Page 22 of Siren's Gift

As they continued their playful banter while strapping on various weapons, Aaron moved closer to me. "I don’t like this. Something feels off, like it’s too easy."

I checked my gun’s magazine, chambered a round, and holstered it. "We haven’t even gotten inside yet."

"I mean getting the information we’ve gotten. It’s all too easy. It feels like a setup."

"Then let’s expect a setup and be prepared to act accordingly." I eyed my friend. "We can’t wait any longer. I can’t wait. This needs to end."

The sooner I brought down Ichiro, the sooner I could get back to my other priorities.

Aaron’s expression softened. "We’ll find her, Nic. But getting yourself or someone else injured or killed tonight isn’t going to help."

A sliver of doubt crept into my mind. I didn’t want to brush off Aaron’s concerns, but I couldn’t risk any more time. It wasn’t about Bree—every second counted when it came to bringing down Ichiro Sato. If he caught even a whiff of something amiss here, all traces would be gone within the hour. I clenched my jaw tight.

No, it had to be now.

Now, before Ichiro could figure out what we were up to. Now, before Ichiro moved the entire operation and the lab emptied, taking our one chance with it.

I adjusted the fit of my last holster. "No one is dying tonight." No one from our group, anyway. I couldn’t make any promises for Ichiro’s people.

Without waiting for another retort, I gestured for the others to head out. We needed to be in position before the shift change.

As expected, floodlights surrounded the building. It would be next to impossible to get close without being seen by patrolling guards or cameras.

Impossible for anyone other than Keiko.

Once we were in place and waiting for her signal, the petite assassin let out a series of clicks, using echolocation to enhance her senses. A moment later, she disappeared from view only to materialize on the other side of the floodlights’ reach, within a stretch of shadows.

She was more than capable of handling fights on her own, and I sometimes wondered how easy it would be for her to take down Ichiro without all this need for hiding and gathering evidence. But I wasn’t willing to risk her life to try. The High Draconic Council wouldn’t go easy on her if they found out, no matter who—or what—she was.

She was one of a kind. No one knew who her parents were or how she’d ended up wandering the streets of D.C. when she was barely old enough to walk. In Ichiro’s mind, her skills and abilities were limited to the other, far more lethal side of the hybrid woman.

But as soon as I recognized the unique lunar magic she also wielded, I helped her hide and develop it without Ichiro knowing. The old man would have exploited her even more than he already did had he found out, and the only people in the world who knew about her witchy side were here tonight.

As much as I hated to admit it, raising her to become an assassin had been a smart move. She had a way to channel her need to feed on human blood without worrying about killing innocent people.

If the GIG ever discovered her existence, they’d lock her in a cage and study her, likely even dissect or clone her. But thatwould never happen while Rin, Aaron, or I still breathed. We would burn the GIG to ashes if they tried, and she was far too valuable to Ichiro for him to let anything happen.

She was a creature the GIG would kill to get their hands on. A creature more rare than her lunar witch side or even a siren.

My heart squeezed painfully. In reality, I hardly knew the siren woman. But time didn’t matter when it came to her. I wanted to spend every waking moment for the rest of my life making her happy. She was worth it.

Once we’d handled this mess with Ichiro, I would pour every resource I had into finding Bree again. She was my future, no matter how short-lived.

But first, I needed to focus on tonight.

A shadow leaped over my head, jumping from one building’s roof to the next without a sound. The leopard landed beside Keiko, who cloaked them both in shadows. A moment later, the door opened and shut as if by a ghost.

Once they handled the guards within the security room, they would turn off a floodlight for thirty seconds to allow Rin and me time to make it to the door. Aaron would hack into the system to loop the external camera aimed at that spot until we were inside.

Like clockwork, the floodlight clicked off, allowing us a sliver of shadows to sneak across. If all went according to plan, we would be inside before any of the patrolling guards noticed the light come back on.

Keeping low, Rin and I hurried across the asphalt. Just as we reached the door leading inside, the floodlight clicked back on. A grim smile tugged at my lips. Perfect timing.

If only the rest of the night had continued without a hitch.

CHAPTER 11

Bree

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