She felt a fraud. A terrible fraud. If they all knew that she had come to kill Ricco Ferraro, that she was willing to harm a fellow shadow rider, none of them would want to sit in the same room with her. She had to go. Right then. She knew the police were coming to question everyone; she heard the lawyer assuring them that the cameras in the street would have picked up the action. Still, she couldn't stay. She had to leave.
She made one small move, a simple shifting of her feet. Ricco leaned back in his chair and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close to him. At the same time, his head turned until his mouth was close to her ear.
"Stay with me, Mariko. I want you to stay."
CHAPTER SIX
S
tay with me, Mariko. I want you to stay. That's all Ricco had said. In that voice. The one that whispered over her skin and seeped into her pores to drown her in him. In his will. He left it to her – her choice. But then, she was coming to understand, with Ricco Ferraro, she had very little will of her own. Once he told her he wanted her to stay, she'd been lost in the wonder of that. No one had ever wanted her. No one. Sometimes, not even the brother she loved with everything in her. Osamu had done her best to drive a wedge between them as they'd grown up until it had reached the point that Mariko wasn't certain Ryuu wanted her around.
She paced around the beautiful room Ricco had given to her to use. She'd never had so much space. She thought it would overwhelm her, but she found she liked it. She especially loved that the French doors opened into a gorgeous garden. The police had questioned all of them for what seemed hours. Coming home to the solace of this room had been calming after everything that had happened.
She could tell Ricco was exhausted, but no one else seemed to notice – no one except for his oldest brother. The police questioned everyone over and over until the Ferraro lawyer had objected. They presented a united front always, and they kept Lucia, Amo and especially Nicoletta in their center, surrounding them with strength. Vinci made it clear to the police that they weren't to question anyone without him being present.
She found it strange that Ricco's parents hadn't shown up when everyone else had, but then in all the conversations, she'd never once heard his parents mentioned by anyone. She knew they were alive, she'd researched the family thoroughly – although she'd missed Francesca's connection. Her relationship with Stefano was new.
She was going to have to tell Ricco the truth. There was no other option. It was only right. She didn't want to see the condemnation in his eyes, but she had to warn him. They all thought it was a possibility that the truck had been aiming at Nicoletta, but she knew better. She knew there was a hit out on Ricco and she wasn't the only assassin sent. She would lose everything. She would lose him. His family. This place. Her hideout. Most of all, she would lose a very important ally.
She had to find Ryuu before it was too late. She'd been given three weeks to kill Ricco or Ryuu was a dead man. She didn't know who had him, why they wanted Ricco Ferraro dead, but she knew even if she killed him, whoever had taken her brother would have no reason to keep him alive. Right now, she could demand proof of life whenever they called her, but once the shadow rider was dead, they would kill Ryuu. She had a place to stay in Ricco's home, a base to work from. If she came clean, there was a possibility he would help her. More likely, he would throw her out.
She opened the French doors and stared out. It was a cool night, the breeze moving the leaves and branches around, casting shadows across the ground. Something moved at the far end of the garden and she took several steps outside to get a better look. At once her shadow connected with the others and raced toward the ones at the farthest end.
She recognized Ricco before she saw him. The connection between them had grown that strong – so strong when their shadows touched, it sent a jolt of heat rushing through her. His head came up and he spotted her immediately … or had he known the moment she opened her door and stepped into the courtyard? That was more likely. She didn't feel surprise on his side at all.
"What are you doing up, Ricco? I thought you'd gone to lie down for a while." At least her voice was pleasant. That was one attribute in her favor.
She had never been exactly desirable in Japan. She towered over the women there – and some of the men – but she'd always had a melodic voice. Osamu Saito had despised that about her as well, saying she tried to use her voice to seduce men. She'd become afraid to speak, just in case she'd incur Osamu's wrath. The beatings were difficult. She found she had a temper, and she wanted to rip the broom handle from Osamu's hands and give her a taste of her own medicine. She hadn't, of course, because she might have been banned from shadow riding and it was all she had, but more, she'd made a deal with Osamu to keep her from beating Ryuu.