The helicopter tilted as we approached the mansion, and the movement made my stomach lurch.
Or maybe that wasn't the helicopter at all.
For a split second, I smelled it—wet dirt and copper, thick enough to choke on. The memory clawed its way up from where I'd buried it.
I hadn't told them the rest.
How for months after the Ward case, I couldn't sleep through the night.
How every dream began in a garden where the air smelled like death and somewhere in the dark, a woman hummed a lullaby meant for me.
How I'd walk toward the sound and watch the hydrangeas move like they were breathing.
How a pale hand would shoot up through the soil, trembling, grasping. . .
And I'd wake up choking on a scream that never made it out.
Five years later, I still couldn't look at hydrangeas without feeling that hand reaching for me.
It’s okay. You’re with the Dragon now.
I shook off the memory and focused on the mansion below.
This time would be different.
This time, I wasn't hunting alone in the dark.
The helicopter began its descent.
Finding these hidden spies terrified me—I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But not participating? Standing on the sidelines while they hunted me? That was worse than any nightmare.
I'd walked into a room with a serial killer and walked out alive.
I could do this.
I had to do this.
Because I wasn't prey.
Not anymore.
Not ever again.
I was the hunter now. I was the Tiger.
We landed.
Kenji helped me out, and the moment my feet touched the ground, I felt the shift in protection.
All of the guards moved into formation either in front or behind me.
Next, Reo appeared on my left, and Kenji remained on my right.
I was protected by some of the most dangerous men on this island.
We walked toward the mansion’s entrance, and just before we reached the doors, I stopped and dropped my voice to a whisper. "I want to see the Scales' rooms."
Both men went still.
