Deep.
My pulse steadied.
My grip on the guns tightened, and hunger expanded in my chest.
This was my element. The place where the noise in my head went quiet and every nerve in my body sharpened to a single point.
I stepped over a body and didn't look down.
Hiro was next to me with his knife already in his hand.
Hiroko and her two guards stayed close. The Claws moved into formation around us, and I saw the focus in their eyes. They knew what was coming.
Behind me, the Scales who had cleared the rooftop were already reloading—magazines dropping, fresh ones slamming in, slides racking in a synchronized rhythm.
They fell into position. Half took the front. Half took the rear. Guns up. Eyes forward.
“We need to pick it up.” I ran, and everyone matched my speed.
With twenty dead guards on the rooftop, that meant a clock was already ticking. The moment the Fox's people missed a check-in or someone glanced at a monitor and saw empty posts, our element of surprise was gone.
We had minutes.
Maybe less.
So far, surprise was the only advantage we had over the Ukiyo Council and my father. We needed to keep it.
The rooftop entrance was a glass door that led into the building.
Reo got there first and yanked it open.
We rushed through and entered the stairwell.
Down one flight.
Then another.
The sound of our boots echoed.
“Don’t go any further. There’s a camera on the next flights.” Hiroko pointed to the left. “We take this door.”
We did and hit a hallway with sterile white walls and fluorescent lights. The service space was definitely designed to be forgettable.
“We’re close to the service elevator.” Hiroko pointed left again and got next to me.
With our guns out, we followed her to a service door at the end of the corridor. She pulled out the bronze key. Her hands shook.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Take your time and breathe.”
She let out a long breath, slid the bronze key into the lock, and pushed the door open.
An elevator was behind it.
Old.
Industrial.
She pressed the button.
