“We’re supposed to leave this island.”
“Reo didn’t text you that.”
“Kenji told you on the phone.”
“And you heard?”
“Yes.”
“You have good ears.”
“You have a good phone.” Yoichi’s eyes narrowed for less than a second. The shift was tiny. And for the briefest instant, I saw concern move beneath his composure before discipline buried it again.
Then he was simply Yoichi once more—calm posture, steady breathing, body angled protectively between me and the elevator doors.
But now I could see the machinery underneath him.
The omissions.
The carefully measured answers.
The way he gave away only what he intended people to have.
A strange chill crept over me. “You’re hiding something.”
“Probably.” The line of his jaw twitched again. “But do you think I’m too dangerous for you?”
“No. I think you are loyal and will protect me, but I do think you’re hiding something.”
“We all have secrets.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened.
“Let’s go.” Yoichi led the way. His phone buzzed. He pulled it out and read the screen.
We all have secrets. . .what secrets do you have, Yoichi?
I followed.
The mansion had turned intense. Reo must have delivered the evacuation message to the island by now. Radios crackled nonstop with overlapping voices, locations, and orders. Twolarge men rolled heavy crates stamped with Dragon symbols down the hallway.
On my left, a young guard—barely twenty-five years old—vomited into a trash can before wiping his mouth and grabbing his rifle again.
Fuck.
Servants rushed through the hallways carrying armfuls of folded clothes, medical kits, and boxes of food.
The air itself felt charged now, electrified by fear and preparation.
A silver tray crashed by the stairs. The woman who had been holding it, bowed, and apologized.
Boots thundered across marble floors overhead.
My men had their guns out now. A few jumped in front while the rest remained behind me.
Even sadder, every person moving through the mansion carried the same expression—the terrible understanding that by sunrise many of them might be dead.
I got to Yoichi’s side. “I should have a gun.”
