“Do you think they’re protecting him?” Teo whispered. “They might be the guards he left the mansion with.”

“Either that, or they’re holding him against his will,” Aina said, turning to Ryuu. “Seems like someone powerful really wants your brother dead. Maybe they brought him here for some reason.”

“I don’t know,” Ryuu said, squinting at the guards with an uncomfortable expression on his face. “We should be careful. I can’t tell from here if I recognize these guards or not.”

“So, our best chance to get to him…” she began, drawing out her voice to prolong the time until she betrayed him, “is to take them out.”

But Ryuu was still peering ahead at the guards. He took a couple steps forward, frowning.

“I’ll take the three in front of the train,” Teo said, already pulling out his gun.

“Wait.” Aina pulled out the blowguns they’d purchased at the black market, along with some paralyzing darts, and distributed them.

One step left to convince Ryuu she was on his side.

“If they really are holding him against his will, then we can keep them alive with these instead of killing them outright. You’ll want to ask the guards questions in that case, right?” she asked Ryuu, who nodded. “Good. You three go to the front. I’ll head to the back.”

“Wait,” Ryuu said, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Why would you go alone? You don’t know how many guards are back there. I’ll go with you.”

She shrugged off his hand and rolled her eyes. “If you think I need your help, Ryuu, you clearly don’t know me very well. You two go with Teo. I’ll stand my best chance fighting alone instead of worrying about you getting in the way. Wait for my signal.”

The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but they made him stop insisting. She had to go alone. Killing Kouta was her job, not Teo’s or Raurie’s, and she wouldn’t let them face the blame for it.

The only thing she could do for Ryuu at this point, as she was about to kill his brother, was prevent him from witnessing it.

He opened his mouth to say something, and she stopped in place, half hoping he would hold her back. A tense silence passed before she remembered why she was here: the job of a lifetime, regaining Kohl’s protection. Ryuu and his brother were the reason she’d lost it all.

She held a finger to her lips. Her eyes flicked to meet his as she walked away, hoping she projected a silent apology in them.

Maybe she watched him for a second too long.

Maybe he noticed a change in her features, or maybe he realized how she’d avoided meeting his gaze ever since they’d left the Tower’s prisons and now that she had, she’d given herself away.

Or maybe he’d been planning to do this all along.

“Help!” he shouted to the guards standing around the train. “They’ve come to kill him!”