Get back here, Kenji.
I pushed off the door and let my gaze drift toward the bathroom. I needed steam. Heat. Something to pull me out of my own head. I needed a reset, even if it was temporary, even if it lasted only until Kenji walked back through that door.
My scalp ached suddenly, like my braids remembered the night too.
I sighed.
I was still supposed to get my hair done tomorrow—fresh parts, clean lines, new extensions. The fact that normal life things still existed—hair appointments, routine maintenance, schedules—felt absurd.
But maybe I needed that.
Something ordinary.
Something grounded.
Something mine.
I headed for the bathroom and undressed.
The moment I stepped inside and reached for the shower handle, the familiarity of it—chrome, pressure, heat—calmed me a fraction. I turned the water on and waited until steam curled upward in thick white ribbons.
The water was scalding when I stepped under it, but I didn't adjust the temperature. I wanted to feel something other than the ghost of serpents slithering along my body.
Steam filled the space as I scrubbed my skin until my muscles finally began to unclench.
By the time I stepped out and wrapped myself in a towel, I felt almost normal again.
Almost.
Getting dressed in silk pajamas furthered the normalcy.
Then, a knock came at the bedroom door.
I froze.
Who is that?
I headed to the door and opened it. Surprise hit me. It wasn't Hiro or Kenji standing there.
It was four of Kenji’s guards—all tall, stone-faced men I vaguely recognized from the security team.
One of them stepped forward and his expression revealed nothing. "Apologies for the intrusion, I'm here to retrieve Totoro for Kenji-sama."
The flame torch.
My stomach dropped.
I stepped aside, and the guards moved past me, lowered by the bed, and then pulled a massive equipment bag from under it.
Wow.
Without hesitation, one unzipped the bag and two other men pulled out the device.
Totoro. Such an innocent name for something so brutal.
The flame torch's polished metal caught the light with a blaze even though unlit. I bet when it was active, its controlled fire created a sphere of warm illumination that pushed back any darkness.
The guards gave me a curt nod, lifted the heavy thing, and then disappeared back through the door, closing it softly behind him.
