be my forever.” I reached out, picked up the gift and slowly slid the black ribbon off.