The Shadow Circle

Chapter-36

"Kestrel, I really like you too but if you try to kiss me again, you'll give your sister a reason to use my skull as an ashtray."

"Good idea, it's already hollow!"

"Wait, you were shamelessly trying to fuck him one second ago and now you're back to snark?" Ryo asked me.

"Get used to it," Elizaveta muttered.

"Kes, can you please ask your sister to stop glaring at me? It's a bit frightening," Kai said.

"You. Fucking. Asshole," Arianna gritted out. "You told me you'll keep her safe!"

Kai pointed at me. "She's alive, isn't she?"

I looked at him from the corner of my eye.

"Look at her finger!" She yelled.

"She's still alive, isn't she?" Kai said.

"You guys are giving me a headache," Elizaveta muttered.

Arianna looked at her. "And who the fuck are you?"

"Elizaveta Dragomirova. Nice to meet you!" She said and she did not sound happy to meet Ari.

"Oh. So you're the Dragomirov offspring."

"Ladies," Kai interrupted. "We have a problem, remember? Four of the worlds biggest psychopaths are here."

"You, Nozava, Dragomirov. That makes three," I said.

"Wait," Eliza interrupted. "What happened to Shah then?"

"Shah is—"  I started.

"He's here."

"And isn't Nakamura coming here too? Or did he send Tochio?" Julian asked. It was the first time I heard him speak so I was a little surprised.

"Dude, did you just not see Kai murder the guy?!" I demand.

"You're here! I thought you were still huddling and shivering in a corner!" Eliza said.

Ryo slapped Julian's back and caused him to stumble a few steps ahead. "Yes, but I convinced him to man up...by the way, did you know he's gay?"

Everyone answered in a monotonic chorus. "Yes."

"Oh," Ryo mumbled. "I didn't know."

"Are you serious? I don't even know the guy but I could tell the minute I saw him," Arianna said. "Just like I can tell you clearly have a thing for him."

"Oh," Julian mumbled.

"So back to Kestrel's brilliant plan to take down the Circle—"

"You two make a good couple," I remarked.

"Yes, they do, now about the Circle—" Kai said.

"You know something weird?" Elizaveta asked. "I had a ginormous crush on Julian for a while before I found out."

"So the board members are here—" He tried.

"No way," I giggled. "What happened then?"

Kai snapped his fingers. "Kestrel. Could you please share your plan? We really need to—"

"I dated Ryo. Then he left me because he was gay too," Elizaveta told me.

"You have the absolute worst luck," Arianna said.

Elizaveta looked at her. "Aren't you the bimbo who dated Dean Cavileri?"

"Bimbo?!"

Shrrrk.

We all turned around and saw Kai twirl his knife between his fingers.

"You're in a bad mood," I noted.

"We need to go," Kai said, all seriousness. "Kes..."

Everyone sobered up.

"I don't have the time to explain everything," I said. "It's a convoluted idea and even I don't understand it completely."

"That's not very convincing," Julian remarked.

I gave him a wry smile. "It's the best we've got."

***

Kai and Ari led us upstairs to the foyer where the board members were supposed to be. My palms were sweating and I was starting to have second thoughts. Although it was way too late for any of that now.

Elizaveta looked pale. I remembered her saying that her father tried to use her as a bargaining chip for power. That was why she ran.

"Nervous?" I asked.

"Aren't you?" She shot back.

"You don't need to do this," I whispered.

"Neither do you," she said. "I have to do this. I refuse to live in fear of him much longer."

"Ready?" Kai asked as we stood outside the door to the foyer.

"No," we said.

Kai opened the door anyway.

"Sirs," Kai said with a small bow. "I was hoping you would spare us a minute of your time. I think we have information imperative to the circumstances."

I tried to look over his shoulder. Kai pushed me behind him. All I could see were men with guns. There were at least seven in the room and I couldn't even see properly. Thank god, my plan didn't call for violence.

"Kaito Ichiro," A deep voice said. "You're alive."

"Of course, Mr. Nozava," Kai said pleasantly. "And I brought company.

And then the bastard pushed me into the center of the room.