Page 146 of The Dragon 1
I stayed inside, watching.
One by one, the Claws moved in, faces breaking. No words, no sobs. Just reverence. Just grief. Just rage written in the shadows of their eyes.
They gathered around Hiro, close but not touching. As if afraid they might steal the last warmth she had left.
Then, slowly, they guided him up the stairs of the building.
Hiro never let go of her. His arms never trembled. He carried her like a fallen queen.
When the doors finally swallowed him, the car pulled away.
Epilogue
For When You Must Burn
Kenji
Reo let out a long breath. “The Claws will want immediate vengeance.”
“Yet, they’ll have to wait until we have a strong plan. If my father were easy to kill, he would have already been dead. Even in that damned hospital room, he has an army guarding him.”
The city lights blurred outside my window but I couldn’t stop seeing Nura’s face as she smiled at Hiro right before that bullet hit her head.
Why did she smile?
Reo spoke. “Do youtrulyunderstand your father’s lesson?”
I didn’t look at him, “deal with the Lion. Don't let enemies too close. Control the optics.”
“No, Kenji. There was something else.”
Slowly, I put my view on him. “What?”
Reo stared out the opposite window, watching Tokyo disappear behind us. “Hiro has dated many. Slept with men even. Women of all sizes. Yet, all have been Japanese. Your father’s turned a blind eye to every single one.”
I knew where this was going but I prayed I was wrong.
Reo continued, “but tonight, the girl he grabbed? Nura? She had skin the same color as your Tiger.”
My jaw clenched.
Reo raised one finger. “But he couldn’t touch Nyomi. Not with your Fangs around her tonight, not with you watching her like a dragon over a crown jewel. And certainly not with you waiting at the restaurant’s private garden for her.”
I said nothing.
“Your father’s twisted but he understands one thing: he still needs you to rule the throne. Even the Fox respects certain limits.”
“If he understood limits, he wouldn’t have killed Nura.”
“He figured she was just another one of Hiro’s flings.”
“Well, he figured wrong. Hiro is broken. I’ve seen my brother dig a man’s eyeball out with a spoon while sucking a goddamn lollipop but I’ve never seen him cry.”
Reo pursed his lips.
I scowled. “What?”
“You can’t see Nyomi tomorrow night.”
