Page 107 of Emperor of Havoc

Use her to get inside the Ishida-kai.

Tears blur my vision as turn away from the house. I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t have a plan.

But I can’t stay here.

I can’t staywith him.

I keep low, avoiding the patrols as I hug the shadows. I move quickly, skimming along the hedges until I get to the end of the house. I wait, watching a guard patrol cross the grounds before I make a break for it, bolting past the koi pond and rock garden until I get to the wall. At the far end, there’s small locked metalgate. But I use the key I’ve kept hidden for years under a nearby rock to get through that.

Outside, Tokyo rises around me as I bolt down the street behind our estate, then zigzag into an alley. At the end of that I turn again, moving in the direction of a café that usually has taxis out front.

When I get there, I’ll text Nina and fill her in. Then I'll go to the hospital. The men there will absolutely be loyal to my father. And?—

“Marianna.”

My heart lurches into my throat at the sound of the voice.

What the…?

Slowly, I turn.

My eyes go wide.

“You…” I sign slowly. “How?—”

An acrid mist sprays in my face. The figure in front of me blurs as my vision rolls.

Wait—

But the darkness doesn’t listen. It just closes in around me.

33

TAKESHI

The room isquiet but for the faint hum of the city outside.

Neon light filters through the curtains, soft and muted, casting pale streaks across the bed.

Katarina sleeps curled warm against me, her breath steady and her face peaceful in a way that doesn’t make sense, given everything she’s been through.

I hold her possessively, my arm wrapped around her as if my grip alone could keep her safe. My fingers trace lazy circles on the skin of her shoulder, my mind racing in the stillness of the night.

She’s so fierce, so strong, so unyielding against the world. And yet in this moment, she feels fragile against me, almost breakable. The jarring contrast twists something deep inside me.

My jaw clenches as my mind goes back to earlier: to cutting Sergey’s fucking head off before walking into that disgusting room to see that motherfucker Rodion bending her over the table.

Touching her.

Hurting her.

Bringing sheer terror to her eyes.

My jaw clenches as something vicious sparks inside of me demanding blood before I tamp it down.

It’s done now. They’re both dead.

It’s not enough, though.

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