Page 100 of Emperor of Havoc

It all happens so fast. One second, it’s just Nina, Ryu, and I behind the crates. The next second, five huge Russians come charging around with weapons drawn.

Nina screams, kicking and fighting as two of them grab her, lifting her off the ground. I scramble to my feet, but before I can raise my gun, a hand cracks hard across my face.

Fuck.

Stars dance through my vision as gravity takes me down. I hit the ground sharply, wincing as everything wobbles and swims.

Ryu is trying to stand, but another Vorobev man kicks him hard in the face, making him collapse instantly.

No.

I jump up, my vision still blurry as I charge the men trying to drag Nina away, but it’s too late.

I barely have time to process what’s happening as I’m grabbed from behind. A strong arm wraps around my waist, yanking me off balance, and another hand wrenches the gun from my grasp. I thrash wildly, clawing at my captor’s arm, but it’s useless.

“Now, we teach you somerespect,” a familiar voice hisses in my ear, low and menacing.

Rodion.

A jolt of terror rips through me as a bag is slammed over my head, plunging me into darkness.

The last thing I hear is Nina’s muffled cries.

Then something strikes the back of my head.

And after that—there’s nothing.

30

TAKESHI

The roarof my bike splits the night as I tear through the city like a man possessed. I lean into the curves, the tires hovering on the bleeding edge of control with each sharp turn.

They took her.

Theyhaveher.

A million black, venomous thoughts churn through my brain as I race toward the seaport where the warehouse attack took place. All I know is that one of the Ishida-kai men there managed to call one of the topwaka gashiraat our compound, croaking something about an ambush. That someone had taken Katarina.

My chest tightens with every second that passes.

She didn’t even tell me she wasgoingto a fucking meeting with the goddamn Triads—let alone at night, in an old warehouse. I’m sure she knew if shehad, I would have tied her to the nearest immovable object rather than let her walk into that.

But she did.

And here we are.

I've barely killed the engine as I swing off the bike, momentum still carrying it forward slightly. My boots hit the ground hard, and I’m already running.

The scene that greets me in the warehouse stops me cold.

The floor is slick with blood, and bodies are strewn everywhere—Triad and Ishida-kai alike. An acrid, coppery scent fills the air, mingling with the tang of fear. Faint groans and labored breathing tell me that not everyone is dead, but the scale of the carnage is enough to make my fists clench and my stomach turn.

“Takeshi-sama!” One of the Ishida-kai men waves me over as I scan the room, looking for Kat. His face is pale as he crouches beside a fallen figure.

It occurs to me that I’m thede factoleader of the Ishida-kai right now. Katarina has been taken. Kolya is in the middle of the first surgery on his back—he had been put under before news of what happened here could reach him. Ryu, who I know came to this meeting with Katarina, is either also missing, or amongst the dead.

That leaves me.

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