Page 90 of Emperor of Havoc

What happens next is a blur. The pursuer rams into us, the impact sending our bike skidding out of control. Takeshi twists the handlebars expertly, letting us hit the street at an angle that sends us sliding across the pavement instead of tumbling.

Still, all I know is pure fear as we hit—hard. The bike skids out, Takeshi grabbing me and kicking us away from the metal as it scrapes across the pavement. His arms encircle me, both of us groaning as we tumble together, rolling over and over until we end up crashing into a pile of garbage bags next to a dumpster.

Holy fuck.

Pain explodes through my body, the air knocked from my lungs. An engine backfires as the other bike roars over, pulling up nearby.

The rider dismounts and starts to stalk to where we’re both slumped on the ground. Theonimask is even more terrifying up close, its grotesque features twisted into a permanent snarl. Suddenly, Takeshi is lurching to his feet and pushing in front of me. He reaches behind him and pulls a blade out of the back of his jeans, brandishing the knife in a fighter's stance.

The man in theonimask pauses for a second as time stops. Then he reaches into his own jacket, and pulls out a short katana.

Oh God.

One second, the two men are just standing and facing each other. The next, they’re colliding.

Takeshi grunts as he slams into the masked man. They're basically the same size, and equally fast. I claw to my feet, panic and fear exploding through me as the man tries to jam the katana into Takeshi’s stomach. Takeshi blocks it, taking a slash to his arm before he stabs his own blade into the other guy’s thigh, eliciting a roar of pain.

Quickly, the fight shifts as the masked rider rams into Takeshi with his shoulder, knocking him backward and off his feet. Myhusband scrambles to grab the knife he’s just dropped, and then I watch in horror as the other man kicks it away and storms over.

He looms over Takeshi, brandishing his katana as my world slows to a frozen stop.

No…

Suddenly, it all shifts again. Gunfire rings out, shattering the frozen moment. The man in theonimask ducks as bullets spray the brick wall behind him.

“KATARINA! GET DOWN!”

It’sRyu, leaning over the hood of his car, gun trained on the man with the katana. He fires off another few shots, sending the masked attacker scurrying back to his bike and jumping on before he turns to level a blank, emotionless stare at me. Then the bike roars to life and screams off down the road.

Takeshi is halfway to his feet as Ryu rushes over, but then he collapses again to his knees, his breathing labored. I scramble over and grab him, easing him to the ground as he pulls his helmet off with a wince, his face tight with agony.

“Are you okay?!” I sign with shaky hands.

His expression is strained but defiant. “I'm fine,” he grits out, his hand coming up to touch his side gingerly.

Oh shit.

The white t-shirt under his riding jacket is slowly turning red.

“What the fuck was that!” Ryu hisses as he runs over and drops down next to where I’m crouched with Takeshi.

“Road rage,” Takeshi grunts.

Ryu pulls back Takeshi’s jacket, frowning. “We need to get you back to the house. It’s not deep, but you’re losing a lot of blood. We need to move, now.”

Takeshi complains loudly, but allows Ryu and I to pick him up, his arms slung over our shoulders as we help him toward Ryu’s car.

“Got a real talent for making friends wherever you go, don’t you?” Ryu mutters.

“I was just trying to take my wife out on a fucking date. Jesus,” Takeshi grits.

I turn to him, grinning in spite of all the adrenaline, fear, and danger still coursing through my system. He glances at me, his lips curled in a smug smile.

“How’d I do with that, by the way?”

“Best date of my life,” I sign back.

Suddenly, I wince. Something sharp pricks into me, and through the haze of adrenaline, I realize that what I’m feeling in my side isn’t an itch.

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