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She snorted. “The tree is lovely, but that’s not what I was talking about.”
“What then?”
“It’s nice that Libby and Jaxon were reunited with their son. That all the pain and shit they went through was worth it.”
He studied her profile and saw the emotion that was there. Something inside him broke loose, and he nearly stood, so great was his desire to go to her. And yet he held back. Some cold piece of reality had clicked into place and kept him still.
“I used to love Christmas,” she murmured so quietly he had to strain his ears in order to hear properly. She grabbed a small paper jaguar and studied it closely. “He’s good.” She looked back at him, “Your nephew. An artist in the making.”
Julian nodded, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. “When did you start hating Christmas?”
Jaden stilled, her gaze dropping to the floor, and she shrugged her shoulders. “Things changed for my family when I was nine. Something happened to my father.” She turned away from him and walked over to the glass wall and placed her hand upon it as she stared off into the darkness.
“What?” He was up before he could command his body otherwise and across the room before she took another breath. Their eyes met in the window, her reflection painful to see.
His hand rose as if to touch her, then, slowly fell back to his sides. She looked away.
“Jakobi was touched by evil. I have no other explanation. Was it demon? Magick? I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint one moment in time. It was a gradual thing. He became convinced my mother was having an affair, they fought constantly, and in the end, she left.” Jaden slowly shook her head, her voice was tremulous. “Took me with her, and
we went to live with her family.”
Long moments of silence passed, and he sensed the struggle she was having as she relived her memories.
“He used to be wonderful; he used to love me,” she whispered. “I know it’s hard to believe after what you saw, but he did.”
Julian thought of the photo he’d found in her room, she’d looked happy, relaxed, and secure with her family.
“Sometimes I wish I could grab hold of what I had in the past and fix it. Keep it pure and real, but I’ve realized there are some things that you can’t change.” Their eyes met once more in the window. He saw the anger that was there. “There are things that are unforgivable.”
He knew the DaCosta history. He was well aware that Jakobi was a bastard of the highest order. What had he done to cause the hatred his daughter held for him?
“What did he do?” Julian asked as he stepped closer. She turned to him, and his eyes fell to the single tear that slowly weaved its way from the corner of her eye. It glistened like a diamond against her skin and his hand—rising of its own volition—carefully wiped it from her.
She rested her cheek into his palm, and her own crept up to hold his there. The simple gesture tugged at him.
Jaden exhaled a ragged breath, and he felt the shudder that swept over her frame. “He murdered my mother.”
Shocked silence followed her words, and Julian truly had no clue what to do or say. As dysfunctional as his own family was, murder was incomprehensible. This was the stuff of nightmares. “How . . .” He began to speak, but she nodded quickly, and he was quiet.
“I found her in the jungle, not far from the resort. She’d been shot.” Her eyes swept upward, and he stilled at the pain that lay there. “Her body was left out in the open because he knew I’d find her. Her paw had been cut off, her canines removed.” She was shaking, and Julian pulled her close, not knowing what else to do. The sensation was strange—the need to comfort—yet he welcomed it. It told him that he wasn’t dead inside. Not yet anyway.
“It was a sign. One meant to scare me back into the fold, to make me into the good girl, the obedient daughter. I’d been living with my mother since they separated. He thought I’d cower and do his bidding.” She laughed harshly. “He was wrong, just as my brothers were.”
He felt her breath against his neck and became aware that the air had changed. It was charged with an energy that pulled at him hard.
“Instead, I focused on bringing him and his organization down. They thought I was the perfect doll who only knew one word: yes. They’re fools.”
He felt the heat of her continue to grow against his skin, and his animal reacted instantly. His flesh became feverish, and his canines ached as his need to claim her rose within.
“Business deals he lost out on, contracts that were broken, all of it was because of me. He knew someone on the inside was involved in the sabotage, but always looked to his men. Never once did he think to look closer to home, to the daughter who saw her dead mother every time she looked at him.”
He listened to the frantic beat of her heart, and his own ached at the pain that laced her words. She exhaled shakily, and continued, “Then Father got deeper into the real heavy shit, and my job became harder. His security was unparalleled, and my brothers went crazy with power—all of them, from Degas the oldest down to Tomas the youngest. I couldn’t believe how thoroughly Jakobi’s darkness bled into them. Sometimes I think I could have intervened, done something to influence them, but my brothers lived to please Father.” She looked up at him then, and her voice broke. “Tomas was so young, four years younger than I. He was killed in a raid organized by PATU, after I’d joined forces with them. That is something I must live with.”
Julian held her and whispered near her ear, “We can only do so much with family. In the end, our siblings will choose their own paths. You must know there’s nothing you could have done.”
Jaden hung her head. “I’d already assembled a team of sorts, men and women who shared the same goals as I, when I was contacted by PATU. I jumped at the chance to work with them. It was the perfect opportunity to get the job done and have all the added resources I’d need. That’s what I was doing that night . . .”
He was breathing heavily and barely heard her words. “That night?”
