Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Hiroko relaxed.
“That's my father's way. He sacrifices pawns, but he protects his generals." I sat back. "So we have two possibilities.”
“We find your father today and kill him or we walk into a trap with safe points.”
“Exactly. And we're not walking in to fight the trap, Hiroko. We're walking in to find the safe points. Because whoever is sitting in those safe points is the person my father needs most right now. And when we take them. . .we take his ability to operate."
Silence stretched between us.
She let out a long breath. “Okay. I’m understanding.”
"Good.” I looked at the Claws as they returned to readying themselves to kill. “My father thinks we're going to enter Yoshiwara the way anyone would. Through the front. Through the streets. Through the obvious routes. He's planned for that. He's built the trap around that assumption."
I looked at her. "But we're not going in that way."
Hiroko met my gaze. “We’re not.”
"He knows we don't know the tunnels beneath Yoshiwara. He's counting on that. He's certain of it." I held her stare. "But he doesn't know we have you."
Hiroko's expression shifted, and doubt left. "I know every tunnel. Every passage. Every door. I walked those tunnels for many years."
"I know."
"There are routes even the Fox has forgotten."
"I'm counting on it."
She looked out the window at the city approaching below us. When she looked back, her jaw was set. "Then let's go take him or his puppet."
I winked. “Exactly.”
Hiroko went quiet again and from my peripheral, I could see her looking at me with the same softness that reminded me of the way my mother used to look at me when I was younger. "I'm so proud of you, Kenji."
I blinked. "What?"
"I know your mom's not here anymore," Hiroko continued. "But I remember her. She was an exquisitely classy woman full of love and sweetness."
I didn't know what to say, so I just listened.
"She used to come to the red-light district," Hiroko gave me a sad smile. "Not for herself, but for us. She would bring doctors and nurses. Later, she set up free clinics. Did you know about the clinics she started?"
I shook my head slowly. “No.”
“She set up two women's health clinics in the district that provided abortion services and other things. She also set up adoption agencies and orphanages on the outskirts. When she died, the businesses withered away."
My chest tightened. “Had I known about them, I would have kept them going.”
“Still. . .” Hiroko nodded. "Usually, a woman with her power would just sit back on her throne and count her diamonds. Look at her crowns. Enjoy her wealth. But that wasn't what your mother was about. She always wanted to care for people, to love them, and take care of as many people as she possibly could."
My heart warmed. A grief I'd been holding back since the night my mother died rose within me.
Hiroko reached over and put her hand on mine. "I see that in Nyomi. The way she cares. The way she wants to help.”
I shivered.
“You picked well, Kenji. Your mother would be proud of that too."
I swallowed hard and nodded because I didn't trust my voice.
The helicopter descended lower, and I looked out the window.
Tokyo was below us now.
We were flying over water first. Islands dotted the bay, and I could see boats moving slowly through the waves. But as we got closer to the city, the mood in the helicopter changed.
Everyone went quiet and looked out the windows at the new view of Tokyo.
Fuck.
Dark smoke still hung over parts of the city. Thick black clouds still rose from the warehouse district and spread across the sky.
The fires that had been put out days ago, still had lingering smoke.
And people were still on the ground. Tiny figures moved through the rubble. Cleaning crews. Emergency responders. They were still working to clear the debris from the bombs I'd ordered.
The rest of Tokyo was untouched, but there was a heaviness in the air now. A sense of dread that hadn't been there before.
I'd done this.
I'd brought war to Tokyo.
And now I could see the cost of it.
I checked my brother and saw Hiro staring out the window with his hand holding his knife.
And then I remembered that this war was about healing his broken heart and saving my Heart.
I scanned the helicopter.
For my brother and Tiger. . .I would bomb the fucking city again and again.
The Claws were silent. Even Toma had stopped grinning.
Reo turned around in his seat and looked back at me. Our eyes met, and I saw the weight of what we were doing reflected in his gaze.
Holy fuck, his expression said.
I nodded.
The helicopter banked again, and we started descending toward a building.
The Shirogane Hotel.
It was one of the most exclusive hotels in Tokyo. Forty-eight floors of black glass and steel that rose up from the heart of the city like a blade. The architecture was brutalist and beautiful at the same time. Sharp angles. Clean lines. No unnecessary ornamentation. Even though it was huge, only the wealthiest people in Japan knew it existed.