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)
At the top, a final steel door waited.
One of Kenji’s men pushed it open.
Kenji carried me onto the roof.
Cold night air slammed into me.
Next, chaotic sounds came.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Screams.
Sirens.
Oh my God!
Fear pumped in my heart.
Kenji’s pace didn’t falter. He moved like this rooftop belonged to him.
Like the sky bowed to him.
Like the chopper was his fucking chariot.
His mouth dipped closer to my temple. “Almost there, Tora.”
I nodded against his neck, not trusting my voice because I could hear more gunfire now, closer than before.
Automatic rounds.
Glass shattering.
The howl of someone dying.
Up ahead, there were three helicopters lined up. Two were dark and still. But the third’s blades were already spinning.
As we got closer, my hair whipped back and my cape billowed.
I nestled closer against him.
He was my anchor in a world falling apart, and the rooftop shifted to a portal. Behind me was my life—the one with order, calm, and escape routes. In front of me, the Dragon’s domain waited—merciless, unlit, and soaked in blood. A kingdom with no doors.
We reached the humming helicopter.
A man in tactical gear pulled the door open from inside. Kenji stepped up to the skid and finally let me down, only to lift me into the cabin himself.
I stumbled into the plush leather interior, eyes wide, hair in disarray, and my heart still racing.
He followed me in.
His Eyes and the others joined. They filled the seats behind and in front of us in silence. Not a single word exchanged. Just eyes. Nods. The occasional hiss of a weapon being checked.
The final man pulled the door shut with one hand.
Helicopter blades screamed louder above our heads.
I lowered into my seat and placed my gift on my lap.
His gaze never left mine. Without a word, he reached for my seatbelt first buckling the strap across my lap and then adjusting it at my hips. His knuckles brushed my thigh. “Too tight?”
“No. It’s perfect.”
“Good.” A hint of a smile curved his lips as he buckled himself in next.
The helicopter rose with a deep, guttural roar, and the floor vibrated up through the soles of my heels.
Outside, gunfire echoed in quick, cruel bursts
Among Kenji’s cologne and our sex on my skin, I caught the scent of burning fuel.
I leaned toward the glass. My breath fogged the window. Sighing, I watched as the rooftop dropped away from us.
Then, I saw it all.
Wait a minute. . .holy fucking shit!!
My whole body froze.
Below us, the compound had erupted into hell.
Over a hundred men battled. Guns flashed in every direction. Bursts of muzzle fire lit up bodies like strobe lights in a nightmare. Blades flashed. Flames erupted from the alley behind the building and then an explosion happened, sending one man flying backward into the air.
I couldn’t process it fast enough. There was just too much. I spotted a man dropping to his knees with a scream. Blood spurted from his neck
What the fuck?
This wasn’t just a few assassins slipping through back doors. This was a full-on army with one mission—kill the Dragon.
Had I not already been on the helicopter, buckled in and clutching my gift like it was a shield, I might’ve passed out right there—body shutting down from the sheer scale of it.
All this time. . .and this. . .was surrounding us?
There were so many dead bodies everywhere. Lined along the building. Sprawled throughout the road and alley. Twisted on top of cars. Some men still clung to life, crawling through blood.
I turned to Kenji.
Next to me, the Dragon lounged like a god—legs spread wide, arms relaxed, as if we were at the opera… not escaping a city on fire.
Shivering, I put my view back on the scene. Every second, the helicopter rose higher, I got an even greater view of the chaos.
Holy fuck!
The blocks further away from Hiroko’s building were in a panic too. Cars were jammed along the streets. Some had even gotten on the sidewalks. Horns blared. Tires screeched. People ran between lanes.
It looked like people were fleeing a natural disaster.
All this was going on earlier too and. . .I’d been moaning against Kenji. An entire battlefield had ignited around us.
Damn.
We continued forward and rose higher.
Neon signs turned to smears. Headlights to ghosts. The dark skyline bled into blackness.
Kenji leaned toward the glass and took in the war below. A slow grin spread across his face. “They are lucky I didn’t have Totoro with me. He hasn’t eaten in months. This would’ve been a buffet.”
A ripple of laughter broke out among the men.
Even the Eyes cracked smiles.
I blinked at him, stunned. “Who is Totoro?”
Kenji turned toward me, still grinning. “That’s the name of my flame torch.”
I gasped. “You just. . .have a flame torch?”
“It’s usually with me, but tonight was a date. So, I left Totoro at home.”
I stared at him. “What do you mean usually with you?”
“Under any bed I sleep on. In the trunk of my car. On my plane. On my yacht too.”