Page 11

Dominic

I leaned against the railing overlooking the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin. Although spring had arrived, the cherry blossoms had yet to bloom, which meant crowds weren’t too thick right now. There were still enough people milling about to keep my meeting less likely to draw attention.

As I surveyed the area, a million thoughts and emotions flooded my mind, none of which concerned the cherry blossoms. With our informant’s untimely death, it was clear Ichiro knew Scott had talked. But what wasn’t clear was how my grandfather had found that fact out.

Had he learned that Scott was giving out information the same way Keiko had? More importantly, were there any crumbs that would lead Ichiro to me or my friends?

It was also possible, though highly unlikely, that this was all some sort of strange coincidence. Perhaps the man had done something else to gain Ichiro’s attention and earn his subsequent execution, something to do with his gambling debts.

There was no way any of my friends had betrayed me or the others. Keiko, Rin, and Aaron were loyal to a fault. They would give their lives for me just as I would give my life for any of theirs. But something wasn’t adding up.

I gripped the railing tighter, my eyes tracking a small family of ducks swimming past. What was I missing? I needed more information about this man, Scott, about what else he might have been involved in. There had to be more about him that would explain his death, like who he owed money to.

Although Ichiro’s involvement in the man’s death was still technically unconfirmed, it was the obvious answer. Scott had met with me at the warehouse then Ichiro had shown up during our meeting at the diner.

But there were too many unknowns and uncertainties. Poison wasn’t my grandfather’s usual way of killing someone. Like all dragons, he thirsted for blood—literally.

I needed evidence. Cold, hard facts.

I turned as the others arrived, a curious look on Aaron and Rin’s faces while Keiko sucked on a lollipop. To ensure secrecy, I hadn’t told them what this impromptu meeting was about. Only Keiko knew.

The two men were complete opposites, Aaron’s blond hair and blue eyes contrasting with Rin’s dark. Where Aaron was more lithe muscle, Rin was a beast.

Then there was pint-sized Keiko with her yellow sundress, sleek black hair, and lollipop. Next to the rest of us, no one would ever expect her to be the deadliest of the bunch.

No tourists were close enough to overhear our conversation, so there was no sense in beating around the bush. "Scott is dead."

"What?" Rin’s jaw dropped. "How?"

Aaron’s eyes narrowed. "Ichiro found out?"

"Looks that way. Some sort of poison-filled hexbeetle at the coffee shop this morning," I explained.

"I’ve been thinking about that, and I still don’t get it," Keiko said around her lollipop. "That’s not his style. He prefers grand gestures to make sure everyone knows what happens to those who talk."

"Exactly what I thought," I said.

"You knew about this?" Rin’s eyebrows drew together as he glanced down at his girlfriend. They had been inseparable since they met, and there was little they kept from one another.

She offered him an apologetic look. "Barely. I showed up at the last minute, but then I was forced to squeeze in an emergency salon visit." She held up her perfectly manicured nails and beamed.

Aaron stared at her hand. "What do your nails have to do with any of this?"

"One of Ichiro’s goons was waiting outside the diner’s back door, and he broke my nail." She shrugged. “So rude, right?”

I cut in before the conversation went even more off-track. "If it wasn’t him, was it a coincidence?"

Aaron’s gaze turned toward the water, his eyebrows drawn together in thought.

"That would be one hell of a coincidence. Not just that Scott died, but that it was while he was with you. It may not be Ichiro’s typical way, but perhaps he wanted to send you a message directly without drawing attention to himself. "

We contemplated that thought in silence for a moment.

"I don’t think he knows for sure you’re involved," Keiko said. "He’s testing you, to see how you’d react to the man’s death."

That made more sense than some of the other scenarios I had considered. "So he suspects me, but isn’t certain."

The others nodded as they saw the logic of the idea.

"If he thinks to scare me off, he doesn’t know me. No surprise there." I pulled out my phone and sent them the address I’d gotten from Scott. "Do any of you recognize this place?"

"Not the name, but I know the address," Aaron said as the others shook their heads. "From the ledgers. But it never had a name attached." His eyes widened. "Shit. The supply list makes more sense now."

"Makes sense how?" I asked.

Aaron smoothed his blond hair back, his only excited tell.

"They’ve been ordering tubing and beakers, stuff like that.

Usually, I only keep an eye out for weapons and magical items, so I hadn’t given the place more thought.

But knowing what we do now…" He met my gaze just as I came to the same conclusion as my friend.

"He must be producing the crystals there. "

Eagerness rolled through me, though I kept it in check.

We hadn’t confirmed this information, but if it was true, then we’d just made a huge leap forward in our investigation.

Not only that but maybe Scott’s death wouldn’t be in vain after all.

He might have given us the win we needed to bring Ichiro down.

"Keiko, Aaron, I need you two to stake out the place over the next few days.

Learn what you can about their movements," I said, knowing they already knew what to look for. "Rin and I will gather information from the servers—blueprints, guard schedules, et cetera. I don’t want to do anything to tip Ichiro off, so we’ll need to be extremely cautious. More so than usual."

Finally, this was the lead we’d been searching for over the past few months.

Although I still had questions about our informant’s death and what Ichiro might know about my involvement, I wouldn’t let those thoughts stop me. I was more determined than ever.

The old man was going down.

It had taken my team four days to gather enough information to make a move after our meeting at the Tidal Basin. We’d scouted guard rotations, hacked into the city planning department’s database to retrieve the lab’s layout, and stolen an access card, allowing us to disable key cameras and alarms.

