Kenji leaned toward the glass and took in the war below. A slow grin spread across his face. “They are lucky I didn’t have Totoro with me. He hasn’t eaten in months. This would’ve been a buffet.”
A ripple of laughter broke out among the men.
Even the Eyes cracked smiles.
I blinked at him, stunned. “Who is Totoro?”
Kenji turned toward me, still grinning. “That’s the name of my flame torch.”
I gasped. “You just. . .have a flame torch?”
“It’s usually with me, but tonight was a date. So, I left Totoro at home.”
I stared at him. “What do you mean usually with you?”
“Under any bed I sleep on. In the trunk of my car. On my plane. On my yacht too.”
I stared at him. “Seriously?”
“I’ll show him to you tonight.”
“When he. . .is put under the bed?”
“Yes.”
“A flame torch?”
“Not just a flame torch.” He shook his head. “Totoro is custom. Top of the line. High-heat. It can project a flame up to twenty-five feet.”
“Twenty. . .five. . .feet. . .”
He nodded. “He runs on a hybrid mix of butane and thickened gel fuel.”
“Okay but. . .the flames go as far as twenty-five feet?”
“Of course, Tora.”
“Of course?”
“The Dragon must have flames.”
I blinked.
“And one burst from Totoro and everything it touches is scorched clean. Not just burned.Erased.”
“And. . .” My throat went dry. “You keep that with you all the time?”
“Except on our dates.”
Lucky me.
He studied me and must have noticed the horror on my face. “Don’t worry. You’re safe, Tora.”
“But. . .areyougoing to be safe? That is a whole ass army down there.”
One of the Eyes snickered.
“My men are stronger and better. Those bodies on the ground are mainly theirs, not ours.”
