Scorpion

Chapter 16 Kazuo

Sir.

He had called me sir again. Not only that, but Yuzuki's panic had led him to ignore me. Nothing I'd said had gotten through to him. Not even the fact that Taiken was using his friend to get Yuzuki to come to him in a hurry. If he'd gone alone, I knew exactly what Taiken would have done. He'd have killed Yuzuki's friend in front of him, then killed Yuzuki himself. Even still, there was the slightest possibility that Yuzuki's friend would be killed despite our efforts.

I ground my teeth and clenched my hands together. I couldn't think like that. Deo and Kitane were very good. I had to trust in them. I looked up to the door of my office yet again. It had been at least thirty minutes since they'd left and I couldn't help the growing tension that had filled me since. I was still angry with Yuzuki. I was also struggling to get over how he'd thrown me aside as if my help meant nothing to him at all. He didn't trust me enough to save someone he cared about.

It was that knowledge that hurt the most.

Our relationship seems to be physical only and nothing else. I tried to ignore that thought and the way it twisted my chest. Attempting to tell myself that it was simply his pure unbridled panic that had done all of that, did little to ease the hurt. I wasn't a strong enough presence to Yuzuki to quell such fears it would seem.

Exhaling hard, I squeezed my hands together tightly yet again. I tried to think of something else, anything else. Despite my efforts, however, I found myself coming back to the problem at hand. Taiken would have a handful of men with him. He wasn't one to take chances. Deo would have to be extremely precise in how he approached, and Kitane would have to be just as careful.

Though, it would seem that my worries were more toward what Yuzuki would do. He was obviously easily driven into impulsive action. Taiken would use that against him. Force Yuzuki into a situation that would only benefit Taiken and hurt everyone else. My heart hammered. Was I going to lose three people tonight?

I braced myself against the desk and ran my hands through my hair, wrenching my fingers past tangles that had developed. This was unlike me. To be so rattled in the face of an enemy. I knew exactly what it was too, and I ground my teeth as I thought it through. Yuzuki had become something special to me. Precious even. I knew this relationship was going to give way to the kind of weakness that I couldn't combat. I also knew I'd do anything to keep Yuzuki safe.

I glanced at my phone for the hundredth time since they'd left. The thought of getting a hold of Taiken had been circling my mind. To tell him that he could have me if he'd let Yuzuki and his friend go. I knew it wouldn't work. It would be a pointless treaty and once Taiken killed me, there was nothing to stop him from doing the same to Yuzuki and his friend Mitsu. I snatched my phone up and shoved it into my pocket to ease the edge of utilizing such a fool plan.

Still, I couldn't help the idea from coming back to me over and over again. It only added to the fact that Taiken was a piece of shit and knew exactly how to rile up his opponent. His underhanded tactics were the exact thing that had gotten my father killed and the manor burned down. That bastard had a plan for just about everything it seemed.

Abruptly, my office went dark and a red light clicked on from the far corner. I jolted from my thoughts. The sound of a siren beginning to wail filled the air. My door burst open and I stood only to fall back into my chair immediately after. The man who'd entered straightened from his throwing position. I gripped the knife that was embedded in my chest near to my shoulder. Pulling at it just slightly only caused an immense amount of pain and I decided it was best not to at the moment.

"Don't worry Mr. Hateno, we'll make this as painful as possible. On behalf of Taiken," the man said, the triumph in his voice very clear.

Reaching for my gun, I unholstered it in the dark and forced myself to stand as two more men entered the room. I fired at them rapidly, my aim slightly off due to the sudden darkness I'd been dropped in. Unfortunately, it would seem their aim was far better as if they anticipated the dark. Gun fire filled the air and glass shattered as my office was assaulted. I moved quickly, trying to avoid what I could but there was little to use as a shield. I stumbled as a bullet cut through my thigh. Behind me, a burst of air rushed through the room as the windows shattered from the gunfight. The one who'd thrown the knife used one of the other men as a protective wall as I retaliated in anger.