Page 33 of Siren's Gift

Ichiro’s gaze swept over us twice before he finally moved on. He headed for the office we’d just left.

That was too fucking close. As much as I wanted to fight the old man, I needed to do it right. I wanted him to see everything he’d built come crumbling down before I ended his pathetic life.

As the two men disappeared, a quiet click came from the door leading out. It cracked open, revealing the night sky, and we slipped out.

CHAPTER 16

Dominic

Keiko sank into one of my office chairs and threw her legs over the side. Her ski mask dropped from her limp hand to the floor. "Shit. That was close."

We’d made it back to my penthouse’s building without trouble, but kept discussions to other matters in case Ichiro had bugged the car. Aaron’s tech expertise kept any GPS tracking to preapproved fake locations, but I allowed audio surveillance to throw the old man off. As far as my grandfather would know, my car hadn’t gone beyond a two-mile radius.

I’d secured the two scientists in a closet, and they would remain there until after the Council meeting. The penthouse’s walls and floors were thick enough that no one would hear them yell or scream, but I’d also gagged them both.

Just because no one else could hear them didn’t mean I wanted to.

Aaron stretched his arms overhead. His muscles popped loudly. "Too close. He knew this was planned."

I agreed and appreciated him not rubbing his warning in my face. I sat at my desk and flipped the computer on. "Where’s Rin?"

Keiko whipped out her phone and typed. A moment later, it dinged. She snorted out a laugh. "He had to hide until Ichiro left."

"He’s out now?"

"Not yet."

"What’s stopping him?" I knew he could handle himself, but the whole situation tonight had me on edge.

She turned her phone to show me a picture of a vending machine. "Snacks."

My shoulders dipped with relief. If Rin was focused on food, then he wasn’t in imminent danger.

I synced my phone photos to my computer and opened the images I’d taken of the lab, prisoners, and files. I printed two copies for Keiko and Aaron, and we reviewed the data in silence.

Thankfully, only one page from the records room was too blurry to decipher. From what little we could make out, it didn’t seem to hold any information that could help us. The other papers provided more than enough damning evidence.

After dozens of failed attempts, Ichiro had procured a mysterious new chemical that achieved the desired effects. When combined with his other ingredients and injected intravenously, the successful mixture acted as a spirit bond controller.

Keiko’s nose crinkled in disgust as she lowered her stack of papers. "Ugh, I just can’t get over this power play. He already owns half the city. What does he want, all of it?"

Aaron flipped to another page calmly. "He wants the Council."

"Right, but that still makes no sense to me. He’s already more powerful than the Council. Why would he even care what those stuffy old dragons think?"

Although she wasn’t born a dragon, Keiko had been invited to a handful of the High Draconic Council meetings whilegrowing up. Ichiro wanted his best assassin to have firsthand knowledge of our kind, just in case any needed dispatching.

Of course, no one ever knew she was present.

I had to hand it to the old man, though. He rarely had a dragon killed, even if they deserved it. Like Kenzo did.

"Ichiro won’t stop until he’s at the top," I said. "And in his eyes, that means a seat on the Council."

Keiko shook her head. "Makes absolutely no sense. Zero."

While I felt the same way, I also understood my grandfather far more than she did. He came from a generation and culture that prized loyalty and titles above almost all else. He believed in the old saying that if you’re not first, you’re last. Believed it and lived it.

To someone like Ichiro, he would rather die than be last. When I had my way, he would experience both—last placeanddeath.

---