Page 101 of Phantom Flower

I spun around, gun half-drawn, only to see Kento Kurosaki walking toward me. He did not even look surprised to see me.

“How the fuck are you here?” I asked.

Kento pushed past me, pulled out his phone, and started typing something. A second later, he pressed his hand against a hidden panel beside the door. There was a soft beep, then the sound of the lock disengaging.

The door swung open.

The second we stepped inside, I heard Rei’s screaming. I had never heard him scream like that before.

We rushed into the living room, and I saw red.

Daniel was straddling Rei on the floor, knife raised high above his chest, ready to drive it straight into his heart. Rei was covered in blood.

His legs were a fucking mess. Stabbed. Torn open. He was trying to crawl, but he could not. I lost my fucking mind.

At the same time as Kento, I pulled out my gun.

We both fired.

The first shots hit Daniel in the shoulder and arm. He jerked back with a shout, the knife clattering to the floor.

We shot him again and again. Legs. Arms. Hands. We avoided anything immediately fatal. I wanted this motherfucker alive. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted to peel the skin off his body while he begged, and I think Kento wanted the same.

Daniel fell backward, blood pouring from multiple wounds. He was still conscious, gasping, eyes wide with pain.

Kento and I both rushed forward at the same time. Rei was still on the floor, bleeding everywhere. Blood soaked through his clothes and spread across the marble like a grotesque painting. His legs were twitching weakly. I dropped to my knees beside him and gathered him into my arms as carefully as I could.

His body was cold.

“Rei,” I said. “Little Fairy, look at me.”

His eyes fluttered open. He did not seem to recognize me. Then his lips moved.

“…You came…”

His eyes rolled back, and he went limp in my arms.

“He’s losing too much blood,” Kento said, already checking the wounds on his legs. “We need to get him to a hospital right now—”

Before he could finish, Ilya suddenly appeared in the doorway, breathing hard.

“I have the car ready,” he said quickly. “Come on. Now.”

I lifted Rei into my arms as carefully as I could, cradling him against my chest. Kento grabbed the gun off the floor and pointed it at Daniel, who was still groaning on the ground.

“Ilya,” Kento said without looking away from Daniel. “Take them. I’ll handle this piece of shit.”

Ilya nodded once and turned to me. “Let’s go.”

I carried Rei out of the house as fast as I could without jostling him too much. His blood was dripping onto the floor behind us. By the time we reached the car, my hands were shaking. Ilya had the back door already open. I climbed in carefully, keeping Rei in my lap. Kento stayed behind, but I did not care.

The car tore through the streets while I pressed my hands against the worst of the wounds on Rei’s legs, trying to slow the bleeding. It was not enough. Blood kept seeping between my fingers no matter how hard I pressed.

This was my fault.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his hair. “I’m so sorry. I should never have let you go. I should have kept you with me.”

Ilya glanced at me in the rearview mirror but did not say anything. He just drove faster.