Fuck. I hope I can do this.
My stomach dropped in a slow, sick roll.
I walked up to Hiro and his twin wolves—Yuki and Aki and a crazy realization hit me first.
“Wait a minute.” I slowed my steps. "One of Kenji's Personal Scales is named Yuki."
Then, I looked up at the twin. "And you're Yuki too."
He nodded. "Yes."
"Is that a common name in Japan?"
Aki spoke for him, "It is very common.”
Yuki nodded again, “But, it has different meanings depending on the kanji used."
“Oh.”
"Mine means snow." He shrugged. "My full name is Yukihiro, but most call me Yuki."
“And so. . .the Scale Yuki’s name has a different kanji?”
Hiro jumped in, “Yes. Which is why her name means happiness. Good fortune. Same sound, different characters, different meaning."
I made a mental note of this. “Got it.”
Hiro tilted his head slightly. "In America, you have similar names. Right? I know a lot of American Michaels."
“Facts.” I held up one finger. "But just so we aren’t confused this evening, I may say Scale Yuki."
Hiro shrugged those muscular shoulders. “Sounds good. . .sis.”
For a split second, I swore something brushed the side of my calf. I jerked and looked down.
Hiro checked too. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
It must have been just my nerves. But the fear of the snakes felt too deliberate, too targeted, like the nest already knew I was coming and had started trying to touch me.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Then, let’s go, sis.”
We headed off, and I checked them out.
All three of them were big.
Not just tall—big. Black shirts stretched over broad shoulders. Gun holsters on the side. Veins along muscled forearms.
They looked like a very pretty death sentence as their long strides ate up the polished marble floor like men built for war.
I was bracketed between them, Hiro on my right, Aki a step ahead, Yuki slightly behind. If anyone looked down this hall, they’d see a small Black woman moving in the middle of three very dangerous men who could break necks faster than most people could unlock their phones.
And somehow, it was comforting and terrifying all at once.
The sound of slithering and hiding filled my ears, even though no snakes were near me.
