“Still incredible for me, too.” I grinned at Daiyu and forced away my thoughts. Forced away all the complications and focused on the girl before me, with eyes so bright that I could see them even behind her tinted helmet. “It’s my first airped.”

She admired the flying motorcycle, running her hand across the silver handlebars. “Will it be all right parked here?”

“It’s got an obnoxious alarm. And is almost impossible to move when turned off.”

Daiyu nodded and began walking down the residential street, quiet except for the sound of a barking dog somewhere above us. The walls of the buildings were filthy with grime, and all the balconies and windows had iron bars over them. I cast a glance around the dim street before catching up to her. She was about four inches shorter than me but matched me stride for stride. Turning down another side street in the labyrinthine paths of the old district, she said, “I’ll take us through a back entrance.”

This was a narrow alley where Daiyu and I could barely walk shoulder to shoulder, with so little light penetrating it seemed near dusk instead of midday. I heard the faint trickle of water from a pipe and the scampering feet of rats. I was glad for my helmet, as I was too familiar with the moldy, stagnant stench of water that must have surrounded us.

“Why are we sneaking in the back?” I asked. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”

I heard her soft laugh in the com sys. “I’m trying to keep you away from my father.” She gave me a sidelong glance, mischievous. “He wouldn’t approve of this private tour I’m giving to some new boy in my life.”

“Is that what I am?” I asked with a grin. “Some new boy in your life?”

Before she could respond, a scraping noise made me half turn. Two shadowy figures were behind us in the long alleyway, and instinct told me they weren’t just innocent pedestrians. “How much farther?” I touched her wrist. Had Jin’s thugs finally caught up to me, so close to his own territory?

“Less than ten minutes. There’s no direct path to the back entrance.” She led the way with assurance. Which made me think she’d done this before. Had she given more private tours, or had she visited her father’s company secretly on occasion?

“Why?” She glanced at me, then turned as rushed footsteps echoed behind us.

“Stop!” one of them shouted in a gruff voice.

I spun to face the men but said under my breath to Daiyu, “Stay behind me.”

She shifted so she stood behind me, a hand resting right between my shoulder blades.