Chapter 28 Strategy Time
Chapter twenty-eight
Strategy Time
Nyomi
Reo pulled out his phone, swiped the screen, and stared at it for a three-count too long. His jaw worked. Then he handed it to the twins without looking at them.
His face went grim as they passed it around. "The spy photographed Nyomi this morning."
For a second—just a flash—I saw something raw cross Reo’s features. Anger, yes. But also something that looked like guilt. Like he blamed himself for not catching this sooner.
Meanwhile, Hiro stirred next to me. “The spy took pictures of Nyomi?”
Reo turned to him. “Yes. The person snapped pictures of her, while she went to her office. While she left the kitchen after cooking with you.”
Hiro pulled the lollipop from his mouth with a soft pop.
My stomach twisted.
“And then the spy tried to send the photos to the Fox. With a message.” Reo paused.
The silence was suffocating.
“The message asked whether they should kill or kidnap her.”
Hiro rose from his seat. “What?”
I widened my eyes.
The phone had been with Kaoru, but as soon as he saw Hiro was standing. He put the phone on the table and sent it sliding down to Hiro.
Hiro caught it in seconds, lifted it to view, and began going through the photos. Soon, a low, animalistic sound vibrated from his muscular frame with barely contained violence. His hands clenched on the table. I could see the outline of his knife shifting slightly under his jacket.
Rage rolled off him in waves.
And from my right—Kenji. His fury was colder, more controlled, but just as lethal. I felt his body vibrating beside me, every muscle coiled tight. His jaw was clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind.
Both, were ready to kill.
Ready to destroy anyone who'd dare threaten me.
And I realized something in that moment, sitting between these two deadly men. All I had to do was find the spies, point them out, and they would do the rest.
Before—just days ago—that thought would have terrified me.
The idea of condemning someone to death.
Of being the reason someone stopped breathing.
Of having that blood on my hands, even indirectly.
I would have felt guilty.
Sad.
Nervous about the inhumanity of that decision.
But now?
Now, I felt nothing but cold, crystalline determination.
They tried to kill me.
They photographed me.
They violated everything.
Fuck them. You’ll die before I will.
Sucking on the sweet lollipop, I turned my view to the massive floor to ceiling window behind the Fangs.
Outside, the sun was setting, and it wasn’t gentle.
It bled a slow spill of molten gold across the horizon, leaking over the massive Japanese island like a wound opening.
The light hit the water first.
Then it touched the Scales’ villas scattered across the hills—warm boxes of light where families lived under the Dragon’s protection.
I watched mothers calling their children inside and small bodies running to them with their sandals flashing.
I spotted tons of armed men heading home with their shoulders heavy from the day’s work.
Doorways glowed and then closed one by one.
Shadows lengthened across rooftops.
The sea turned from gold to bruised purple.
The sky dimmed as darkness crept in.
I blinked, pulling myself back from the window.
Back to the room.
Back to the table and the men waiting for orders.
Reo's voice sliced through the silence. “Our hackers intercepted the messages before they reached the Fox. He doesn't know anything. But the spies will realize something's wrong when they don't get a response. Soon. And when they do, they'll act on their own.”
Reo placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. “We have less than twenty-four hours to find the spies. All of them.”
His eyes moved across the room—the Fangs, the Claws, Kenji, Hiro. Then they landed on me. “And. . .Nyomi is going to help us hunt them down.”
Every eye in the room turned to me. The weight of their attention was almost crushing.
The Fangs’ gazes radiated respect and readiness.
The Claws’ held newly formed trust mixed with curiosity.
Reo showed confidence in my abilities.
Hiro slid the phone back to Reo, sat down, and turned to me. A slow, dark smile curved his mouth—the kind that usually preceded violence. He popped the lollipop back in his mouth. "Very interesting."
I quirked my brows.
"I knew you could cook. I knew you could twist my brother's mind into knots in the bedroom—and trust me, that's no small feat. My brother is a freak. I can only imagine what you’ve been doing to him—"
“Careful, brother.” Kenji's hand tightened on my thigh. “Don’t imagine.”
Hiro's smile widened.
"But I did not know you could catch a spy.
" Hiro leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head like we were discussing the weather instead of espionage and murder.
"If someone had told me yesterday that the Tiger hunts.
. .well. . .I would've laughed in their face and probably stabbed them for wasting my time. "
Hiro’s expression shifted, going serious. "But Reo thinks you can. And I trust Reo's brain over my common sense, even over what my eyes clearly show me."
