Page 118 of Emperor of Wrath

Valon.

And the fact that that piece of shit hurt her.

Abused her.

Gaslit and groomed her. Used her desperation and her pain of losing her whole family to get what he wanted, and to hell with her opinion on the matter.

He hurt my fucking wife.

Tonight, he’s going to die for it.

I grab a helmet off the wall and snag the keys to my all-black BMW bike with the thin, silver etching of a screaming hannya mask on the gas tank. I have a small arsenal in a storage locker under the house, but Japan’s strict firearms laws make it very hard to go into a place shooting without the goddamn army coming down on your head.

Instead, I go to a locker against the far wall, key in the passcode, and pull out an exquisitely crafted, old-school samurai sword.

This was my grandfather’s—given to Sota by my father when he was leaving Japan.

Now it’s mine.

I want to use this far more than any crude gun, anyhow. I slide it into a scabbard slung across my back as I throw a leg over the bike.

“Off to commit violence, brother?”

I pause, turning to look at Takeshi as he walks into the garage. His lips curl dangerously.

“You know that’s my favorite hobby,” he growls menacingly.

I shake my head. “This is just me, Tak.”

“What’s this about, Kenzo?” When I don’t reply, his brow furrows deeply. “Annika?”

I’m frozen for a second. Then I dip my chin curtly.

Takeshi’s jaw grinds.

“In case you’ve forgotten, brother, your wife is my sister.”

Without saying anything more, he grabs his helmet and keys, then pulls a second, non-heirloom sword out of the locker.

Honestly, if Takeshi had his way, he’d always use swords.

“Who are we raining mayhem and pain down on?” he grunts as he gets astride his bike.

“We’re not fucking anyone up tonight,” I hiss. “We’re burying them.”

“Excellent,” he smiles, pulling on his helmet. “Let’s go.”

It’s quiet out when Tak and I roll to a stop a few blocks away from the vast home Valon is renting in the luxurious Kamigyo Ward. We leave our helmets with the bikes and move in silence, two noiseless, shadowy angels of death.

Common sense would say to call for backup and wait until I have a small army of men at my disposal before surrounding the house, and only then going in to drag Valon out by the balls.

But fuck that.

The wrathful monster inside me isn’t waiting for anything right now.

Tak and I keep to the shadows as we slip along the wall surrounding Valon’s rental property. Avoiding the front gates, we keep going until we find an old, gnarled tree which gives access.

Seconds later, we’ve climbed the tree and dropping down into the darkness inside the walls. I allow myself a dangerous smile as I slowly unsheathe the lethal blade at my back. Takeshi does the same and we move in silence toward the back door, ready to strike down anyone who gets in our way.

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