No messages.
I'd been checking every few minutes, hoping Kenji would send something. Anything. Just to let me know he was okay.
But there was nothing.
I tried to tell myself that was a good sign. My stomach was twisted in knots.
All I could do was sit here and wait.
And hope that they were safe and still alive.
What’s going on in Tokyo?
Chapter thirty-six
The Kill Box
Kenji
The elevator groaned one final time and stopped.
No one moved.
I counted three rhythmic pulses in the pause. My heartbeat. The hum of the cables settling. And the faint, muffled bass on the other side of the doors.
Reo spoke to the Scales in front, “Get ready.”
The Scales in the front row adjusted their grips. Fingers on triggers. Shoulders squared. Ready to absorb whatever came next.
Hiro rolled his neck, and I heard the crack of it even over the bass bleeding through the doors.
Hiroko's breathing had calmed and her hands weren’t shaking anymore. Her eyes were fixed on the doors like she could already see what was behind them.
I looked down at my guns and glanced one last time at my Tiger's blood on the barrels.
The doors opened, and thank God there was no army of bullets to greet us.
Good. They still don’t know we’re here.
The first thing that hit me was the smell—a nauseating cocktail of designer perfumes mingling with the animal musk of bodies.
It clung to my nostrils.
The second thing was the noise—not just music, but a primal erotic booming that crawled up through the soles of my boots and rattled my teeth, punctuated by a lustful symphony of gasps, groans, and cries.
All pleasure, pain and debauchery.
All ecstasy and agony.
The Scales kept their guns up and stepped off the elevator.
I leaned toward Hiroko. “Where’s the security?”
She shook her head. “This is the secret service entrance. There would be no need.”
“There’s always a need if there’s an entrance or exit.”
“This is a different world, Kenji. Yours runs on bullets and blood. Mine runs on money and flesh. Customers don't want to see guns everywhere. They only want to see naked bodies.”
