“Nyomi, I know the Dragon, and I know his father, the Fox. Neither will give a cease fire. They will not stop this war until the other is dead.”
My nerves flared.
“And they will fight. . .even if that means that my beautiful city is destroyed.” She sadly shrugged. “For them it will just be. . .so be it.”
A cold shiver ran through me.
“They are both beasts, Nyomi, but there are big differences. I do not want the Fox to win. I prefer the Dragon.” She let out a long sigh. “He is the safer monster.”
I tilted my head slightly. "Why do you think Kenji is safer?"
"He’s more like his mother’s side. There’s a sweetness she placed within his heart that his father could never stomp away. That tenderness is still there, Nyomi. It’s buried under steel and fire, but it breathes."
Hiroko rose from the bed in one fluid movement. Something in her posture changed—subtle but undeniable. Her back straightened too while her chin lifted, and her eyes sharpened with purpose.
The soft-spoken survivor was gone.
In her place stood the woman from last night.
The dominatrix.
The tactician.
The teacher.
Her kimono whispered with each step as she turned to face me fully. "Tell me something, Nyomi."
"Yes?"
"Last night, did you make the Dragon kneel?"
My throat tightened. "Yes."
Zo, who had been quiet for too long, shot up in his chair like he’d been hit by lightning. "WHAT?!"
Hiroko didn’t even blink. "Good. Because that means you already have what no one else in this war possesses."
"What do you mean?"
"You have his heart. His mind. His ear. His cock. Meanwhile, the Fox only has a hospital bed. That makes you one of the most powerful people in this war."
I sucked in a shaky breath.
"You cannot sit back and be silent and you cannot sleep through this war. I won’t let you."
I bit my lip.
Hiroko continued, stepping toward me with intensity humming in every line of her body. "You are not just some woman he keeps close for pleasure. You are the leverage. The stability. The softness that reminds him what peace feels like. You are the queen on his chessboard of enemies. You are the Dragon tamer. Do you understand that?"
“Yes. Okay. . .” I stood slowly. "Then. . .what do I do? I’m not a gangster, but I want to help him and most of all I want to keep tragedies like this morning from happening again."
Hiroko pointed to the bed. "He didn’t sleep?”
“If he did, it wasn’t in here.”
“Then, he is not focused on himself or you. His mind is drowning in war and vengeance.”
“What do I do?”
