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“Your dad invited me as your man, and as one of his leaders. Everyone else came, and you don’t think they had ulterior motives. Why is it so hard for you to believe I love you?”
She shook her head sighing. “I believe you love me, Joe, I really do—in your own way. But you spent more time talking to me about what my dad said or did. You asked me more times than I can count what I thought he wanted. When I didn’t know, you told me to ask him and let you know. But you want to know what the real kicker is?”
He compressed his lips, and red stained his handsome face. “I think you’ve said enough.”
“No, not yet.” She moved closer to him and raised her chin. “The real treat is that you always preferred Shae.”
Joe’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.
“Oh yeah, Kasen was kind enough to tell me after I let you into my bed. He said you were joking around with the guys, like y’all do, and you said the real beauty in the family is Shae because she’s got a great combination between Shiya’s sweetness and Sakura’s ability to kick ass. She will make a man a great wife one day.” To her disgust and anger, tears filled her eyes.
“Shiya, I—”
“What? You’re going to say Kasen lied? Go ahead, tell me how he lied, Kasen, who doesn’t give a crap who he hurts when he has something to say. You know what else?”
“Damn it, Shiya, that’s enough!”
She went on like he hadn’t spoken. “He said, ‘But aside from that, he’s a good man. Fights well and gets the job done. Wish he was black, but whatever, you should keep him.’ As if my future husband should be a man who fights well and gets the job done, nothing else being important.” She poked Joe in the chest and leaned in close to his face so he wouldn’t miss her seriousness. “The next time you decide to claim a woman as your fiancée, choose someone else, because it damn sure won’t be me. Oh, and Shae wouldn’t touch you if you were the last man on earth.”
Shiya swung on her booted heel and strode away. That conversation was the last she would have with Joe. For years, she’d been a fool, accepting his mess because he was her first and because she loved him, but she deserved better than he had to give. When he showed up in Juneau, she had a moment of weakness because of fear of something new and because of how she still felt about him. No more.
She checked the time. Joe had made her ten minutes late, and Kasen’s mood would likely reflect it. She picked up the pace and soon came to the street where he said to meet him. Pedestrians strode all around Kasen, but her brother stood stock-still, legs apart, arms folded over a muscular chest, and head bowed. Intimidated glances were tossed his way because of the frown on his face, but he didn’t appear to notice. Kasen was the second most single-minded man she knew, the first being her father. He had one goal in life, and that encompassed wiping out every shifter in existence.
She’d always been surprised that he had time to find a wife and have a son of his own. Before she left San Diego, there were rumors his wife was pregnant again, with the oldest aged two, but neither Kasen nor Sheila had confirmed yet.
“Hey, bro,” she called when she drew close enough. “How’s it going?”
He looked up and raised a single brow, something only Kasen could do. A scar lined the right side of his jaw where a tiger shifter once got the better of him. A matching set stretched across his chest. They had almost lost him, but the experience made Kasen harder—and meaner.
“Should you really be smiling at a time like this? Two confirmed—” He scanned the area around them. “Let’s walk.”
Shiya hurried to catch up with him as he started off. He didn’t slow his gait at all to match hers. Maybe this was payback for her treatment of Joe earlier, or maybe rudeness ran in her family. They continued in silence for another few blocks, and then Kasen led her into a less populated area where they could speak more freely. He faced her, and she waited for his tirade. When he didn’t speak for a while, she took the plunge.
“I’m sorry. I screwed up. I guess I’m not meant for fieldwork, or I need to shadow Shae or Sakura to get how it’s done.” She spread her hands to the side. “I don’t think I have that natural thing, that seduction ability that they have.”
“Are you serious?” he snapped.
“Thanks, but—”
“I think you forgot who you are, Shiya.” While his words might hint at being a compliment, his tone of voice and the anger burning in his eyes told her she disgusted him. “You’re a Keith, and it’s time you start acting like one.”
“Everbody’s not like you, Kasen. Besides, I’m damn good at what I do, gathering research, talking to peop
le—”
“On the phone,” he interrupted. “On the computer.” His nostrils flared. “You fucked up the relationship with Joe, and the first chance you get, you whore yourself out to a couple of animals that aren’t even human.”
She gasped. So Joe did tell him she slept with Birk and Kotori. Once again, she kicked herself for doing it at her place, and for that bastard Joe probably standing in the bushes watching her let them in. While she knew it was more than just her jumping into bed with Birk and Kotori, Joe’s attitude and her brother’s words had her feeling like what he accused her of, but she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he made her feel that way.
“Don’t get all holier than thou on me,” she snapped. “Everybody knows how wild you were before you met and married Sheila.”
“Human is the operative word here. Human. Like I said, you forgot where you came from. Shae and Sakura would never sleep with a shape-shifter. They’ll be sickened to know you did.”
Shiya crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him. She refused to be goaded into begging him not to tell the others. He could do what the hell he wanted, and all of them could think what they wanted.
When she ignored him, Kasen seemed to calm down. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out she didn’t see. He paced past her, but she stayed facing the way she was. The next thing she knew, pain erupted from several points on her head. Kasen had grabbed her hair, knotting his fingers in it, and gave it a sharp yank. She grasped his hands, crying out in pain. No matter how hard she tried to get free, he held on. The more she struggled, the more he pulled, until she stopped resisting.
“Let me go, Kasen. I don’t want to fight you.”
