Chapter 40 The Nest of Snakes #2
“But what if there’s something in there that could help us? What if there's more to this plot, more snakes that we haven't uncovered?”
“Too risky. Sako is just as deadly as me. That’s why he manages the Dragon’s homes. And if he was able to have the Eyes working for him and Mami. . .”
“Then, he could have even more people we don’t know about.”
“And they could be waiting in those passageways.”
"Okay. I understand completely what you’re saying, but I also think we need to be thorough."
"The answer is no, Nyomi. We found the phone. We found evidence. The spy hunt is over."
Frustration boiled up in my chest. "We found a phone. We found some evidence. But we don't have the full picture yet. We don't know how deep this goes, how many people are involved, how they've been communicating—"
"That's for the Fangs to figure out now. And Reo." Hiro's expression softened slightly. "You did your part. You cracked open an entire spy network just from looking in some bedrooms. Thank you. What you’ve done tonight changes everything. But, now it's time to let the killers handle the rest."
I let out a long breath. “I don’t know. I can check more things in a safe way.”
“I’m not taking you in there.”
“What if it isn’t up to you?” I pulled out my phone. "I can ask Kenji."
Hiro's eyebrows rose. "You think my brother will say yes?"
"He might."
A slow smirk spread across his face—the kind that said he knew something I didn't. "Go ahead then. Ask my brother."
“I will.” I typed out a long message to Kenji, hoping to God he would be more logical than Hiro.
My thumbs moved fast.
We think the Eyes are involved but no certain proof.
We found the spy phone in Mami's room. Password was Dragon.
Photos of me inside. Yuki is innocent. Hina too.
BUT, Hina's diary says Sako has been visiting Mami's room late at night.
She also saw Mami with the spy phone. I think Sako is the real spy and Mami is just holding evidence for him.
I want to check the servant passageways to see if there's anything in there that could give me a bigger picture. I’m hoping I can get your permission.
I believe I will be safe with Hiro and the twins. Or even extra men.
Sighing, I hit send.
Hiro watched me with that infuriating smirk still on his face.
I frowned. "What?"
"Nothing." He leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Just waiting."
“I know Kenji is protective, but with what we’ve uncovered tonight the logical thing would be to—”
My phone rang.
I looked at it.
Kenji's name lit up the screen.
Hiro chuckled.
I answered. "Hey—"
"Tora." His voice was silk wrapped around steel, and there was an edge beneath it that made my spine straighten. "You're done."
"I know we found the phone, but—"
"I will meet you in the bedroom later. Thank you for solving this. What you’ve just said in that text. . .” Pain hit those words. Real heartbreak. “Thank you for all you’ve done. We will meet in the bedroom."
"But I'm still not sure it's just the people we found. If Sako's been using the passageways—"
"Now it's time for the Fangs and my Roar to handle the rest." His tone allowed no argument. "You've done enough."
"I think the secret passageways will give me answers that—"
"Tora." Just my name. But the way he said it—low, commanding, absolute—stopped me mid-sentence.
Silence stretched between us.
I could hear him breathing on the other end. I could practically feel the rise of his authority pressing through the phone, demanding my obedience. I could even feel that damned dragon-shadow trying to push itself through the line.
Heat prickled up my neck.
And not the good kind.
"Fine," I said tightly.
"Thank you, Tora. I'll see you soon."
So pissed, I hung up without saying goodbye.
When I looked at Hiro, he was grinning like a cat who'd just watched a mouse walk into a trap.
"He said no, didn't he?"
I rolled my eyes.
He laughed—actually laughed—a low, rich sound that bounced off Hina's cream-colored walls. "I told you."
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Watching someone else get shut down by my brother for once?" He pushed off the wall, still grinning. "Yeah. I am."
I shoved my phone back in my pocket, irritation burning in my chest. "The passageways could have evidence. Real evidence. Not just a phone and some diary entries."
"Maybe. But you’re too important to us, to just let you go in there." He gestured toward the door. "Come on, Velma. You’ve done more than enough. Thank you."
We left Hina's room, and I took one last look at the scale models on her shelves. Tiny buildings meant to help people. Dreams of a better world, crafted by hands that had never held a weapon.
When Kenji lets go of her, she’ll be the one to truly enjoy her life.
I left the room.
Hiro got to my side. “You’re amazing.”
I glanced at him and smiled. “Oh really?”
“Really. Fucking amazing.” He bobbed his head. “Now I truly see why Kenji is biting you.”
I blushed.
“You may need your own guards just to protect you from his teeth. Especially tonight.”
“My own guards to stop Kenji from biting me.” I chuckled. “What would we call them?”
“The Tiger’s Skin of course.”
“Of course.”
He stopped walking, and I stopped with him.
When I turned to face him, his expression had shifted. The teasing smirk was gone. In its place was something genuine—something that looked almost like admiration.
"You did good tonight." His voice was serious now. "Really good."
"Thanks."
"No. You don't understand." He held my gaze. "You caught four snakes. The Eyes. Mami. Sako. People we would never have looked at. People we trusted."
My throat tightened.
"My father has clearly put a spy network in place for years and in one night, you ripped it open. You saw what none of us could see."
"I just. . .noticed things."
"That's exactly the point. You notice the things we don’t. You see people. You read what they don't say. That's not just a skill, Velma. That's a fucking gift. We might have lost this war, if not for you."
I widened my eyes. "Thank you for saying that."
He went back to walking. “Now let’s talk about the cocktail party—”
“Absolutely not. And by the way, I didn’t know you were a drama queen.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Bringing it up during the meeting. You wanted to rub it in the Fangs faces.”
“They were rubbing those bento boxes in our faces.”
“You all better keep it chill before Kenji roars at you all again, and you don’t get any food at all.”
“As I told you before, Kenji is going to have to learn how to share you.”
Warmth hit my chest.
I laughed, but the sound felt hollow in my chest. Because beneath the teasing and the warmth of Hiro's praise, questions still coiled in my mind like restless serpents.
Did we find all of them?
Four snakes. The Eyes. Mami. Sako. People who had been embedded in Kenji's life for years—decades, even. People he'd trusted. People he'd loved.
But the Fox had been playing this game longer than any of us had been alive.
Four seemed like a lot.
Four also seemed like not nearly enough.
What if four wasn't the final number?
What if there were more, buried so deep we'd never see them coming?
The Fox had decades to build this network. Years to plant seeds of betrayal in the people closest to his son. It seemed almost too easy—finding them all in one night.
Then again, maybe that was the point.
Maybe ripping open the wound fast was the only way to start healing it.
And even if we had found them all. . .
What happens now?
Surely if Kenji's men could make the spies talk—if they could trace the threads back to the Fox himself—then maybe this war could end sooner than anyone expected.
I thought of Reo's cold efficiency. Hiro's sharp smile. The Fangs. The Claws. The prison beneath the mansion that Hiro had mentioned so casually.
They would make the spies talk.
Whatever that looked like, I knew it wouldn't be gentle.
Blood.
Screams.
Maybe flames.
Undoubtedly death.
My stomach tightened as we walked toward the hallway to meet the twins.
Four snakes, caught.
But somewhere out there, the Fox was still breathing.
Still scheming.
Still waiting to see what his son would do next.
And soon, he would find out.