Taming Akira

PROLOGUE

⚠️ R18 | Violence | Mature themes

Kairo’s POV

“KAIRO!”

Her wrists were already pinned above her head, one of my hands wrapped around them like a steel cuff. She writhed beneath me, mouth open in a breathless gasp, but I wasn’t in the mood to play soft tonight.

"Beg," I growled against her ear, low and sharp. "You want this, don’t pretend you don’t."

She trembled. A good girl trying to be brave. I liked that. Brave ones break in the most satisfying ways.

The silk sheet twisted beneath us as I shifted, letting my weight press her down, chest to chest. My control was absolute. Her legs wrapped around my waist, but I didn’t let her move — not until I said so. I watched her eyes flutter, desperate and burning with that mix of fear and need I thrived on.

"Keep your eyes on me," I said, tightening my grip. "You want a taste of heaven? But you found the wrong man or woman. I don’t do it gently." I whispered, caressing her soft mounds as hardly as I could.

Her lips parted to say something — maybe a plea, maybe defiance — but I silenced it with a sharp, possessive kiss, teeth dragging her lower lip until I tasted her gasp.

“Ugh!”

She arched, moaning into my mouth, and I smiled against her lips.

"That’s it," I whispered again, voice rough with hunger. I palmed his mounds as I kept on thrusting inside her core. "You’re mine tonight. You scream only for me, understand?”

The woman nodded.

“Ugh f*ck! You're so tight, woman.” I push and grind inside her.

My lips went down to her jaw. Nipping and sucking her delicate skin, I heard a noise from somewhere, but I ignored it. I created another bob that made her scream my name.

“s**t, Kairo!” I can feel how her long nails dug behind me as I plunged into her.

BRZZZZZ!

The phone buzzed once, vibrating violently on the nightstand. I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. I ignored it and just continued what I was doing. I’m so hard right now. And I'm going to kill someone if—

BRZZZZZ!

The phone buzzed for the second time around. I gritted my teeth as I took a glance at my phone.

Damn it.

I pulled back just enough to glance at the screen.

I groaned and leaned forward, pressing my forehead against her shoulder as I reached for it. Only one person had the guts to call me like this at this hour.

My right-hand man. Tyrone.

I slid the screen open without looking at it.

“Make sure you got the right thing to say, you lunatic, or I'm going to burn you alive! Don't you know I'm in the middle of something important?!” I blustered at the man on the other line.

Then I heard Tyrone laugh faintly.

“Sounds like I'm wrong timing…but Scythe, we have a situation,” he said, voice clipped.

“We got information that SIA will raid our laboratory in 24 hours from now. We need to move things right away.”

I closed my eyes, jaw clenching. The SIA was always the villain in my life. “Who’s leading it?”

“We don’t know yet. You think it's Gab again?!”

I paused. Gab’s face flashed in my head — the man I’ve been itching to face again. We were good friends until he betrayed me. And if there's one thing I would want to do to him right now, it's to slaughter his neck until I'm satisfied. I treated him like a real brother of mine, but he chose to stab my back. What a d*ckhead!

“Save everything important to us, Tyrone.” I coldly ordered him. “I'll be there in a minute.”

“There’s one more bit of bad news, Scythe.” I heard him sighed and it made the surroundings a little too quiet and cold.

I waited for what Tyrone would say next. I don't like what I'm going to hear, but still, I need to listen. I have full control over everything happening in my business. And I had to make decisions before Gab ruined everything again.

He hesitated.

“I’m sorry, but Rafa is dead.” That made me freeze. I wasn't expecting that kind of news. A few seconds past and I couldn’t find the right word to say.

“We found his body in an old building in Manhattan.” Tyrone finally spoke, breaking my silence.

“By the situation of his body…I think he was tortured before they killed him. I have a hunch that SIA made him spill everything about our operation. That’s how they tracked us down.”

I stepped away from the woman still clinging to me, her whines of protest cut short when she saw my eyes darken.

Tyrone's statement made me think. I knew SIA would always want to get rid of me in this world, but still, they have a good reason to do that. After all, they are an alliance of governments, and they still respect the right to justice for all. I'm pretty sure they are not going to kill Rafa just like that for a piece of information about my business. They may force Rafa to spill out everything he knows, but not to the point of killing him.

