Page 45 of The Dragon 1

I lowered to my seat.

Reo and Hiro sat down next to me.

My Claws and Fangs went to the back of the room and stood guard.

“This woman being in my room,” Kazimir leaned his head to the side. “Will that be a problem?”

I placed my hands on the table. “I’m not sure you should sample a woman of her nature.”

“Why not?”

“She’s phenomenal in seduction, I use her to flip top politicians and judges.”

“You use a woman to bully politicians?” He dipped the otoro into wasabi. “Why not violence?”

“Pleasure can be much more lethal.”

The Lion laughed. “You’ve always been poetic, Dragon.”

His men snickered.

When the Lion finished laughing, he stared at the wasabi-coated otoro. “Have the woman in my room this evening.”

“She will be there.”

“Good. And. . .add two other women too.”

“You want three women in your room this evening?”

“Yes. It’s Thursday.” The Lion ate the otoro.

His men snickered again.

I stared into the Lion’s eyes and he stared into mine.

Neither of us blinked.

When he swallowed, his expression went neutral. “We should begin.”

“We should.”

He twisted the chopsticks in mid-air and looked at them. “Kenji, I am convinced that you do not pray enough.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And what tells you that I don’t pray enough, Kazimir?”

He put his view back on me. “Because I am sitting in front of you, my friend.”

Yes. This meeting will be a lot of bullshit.

Chapter seven

The Lion

Kenji

I don’t pray enough. . .

That wasn’t a line meant to provoke a laugh. It was a veiled threat. A warning cloaked in theatrical bullshit.