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She rolled her eyes. “Can you be a bit more specific?”
“Bove.”
Sakura didn’t recognize the name, but then she didn’t expect to. Adam had stiffened at her side, and she glanced up at him. He had paled, and his eyes widened in shock. As usual, her lover was very perceptive. “What’s the first name, sir?”
“Savino. Savino Bove. That was my wife’s lover.”
Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth and paced the room. Her mind spun a mile a minute. Her heart raced. She felt dizzy and confused. Savino? That giant, scarred, silent man, who was basically Deveron’s pet, had been her mother’s lover? No way, no way, no way. Not in a million years!
“I walked in on them,” her father was saying, and for the first time that day she wished he would shut up. “They were in bed together. She made sounds…”
Sakura gagged.
“I think we get the picture, sir,” Adam said.
Her dad went on. “That filthy shifter scum had his hands on my wife, and she liked it. I put five bullets in him, and still he came at me!”
Sakura stopped pacing and felt for the hilt of her knife but then remembered she hadn’t strapped it on again after shifting. The weapon sat on the table near Adam. She never realized how much comfort she drew from holding it in her palm.
“At what point did he kill her?” Sakura asked after she found her voice.
Her dad looked up. “Sakura, my darling, I have to tell you now. I can’t hide it any longer. That thing…didn’t kill your mother. I did.”
The room tilted, and Sakura would have hit the floor if Adam hadn’t seen her falling and zipped across the room the catch her. They sat on the floor, Adam holding her so tight, she was sure her ribs were in danger of cracking. She gasped for breath and he loosened his hold, murmuring an apology in her ear and words of love. The pain brought her back from the brink of falling unconscious, so she was able to take in the rest of her dad’s explanation.
“Her katana was there, so I decided if bullets couldn’t put him down, I would use the sword. I swung at him. He went down clutching his eye. Your mother begged me to stop and listen. She was crying over that…that thing. And when I started to run him through with the sword, she did something very stupid.” Her dad sobbed again, loud and uncontrolled. “Sakura, I loved her. I would have forgiven her! It was an accident. You have to know that.”
He didn’t need to say any more. She knew the truth, and nothing between her and her dad would ever be the same. Sakura buried her face in Adam’s neck, and he stood holding her. Rather than return to the chair, he kept walking toward the door and carried her up to their room. For the rest of the day and all night, she lay in his arms, crying like her mother had just died. Adam never left her side.
* * * *
Sakura woke in the early afternoon and tried to remember what day it was. She failed. All she recalled were her dad’s words and his admission of guilt. The house lay in silence at first, but then she picked up the sound of a vehicle arriving. Sighing, she sat up, missing Adam.
A hot shower restored some of her energy, but her mood remained low. After pulling on a simple sundress, she dragged her fingers through her hair. Studying her reflection, she thought she could use some jewelry and makeup, but what was the point? At the top of the stairs, a familiar scent tickled her nose, along with two others she couldn’t identify. She took one step down and then gasped. Shiya! That was her sister’s scent!
Sakura flew the rest of the way down the stairs and all but ran down the hall. Sliding to a halt, she grabbed the doorframe and paused in the opening. Shiya sat on the chair she had occupied the day before listening to her dad confess to murdering her mother. On either side of her youngest sister stood two huge men, obvious shifters and radiating protectiveness that was almost overbearing.
“Shiya,” she shouted.
Her baby sister turned from a discussion she was having with Roger of all people, and a brilliant smile lit up the pretty face. Still the same, Sakura mused, taking in the glasses and the overall nerdy, innocent look of her sister. She darted across the room and took Shiya into her arms, hugging her tight.
“I heard about Mom,” Shiya whispered, and Sakura pulled back. She saw the sadness in the big brown eyes and the glistening of tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Sakura pulled herself together and swallowed the emotion. “Don’t apologize for him. She was wrong, but he was worse. All this time…”
“Yeah,” Shiya agreed. “He tried to cover it up to make it seem like a bear shifter attack. Can you believe we ate up his lies all this time?”
“It’s how we were programmed,” Sakura said, bitterness starting to replace some of the pain. “Dad could do no wrong. He was this massive hero in our eyes, carrying on the family tradition.”
Shiya held her hand, and they walked together a few feet away from the men. Of course they could still hear, but it felt good to stand alone with just her sister after so long. If only Shae were there too, the mess would be tolerable.
Shiya pushed the curtain aside and looked out the window. Sakura noted the Florida sun beaming down and glanced over her shoulder at the two men, who were obviously Shiya’s mates. Both fidgeted a little, pretending they weren’t watching Shiya while also seeming to suffer from the heat.
Amusement lit her sister’s face, and Shiya said, “Adam, do you mind if we turn the air down a bit more?”
Adam sprang to his feet. “Of course. Sorry about that.”
Sakura caught Adam’s eye, and he winked. Her heart pounded in pleasure. She was pathetic she loved that man so much. She needed to tell him, and soon. For now, she turned back to Shiya.
