Page 22 of Emperor of Havoc

What?

“I wanther,” Takeshi murmurs quietly. “As mywife.”

And just as the roaring in my head begins to turn into a scream—just as I think the bomb has already been dropped—the man with the coal-black eyes, lethal jaw, and yakuza tattoos snaking out from under his shirt turns to level a cold, ruthless look straight at me.

“Doesn’t that sound nice…Snowflake?”

6

KATARINA

The wallsof my father’s office feel like they’re closing in as the door shuts behind me. Nina is back in her room—or more likely cuddling Furrcules, because he’s a snuggle-slut like that.

Ryu and his men have taken Avgustin's remains and the gruesome cooler away and are probably doubling up security around the perimeter in the wake of Takeshi’s visit.

He’s gone, too, of course. But the darkness he’s left behind is still clinging to everything like a cloying black mist. Despite telling me he could when I was a kid, Ryucan’tactually read minds. But he could still tell that something had massively thrown me off before he left, and it wasn’t just Takeshi’s insane demand, or the cooler full of Avgustin.

Papa walks over to the bar cart, splashing vodka over ice into two glasses. He hands one to me before he sinks into the couch across from the leather chair I’ve thrown myself into. He’s calm, of course. Always is, even when I’m unraveling.

“There’s no way in hell you’re actually entertaining this,” I sign, my motions sharp and angry. My father doesn’t so much asflinch. His gray eyes, hard as steel, rest on me with the kind of patience that only makes my anger burn more hotly.

He leans back in the couch. His fingers tap against the armrest, deliberate and controlled.

“Takeshi Mori.” I spell the name like a curse word. I’m fighting to remain steady, to look composed like Papa, not like I’m about to down this whole drink and then throw the glass through the window.

It was him the whole fucking time. Kaiju.

The masked man who visited my bedroom the other night, and fingered me, and made me come, and touched me like no one else ever has, and sprayed his cum across my ass, and then had me lick his fingers clean, wasTakeshi fucking Mori.

The enemy.

A monster.

It makes me want to scream, throw up, explode, or all three, in whatever order possible.

“You can’t really expect me to go through with this.”

Papa doesn’t answer right away. He just studies me, his gaze razor sharp, dissecting me like I’m one of the enemies he’s always two steps ahead of.

“He’s dangerous,” I motion, my eyes pleading. “He’s a fucking psychopath. He’s unstable. And he’s…” My throat tightens.

He’s the man who pinned me to my bed and whispered filthy things in my ear that I’ve tried to forget and failed.

“And?” Kolya prompts, his voice a low growl. “He’s powerful,Koshka. He?—”

“Please don’t use cute nicknames to placate me right now. I’m not a fucking child.”

A small smile curls my father’s lips, but he nods slowly.

“I wasn’t trying to 'placate' you, daughter,” he says quietly. “Just habit, apologies. I agree, he’s unpredictable, but that might be exactly what we need.”

“Whatweneed?” I sign, incredulous. “You’re talking about handing me over to a lunatic. A man who…” I shake my head. “A man who would sooner burn the world down than play by the rules.”

Papa leans forward slowly, deliberately, resting his forearms on his knees. For the first time tonight I see a flicker of something in his eyes that isn’t cold calculation. “You’re right,” he says evenly. “Takeshi Moriisa lunatic. But he’s a lunatic with something to prove. If he’s proving it on our side, that makes him controllable.”

I snort. “Controllable? Did you see the way he walked in here tonight? He doesn’t bow to anyone, least of allus.”

Kolya smirks dangerously. “Not yet, no.”

---