The other guards watched him.
He cleared his throat. “We are not to give our names to you.”
“No? Why not?”
“At the Dragon’s request.”
I sucked my teeth. “Well. . .we’ll see about that.”
He blinked.
“If you all are to protect me, the least I can know is your names.” I leaned back on my gold and black heart cushion.
The cart continued along.
Wind moved through the trees on either side of the path. Workers bowed as we passed. My guards bowed back without slowing. I was learning what it felt like to be carried through this island the way Kenji was carried—untouched, observed, treated like a force of nature people made room for.
Then I saw the second cart, rolling toward us on the opposite track. It was a simple white one with four people aboard.
Oh shit. Is that Kiko?
She was in the middle. Two men in white medical coats flanked her. The man next to the driver held his gun out openly with the barrel resting against his thigh.
He kept his gaze on Kiko as if making sure she didn’t try anything funny.
Damn. They’re already taking her to the DNA test?
My back straightened.
Kenji and Reo move fast.
As the cart approached, I noticed that Kiko was crying so hard that her shoulders jerked a few times.
Her mouth moved fast in Japanese. The words spat out of her like she was trying to set the air on fire. I couldn't catch a single word, but I didn't need to. The volume told me everything. The pitch told me more.
She was furious.
She was scared.
She was being driven somewhere she had not agreed to go.
Then, the carts came parallel.
For a few suspended seconds, Kiko's eyes locked with mine.
Her face shifted. Murderous rage rose in that gaze. The Japanese stopped. Her mouth opened around English instead, sharp and loud enough to carry across the gap between us. "This is your fault!"
Be cool.
I held her gaze and refused to let any emotion hit my face.
"You’ll see!" Her voice cracked as she pointed at me. "And now you will regret this! Once the Dragon understands what I carry, he'll ship you back to America!"
Her cart kept moving.
So did mine.
I glanced back.
