Until his shadow swallowed me whole.
This close, I could see the hint of a scar beneath his left eye. A very pale crescent one. Old and faded. Someone had gotten close enough to cut him once.
I wondered if they were still breathing.
Probably not.
"Kenji. . .when your father is dead, when the yakuza is fully yours, when you've proven yourself the strongest dragon in Asia. Who would deny you? Who would refuse your putting another seat at the table to the man who could burn them all?"
He's good at this.
The offer was tempting.
Desperately tempting.
My father's location—the information I'd been hunting for days, the key to ending this war—sitting right there in that folder.
All I had to do was take it.
Make a promise.
Open a door.
But I knew what would happen if I did. Like all the Russians before him, Kazimir would try to push his way through that door and never leave. He'd use me to establish himself, then discard me the moment I was no longer useful.
And the Coalition families who trusted me, would see me as the traitor who sold them all to a foreign predator.
Currently, Kazimir had dealings in Japan and even small token territories. He did small business with other countries, but only with me present. The other Asian organizations feared him too much to deal with him on their own.
I want that folder, but I can’t take it. What would be the point of winning the war, if everything I’ve won goes to the Lion.
The dragon rose in my chest.
Not in rage.
In certainty.
I had fought too long, bled too much, and buried too many of my own to hand my legacy to a foreign predator wearing a smile. "The answer is no."
Kazimir’s men shifted around us, clearly not used to anyone telling their leader no. A few even moved their hands toward their weapons.
Are you sure you want to do that? You’re outnumbered by hundreds. You’ll be next to go into the pyre.
Frowning, Kazimir raised one finger and the men moved their hands and then stilled.
Exactly.
Kazimir glared at me."I'm offering you victory."
"You're offering me a leash." I held his gaze. "A gilded one, but a leash, nonetheless. And dragons don't wear collars."
“We’ll see about that.”
Careful. . .
Kazimir studied me for a moment more, his eyes as sharp as his smile. Then, with an oddly casual shrug, he tossed the folder into the heart of the pyre.
It caught instantly, the flames hungrily consuming the precious contents. The information I'd coveted reduced to ashes in mere seconds.
