5
Of all the ruins, I’m the most destructive.
Khalani snarled, bucking her body against him, but Takeshi held firm, tightening his grip around her throat.
“I’d stop that if I were you.” His dark whisper sent goose bumps trailing down her arms.
“What do you want?” she rasped, barely able to speak with the limited oxygen he granted her.
“I want you to call for your leader. Jack.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” His hand tightened around her neck, his thumb fanning across her skin as she gulped.
“Jack!” she yelled.
But no one came.
“Again,” Takeshi commanded.
She screamed his name once more, her heart pounding against her chest. By the time the door unlocked and flew open, her voice was hoarse.
Jack stood outside, with Jericho and Brock flanking him, and a plain man in a lab coat a few feet behind. At the sight of Takeshi choking Khalani, the four men froze at the door, their faces paling.
“What—” Jack started.
“This is what’s going to happen,” Takeshi interrupted. “You’re going to unlock these chains, and we’re walking out of here.”
We?
Khalani had no time to turn around and question him before Takeshi continued.
“If you don’t do as I say…she dies.”
Her breath hitched, an icy tingle rippling through her veins. His powerful hand remained locked around her throat, his body pressing against hers, keeping her completely immobile.
She didn’t know if he’d actually do it. A huge part of her believed that Takeshi was still in there and would never intentionally hurt her.
But fuck…it sounded like he meant it.
The four men didn’t speak for a few moments. To her surprise, Brock was the first one to move, stepping forward with his palms cautiously raised.
“Takeshi,” he began. “It’s Brock. I haven’t known you long. We actually kind of hate each other. But from what I do know, hurting her is the last thing you want to do.”
“And tell me…Brock.” Takeshi laced his name with disdain. “Are you willing to bet her life on that little theory?”
Brock hesitated, his gaze flickering between Takeshi’s menacing eyes and her terrified ones. She barely noticed that the older man in a lab coat quietly left after Jack whispered in his ear.
“I’m going to start counting,” Takeshi warned, his voice harder than steel. “And if these cuffs aren’t unlocked by the time I get to three, I’m snapping her neck.”
Khalani’s eyes bulged, and the trembling in her limbs grew volatile when no one moved.
“One.”
Brock glanced at Jack, his expression slowly starting to panic when Jack stayed silent.
“Two.”
He was actually going to do it. Takeshi was going to kill her.
And the saddest part?
She didn’t hate him for it.
Khalani closed her eyes and prayed that if heaven existed, they’d find each other there. Maybe then, she’d tell him all the things she should’ve said the first time.
“Thr—”
“Jericho,” Jack interrupted. “Remove his chains.”
Her chest heaved under the band of Takeshi’s strong arms as Jericho promptly stepped forward, removing his manacles.
She flinched as they clattered to the floor.
Jericho took a loaded step back, and Takeshi lifted Khalani to her feet. She assumed he’d let her go, but Takeshi kept his firm grip around her.
“Move out of the cell and stand against the wall,” he demanded.
They didn’t move at first, but Jack nodded, and the three men reluctantly obeyed.
“Walk forward, Kanes,” Takeshi murmured in her ear.
Khalani swallowed, and she might’ve been hallucinating, but she felt the tips of his fingers ever so gently tracing her jugular. He nudged her forward, and she had no choice but to move. He angled their bodies as they passed the men, keeping them in his gaze.
The cool air licked her skin, but the heat coiling through her was unmatched as Takeshi held her hostage. They hurried down the hall, torches flickering as they ran past.
“Keep moving,” Takeshi ordered, pushing her forward.
He mistakenly thought the Aces cared if she lived.
Thought that she’d be his ticket out of there.
Khalani never believed his escape plan would work.
But much to her shock, when they surged past the communal area, the Aces stood and reached for their weapons, but when they looked to Jack for orders, he held up a hand to let them go.
It didn’t make sense.
What was going on?
They continued racing down the dimly lit hall. Despite the control he projected, she felt Takeshi’s heart pounding against the back of her head.
But when Takeshi and Khalani passed a marble pillar near the front of the church, a large figure jumped out.
Takeshi immediately shoved her out of the way, viciously punching the man who attacked, but it was too late. The figure had already driven a giant syringe into his neck.
Takeshi locked eyes with her, his pupils dilating, his expression turning completely dazed. And in his moment of defeat, he reached out for her before collapsing to the ground. Knocked out cold.
Her jaw gaped open as the white-robed man stepped out of the shadows, clutching his swollen nose with a groan.
“Good job, Lane.” Jack appeared around the corner with Brock, Jericho, and Spade hot on his heels.
“He’s got a killer right hook.” Lane shook his head, tears welling behind his eyes as he yanked the syringe from Takeshi’s neck.
Spade eyed his unconscious body on the floor. “Hopefully, he didn’t hit his head too hard.”
“Jericho.” Jack gestured to the large bodyguard. “Get him to the transport.”
Jericho stepped forward, but Khalani blocked his path. “He’s not going anywhere until you tell me where you’re taking him.”
“What?” Lane exclaimed. “Didn’t he just try to kill you?”
Khalani chose to ignore him.
He wouldn’t have believed her anyway.
She’d seen Takeshi murder others without hesitation.
He had the perfect opportunity to kill her, but he didn’t.
“Jack.” She turned to the man in charge. “Where are you taking him?”
Jack’s frame was held tight, his jaw locked in a vise, but he pointed to the white-robed man. “Lane is one of the best surgeons in Hermes. He knows about the chip and is going to get it out.”
Lane rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I said I’d try. If there’s a chip implanted, we’ll do our best to remove it. But make no mistake, he can very well die from this procedure.”
Her knees buckled.
Die.
The thought alone was unbearable.
“What are the chances of Takeshi regaining his memories if the chip stays?” she dared to ask.
“Zero.”
Even though Lane glared at Takeshi, she detected no hint of falsehood in his tone. She still didn’t move, though.
“We’re not taking him far,” Spade interjected. “Lane runs a hidden lab for surgeries when members of the gangs are injured. He took care of Ryder there.”
They had all the right answers. The things that were supposed to make her feel more comfortable. But the last time she let Takeshi out of her sight, she’d nearly lost him forever.
“Khalani.” Brock’s voice filtered through the air, and she looked up, her whole body trembling.
“If Takeshi were here right now, the real one, what do you think he’d want?
Because if it were me, I wouldn’t want my memories fucked with.
To forget the people I care about. He wouldn’t want this and you know it. ”
Her gaze lowered to Takeshi’s beautiful face lying motionless on the floor. His eyes were closed. There were no traces of hatred or malice in his expression. Only peace.
She didn’t have to think about the answer.
Takeshi would want the chip removed.
He’d rather die than let anyone make him forget all that he’d fought for. To make him turn on the people who loved him.
Khalani exhaled a rough breath and finally nodded. Jericho moved to pick up Takeshi, but she held up a hand.
“Wait.”
Before anyone could protest, she leaned down and whispered in his ear. “I’ll be right here when you get back. I promise. And when you’re ready, we’ll make every last one of them pay.”
Khalani silently watched as they carried him away.
Only the walls of the church heard her prayer that night.
It wasn’t for her sake.
It was for the fate of the world should he not return alive.