It felt like being in the middle of a damn crime saga. But it wasn’t fiction. It wasmylife now. And that realization terrified and thrilled me in equal measure.
At the top, a final steel door waited.
One of Kenji’s men pushed it open.
Kenji carried me onto the roof.
Cold night air slammed into me.
Next, chaotic sounds came.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Screams.
Sirens.
Oh my God!
Fear pumped in my heart.
Kenji’s pace didn’t falter. He moved like this rooftop belonged to him.
Like the sky bowed to him.
Like the chopper was his fucking chariot.
His mouth dipped closer to my temple. “Almost there, Tora.”
I nodded against his neck, not trusting my voice because I could hear more gunfire now, closer than before.
Automatic rounds.
Glass shattering.
The howl of someone dying.
Up ahead, there were three helicopters lined up. Two were dark and still. But the third’s blades were already spinning.
As we got closer, my hair whipped back and my cape billowed.
I nestled closer against him.
He was my anchor in a world falling apart, and the rooftop shifted to a portal. Behind me was my life—the one with order, calm, and escape routes. In front of me, the Dragon’s domain waited—merciless, unlit, and soaked in blood. A kingdom with no doors.
We reached the humming helicopter.
A man in tactical gear pulled the door open from inside. Kenji stepped up to the skid andfinallylet me down, only to lift me into the cabin himself.
I stumbled into the plush leather interior, eyes wide, hair in disarray, and my heart still racing.
He followed me in.
His Eyes and the others joined. They filled the seats behind and in front of us in silence. Not a single word exchanged. Just eyes. Nods. The occasional hiss of a weapon being checked.
The final man pulled the door shut with one hand.
