Shadow Reaper
Page 96
There was plenty of footage of Ryuu walking to his hotel room, but none of him coming out of it. Stefano and Ricco had watched every inch of the recordings, identifying the guests and following up to make certain each person entering the hotel had legitimate business there. No one had come to kidnap Ryuu, and seemingly, he’d never left his room. That left only two ways possible. Someone could have tampered with the cameras, but there was no evidence of that. Or, Ryuu was a shadow rider and he had left that room on his own. If that were the truth, then he had to be a big part of the conspiracy against the Ferraro family.
It explained a lot of other things as well. Nao’s collection mimicking Ricco’s so closely. Ryuu could have been entering Ricco’s home and photographing the weapons for Nao. Ricco had always suspected someone was coming into his house. As a shadow rider, Ryuu would know about the Ferraros using shadows to travel and he could have warned the mercenaries to attack the shadows.
Ricco opened the door leading to the caretaker’s rooms cautiously, mindful of the attack on Vittorio outside the Fausti home. He somersaulted into the room, scanning as he rolled across toward the door. It appeared empty but the lights were on, throwing shadows across the room. He kept rolling until he was just at the mouth of one of them, the largest that led under the door to the next room, and then he leapt up and into it.
Ryuu tried to take his head off with a vicious kick right to the exact place he’d taken such a beating in the accident on the track. Expecting the attack, he dropped low and swept Ryuu’s leg out from under him. Ryuu went down, but as he did, he dove forward, deeper into the shadow, letting it swallow him.
Ricco raced after him. The shadow tore him apart, reminding him he wasn’t 100 percent physically. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Ryuu’s body wasn’t perfect, either, and the brutal pull of the shadow on him had to be just as painful. There was some satisfaction in that.
As he neared the end of the tube, he slowed, hating to lose precious seconds, but he couldn’t take chances. Ryuu was nowhere in sight, but again, shadows raced up the walls and under the doors. Ricco stepped into the nearest one and followed it under the door of the caretaker’s suite, to the outside, private entrance provided for Darin.
Ryuu was waiting, standing draped against the ornate column just outside the door. Ricco couldn’t see any resemblance to Mariko. Ryuu was almost the spitting image of his father, Daiki Tanaka. He grinned at Ricco.
“Ferraro.”
“Tanaka.”
“So you know.”
Ricco nodded. He took the time to allow his body to catch up with itself. His heart needed to find a calm, steady rhythm while he assessed his opponent. Ryuu couldn’t stand straight. His back appeared to be twisted just enough to throw one shoulder higher and his frame on the right side forward. Still, he was a handsome man by most standards.
“I see Nao stomping you into the ground when you were a baby didn’t stop you from learning to use the shadows,” Ricco said. Ryuu was an intelligent man. He would need to show Ricco how smart he’d been. The more they talked, the better the chances that Ricco could find every weakness.
“Nao had nothing to do with my bones. That was my dear sister – the woman who claims she’s my sister. She was playing in a car and took it out of gear. It rolled over me.”
Ricco shook his head. “I suppose Osamu told you that lie. She was very good at manipulation. Mariko told me you were intelligent, but that can’t be true if you didn’t recognize Osamu’s madness and hear the lies in her voice.”
“Riders can hear lies,” Ryuu informed him. “I’m a rider and I never once heard a lie in my mother’s voice.”
“Your mother was Marie Tanaka.”
“My mother was Osamu Saito,” Ryuu explained patiently. “Daiki Tanaka was my father. Look at me if you don’t believe me.”
“I am looking at you, and I see a fool.”
Ryuu smirked. “I spent so much time in your house I know the entire layout by heart. I photographed it foot by foot for Nao. He was obsessed with you. Totally obsessed. He thought you were a god. The perfect rider.” He snorted his derision. “I was right under his nose and he didn’t even know it. All those years, sucking his company dry and he never suspected until I let him know it was me.” He laughed softly. “Nao, sitting on this throne, believing he was better than me because he had the pure blood of a rider.”
“It must have been difficult listening to his bragging. I knew him when he was seventeen. He was a braggart and bully then, too.”
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.
It explained a lot of other things as well. Nao’s collection mimicking Ricco’s so closely. Ryuu could have been entering Ricco’s home and photographing the weapons for Nao. Ricco had always suspected someone was coming into his house. As a shadow rider, Ryuu would know about the Ferraros using shadows to travel and he could have warned the mercenaries to attack the shadows.
Ricco opened the door leading to the caretaker’s rooms cautiously, mindful of the attack on Vittorio outside the Fausti home. He somersaulted into the room, scanning as he rolled across toward the door. It appeared empty but the lights were on, throwing shadows across the room. He kept rolling until he was just at the mouth of one of them, the largest that led under the door to the next room, and then he leapt up and into it.
Ryuu tried to take his head off with a vicious kick right to the exact place he’d taken such a beating in the accident on the track. Expecting the attack, he dropped low and swept Ryuu’s leg out from under him. Ryuu went down, but as he did, he dove forward, deeper into the shadow, letting it swallow him.
Ricco raced after him. The shadow tore him apart, reminding him he wasn’t 100 percent physically. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Ryuu’s body wasn’t perfect, either, and the brutal pull of the shadow on him had to be just as painful. There was some satisfaction in that.
As he neared the end of the tube, he slowed, hating to lose precious seconds, but he couldn’t take chances. Ryuu was nowhere in sight, but again, shadows raced up the walls and under the doors. Ricco stepped into the nearest one and followed it under the door of the caretaker’s suite, to the outside, private entrance provided for Darin.
Ryuu was waiting, standing draped against the ornate column just outside the door. Ricco couldn’t see any resemblance to Mariko. Ryuu was almost the spitting image of his father, Daiki Tanaka. He grinned at Ricco.
“Ferraro.”
“Tanaka.”
“So you know.”
Ricco nodded. He took the time to allow his body to catch up with itself. His heart needed to find a calm, steady rhythm while he assessed his opponent. Ryuu couldn’t stand straight. His back appeared to be twisted just enough to throw one shoulder higher and his frame on the right side forward. Still, he was a handsome man by most standards.
“I see Nao stomping you into the ground when you were a baby didn’t stop you from learning to use the shadows,” Ricco said. Ryuu was an intelligent man. He would need to show Ricco how smart he’d been. The more they talked, the better the chances that Ricco could find every weakness.
“Nao had nothing to do with my bones. That was my dear sister – the woman who claims she’s my sister. She was playing in a car and took it out of gear. It rolled over me.”
Ricco shook his head. “I suppose Osamu told you that lie. She was very good at manipulation. Mariko told me you were intelligent, but that can’t be true if you didn’t recognize Osamu’s madness and hear the lies in her voice.”
“Riders can hear lies,” Ryuu informed him. “I’m a rider and I never once heard a lie in my mother’s voice.”
“Your mother was Marie Tanaka.”
“My mother was Osamu Saito,” Ryuu explained patiently. “Daiki Tanaka was my father. Look at me if you don’t believe me.”
“I am looking at you, and I see a fool.”
Ryuu smirked. “I spent so much time in your house I know the entire layout by heart. I photographed it foot by foot for Nao. He was obsessed with you. Totally obsessed. He thought you were a god. The perfect rider.” He snorted his derision. “I was right under his nose and he didn’t even know it. All those years, sucking his company dry and he never suspected until I let him know it was me.” He laughed softly. “Nao, sitting on this throne, believing he was better than me because he had the pure blood of a rider.”
“It must have been difficult listening to his bragging. I knew him when he was seventeen. He was a braggart and bully then, too.”
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.
