Ryuu shrugged. He moved position just slightly, easing his weight from his right leg. "I found him tedious. I was stealing him blind, right under his nose, and all he could do was wonder what you were doing, what you were up to, how many women you'd screwed, what paintings you were acquiring."
"Why?" He didn't take his eyes off Ryuu, breathing evenly, his body relaxed now and waiting. Coiling to strike. To defend. Every defense was an offense.
"He wanted to be you." Ryuu smirked again. "I used to talk about you with him, show him all the magazines. He went to every race you were driving in. I switched out the casing for your car and made certain he was at the race to watch you go right into the wall. I had a difficult time deciding who to watch – you crashing or him watching you crash. I chose him. The expression on his face was well worth it."
"Why would you hate him so much if you don't believe he was the one who twisted your bones? He's Osamu's nephew."
"He took Eiji and Hachiro from us – my true brothers. Both were great riders and he was jealous of them. He tried to dishonor them. He was driving the car that killed them and he'd been drinking."
Ricco shook his head. "Eiji, Hachiro, Kenta Ito and Nao murdered the Tanaka family. Nao pulled you out of a closet and stomped on you. Mariko saved you by kicking him in the groin. She was just a baby, too."
"That's bullshit. Everyone knows the story, apart from Nao's guilt. His father refused to allow anyone to tell the truth of it. My brothers were lost to us and the entire rider community. No one did anything about it."
"Ryuu, does that really make sense to you? She raised you on hatred and revenge. Every moment of your existence, she forged a weapon against those she perceived as her enemies."
"They were her enemies. They were enemies to the entire riding community."
"Mariko was an innocent child, just as you were. Why would Osamu target her? Why would she have you turn on your own sister?"
"She's not my sister," Ryuu spat the venomous statement out, his face twisted with hatred.
Behind Ricco, Mariko gasped. He silently swore. He didn't want her to hear any of this, to see the evidence of just how far gone her brother was. He'd been raised by a madwoman and he believed every word she'd said.
"She's a Tanaka. Even if Marie wasn't your mother, Ryuu, by your own admission, Daiki is your father. That makes Mariko your half sister."
"A whore? Osamu said she would sleep with you, and she has." Ryuu raised his gaze to his sister's face. "Haven't you?"
It was the small distraction Ricco waited for. He slid across the entryway, slamming the ball of his foot into Ryuu's right thigh, his full body weight behind the kick. Ryuu went down hard and Ricco was on him. He couldn't just kill Ryuu, not with Mariko watching, and that gave Ryuu a huge advantage. He hit him hard in the pit of his stomach and Ryuu jackknifed his body, drawing up his knees and slamming his feet into Ricco's chest, knocking him back.
Ryuu leapt to his feet, limping now but coming at Ricco, pressing him hard. Ricco feigned falling back a step or two and then went to the right, kicking the leg again, this time a solid round kick, targeting the exact same spot. Ryuu's face paled a little, but he kept moving, switching to a left-handed stance to better protect his leg.
"Stop. Ryuu, stop," Mariko pleaded. "You don't know what you're doing."
"Shut the fuck up," Ryuu snapped, never taking his eyes from Ricco. "You don't talk to me. You're dead to me. You always have been. You're nothing but a little whore like your mother."
"Ryuu, you don't mean that."
Ricco winced at the pleading in her voice. He hated this for her. He knew there was no taking back all those years of Osamu whispering to Ryuu, turning him into her instrument of revenge. He had wanted to be loved, and Osamu loved him as long as he did exactly what she said.
"I despise you." Ryuu spat on the floor. "She took you in and even allowed you to become a rider, but you were never grateful. You were just like your mother, always flirting with Dai until she had to send him away. When he pleaded to come home, she relented, but there you were, trying to lure him to your bed."
"I didn't," Mariko denied.
Ricco heard the tears now. His woman was crying. Her heart breaking. He feinted a punch, forcing Ryuu to turn his body just enough. He landed another solid kick.