I am a shadow warrior, I reminded myself. My body is a weapon and I will use it however I must.
A shout echoed across the grounds of Brenau University as I strolled toward my father’s lair. Almost immediately, I was surrounded by guards. They all knew who I was. None of them tried to hurt me. All they did was follow close behind me as I headed toward the building that contained my father’s office.
My father knew I was here. He’d probably known the exact moment I set foot on his domain. He would be waiting for me. What kind of reception would I receive when I walked into his office?
I strode down the hallway, trying to appear more confident than I actually felt, and walked right up to my father’s office with his guards trailing behind me. One of the guards knocked on the door, then pushed it open at my father’s “Enter!”
I stepped into his office, keeping my head high. My father waved all of his men away. Every last one of them. That was odd. He usually had at least two guards around him at all times. When it was just me and him alone in his office, he leaned back in his chair and studied me with those cold, soulless eyes. “Where is your mother?” he asked in Japanese. “Have you seen her? Is she alive?”
I wasn’t surprised that he was more worried about Mama than he was about me. He’d never cared about me. Ever.
“Mama’s dead,” I informed him, also speaking in Japanese. “Malik’s men killed her.”
My father closed his eyes for a moment, and if I didn’t know better, I would think that information actually affected him. Actually hurt him. But no, my father had no feelings, so he couldn’t be hurt by my mother’s death. He was probably just upset that he had nothing else to use as leverage to make me obey.
“Malik’s dead,” I added, “in case you didn’t know that. Good riddance.”
His lips flattened into a scowl. “That makes you happy? He was to be your husband, Nishi. He was going to help make the Dragons more powerful.”
I shrugged. Whatever. I was done cowering. I wasn’t going to be afraid of my father anymore. “He was a monster, and I can’t believe you just handed me over to him without a care in the world. What kind of sick, heartless man does that to his own daughter? Do you even have a soul?”
Something flashed in my father’s eyes. Rage? Was he angry that I had defied him? Or was he insulted that I’d questioned his humanity? I lifted my chin, refusing to cower. Refusing to show any fear. I was done running from him. It was time to face him. Time to deal with him.
“Why are you here, Nishi?” He eyed me with that cold, calculating look I’d come to associate with him. “The deal with the Rapsters is now off, since Malik and most of his men are dead.” His gaze never wavered from mine. “Did you come to beg my forgiveness? To accept your punishment?”
Beg his forgiveness? Accept my punishment? Was he kidding?
As I stood there before the man who had spawned me, the man who had never loved me or treated me with any type of affection, the man who had stolen me from my home and turned me into a fighter, kept me locked up like a prisoner for eight years, the same man who had willingly handed me over to a monster to gain more power in this city, my hatred for him intensified. His cruelty no longer hurt me. He no longer had the ability to wound me. I was here to kill him. To be free of him.
I lifted my chin, meeting my father’s cold stare. “No. I’ve come to challenge you to a fight. A duel to the death.”
My father eyed me for a long moment, his gaze filling with calculation. Then he let out a dark chuckle. “You want to challenge me to a fight? Are you insane, Nishi? I will kill you.”
I shrugged. “Or I will kill you. It’s not like you ever cared about me, anyway, not like you ever loved me.”
Something flashed in his eyes, then he let out a long sigh and shook his head back and forth. “Love,” he muttered, his words laced with disgust. “You know, I once loved your mother, long ago, before she betrayed me. I once believed in love. But your mother chose you over me, killing all affection I ever had for her. After that, I vowed never to be weak again. Never to love again.” He contemplated me for another long moment. “No offense, daughter. I’m just not capable of love anymore. It’s nothing personal. You understand, right? How could I feel any affection toward you after you took your mother away from me? I have resented you ever since I learned of your existence. From the moment I saw you, I despised you.”
From the moment I saw you, I despised you.
I swallowed hard, trying not to be hurt by his words, but a small stab of pain still pierced my chest. My father was the coldest, most unfeeling man I’d ever known. Of course he didn’t love me. He never had. He blamed me for my mother leaving him. He’d just admitted he’d never loved me and never would.
I will not let him hurt me anymore. I am strong. I am a fighter.
I hardened myself, pushing the hurt aside. Fuck him. I was here to kill him, and that was what I would do.
“Well?” I held his gaze. “Do you accept my challenge?”
Finally, slowly, he nodded. “You are a kunoichi. You have been trained well. I will accept your challenge. Tonight, we will fight. But you will never beat me, Nishi. If death is what you crave, then death is what you shall have.”
The breath I’d been holding whooshed out of my lungs. He’d agreed.
Even at his age, my father was still a powerful fighter. Undefeated. His men were all afraid of him. No one had ever challenged him before. I was the first idiot to do so.
Tonight, one of us would die. I couldn’t let that person be me.
The door opened and two of my father’s minions entered. “Take Nishi to the training area. Let her use whatever she wants to prepare herself for battle. Tonight, at ten, we will fight.”
