Chapter 13 – "Find Me, Ren"
AIRI TANAKA'S POV
It was cold. Not just physically, but in a way that seeped into my bones.
I didn't know where they were taking me. I didn't even know how long I'd been in the van. There was a bag over my head. My hands were tied, wrists aching. Every bump on the road sent pain shooting up my spine.
I was terrified.
But worse than the fear… was the thought that I might never see him again.
Ren…
I tried not to cry. Tried to hold on to the sound of his voice, the way his lips felt on mine, how he looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
I never told him.
I never got the chance.
And now... what if I didn't?
Was he looking for me? Would he find me in time?
Or would my last memory be the kiss we shared in that car, and the silence that followed?
Please, Ren.
Please find me.
REN KUROGANE'S POV
Every second without her felt like my lungs were being crushed.
We lost the van at the last intersection. My men split into teams, sweeping the east sector, but the trail had gone cold.
I punched the wall of the alley hard enough to make my knuckles split. Blood dripped down my fingers. I didn't feel it.
"This is my fault," I muttered. "I should've stayed. I should've walked with her."
I'd protected so many people before. Saved countless lives in this line of work. But this?
This was the only one that mattered.
And I was failing her.
"Airi…"
Her name on my tongue felt like a prayer and a curse.
I could still feel her lips on mine. Her hand in mine. The way she looked at me when I told her she wasn't replaceable.
And now I might never see her again.
No.
No.
Not this time.
I pulled out my encrypted phone, called Sora—my best tracker.
"Trace her phone. Even if it's dead. Give me every lead. I'm not sleeping until she's back."
AIRI TANAKA'S POV
They tied me to a chair in a dim, dusty warehouse. The kind I'd only seen in crime movies.
There were three men. Maybe four. I couldn't tell. One of them had a scar over his left eye. He smiled at me like I was a toy.
"Pretty little thing," he sneered. "No wonder Kurogane's gone soft."
I said nothing.
But my heart thundered.
They knew him.
This was about him.
One of them leaned down, brushing my cheek. "Don't worry. He'll come. We want him to."
I didn't know what scared me more—the thought of Ren not finding me in time…
Or the thought that he would… and walk right into a trap.
REN KUROGANE'S POV
Sora came through.
"We found an old warehouse—off-grid. No cameras. Last known location matches. East industrial district."
I was already in the car before he finished talking.
I didn't bring backup.
Just my knives, two pistols, and the storm inside me.
They'd taken her to hurt me. To draw me out. To use her against me.
They made one mistake.
They didn't kill me first.
The warehouse loomed in front of me like a tomb.
My breath was ragged as I stepped through the shadows. I didn't go through the front door. I scaled the side, slipped in through a broken window.
Silence.
Then voices.
I followed them.
And then—
I saw her.
Tied to a chair. Pale. Bruised. Shaking.
My world stopped.
"Airi…"
AIRI TANAKA'S POV
I heard it before I saw him.
Footsteps—slow, controlled. Too quiet for the others to notice.
Then a whisper that filled my soul.
"Airi…"
My heart leapt.
It was him.
I didn't know if I was imagining it.
But when I looked up—he was there.
His face was bloodied. His expression pure rage. His body ready to kill.
He saw me.
And I saw something in his eyes that terrified and comforted me at once.
He wasn't Ren Kurogane right now.
He was the monster they created.
And he came for me.
REN KUROGANE'S POV
I moved fast.
The first guy barely turned before I shot him in the leg. He screamed. The second reached for his gun—I tackled him into a beam, snapped his arm, and used his body to shield me from the third guy's shot.
Airi screamed.
That made me snap.
I rushed the last one—scar-face—and slammed my fist into his throat. He choked, dropped his weapon.
I grabbed his collar and punched him over and over until his blood was on my shirt.
Then I dropped him.
I turned to her.
"Airi."
She was crying.
But not broken.
Never broken.
Just… mine.
I rushed over, untied her ropes, and pulled her into my arms.
"I've got you. You're safe."
She didn't answer.
She just sobbed and held me tighter than I thought possible.
AIRI TANAKA'S POV
His scent was all over me. Smoke. Blood. Him.
"Ren…" I whispered, sobbing into his shoulder.
"I'm here," he said, his voice trembling. "I'm here, baby. I'm so sorry."
"You came…"
"I'll always come."
I pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "I thought… I'd never see you again."
His hand cupped my cheek.
"You'll always see me again. I swear it."
And before I could stop myself—I kissed him.
Hard.
Desperate.
He froze for half a second—then kissed me back like he'd waited a lifetime.
His hands framed my face. His lips tasted like pain and fire.
When we finally broke apart, he whispered, forehead against mine:
"I love you. I've loved you longer than I want to admit."
Tears slipped down my cheeks. "I love you too."
He kissed me again—softer this time. Then my temple. Then my cheek. Then down my jaw.
"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered, voice breaking.
"You didn't."
He kissed the curve of my neck—and bit.
A love bite.
"Mine," he whispered.
And for the first time since I met him… I felt safe.
To be continued…