“Since you are not an original, other things may be fatal to you. Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers. Decapitation could be one of them, hence the situation with your father. I did not fear my death, but I do fear yours.” My fists tightened at the image of her on that metal table with a metal bar sticking out of her stomach.
“Gotcha. I don’t plan on testing my immortal limits right now. Hopefully, we can take out my ex-father without much fuss.” She took a deep breath after completing her statement and flipped her body toward the ground. She landed with perfect precision, then tossed her hands in the air like a gymnastic performer.
“That’s pretty cool. I should sketch some versatile clothes for vampires. A whole new fashion line strutted through my head.”
Her eyes glossed over as she went to that place in her mind where her passion took over. I gave her a few minutes before joining her on the ground, the near silent step of my foot colliding with the grass snapping her out of her daze.
“Tokyo is about eighty-eight miles northeast. Run with me.” Kat eyed me for a moment before taking off into a full sprint. It was cute she thought she could get a head start. I even counted to one hundred before chasing after her.
“Old man,” she hissed as I slapped her butt when I caught up to her racing body.
“I’m not the one out of breath,” I teased, despite the fact neither of us were lacking in air. Her muscles would not tire. She wouldn’t need to rest. Now we could keep up with each other. She laughed as we raced up the last few stairs of the apartment, fully knowing I slowed my pace to be with her. Then a new scent hit my senses.
“Stop,” I said, and she froze her steps.
“Someone new is here,” I growled as I gripped the handle of the door and opened it cautiously.
Chapter Forty- Two
Katsumi
Figures, just when I was having a great time, something potentially dangerous drops into the picture.
“I’m tired of this,” I whispered, and Tatsou flashed into the room via shadows. My sister screamed and furniture broke.
“It’s me! Where’s Kat?” a male voice boomed around the apartment. I opened the door and saw Rei clutched in Tatsou’s harsh grip.
“Rei? Oh, Rei, you’re okay.” My heart fluttered seeing someone I’d cared about alive.
“Almost.”
Tatsou’s fingers tightened on my old friend’s jacket collar. Rei’s eyes darted to me, then glowed. My excited heart ceased its rapid beat, and if my body would let me, I’d collapsed to the ground. That demon of a man had changed Rei to be one of his immortal soldiers. He deserved better.
“I have nothing to do with your father. After he changed us, he made us do . . .” He grimaced.
I didn’t want to know what that asshole made them do. Rei was a good man, not my forever man, but still a good man.
“Tatsou, he is telling the truth,” my sister chimed in from the kitchen with wide eyes.
“Okay, Tatsou, put him down. We all know you can kill him in seconds if he does anything bad.” I placed a hand on my vamp to hopefully soothe his worry. He growled once and released Rei, who righted himself immediately.
“Kat, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what they were gonna do. I wasn’t there when they killed your mom and Takeo. I tried to find you guys but then they grabbed me and forced the change. Fuck, it’s been rough. I played along and left clues for Romi to contact me. I needed an out.”
“I’ve been watching things and found his message in one of the private servers. Stupid, but I wiped your trail.” Romi sat on the couch and went to place a cup on the table but realized it was broken. She sighed, and placed the drink in her lap.
“I can’t go back. Your father has this power now. It’s . . . it’s like something straight out of a horror movie.”
Rei walked to sit next to Romi; his head and hands met solemnly. I reached for Tatsou, and his fingers gripped mine.
“Describe his power,” my vamp said, and Rei obliged.
The more he talked, the more I wanted to run far and never return. It sounded like some type of puppet master power. Rei described that when my father just lifted his hands, the Commissioner General moved like he was my father’s new doll.
“Animation. Of course a demon like him would gain that sort of power.” Tatsou snarled, his hand pulled me close to surround me with his arms. I needed the contact as much as he did. This power sounded terrible, and I was scared. I was fucking tired of being scared and dealing with constant danger.
“Okay. So, we are going to somehow find other original vampires and take down the asshole puppet man. I love you Rei, but if you turn out to be a bad guy, I’ll stab you in the eyes with my crochet needles. It’ll hurt badly.” I pointed my finger at him in warning. He raised his hands in surrender with a nod.
“Great. Our dream-team origin story. Like those superhero movies we watched last year.”
