Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Reo continued, “I called this meeting today because I now don’t think it is one spy. I believe it is multiple spies. Coordinating. Watching. Waiting for the Fox’s signal to kill.”
Kenji sneered. “There is a nest of snakes on this fucking island, and we’re going to hunt and kill them, one by fucking one.”
I blinked.
Fuck. Now the meeting is really beginning.
Chapter twenty-eight
Strategy Time
Nyomi
Reo pulled out his phone, swiped the screen, and stared at it for a three-count too long. His jaw worked. Then he handed it to the twins without looking at them.
His face went grim as they passed it around. "The spy photographed Nyomi this morning."
For a second—just a flash—I saw something raw cross Reo’s features. Anger, yes. But also something that looked like guilt. Like he blamed himself for not catching this sooner.
Meanwhile, Hiro stirred next to me. “The spy took pictures of Nyomi?”
Reo turned to him. “Yes. The person snapped pictures of her, while she went to her office. While she left the kitchen after cooking with you.”
Hiro pulled the lollipop from his mouth with a soft pop.
My stomach twisted.
“And then the spy tried to send the photos to the Fox. With a message.” Reo paused.
The silence was suffocating.
“The message asked whether they should kill or kidnap her.”
Hiro rose from his seat. “What?”
I widened my eyes.
The phone had been with Kaoru, but as soon as he saw Hiro was standing. He put the phone on the table and sent it sliding down to Hiro.
Hiro caught it in seconds, lifted it to view, and began going through the photos. Soon, a low, animalistic sound vibrated from his muscular frame with barely contained violence. His hands clenched on the table. I could see the outline of his knife shifting slightly under his jacket.
Rage rolled off him in waves.
And from my right—Kenji. His fury was colder, more controlled, but just as lethal. I felt his body vibrating beside me, every muscle coiled tight. His jaw was clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind.
Both, were ready to kill.
Ready to destroy anyone who'd dare threaten me.
And I realized something in that moment, sitting between these two deadly men. All I had to do was find the spies, point them out, and they would do the rest.
Before—just days ago—that thought would have terrified me.
The idea of condemning someone to death.
Of being the reason someone stopped breathing.
Of having that blood on my hands, even indirectly.
I would have felt guilty.
Sad.
Nervous about the inhumanity of that decision.
But now?
Now, I felt nothing but cold, crystalline determination.
They tried to kill me.
They photographed me.
They violated everything.
Fuck them. You’ll die before I will.
Sucking on the sweet lollipop, I turned my view to the massive floor to ceiling window behind the Fangs.
Outside, the sun was setting, and it wasn’t gentle.
It bled a slow spill of molten gold across the horizon, leaking over the massive Japanese island like a wound opening.
The light hit the water first.
Then it touched the Scales’ villas scattered across the hills—warm boxes of light where families lived under the Dragon’s protection.
I watched mothers calling their children inside and small bodies running to them with their sandals flashing.
I spotted tons of armed men heading home with their shoulders heavy from the day’s work.
Doorways glowed and then closed one by one.
Shadows lengthened across rooftops.
The sea turned from gold to bruised purple.
The sky dimmed as darkness crept in.
I blinked, pulling myself back from the window.
Back to the room.
Back to the table and the men waiting for orders.
Reo's voice sliced through the silence. “Our hackers intercepted the messages before they reached the Fox. He doesn't know anything. But the spies will realize something's wrong when they don't get a response. Soon. And when they do, they'll act on their own.”
Reo placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. “We have less than twenty-four hours to find the spies. All of them.”
His eyes moved across the room—the Fangs, the Claws, Kenji, Hiro. Then they landed on me. “And. . .Nyomi is going to help us hunt them down.”
Every eye in the room turned to me. The weight of their attention was almost crushing.
The Fangs’ gazes radiated respect and readiness.
The Claws’ held newly formed trust mixed with curiosity.
Reo showed confidence in my abilities.
Hiro slid the phone back to Reo, sat down, and turned to me. A slow, dark smile curved his mouth—the kind that usually preceded violence. He popped the lollipop back in his mouth. "Very interesting."
I quirked my brows.
"I knew you could cook. I knew you could twist my brother's mind into knots in the bedroom—and trust me, that's no small feat. My brother is a freak. I can only imagine what you’ve been doing to him—"
“Careful, brother.” Kenji's hand tightened on my thigh. “Don’t imagine.”
Hiro's smile widened.
"But I did not know you could catch a spy." Hiro leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head like we were discussing the weather instead of espionage and murder. "If someone had told me yesterday that the Tiger hunts. . .well. . .I would've laughed in their face and probably stabbed them for wasting my time."