If there are people who could do such a thing, I knew that it was not SIA.

I look at the door of my red room. He’s not yet done hunting me, huh? I clenched my jaw upon realizing who might kill Rafa. That old guy was silent for years. I thought he finally accepted that he was nothing compared to my father. Seems like I miscalculated his hatred and capabilities.

I heaved a deep breath.

“Scythe, still there?” Tyrone spoke.

“Yeah. Let me handle that one, Ty. Don’t worry, one more wrong move from SIA and we’ll explode them without them even knowing.” I said, keeping everything I know. “Start the move-out. I’ll be there.”

I dropped the woman’s hand, reached for my discarded shirt, and strode toward the screen in my private room to get my things.

As soon as I got myself prepared, I drove to our underground laboratory. Tyrone met me the moment I stepped out of the car.

He escorted me toward the abandoned tunnel where the room where all the illegal drugs were created stood.

As I entered the place, my men were already busy. Some were getting things from the laboratories. They were cleaning everything that could be used against me.

Even the guns and bombs were already inside the big truck for relocation. Tyrone already knew where to deliver and hide those things, and he didn’t have to ask for my decision about it.

Everyone moved as fast as they could while I was talking to Tyrone about Rafa.

“Where did you bring his body?” I asked as I heard one of my men’s baritone voices echo through every corner of the old building. They swiftly move all the things in a big truck.

I glanced at my side.

“We brought him to the morgue, Scythe, but we made sure to inform his family. The bad news is we can’t visit him. It’s dangerous. I’m sure SIA has an eye on Rafa’s funeral. They are waiting there for us.” Tyrone said before we make a turn on the other side of the hall.

“I know, Ty.” I heaved a sigh. “Let’s just think of good ways to check on Rafa. Still, he was a good part of our business for years. Contact Shawn. I know he’s in Paris for vacation but tell him that this is an emergency. We need to know who’s behind Rafa’s death and if it’s connected to how the SIA found our laboratory. I have a feeling that there's more to it than SIA.”

Tyrone nodded, and we immediately went to my office inside the underground hideout. We asked some men to get things from my office and bring them for relocation. I even asked them to burn some documents that were not needed anymore, just to make sure the SIA wouldn’t get anything as evidence.

It's better to make sure. I don't want to risk the Onyx Prime for this.

We were about to leave the office when we heard gunshots. The sound echoed through the corners of the room.

“F*ck!” I cursed when I realized what was just happening.

A man approached us, holding a rifle in his arms.

“Sir, the SIA is already here. They’ve surrounded us!” Someone informed us.

“Sh*t! I miscalculated their actions.” Tyrone hissed and told my men to immediately get everything and make sure to save the drugs and guns. “What are we going to do, Scythe?”

“As usual, we won’t let them get us alive!” I said with finality.

I immediately pulled out my gun and ran somewhere. Tyrone followed me. We were about to run to the truck when bullets almost hit me.

“F*ck!” I cursed. Good thing Tyrone pulled me away in time. We were showered with bullets from people we didn’t even know where hiding. My breathing grew heavier as I tried to stay hidden just to avoid getting hit.

Blood was dripping from my cheek. A stray bullet must’ve grazed me, but I didn’t care. Pain was fuel.

“Status!” I barked into the comms.

“East side secured. No movement—wait—SH*T—two more incoming!” Tyrone said as he tried to find a better way to escape.

“We’re pinned down in the west, Boss!” Another man shouted.

“Push forward,” I growled. “I want one of those bastards alive.” I vaulted over the broken barricade and emptied half a clip into a black SUV pulling up.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Glass shattered. Tires burst. One of them tried to crawl out, coughing blood. I stomped on his back, shoved my pistol against the base of his skull.

“Who sent you?” I demanded.

He spat blood. Smirked. “Too late, Strade…She’s already—”

BANG.

I pulled the trigger before he could finish.

“Scythe! Left flank!” Tyrone shouted.

I spun. Three men with automatics were rushing the sidewalk. No hesitation in pointing their gun at me and showering me with bullets. I slid behind a burned-out car, popped the mag, and reloaded.

“Let’s f*cking end this. F*ck these lunatics!”

