Page 68 of Black and Brown

Who? Grace had never heard of them.

“Woyashi will learn to respect humanity and discipline. He’ll be given the chance to redeem his soul before his last days and meet whichever higher power he acknowledges.”

“Blacks’ ETA: fifteen seconds.”

Corvo’s voice was a godsend because Grace would be damned if he was allowing one of the most ruthless, heartless clans in the world to have a second chance at killing.

The Ravens had their mission, and these ninjas of their Order had theirs.

The large warrior replaced his black-and-gold cover as if Grace and Mirage weren’t worthy to gaze upon his magnificent beauty.

Grace glared, counting down in his head. When he got to three, he flexed his back muscles, alerting Mirage he was about to attack. His launch into action would throw off his opponents as Ex and Meridian made their entrance.

Or so he thought.

Grace aimed high, and Mirage went low, pulling his twenty-inch fighting knives.

Grace threw a series of combinations that sent the big one on defense, countering and blocking the rapid rounds of fists and chops at his throat.

The other snakelike ninja did a hypnotic dance, moving as if he were a cobra that needed charming, and wrapped slithering arms around his partner’s waist.

Grace tried to shield them with his coat, but the snake struck with his pointed fingers at the center of both Mirage’s inner wrists, hitting him in tendons that made him drop his blades.

He’d done it so damn fast that by the time Mirage yanked away, the man was back in the corner of the room.

Fuck!

Grace shifted, keeping Mirage tucked behind him as he gave the large one as good as he was getting.

Again, his cover came loose, and his crown of stark blond hair flowed down his back like spilled paint, never tangling or separating.

To a less skilled fighter, it could almost be a distraction.

Their opponents must’ve heard the approach of the Blacks a second before they entered.

The larger one flipped backward, barely missing Ex’s attack as he exploded through the window feet first.

The sly serpent who’d yet to speak leapt high enough to grip a low-hanging wire and scaled the top half of the wall as Meridian barreled through a thick piece of plywood, flipped on his back, and rode the board across the floor.

His stiletto double-edged dagger, Whisper, sliced through the air, leaving the faintest hum in its wake.

The razor-sharp metal glistened in the dim light as he made two rapid slashes toward the larger man’s calves, but both missed their mark.

With exceptional agility, the big one landed in a crouched stance, those brilliant eyes scanning Ex’s and Meridian’s black clothes and low hoods before circling around them.

“Where there is one Raven, there is indeed another,” the mysterious man growled, flexing his big hands. “A flock of them are an ill omen.”

Meridian

Meridian sheathed Whisper at the same time he pulled his chrome Wesson .45.

The air crackled with tension as the six of them, three couples, all skilled and fearless, squared off and circled each other like a pack of hungry hyenas. Their body language and eyes sent a silent promise of imminent danger as the fate of Woyashi’s life hung in the balance.

“This ends now,” the big one rumbled, moving to the other side of the room from his partner.

He and Ex fought on opposite sides of their attackers. One in the front, one in the back. A distraction by one and extraction from the other—unlike the Browns, who stayed joined together like fucking conjoined twins, yet somehow, they were proficient at close-quarter combat.

Their handler, Corvo, had shown them Grace and Mirage’s mission footage.