Page 206 of Celestial Combat

“But I promise we will celebrate,” I went on. “Once this is all over. We’ll get you a proper cake. Maybe even two.”

That made the corner of his mouth twitch. “Thank you, baby.”

I leaned closer, pressing my forehead to his. “You’re not alone, Zane. Not now. Not ever again.”

His jaw tensed once, but it didn’t hold. I saw the shift in his eyes, like something steadied in him again. Like he remembered who he was. Who we were.

“I love you, Kali,” His voice was rough.

“I love you, too.”I smiled and gave him a soft kiss before pulling back, my hands still holding his face. “Now,” I said, voice steady, sure. “Let’s get these motherfuckers.”

Zane took my hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed my knuckles with a reverence that shattered me.

“Ride or die, baby.”

“Always.”

We made it to the small, frostbitten airport by mid-afternoon, the runway a thin gray scar beneath the pale Siberian sky. The jet was already waiting, its engines idling low and steady like the heartbeat of something expensive. Sleek and private. Zane’s name wasn’t attached to it, of course. Layers of shell companies and ghost contacts kept our trail cold.

We’d packed the SUV before we ever stepped foot in that bar. Clothes, burner phones, backup IDs. Every weapon we might need, tucked away beneath a blanket in the trunk. It was always the plan: confront Aleksandr, get the truth, and disappear.

Once we were aboard, I curled up in one of the wide plushy seats, watching the snow gather against the window while Zane made his call.

He didn’t use his usual business tone. This was smooth, casual. He spoke in Japanese, warm but guarded.

“I’m returning to Tokyo. It’s been a long time. Thought I’d bring my girlfriend and visit some old friends. I’d like to see Akihiko.” There was a pause. A smile curled Zane’s mouth – not the happy kind. The kind that meant the pieces were falling into place. “Five days?” Another pause. A soft laugh. “Alright. We’ll settle in before then. Appreciate it.”

He ended the call and glanced at me.

“Five days,” I said.

He nodded.

The jet pulled away from the icy strip, engines rising in a deep-throated growl. The world outside blurred into cloud and cold and fading light.

Chapter 53

Present

Tokyo, Japan

THEFLIGHT WAS FIVE HOURS of quiet skies and louder thoughts. Zane dozed for most of it – his head in my lap as I ran my hands through his hair, massaging him. Half-listening to the wind slice against the jet’s hull, half-watching the movie playing on the flatscreen.

Tokyo welcomed us near midnight, cloaked in mist and electricity. The humidity hit me the second the cabin door opened, wrapping around my skin like silk warmed over steam. The tarmac glowed in runway lights, hazy from the heat and jet exhaust.

But the car waiting for us wasn’t the SUV I expected, but a Lamborghini Huracán STO – a dark chrome purple, slick as spilled ink, the engine low-simmering like it was purring in anticipation. Its curved body gleamed beneath the hangar lights, reflecting every sharp edge of Tokyo’s skyline behind us.

I gave Zane a look as we stepped down the stairs. He just smirked and offered out the key fob.

I took the keys from his palm with a raised brow and slid into the driver’s seat.

The interior was black leather, stitched in purple. Everything smelled like danger, burning tires, and dirty money.

Zane climbed in beside me, laid back in the passenger seat like a man entirely unbothered by speed limits, one arm slung lazily over the center console. “Take the next right. Then straight until you hit the expressway.”

Tokyo opened up around us as we left the private airstrip behind. The highway opened up, the roads were nearly empty this late. Just flickers of tail lights in the distance, the glint of vending machines tucked into side streets, a couple smoking outside a nightclub beneath a canopy of glowing red lanterns.

“This is your apartment we’re going to?” I asked, stealing a glance at him as we turned onto the freeway.

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