With a smirk, he turned back to his desk as his guards led me away.
If death is what you crave, then death is what you shall have.
Why did I feel like death was exactly what I was about to get?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Logan
Nishi was in there by herself. On her own. She was so brave. A tiny little spitfire.
I tried to contain my worry, but it was impossible. My heart was racing, my anxiety high. I was scared shitless she would be dead before we were able to get to her.
Nishi was my heart. My love. My everything. That girl meant the world to me. I’d fallen hard and fast for her, our love a deep, soul-joining connection. I couldn’t imagine a life without her in it. She was my life now. Nishi was the most incredible woman in the world, so beautiful, so kind, so brave, so giving…
My little one.
“You ready, man?”
Noah’s voice startled me from my thoughts. I turned to him. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
All the dregs were waiting in Riverwalk Augusta, parked beneath the trees. Eight warriors reuniting for this difficult task. It was time to take Yamamoto down. If Nishi couldn’t do it on her own, then we would.
I made eye contact with everyone as we gathered in the park. “I appreciate you all coming to help. As you know, if Nishi doesn’t win, then this will be a very dangerous mission. We could be injured. Or we could die.”
Nate slapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, man. We’re here for you.”
Tracker nodded. “You helped me when I needed you.”
Jacob squeezed my arm. “And you helped me. I’d be happy to return the favor.”
Emotion clogged my throat. I swallowed hard. “Thanks.”
We all climbed into our vehicles and headed for Brenau University. Ten minutes later, we arrived. Parking several blocks away, we all gathered around to discuss strategy one more time. We would go in teams of two. It was safer that way. Since Tracker and Jacob had both lost their partners, they now paired up. While Noah hacked into their security system, we all waited, eyeing the campus grounds. I was anxious to get inside to find Nishi. But the university was a large place. It could take a while to find her.
“I’m in,” Noah announced. “This is a high-
tech system.” He typed something on his phone. “Lots of cameras.” He typed something else. “Okay. I’ve locked the system. The cameras are now frozen on whatever images are currently in front of them.” He swiped his screen and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “I don’t know how long it will take them to become suspicious of the still images, so let’s get a move on.”
We’d all dressed in black, darkening our faces and hands and any other exposed skin to help us blend into the night. Because of our large heights and builds, we would tower over any of the Dragons, and easily stand out, so we had to do everything possible to be less conspicuous.
Everyone checked their communication devices, ensuring everything worked. Then we headed in, splitting up into four teams, each team moving off in a different direction.
Noah and I made our way around the north corner of the grounds, silently slipping up to the closest building. Two guards stood out front, one on either side of the main door. I nodded at Noah and we moved in, me taking out the guard on the left, him taking out the one on the right. We dragged their bodies behind some bushes and cautiously entered the building.
Voices, speaking in low murmurs, reached my ear. I turned toward the sound, letting my single ear take it all in.
Another language. I closed my eyes, letting my brain process the words and interpret them.
Chinese.
They were discussing the “upcoming fight” and “couldn’t believe the boss man was going through with this”.
My heart pounded. It sounded as if Nishi’s father had agreed to the fight. So far, so good. I nodded at Noah, and we crept past the room where the voices came from, sneaking silently down the hallway and around a corner. We halted as more voices came to us. Pausing, Noah waited while I again closed my eyes and let my brain process the words, determining which language they were speaking.
Vietnamese.
Then I interpreted the words, their meaning coming back to me.
They too were talking about the “upcoming fight”.
“Princess Nishi is hot,” one guy said in Vietnamese. “I can’t wait to see her battle the boss man, though it will be sad to watch him kill her.” He let out a soft chuckle. “A part of me hopes she wins. It would be kind of cool to have her as a leader, don’t you think? She could take her pick of us. I’d happily join her in her bed, wouldn’t you?”
The other man sniggered, agreeing with his comrade. “Yeah. I’d love to get my hands on that hot little thing. But you know she won’t win. The boss man is undefeated. He will kill her.” He sighed. “It will be such a waste of a beautiful woman.”
Hearing those men’s words caused a new wave of panic and fear to consume me. While Nishi was a very talented fighter, her father was reputedly undefeated, one of the best martial arts fighters in the world. I could only pray Jacob’s training would be enough to help her win the fight.
She’s an amazing fighter. You have to believe that she will pull this off.
Noah squeezed my shoulder, his gaze questioning. I drew in a deep breath, slowly exhaled.
I motioned to him with hand signals, indicating we should head back outside. I snuck silently down the hallway and back out the main door.
Once outside, I told him what I’d overheard.
“Now we just need to find out where the fight is taking place.”
Would Nishi truly be able to do this? Killing wasn’t easy. Killing a thug was certainly different than killing a parent. I was afraid of what killing her father might do to her. Killing her father wouldn’t be as easy as she might think. In fact, I feared she might hesitate, and that would be all it would take for her father to kill her. That was why I had to be close by and ready. Prepared to save her if necessary.
