Page 34 of The Dragon 1
But what he wouldn’t expect?
Strategy and cold, meticulous logic.
He wouldn’t be ready for the kind of mind that peeled back layers like old wallpaper, that read people like books, spotted patterns like constellations, and had no interest in glory—only clear, accurate results.
This wasn’t Hiro’s hunt.
This problem needed patience, puzzles and an obsession that mirrored the killer’s own.
And there was only one man in my inner circle who’d ever fit that mold.
I shifted my gaze to Reo.
He was already watching me, waiting.
Reading me.
Of course he was.
He knew.
“Not you, Hiro.” I let my hand drop from the glass and turned toward them both.
Hiro’s jaw twitched. “I can find him for you.”
“I always have faith in you but this isn’t a matter of force. It’s a mind game. A conversation in corpses.”
Hiro frowned.
“I need him exposed, not erased.”
Reo’s expression remained unreadable but I caught the flicker in his eyes—the spark of challenge.
“Reo,” I stepped closer to him. “This is yours.”
No protest.
No hesitation.
He simply nodded once. “Understood.”
I added. “I want you to learnhislanguage.”
“I’ve already started assessing,” he murmured. “The shape of the boxes. The type of ribbon. Even the brand of the heels. There’s meaning buried in every detail. I’ll figure it out soon.”
Satisfaction hit me.
This was why Reo was my Roar. Because where others heard chaos, he found code. Where others flinched, he leaned in.
This killer had chosen performance. But he’d picked the wrong stage. With Reo on his trail, the real show would begin.
I nodded. “Keep me updated on everything.”
Hiro gave a dissatisfied grunt and returned to the wall, sucking on his lollipop.
I looked back out the window one last time, at the city stretching into shadows and neon, and thought again of Nyomi—of how her presence had cracked something open in me.
Somewhere beneath my streets, a monster was wrapping gifts in gold ribbon, waiting for a reaction.
