Page 69 of The Dragon 2

“Female again. Left one. Clean cut above the ankle. Veins sealed. No bruising. The pedicure was still intact—black polish with a single red crystal at the center of the big toe. The skin was flawless. No calluses. No blemishes. Fresh. As if she’d just stepped out of a bath and into death.”

My jaw locked.

Reo went on, “the box had been placed at the threshold of Room 9. It had been booked by a trusted member who found it.”

“Did he open it?”

“No. One of our Scales did. Poor girl screamed so loud the sound hit three floors.”

“And was there a message on the box?”

“It said, ‘To the Dragon,’ ” Reo’s eyes held mine. “Like before.”

Rage rose in me. “If he wants to talk to me, he can. I just wish he would meet me face to face. I would love to give him my attention.”

My Fangs snickered.

Reo didn’t, “the Footman isn’t just sending a message to you, he is staging art, and women’s feet are his canvas.”

My blood thrummed with anger.

Reo leaned in just slightly, voice low and dangerous. “Art and obsession share the same root—devotion— twisted too tight. You, of all people should understand that, Kenji.”

"How do we catch him? Do we at least have any extra clues?”

“He left one partial fingerprint. Ali tracked it.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And?”

“The fingerprint matched a woman. Ali went to her apartment and found her, dead and without any feet. A coroner later confirmed that it was the woman’s foot in the package to Silken Ruin.”

I considered that information, “did he kill her at her apartment?”

“Yes but that wasn’t the only thing. I found it interesting that he would leave the fingerprint. It seemed. . .intentional,” Reo’s eyes went wild and I knew he was fascinated with this wicked puzzle. “I did some research this evening and the apartment itself where her body was found. . .it used to belong to one of your father’s old soldiers. One that he killed twenty-five years ago.”

A chill wrapped around my spine. “Of course, this points back to my father.”

“We don’t have the identity of the person yet. Ali’s digging deeper for me but we think this killer’s revenge is definitely tied to the Fox.”

“Then why not send his gifts to my father?”

“Perhaps, it is just because your father is in the hospital.”

“No.” From the window, Hiro shook his head and turned our way. “The Footman is jealous of Kenji. Whatever our father did, this guy thinks our father ruined his life while Kenji got to live a happy one, so his anger is with my brother.”

I blinked.

Not just at Hiro’s words—but at the clarity in them.

Hiro had barely spoken since we arrived in France. He’d sucked lollipops, stared at cityscapes, and fucked without true release—but this? This was the sound of a blade sharpening inside him.

I looked at him fully now. “You think this is about envy?”

Hiro’s gaze didn’t waver. “It’s not just envy, brother. It’s obsession forged in grief. The Footman lost love. A really important love. And once that kind of love is taken, there’s no healing. Only rot. And he sees you looking untouched by that kind of ruin and he wants to tear your world down for surviving what he didn’t.”

All the Claws turned Hiro’s way and watched him.

A strange silence fell on all of us.