Our plan wasn’t perfect—jobs like this never were—but we knew where the weak points were, and we had each other. It would work. Tonight, we would get the evidence we needed.

Darkness surrounded me as I stepped out of the car. We’d chosen a meeting spot that had few sources of light, and clouds obscured the moon. It was a few blocks away from the lab and would give us the secrecy we needed to prepare before breaking in.

I met the others on the sidewalk, our breaths appearing as small puffs in the crisp spring air. Crickets chirped around the site. This kind of evening would be peaceful if it weren’t for the tension building in my body.

Aaron glanced up and down the street. "I wish you’d reconsider doing it tonight. We don’t have enough intel yet and?—"

I cut him off with a sharp glance. "Most plans are better with more time, but we don’t have that luxury. We can’t wait for the perfect moment."

"I get it, Aaron, but Dominic’s right," Keiko said as she tugged a black mask over her head.

While she could use her magic to encase herself in shadows, the mask acted as a backup in case the guards utilized some sort of anti-magic defenses.

The fabric covered her entire face and neck, leaving just two slits for her eyes.

"We have enough info to do this as long as we stick to the plan. No heroics."

"No heroics?" Rin stuck his lower lip out in a fake pout before pulling on his mask. "You’re taking all the fun out of this, babe."

"Someone has to keep you boys in line."

As they continued their playful banter while strapping on various weapons, Aaron moved closer to me. "I don’t like this. Something feels off, like it’s too easy."

I checked my gun’s magazine, chambered a round, and holstered it. "We haven’t even gotten inside yet."

"I mean getting the information we’ve gotten. It’s all too easy. It feels like a setup."

"Then let’s expect a setup and be prepared to act accordingly." I eyed my friend. "We can’t wait any longer. I can’t wait. This needs to end."

The sooner I brought down Ichiro, the sooner I could get back to my other priorities.

Aaron’s expression softened. "We’ll find her, Nic. But getting yourself or someone else injured or killed tonight isn’t going to help."

A sliver of doubt crept into my mind. I didn’t want to brush off Aaron’s concerns, but I couldn’t risk any more time.

It wasn’t about Bree—every second counted when it came to bringing down Ichiro Sato.

If he caught even a whiff of something amiss here, all traces would be gone within the hour. I clenched my jaw tight.

No, it had to be now.

Now, before Ichiro could figure out what we were up to. Now, before Ichiro moved the entire operation and the lab emptied, taking our one chance with it.

I adjusted the fit of my last holster. "No one is dying tonight." No one from our group, anyway. I couldn’t make any promises for Ichiro’s people.

Without waiting for another retort, I gestured for the others to head out. We needed to be in position before the shift change.

As expected, floodlights surrounded the building. It would be next to impossible to get close without being seen by patrolling guards or cameras.

Impossible for anyone other than Keiko.

Once we were in place and waiting for her signal, the petite assassin let out a series of clicks, using echolocation to enhance her senses. A moment later, she disappeared from view only to materialize on the other side of the floodlights’ reach, within a stretch of shadows.

She was more than capable of handling fights on her own, and I sometimes wondered how easy it would be for her to take down Ichiro without all this need for hiding and gathering evidence.

But I wasn’t willing to risk her life to try.

The High Draconic Council wouldn’t go easy on her if they found out, no matter who—or what—she was.

She was one of a kind. No one knew who her parents were or how she’d ended up wandering the streets of D.C. when she was barely old enough to walk. In Ichiro’s mind, her skills and abilities were limited to the other, far more lethal side of the hybrid woman.

But as soon as I recognized the unique lunar magic she also wielded, I helped her hide and develop it without Ichiro knowing. The old man would have exploited her even more than he already did had he found out, and the only people in the world who knew about her witchy side were here tonight.

As much as I hated to admit it, raising her to become an assassin had been a smart move. She had a way to channel her need to feed on human blood without worrying about killing innocent people.

If the GIG ever discovered her existence, they’d lock her in a cage and study her, likely even dissect or clone her.

But that would never happen while Rin, Aaron, or I still breathed.

We would burn the GIG to ashes if they tried, and she was far too valuable to Ichiro for him to let anything happen.

She was a creature the GIG would kill to get their hands on. A creature more rare than her lunar witch side or even a siren.

My heart squeezed painfully. In reality, I hardly knew the siren woman. But time didn’t matter when it came to her. I wanted to spend every waking moment for the rest of my life making her happy. She was worth it.

Once we’d handled this mess with Ichiro, I would pour every resource I had into finding Bree again. She was my future, no matter how short-lived.

But first, I needed to focus on tonight.

A shadow leaped over my head, jumping from one building’s roof to the next without a sound. The leopard landed beside Keiko, who cloaked them both in shadows. A moment later, the door opened and shut as if by a ghost.

Once they handled the guards within the security room, they would turn off a floodlight for thirty seconds to allow Rin and me time to make it to the door. Aaron would hack into the system to loop the external camera aimed at that spot until we were inside.

Like clockwork, the floodlight clicked off, allowing us a sliver of shadows to sneak across. If all went according to plan, we would be inside before any of the patrolling guards noticed the light come back on.

Keeping low, Rin and I hurried across the asphalt. Just as we reached the door leading inside, the floodlight clicked back on. A grim smile tugged at my lips. Perfect timing.

If only the rest of the night had continued without a hitch.