Page 127 of Emperor of Lust

The girl whistles sharply again. Damian turns to her. “Easy,” he growls, extending a hand, palm out. “I just need you to stay?—”

“Get the fuck away from her!”

All three of us whirl to the bellowing voice. A tall Japanese man comes bolting out of the shadows, a gun in his hand and a snarl on his face.

“Ryu!” Damian yells at him, holding a hand up. “Stay back?—”

The gun explodes, belching fire and thunder as Ryu pulls the trigger.

“STOP!” Damian roars. “Stay the fuck back!”

But the other man is blinded by fear, or maybe fury, or both. He snarls as he raises the gun at Damian, cocking it again.

Then suddenly, he’s yanking it around toward me.

Oh God...

The barrel flashes. I scream as I dive to the ground, wincing as the wood next to me explodes in a hail of splinters and dust.

Instantly, the world begins to shift as the plank beneath me tips violently under the mismatched weight at either ends. Damian’s eyes flash as he yanks a gun out of his waist and fires at Ryu, hitting the other man in the stomach and dropping him to the ground.

The board shifts again, tipping hard to one side. Then the other.

Time slows as I watch, horrified, as the other end of the board tips down toward the abyss. The girl’s eyes go wide and her mouth opens in a silent scream.

There’s no yell. No sound. Just a choked, sharp, haunting gasp as the chair slides back and falls over the edge.

The second she’s gone, the board rocks hard the other way. My stomach plunges as the plank gives out beneath me.

“Damian!”

My voice tears from my throat as gravity yanks me into the yawning chasm below.

40

DAMIAN

Hana and the girl drop,and there’s no time to think. Just act.

I dive over the edge, fingers outstretched, desperate to catch her. The rope jerks tight around my waist, yanking me hard, pain flaring like fire where it cinches into my ribs. My vision blurs for a second, my body screaming in shock.

I yell in sharp, searing agony, but I don’t stop. I can’t. I look down, and there she is—dangling at the end of the rope, her body limp, swaying slightly in the air, out cold.

“Hana!” I roar. No answer.

Blood seeps from my side, dark and wet, sliding down the rope in slick rivulets.

Fuck.

I think Ryu may have hit me.

I glance down, wincing when I see the blood flowing freely from the puncture-hole in my side.

Yeah, he did.

The knot around my waist is soaked, and I feel it start to slip. Panic claws at me, an animal urge to fight the pull of gravity, fight against the sheer terror of losing Hana.

I look over and spot the other girl, still tied to the chair, face pale as she clings to her own lifeline. She’s got one hand free now, fingers clutching the rope, and the determination in her gaze strikes me. She’s fighting just as hard.

---