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Now to see what his little fox was up to.
Chapter Fourteen
Sakura felt weird and natural all at the same time. She stood before her father in all her “foxy” glory, tail swishing, and a little tickle in her whiskers making her twitch her nose. Her clothes were draped in a pile beneath her feet, and when she glanced up at her dad, she met his horrified gaze.
“No,” he croaked in a whisper. “Not you, Sakura. Never you.”
Now you know my secret, Dad. You can share yours.
She watched his face crumble and tears fill his eyes. Sakura couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him let go so much. No, she did. At her mother’s funeral he had wept as if the world had come to an end, and for all of them, it might as well have. Back then they crowded around him, a strong and proud family, drawn together in grief, standing firm in a conviction to rid the world of shifters. Now here she was, one of the enemy, the last of the infamous Keith girls, the one she knew nobody expected to fall from grace. Why not? She was human too—was human.
Her dad covered his face and continued to weep. Sakura started feeling sorry for him, hearing his anguish. She worried she had gone too far. She should have said that she was a shifter instead of going right into showing him. As she pondered what to do, the door opened, and Adam stood there staring at her. He hurriedly shut the door and approached her. The way he locked his gaze on her reminded her he had never seen her in this form. She preened for him and saw appreciation in his response. His hand came down gently on her head, and he stroked it. She tried to nip a finger, and he drew back, a low chuckle in his throat.
I’m not a pet, idiot.
He winked.
When she shifted back to human form, Adam positioned himself between her dad and her as she dressed. Being a small animal, she hadn’t ruined her clothes like the big bear before her. At last presentable, she straightened and nodded to Adam. He moved aside, and she took a seat on the chair opposite her dad. Her lover joined her, perching on the chair’s arm.
This time, Sakura didn’t have to push to get her dad to talk. Seeing her change must have broken him, and guilt clogged her throat having gone so far.
“I loved her more than my life,” her dad muttered, tears still flowing down his cheeks. He didn’t look at Sakura, but rather stared out the window. “We were one person, had been together so long. I thought we would die together old and gray with our grandchildren at our feet.”
Sakura flinched, thinking of her vow not to get pregnant. Adam took her hand and kissed it, then held on. She leaned into his side, listening to her dad.
“I killed them all, you know,” her dad said.
Sakura froze. “Come again?”
“The men,” he said, although it seemed like he wasn’t speaking to her. “Not me really. I ordered Kasen to do it, to kill all the men that were here with me in Miami. Not one was to be left alive.”
Sakura felt sick. “Your men? They were human, Dad. You’re telling me you had my brother kill them? Why?”
“Because I wanted no traces, nobody to be able to say what happened. Not even Kasen knows everything. I came here in secret with a team I assembled. When I flew back to San Diego, I gave Kasen a list of who to kill.” He had the nerve to smile, but she didn’t believe he felt humor or happiness from his actions. “You know your brother, Sakura. Even I must admit, he is a perfect assassin, a cold-blooded killer. He asked no questions but followed through with the order. Afterward, I provided a cover, a botched assignment that never happened. You girls bought it all.”
The pity Sakura felt moments ago disappeared to be replaced with disgust. She didn’t know the man sitting before her. “They were humans. No, more than that, they were family! Every one of the men was considered to be Keiths, as much as Shae, Shiya, Kasen, and me. You said it often enough, but it was all a lie!”
“I didn’t mean for it to be that way, my darling.”
“Tell me why,” she demanded.
His shoulders slumped, head bowed, he spoke in a monotone. “I started suspecting your mother was cheating on me a few months prior to her death. Gladys told me some things I didn’t want to hear.”
“You believed her,” Sakura shouted, and Adam squeezed her hand. She scowled at him. “Everybody knew Gladys wanted you from day one. I think she only started working for the family to get closer to you. Mom was always nice to her. I don’t know if she ever suspected that hag.”
“Gladys had evidence,” he stated, “pictures that showed your mom with another man. K-kissing, holding hands.” He shut his eyes and swallowed. “I thought…”
Devastated, Sakura worked to calm herself. Her mom cheating? None of it made sense. Her mom and dad seemed like the perfect couple. She didn’t recall them ever arguing, not seriously anyway.
“At first I was angry. I was determined to confront your mother, but Gladys convinced me to verify it with my own eyes.”
Sakura nodded. “I give her credit for that much.”
“I found her in a motel, a place that was beneath her.” His gaze met Sakura’s, and she saw a crazed light she didn’t like seeing. “I gave her the world. She grew up poor in the ghetto. I showed her a better life, good food, travelling all over the world, and she chose to be with him in a seedy motel!”
A bit of the sympathy returned for her dad. “Who was he?”
“Scum.”