I spoke in my mic to the other dregs, letting them know what I’d learned. Everyone agreed to search for the location of the fight.
Noah and I snuck across the campus to a different, much larger building. This one had four guards stationed out front, and a line of people waiting to enter. This must be where the fight was going to take place. Noah and I slipped closer, hiding behind some bushes, while I closed my eyes and let my brain process all the conversations floating around.
A group of three were speaking in Japanese, talking excitedly about the fight. Two of them had bet on Yamamoto winning, but the third said he’d placed his bet for Princess Nishi to win.
Yamamoto certainly had a diverse group of followers. Numerous different Asian languages. My ability to understand languages had never been so handy before. Tonight, it was being put to good use. Without my dreg talent, we would have no idea what any of these people were saying. I had never been so grateful for my unusual “gift” as I was right now.
This group talked about what moves they believed Yamamoto might use to take his daughter down, and what moves she might use to intercept him.
Noah and I remained hunkered down in the bushes, waiting, as the line slowly moved forward. Then another conversation carried across the distance to us.
Again, I closed my eyes and let my brain process their words, determining what language they were speaking.
Thai.
One man eagerly stated that he’d watched Princess Nishi preparing for the fight, and that it had given him a hard on. The others snorted and smacked his arm, leering and making lewd gestures as they all talked about her stunning beauty and what it would be like to take turns fucking her.
Unexpected rage surged through me. How dare they talk about my Nishi that way?
Sensing my anger, Noah put a cautionary hand on my arm, warning me to calm down. I’d always been the mild-mannered guy, the gentle dude who didn’t get riled up. But those bastards talking about Nishi with so much disrespect infuriated me.
Relax man. You need a clear head or you’ll fuck up this mission.
I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to relax, before slowly exhaling. Nishi couldn’t help it if she was beautiful and men lusted after her. That was just the way men were. Let the bastards talk. Let them dream. They would never have her. Because she was mine.
I tapped Noah’s arm, indicating I was ready to move on. We would have to find an easier way to get into the building without detection. Trying to go in through the front with the crowd would be too obvious, since we towered over all of them. It would be impossible to hide amongst them.
We made our way around to the back of the building, again hiding in the shrubs, while I informed the other dregs what we’d learned. They all agreed to head to this location.
While Noah and I waited, we kept a wary lookout, watching for danger. So far, our presence had remained undetected. But how long before someone spotted us? How long before they sounded the alarm?
Fresh voices floated toward us, speaking in…
Japanese again.
Noah and I froze as a new group of people approached across the campus, marching toward the building that we hid behind. They headed straight for the back door, which was approximately fifteen feet to my left. The very door we planned to enter when the moment was right.
I kept my gaze locked on them as they approached.
Closer. Closer.
I instantly recognized the man in the lead.
Katashi Yamamoto. Nishi’s father.
Yamamoto was of average height for a Japanese man, standing around five-foot-seven. He was lean and muscular, built like a typical martial arts fighter. I guessed his age at mid to late forties. Nishi looked nothing like her father, obviously having received her stunning looks from her mother.
Oh Reena. A wave of sadness washed over me. I missed the woman, even though I’d barely known her. I missed her because she had meant so much to Nishi. I missed her because Nishi missed her. Nishi was still hurting over the death of her mother. But I sensed she wouldn’t allow herself to properly mourn her mother until after she’d dealt with her father.
Yamamoto walked past, surrounded by about thirty guards, all dressed in black fighting gear. All armed.
A second group
approached right behind them, coming around the corner and heading for the same back door.
Nishi.
My heart leapt into my throat, my gaze feasting on her as she strode across the yard, surrounded by at least twenty of her father’s men. She held her head high, her face showing no emotion. A tiny little spitfire. So beautiful. So brave. Like her father, she was wearing black fighting gear. Dressed for battle.
I tensed, fighting back the urge to rush forward and snatch her up and carry her away. Noah squeezed my arm, sensing my tension. I squeezed back, letting him know I wasn’t going to do anything stupid.
The back door swung open and Yamamoto and all his men all began filing into the building.
Noah and I tensed, praying we wouldn’t be spotted.
Then Nishi and her entourage stepped forward. Just as she reached the door, Nishi paused, her head jerking up, her gaze searching through the darkness, then zeroing in on mine.
I’m here, little one.
She was staring right at me, but my face was painted black, and I was wearing a beanie, so she might not see or recognize me in the dark like this.
Her gaze flickered away.
The man behind her gave her a hard shove and she stumbled forward, entering the building. The others hurried in after her, then the door closed with a bang.
Watching her walk in that building, and just staying frozen and not being able to do anything to stop her was probably the hardest thing I’d ever done. It had taken all of my willpower to not dart forward and snatched her up. And flee. What if she’d just walked in to her death?
Noah pinched my arm. “She saw you. She knows we’re here now. She’ll be ready.”
The Trainer (military romantic suspense) (The Dregs Book 5) Page 24