I gave a hand signal. My men flanked out. Smoke grenades rolled.

HISSSSSS.

Gray fog swallowed the hall. I barely see anything, but that's an advantage for me. Through the haze, I saw the outline of their boots. My breath steadied. I stepped out.

One. Two. Three shots.

All to the chest. They dropped like dominoes. I smirked and shook my head in disbelief. SIA should raise its standards for recruiting new officers. These lunatics are worse than the police.

“Clear,” I said to Tyrone from the other side, trying to hide.

“We got one alive!” Gino, one of my men, yelled from the alley. “Found him trying to crawl back into the van.”

“Good,” I muttered. “Zip-tie him and toss him in the back of the truck. I’ll make him talk later!”

As we regrouped, sirens wailed in the distance.

“Cops,” Tyrone said.

“Too late as always,” I sneered.

I looked around. Rubble, blood, bodies. Another f*cking message. This wasn’t random. They were getting bolder. Sloppier.

Or desperate. Either way, they made one mistake. They didn’t kill me.

I ordered my men to escape and made sure to take care of the drugs and guns. Once they successfully left the place, some of my mens including Tyrone, decided to stop those cops and SIA officers who tried to follow our customs.

“Scythe, this is getting harder than ever. We have to retreat now.” Gino trailed off, trying to shoot and dodge the bullets from the cops. My eyes found Tyrone, holding a big suitcase with important documents. He nodded to me while we were leaning against the rusty car.

“Check the perimeter. What's the status of the South?”

“Only a few were there, Scythe. I was there before I went to you.” Gino stated, and I nodded to him and made the decision. On a count of three, we showered the cops with bullets and ran back inside the building. Gino and Tyrone tried to protect me. I was in the middle of them as we tried to escape. Some of our men escorted us, but before we reached the secret tunnel, half of our men were down.

I was about to run toward Tyrone when a loose bullet grazed my left shoulder.

“F*ck!” I hissed, staggering as a sudden numbness spread down the left side of my body. The sting was sharp, but it was the heaviness settling into my chest that warned me this was more than a flesh wound.

Tyrone's eyes widened as he saw the blood. He ran toward me without hesitation, grabbing my right arm and throwing it over his shoulder for support. From behind, Gino strode past us, taking the lead. The tension in his jaw said everything—we didn’t have much time.

“You’re pale. s**t! We need to get you out of here now. You’re bleeding fast,” Tyrone said, glancing at my shoulder. I gritted my teeth and shook my head. I didn’t care. Not yet. Not until we were out.

Then, everything seemed to blur. My breath grew heavy, my lungs straining like I was gasping through water. My legs threatened to give out. Oh hell, not now!

“Gino, call Jethro. Tell him we need wheels and a doctor. Now!” Tyrone barked. Gino looked back at me, nodded quickly, and reached for his radio.

And then—

“Where’s your boss?!”

We all halted. The voice—a woman’s—pierced through the chaos. Her voice was sharp and commanding.

At the end of the trail, emerging from the smoke like a vision drawn out of war itself, stood a woman in black tactical gear. Her face was streaked with dirt and sweat, a cut above her brow bleeding down her cheek—but she didn’t seem to notice it. She moved with the kind of focus only born from relentless training and buried rage.

She didn’t wait for a reply. Without hesitation, she launched herself toward a group of armed men. Alone.

One of them raised a gun, but she was faster. She dropped low, twisted, and disarmed him in seconds. A knee to the gut, a clean elbow to the jaw. Another came at her from the side—she parried, used his momentum against him, and slammed him hard onto the ground. Her hands, her movements, were pure precision. She’s brutal and beautiful. Before I knew it, a small smile appeared on my lips, and I completely forgot the pain for a moment.

“Who the hell is that?” I muttered, eyes locked on her. My voice came out lower than I expected, breathless for a reason that had nothing to do with the bullet in my shoulder.

Tyrone followed my gaze and frowned. “I have no clue, but I think she’s not with the cops. Probably one of SIA’s officer.”

“Damn…” I murmured, unable to look away. “She fights like she’s dancing with death.”

And I realized—I wanted to know her name. Not later but now. Too bad we’re not at the right time to do that.