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)
His head was thrown back.
Mouth open.
Chest heaving.
And the brand on his neck wasn’t just a fox. This one had a crown.
Hiro winked at me. “We’ve found a commander.”
Reo gestured for us to come over. He was further down the hall, near a junction where two corridors met.
Before we reached him, I heard it — a moan that cut through the bass.
Hiro's lip curled. "It might not have been a smart idea for our father to pick a brothel district to hide out in. Too much wet pussy around keeps the men unfocused."
“Very unfocused.”
“Not one person is thinking of war, but then can you blame them?” Hiro winked again.
We got next to Reo.
In that room, a woman was riding a man in reverse. Her back faced him, her hips grinding in slow, filthy circles while his hands gripped her waist hard enough to leave bruises.
Her head was tipped back, mouth parted, and the sounds she made vibrated through the glass—low, guttural, real.
Behind them, another man watched from the edge of the bed, stroking himself, waiting for his turn.
Fox brands.
Both with crowns.
Hmmm. Three commanders. At minimum.
I tapped my finger against my leg.
And these commanders were all within a hundred meters of each other, all unarmed, all mid-fuck. If these were the men responsible for guarding this level of the Depths, then my father's defense was thinner than paper.
This wouldn’t just be an advantage for us in the war. It would be a massacre.
Reo looked at us. “Two commanders enjoying their time together.”
Hiro smirked. “We look, but we don’t judge.”
“But do we kill?” Reo focused on me.
"Not yet."
"Look at the nightstand." Reo pointed through the glass.
I followed his finger. On the surface next to the bed, two handguns sat side by side. Even through the glass and the red light, I could see the detailing—silver barrels with roses engraved along the slides. Rubies set into the grips. Not functional gems. Decorative. The kind of craftsmanship that turned a weapon into an exquisite statement.
The Butcher gave them weapons.
I stared at those rose-engraved guns sitting on the nightstand while their owners fucked a few feet away, oblivious. My father had the Butcher's weapons in his commanders' hands. That didn't happen overnight. That meant there had been a high-operative secret supply run to Tokyo in the past days.
Hiro sneered. "The French decided to enter the chat."
Reo nodded slowly. "Which means that phone call that we heard wasn’t the first one."
Hiro looked at me. “I say let’s kill them all now.”
Reo raised an eyebrow.
"No, brother. Bullets go through that glass. So will sound and panic." I looked back at the commanders in the room. "The moment we fire, every person in these tunnels knows we're here. We lose surprise, and surprise is the only thing keeping us alive right now."
Hiro frowned. "So we just leave them to their fucking?"
"We leave them comfortable." I turned to Hiroko. “Will you need the elevator key for other parts of Yoshiwara?”
“No, and even if I did, I brought a copy just in case.”
“Smart. Give me the elevator key."
She dug her hands into her pocket, pulled the bronze key out, and handed it to me. "Here you go."
I gave the key to Reo.
He quirked his brows. “What are you thinking?”
"We’ve got Scales sitting on a rooftop doing nothing, and I've got my father's commanders down here with their cocks out. I want to fix both of those problems."
“Understood.” Reo turned to the six Scales near us and pointed to one. "You. Take this key, go back up the service elevator, and get every Scale holding the rooftop and the hallway. Bring them down here. All of them."
“Yes, sir.” The Scale took the key.
"When they get here, spread them across these corridors. Every glass room with a fox brand inside—I want two Scales watching it and pointing a gun at their heads. No one fires. No one moves. You wait for my signal."
The Scale nodded.
"When that signal comes—and it will come—you kill every branded man in these rooms. Fast. At the same time. I don't want one of them reaching for a gun or phone. I don't want a single one of them walking out of the room they're fucking in. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Every kill needs to happen within seconds of each other so no one has time to raise an alarm."
The Scale tucked the key into his vest, turned, and moved fast toward the service elevator.
I watched him disappear back into the elevator. “Perfect. We’ll turn this whole corridor into a kill box.”
The doors closed.
“Deep in pussy.” Hiro shrugged. “Not a bad way to die.”
Reo tilted his head. “What next?”
I headed off. "We need to go deeper into these tunnels, and find out if this is a gift or trap. If it's a trap, those Scales are our rear guard. If it's a gift—"
"Then we unwrap it." Hiro twirled his knife.