Shadow Reaper (Shadow #2)(54)

Her thigh slid along his as she drew her legs up and put her chin on top of her knees, her face turned toward him, eyes never leaving his face.



"I had a hojojutsu class that evening …  " He trailed off again. Little did he know it would be his ropes that eventually saved him. His artistry. He sighed. This wasn't about him. Mariko needed to know she had a past. She was part of a legendary family, a family respected and held in the highest regard by all riders around the world.



"I got lost," he said, telling her his greatest shame. "In the tunnels. When I returned to my room, I realized all four of them were gone and I just knew they were going to attack Akiko. I went after them and I got turned around."



The throbbing in his head took a backseat to the knot twisting in his gut. "When I arrived at the Tanaka home, the boys had already done their worst. Chiharu, Akiko's grandmother, was dead, her body on the floor just outside of her room. Nao lay in wait for her and murdered her as she rushed to the aid of her grandchildren."





CHAPTER EIGHT





T

he scent of blood hit him hard. It smelled like a slaughterhouse. He knew before he even emerged from the shadow tube that he was far too late. He nearly fell over the body of Akiko's grandmother. Chiharu. She'd been a strict, unsmiling woman, but she'd also been the first legendary female shadow rider. Chiharu was the reason the other girls were given the chance to prove themselves.



She lay crumbled on the floor, looking small. Blood covered her like a bright red blanket. A sword had nearly severed her body in half. Worse, after the initial slice, she had clearly still been alive when another slice had been made up the front of her, spilling her insides onto the floor deliberately.



At fourteen, he'd never seen anything like it in his life. He was still sensitive, an artist, not a killer. Bile had risen, choking him. He heard laughter, and just around the screen, several feet from Chiharu, her two female servants were being hacked to pieces by Eiji and Hachiro. The insanity of the killings made Ricco pause for just a moment, not believing what his eyes were seeing. He'd trained with these boys. They weren't friends, and he knew they were bullies, but he'd never considered they might be murderers.



For the first time, he realized just what he was born for  – what was expected of him  – and it was brutal and ugly.



He heard Akiko scream and then Nao telling her he'd killed her grandmother and would kill her, and then her brother and sister. He'd wipe out the entire Tanaka family. But first, she would be dishonored. Nao had raped her while Kenta danced around them covered in her father's blood.



The memories were all there in Ricco's head, pouring through the cracks in the walls he'd erected to keep himself from letting them get too close. He'd been carrying the burden of that night alone for so long, protecting his family from the threat hanging over their heads until he was physically, emotionally and mentally used up.



       
         
       
        



"The Tanaka family only had one child. Akiko," Mariko insisted, her voice shaking. "There were no other children."



Ricco realized she was trembling. He reached out and took her hand, holding it tight, pressed against his chest over his heart. "There were three children, Mariko  – two girls and one boy. Akiko was ten years older than her next sibling. Her sister. You, Mariko. You were three at the time of the murders."



She shook her head, blinking back tears. He couldn't imagine what her life had been like once her family was killed. With the way he'd been treated, he knew it couldn't have been good.



"Two servants lay just to the right of Chiharu, cut down by Eiji and Hachiro Saito."



Mariko made a sound of distress. He pulled her closer, sheltering her against his body.



"Osamu hates me with every breath she draws. If what you say is true, I understand so much more," she whispered. She shook her head. "It can't be true. The Tanaka family is a legend. They are spoken of with love and respect."



"What I say is true. I have no reason to lie to you. On the contrary. I don't come off in the best of lights. I came out of the shadows just as Eiji cut down the second servant. The two brothers came at me. I had no choice but to defend myself. I killed them both."



"Are you saying that Eiji and Hachiro murdered the Tanaka family?"



He pulled her into his arms and held her. She was shaken. Who wouldn't be? The official findings of the Tanaka family deaths were very different. She'd grown up believing exactly what the council members wanted her to believe. Those members were the fathers of the boys involved in the murders.