Miami Heat

by Tressie Lockwood

  “No, no. Nothing like that.”

  “You’re still spying for him.”

  Roger just smiled. He studied the man who should have been a snake rather than a fox. Then a thought occurred to him.

  “Do you happen to have contact information for Shae or her mate?”

  Roger’s eyebrows rose. “Of course. My database is nearly complete.”

  “I’m guessing the family doesn’t have access to this information.

  “Of course not,” Roger repeated. “Shae and Eiji are ours, even as far away as they are in Japan. If you need the number, I’ll be glad to give it to you. I can even give you their address. Anything for you, amigo.”

  “Just the number,” Adam snapped. “We’re not friends.”

  Roger laughed and pulled out a small device the size of a cell phone. He punched a few buttons and then rattled off the numbers. Adam dialed them into his cell and stabbed connect. He left Roger probably holding out for a “thank you,” but offered him none.

  A quick call got him Shae herself, but she refused his offer, explaining she and Sakura had never been all that close. She was busy trying to overcome the cultural differences, not to mention the language barrier, of her new family. Adam thought he heard hurt in her tone and wondered if Shae hadn’t been accepted as yet, her presence maybe even resented. She’d been turned to a wolf, and he had heard her mate, also a wolf, was a rarity himself. All the women in his family were wolf shifters but not the men. How odd.

  “I can’t force you to come,” he said, swallowing his anger and impatience, “but think about it. You need Sakura as much as she needs you right now.”

  “I can guarantee you, Sakura doesn’t need anyone,” Shae said. “She was always hard and mean. I don’t need the attitude. I’ve had it up to my neck where I am.”

  “It might seem like Sakura doesn’t care, but she does. Family is everything.”

  “No, Adam. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m out. Tell her I’m sorry.”

  He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Okay, well it was worth a try. Good luck with your new life.” He knew that last comment had a bit more bite than intended, but he wouldn’t take it back and hung up.

  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.”

  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.

  “You look good, baby sis. I guess they’re treating you right?”

  Shiya smiled. “I’m so happy. My life couldn’t be more perfect. Well, except for this mess. Adam said Gladys tried to kill you two. What in the world?”

  Sakura nodded. “She came to Miami with Dad. You can guarantee I’m going to punish her ass.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Sakura,” Roger interjected. She rolled her eyes at him, wondering why the hell he was even still there. He seemed unperturbed by her annoyance with him. “I’ve already got a contact picking her up. She’s going for a little ride.”

  Sakura’s eyes widened, and Shiya made a startled sound.

  “You’re kidding.”

  Roger seemed to think it was fine to kill a human if they came against shifters. “She wanted your dad and conspired to remove your mom. When your dad wanted it covered up that she was having an affair with a shifter, he didn’t want the cleanup crew to even have a whiff of Savino, so he ordered Gladys to find another way to dispose of the body. Gladys, unbeknownst to anyone but me”—he preened, causing Sakura to roll her eyes again—“had connections here. She used to live in Miami for a while. Anyway, she called in old favors, and well, you know the rest.”

  Adam added on, “Gladys found out we were investigating the murder. At first your dad kept it secret from even her, but she found out and called in a favor to have us killed. She had no idea we were already changed by then.”

  “So this is how it is now, huh?” Sakura asked, looking around at them all. “The Keith family is no more, and the balance has shifted toward the beasts?”

  “The Keiths are not gone,” Adam whispered, coming to stand behind her. He wrapped her in his embrace, and she laid her head against his chest. Shiya looked at her with wide, happy eyes. Sakura flushed in embarrassment. She tried pulling away from Adam, but he wasn’t having it.

  “You’re mine,” he growled low in her ear, and a tingle raced down her spine.

  A commotion at the front of the house made them all look toward the door as if they could see who it was. Sakura noted the men drawing in deep breaths and recalled how both Shiya’s guys were polar bears. She already knew Adam’s sense of smell far outdid hers. She glanced up at him, and he grinned, looking proud of himself. Raising an eyebrow, she waited for an explanation, and then heels clicked in the hall, and the door burst open. Her second sister, Shae, appeared there, and Sakura, Shiya, and Shae screamed.

  This time, Adam let her go when she charged out of his arms to run across the room and throw herself at Shae. Shiya made it moments after her and threw her arms around both Sakura and Shae.

  “My girls, my girls,” Shae moaned, kissing their cheeks over and over. “I’ve missed you two so much.”
She drew Shae closer and stroked her hair as if she were a kid. Sakura felt a pang of jealousy, recalling how the two of them had always been closer than either had been with her. The distance had been her fault though, since she tended to draw away. She took a step back, smiling, but immediately Shiya took one of her hands, and Shae took the other. They squeezed and drew her close, their heads bowed.

  Sakura heard a low swish of sound and peered over Shae’s shoulder to find a very silent Japanese man. He was sexy in his build and his intensity, and he stood behind her sister like a sentinel.

  Wow.

  Shae sniffed, and her man produced a handkerchief, which she took, offering him a glance full of love and adoration. Hm, getting kind of sugary in here. Sakura bit her lip, amused.

  “When I called Adam back to tell him we’d come,” Shae explained, “he told me everything about Dad and Gladys. I just can’t believe it. Are we sure?”

  “We’re sure,” Roger said, and Shae took him in, running her gaze from his feet to the top of his head. Roger reddened, and Sakura and Shiya laughed.

  “I just wanted you to be prepared,” Adam said. “You two had a long flight. Your room is ready whenever you want to get some rest.”

  Shae thanked him and turned to Sakura. “Wow, girl, I can’t believe it. You and Adam? And you domesticated him, too! If I haven’t missed my guess, you two are mated, aren’t you?”

  Sakura felt heat in her cheeks. “I didn’t do anything to Adam.”

  Shiya pinned her with a look. “The man bows at your feet.”

  Adam appeared offended, and Sakura suppressed a laugh.

  “We always said you wouldn’t get a man, but Adam… I have to admit the boy’s got guts,” Shae added.

  “I don’t appreciate what you’re implying,” Sakura snapped.

  “Ladies, don’t argue,” Roger said.

  “Shut up, Roger!” Sakura told him.

  One of Shiya’s men walked up, the bigger Native American guy, and slapped a meaty hand down on Roger’s shoulder. Sakura never saw a fox quiver so much, and she and her sisters laughed at him. The depression eased some having her sisters with her, and Shae seemed to forget she’d just taken a trip of seventeen hours from Tokyo to Miami. Sakura and her sisters chose spots on the couch to talk and touch and sigh.