There is nothing quite like walking into an abandoned warehouse to meet the leader of the Japanese Mafia after your sister was kidnapped because of the girl you kind of, sort of, maybe, might even like.
I wonder where Veah is, even as my breath becomes shaky.
Hello ? I call out. My voice echoes.
I feel like the stupid character in a horror movie.
Oh, God, I think, scanning the weathered walls. The dust-thickened floor. I’m that idiot. I’m the idiot that dies first.
And then I hear itmusic.
Music.
But it’s not violin. It’s not Whitney Houston. It’s not even Taylor Swift. It’s the worst music to ever exist. Jazz.
I shiver at the melancholic thrum of the saxophone.
It becomes louder as I climb each step of the stairway, and I pray the floor doesn’t collapse beneath me. That I don’t fall right through the termite-eaten structure.
There are worse ways to die.
Except . . . no. Not really. I’d rather die in the passenger seat of a car, admonishing Veah about the speed limit, and see a glimpsea glimpse of fire before the world goes up in smoke.
I want to see the world burn first.
When I shiver this time, it’s not because of the music. I hadn’t realized there was something like that in mesomething so raw and needy and chaotic.
I . . . I kind of like it.
It reminds me of Veah, and I wonder if she is responsible for bringing it out in me.
Without meaning to, my fingers drift to the gun hidden in my waistband. And I know that if I need to use it, I will.
Once I reach the top of the stairs, I notice a closed-off section of flooring. There is a round poker table, and the scent of smoke becomes so pungent, so heavy that I almost gasp. Cigars. Around the table, three men are seated and there is a fourth, empty chair.
Is that for me ?
Where is Cassie ? Where are the others ?
You’ve finally arrived, says the one with the silky voice. Imai.
I recognize his handsome face, his searing eyes. He is wearing a satin business suit, and the proud lines of his shoulders are visible through the violet fabric.
Kaya Rivers, he says. So we meet again.
Where’s my sister ?
Patience, he says, and the gleam in his eye flickers. I am suddenly reminded of the way he shot a man without hesitation, just for talking back to him.
I swallow. Take a step back.
I want my sister, I say calmly. I’m here. You have meso where is she ?
Imai nods once at the man next to him. Abruptly, he stands and I notice a door concealed by the fog of cigars.
All it takes is a minute. A minuteto open the door, grab a girl by the thick cords that bind her, and drag her back to the round table. She is crying against the gang clenched between her teeth, her pink hair stained with grime.
Just seeing her is enough for a sob to slip out of me.
Cassie, I say, and I hug her tightly. Falling to my knees on the splintering ground. Cassie, Cassie, are you okay ?
I was supposed to protect her. I
Imai gives a signal to the man, and the man uses a knife to cut through the cloth over her mouth. Cassie sputters, Lacy and Kiara were showing me the rooftop, and then Ifrom behind, there wasit was chloroform, I recognized it from my med classeswhen I woke up, we were here.
Who’s here with you ? I whisper.
Lacy, she breathes. And Kiara. And some blonde girl.
That’s enough, Imai says softly, and the man hauls Cassie to her feet. A scream tears from my throatthey can’t take hernot again
Kaya !
The man flings her into the wall like she is nothing. Weighs nothing. Her head strikes back against the wood, and something in my chest collapses.
But all Imai says is, Sit.
I sit.
You signed a contract.
I also burned a contract.
Contracts signed under duress or coercion aren’t legally binding, I say automatically.
Imai’s eyes narrow. Bring the girl to the table, he orders the man.
No, I say. Wait, nowait
Cut off her finger, he says, still looking at me. The pinkie.
Cassie’s head lolls against her chest. Roughly, the man yanks her hand onto the table. Flattening it.
No. The word wrenches from somewhere deep inside of me. Scraping against my throat. I scream, No !
Imai holds out one hand, signifying a pause.
He leans towards me, cold eyes glittering. I need you to take down a firewall for me. One of the most secure in the world. It’s called Drakon, and it is supposed to be unsolvable. I want it gone, and I want it gone now. How long will it take ?