The Shadow Circle

Chapter-25

We were frisked for weapons by the Chinese military before being allowed in (not that I had a problem, the soldiers had nice muscles, okay maybe I did have a problem, but not with the soldiers if you get what I mean).

Everything inside resembled a robot factory. Stainless steel doors, wires everywhere and LED lights. A wide screen in front of us showed the controls of the sluice gates.

A Japanese man stood in front of a group of people, surrounded by guards. The rest of the gang were in the group. A younger man stood beside him, eyeing Elizaveta like she was a piece of meat. Son of the trafficker, what did I expect?!

"Kayden?" I asked.

"Shh," he said.

He walked up to Nakamura while I blended in the group to find Elizaveta and Julian. Everyone stared at me. I guess strolling in half an hour late wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

Kai and Nakamura shook hands as if they'd just concluded a deal. I saw the piece of shit human trafficker wince at the handshake. I also saw his guards silently shift their stance and grip their weapons.

There were at least eleven of them in the room itself.

Fuck.

Yeah, if Kai killed this guy, getting out alive would be a problem. I'd seen Kai kill, but if the guards were from Koga-Ryu too, they could probably kill Kai before he could snap Nakamura's neck. And his son would be a problem too.

Ryo grabbed my wrist and gave me a charming smile. "Jason is in the computer room," he said. "Ella's been looking for you!"

I gave him a wide smile and walked towards Elizaveta.

"Ella!"

"Penelope!" She smiled and engulfed me in a hug.

"Your boobs are huge," I muttered.

She broke away. "Thanks! By the way, I found someone who actually thinks you're cute. You're welcome...I wanted to introduce you to this guy here, Evan?"

Oh shit...

Come on! Seriously?!

Why does the universe hate me?!

Special Idiot Jake Fuckwit smiled up at me, all sparkling blue eyes and light brown windblown hair.

"Nice to meet you, Penelope, I was just telling your friend, miss Ella how beautiful you two were," he smiled.

At this point, I wasn't sure if I was smiling or snarling.

Was this guy stupid? I'd told him to stay fucking away because he was drawing attention! Not that it mattered now. Kai knew...still...there was stuff I didn't want him to know.

"Thank you," I smiled/snarled. "I assume you came with company?"

"Oh yes, a few of my friends are working at this project, a bunch of them just wanted a vacation in the mountains," he smiled.

Translation: This place is swarming with FBI.

"Nice to know," I snarled.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Everything okay?" Kai asked in an icy polite tone.

Jake sized up the assassin.

Just let it go, Agent. He's been training to kill for a decade.

Apparently Jake didn't seem to hear my mental warning (obviously).

"Of course," Jake smiled. "I just wanted to introduce myself to the charming lady here."