I swallowed down the lollipop’s cherry sweetness and turned to Kenji.
He looked at me like I was both precious and deadly.
His Tiger.
His Heart.
His equal in this war.
Kenji’s voice projected deadly calm. “Let's talk strategy.”
It wasn't a suggestion or a question.
It was the Dragon giving an order, and the temperature in the room shifted. Spines straightened. Attention sharpened. Even Hiro—who seemed to me to submit to no one—angled toward his brother with the kind of focus that must have come from years of absolute trust and undying love.
This was why Kenji led.
Not because he was the most violent.
Not because he was the loudest.
But, because when he spoke, killers listened.
Reo didn't sit back down. He remained standing with his shoulders squared. "First, we do a lockdown across the island. No one leaves their homes tonight. For the main house, no deliveries in or out unless security has stripped them bare."
The Fangs and Claws answered with small nods.
"Second, sweeps. Fangs take the grounds. Claws clear the house. Every corridor. Every blind spot. Hackers keep scraping our systems for more leaks."
Reo rolled his shoulders like he was loosening up for a fight.
One of the twins reached for a cup of tea.
Daisuke's fingers drummed once against the table, then went still.
Then Reo's gaze cut to me. “And third, the Tiger has her own ways. We’ll listen and work with Nyomi, giving her any guidance, help, and protection she needs.”
Heat crept up my neck, but I held his gaze.
Toma’s grin vanished.
One twin’s head tilted. I believed that was Yuki.
The other’s fingers tapped against the table.
Hiro’s hand, resting near mine, went still.
“Tonight,” Reo sighed. “Nyomi is going to need access to the Personal Scales’ rooms. Kenji’s Three.”
A muscle jumped in Hiro’s jaw. “Why?”
The word came out sharper than he probably intended, like it had been waiting in his throat, loaded and ready.
Every Claw turned toward Hiro.
The Fangs went still.
Even the twins’ synchronized breathing hitched for half a second.
Reo crossed his arms over his chest. “Nyomi wants to look further into Hina.”
The name dropped into the silence like a stone hit a stream. There was this rippling effect of shock and disbelief.
Hiro shook his head. “Little Hina?”
Heat pricked the back of my neck, but I forced my voice to stay calm. “Earlier today, I got a look from Hina I couldn’t shake.”
Kenji’s head turned a fraction, and his focus tightened on me.
I took a breath. “It might mean nothing. She could’ve just been tired or overwhelmed.
But when Reo showed me the photos and we realized someone had been tracking me through the house, my brain went back to Hina’s look.
It wasn’t just surprise or admiration. .
.it felt like she was hiding something.”
Images flickered in my mind: the way Hina’s lashes had lowered for a heartbeat too long, the way her smile had lagged behind everyone else’s, like it had to be manually turned on.
“I’m not ready to accuse her of anything, but I don’t want to ignore my gut either. If she’s innocent, the evidence in her room will line up with that. If she isn’t. . .” I let the thought hang. “I just think that. . .her bedroom is the one place her guard might’ve slipped.”
Hiro took the lollipop out and stared at me. "It would destroy me if she were involved, and it would shatter Kenji."
Silence.
The kind that made my ears ring.
No one looked away from him. That confession dropped heavier than any threat. Hiro—who probably never showed vulnerability, who maybe kept everything locked behind violence and dark humor—had just named one of his breaking points.
I caught movement from my right. Kenji's hand had gone completely still on my thigh. Not tense. Just. . .frozen. Like he was holding something fragile that might crack if he moved wrong.
The twins shifted in their seats, nearly imperceptible, but I noticed. Their gazes flicked to Hiro, then away.
Protective.
Worried.
I swallowed hard. "I know. Which is why I want to be sure. Not based on a feeling. Based on facts."
“Good.” Hiro didn’t appear pleased at all as he returned to sucking on the lollipop. “Before you make any final assessment. . .make sure you’re thorough. I consider Hina a little sister, and I will not let anything happen to her without clear evidence.”
You’re loyal to the bone.
I gave him a sad smile. “I plan to be as thorough as possible.”
Kenji’s voice carved through the tension. “Right now, we don’t decide guilt in this room, but we do decide how to hunt it.”
His gaze moved from Hiro then to me. “If Hina is innocent, my Tiger will clear her. If she isn’t. . .”
He let it hang.
Everyone knew what happened to traitors.
Reo nodded once. “We’ll match the scale logs along with all guards within the house to the time stamps on the leaked photos. And then we’ll layer that with cameras and keycards.”