Shadow Reaper

by Christine Feehan

  She had thought she had Ricco's complete focus, but the moment she told him about the way she'd been treated, his eyes were on her and there was nothing and no one else in the room. Not even when Rita put their food in front of them. She felt hot under his gaze. She felt a glaring spotlight. He was so focused it was as if she had a laser on her. There was no telling what went on behind his tough mask, but she didn't like feeling as if she were always one step behind. She needed to be in control at all times, yet she felt off-balance with Ricco.

  She'd learned discipline in a hard school, and this was too important. The life of her brother was far too important to allow something like physical attraction to get in the way. But then, the problem was that the attraction to Ricco was far more than physical and she'd never experienced it before, so she didn't know exactly how to handle it.

  "Tell me about your brother."

  She hadn't expected that, either. Ricco kept her off-balance, but she didn't know how he did it. "Ryuu." she could barely say his name without choking up. She couldn't look at him, not into those eyes that saw right into her soul. "His name is Ryuu, and it means 'dragon spirit.' He's amazing. Truly amazing. A genius." Pride was in her voice. Love. She couldn't help it.

  She loved her brother fiercely. Protectively. "When he was a baby, his bones were smashed and not all of them healed properly. He has trouble walking sometimes, but he's never once complained. He's so smart." She heard the pride in her voice, but she couldn't help herself. She was proud of him.

  "Where is he now?"

  Her stomach rolled and she pressed her hand beneath the table to it. "I don't know. I haven't heard from him in a while."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Ricco kept up small talk throughout their breakfast, and as they rose to walk out, he put his hand on the small of Mariko's back again. She moved slightly, an indication that she was uncomfortable with the familiarity, but she had to get used to his touch. There was no doubt in his mind that Mariko Majo was in fact Mariko Tanaka from the legendary Tanaka family.

  He knew his cousins Renato and Romano Greco were already conducting their investigation into Mariko, but this information was vital. He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Romano one-handed. He kept the other firmly on Mariko. She could pull away if she wanted, but she would have to make that decision on her own.

  Anyone could come to the Ferraro family and get an audience with the greeters. His mother, Eloisa, and father, Phillip, had acted as greeters since the death of his grandparents. They were former riders and could hear and compel the truth. Once in a while someone slipped through that shouldn't, but it was rare. Whatever the problem that needed to be heard, at first the visitor merely talked about his life, mundane things that allowed the greeters to get a feel for his voice, respiration and heartbeat. Once that was done, the greeters would ask the visitor to state his reason for contact. They would listen with no response and then stand up, dismissing the visitor without comment. That way, if they were under investigation by law enforcement, nothing could be recorded or said that might confirm anything illegal was going on.

  The greeters would turn their findings over to the investigators if they felt the visitor had a legitimate claim against someone. There were two teams of investigators. One would study the crime and the person or persons accused, while the second set of investigators would examine those making the request and look into everything about them. They didn't want any mistakes made in their business, so there were checks and balances every step of the way protecting the family as well as those making requests.

  If Mariko was a Tanaka, and her brother was in trouble, then Ricco was in far more danger than he'd first considered. Could someone blackmail a shadow rider? Shadow riders were human and they could make all kinds of mistakes, so yes, they could be blackmailed. They were born with serious flaws, just as everyone else was. He added that to the text informing his cousins. Find her brother immediately. Get everyone on it.

  Ricco glanced down at Mariko as he guided her out of Biagi's cafe and down the sidewalk so he could show her the neighborhood. He loved their community and the people in it. He wanted her to feel that same sense of camaraderie he always felt. If Mariko was a Tanaka, she might not have been better off with her own family. He'd met her father, a shell of a man, but then, he was no longer capable of riding shadows and carrying out their work.

  Ricco had a small taste of what it was like to be sidelined. He found himself restless and moody, edgy even. Not that he wasn't like that most of the time, but he was even more so without being able to do what he was born to do. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a rider unable to ride permanently.

  Tanaka had married a woman who had eventually destroyed him. She'd left, and in doing so, she'd torn the shadows apart, rendering Mariko's father incapable of riding the shadows and carrying out justice for his people. The price her mother had paid was forgetting she had ever been married and had children. She remembered nothing about the Tanaka family or what they did. It was a heavy price for making a mistake in choosing one's life partner--or being forced to take one for the sole purpose of having children like his own parents had done.

  "Ricco." Lucia Fausti waved at him from the doorway of her shop, Lucia's Treasures.

  Ricco immediately picked up the pace. Lucia was the perfect person for Mariko to meet. There was no one he knew sweeter than Lucia other than, possibly, his sister-in-law, Francesca. Lucia stepped onto the sidewalk, holding hands with Nicoletta, the teen she'd taken in when the Ferraros had asked her. Lucia and Amo hadn't even hesitated. They'd lost their daughter to cancer when the child was three. Their son was murdered after coming home from serving in two wars and countless hot spots around the world, coming out of a theater with a date. Instead of being made bitter, the couple were closer than ever and truly wonderful human beings.

  "Lucia, Nicoletta. This is Mariko." He deliberately put his arm around Mariko's shoulders, wanting everyone watching them to know she was under his protection.

  "Ricco, so good to see you," Lucia greeted.

  He kissed both of her cheeks. She was always warm and soft. A good woman. He smiled at Nicoletta. "And you, tesoro, how are you doing?" He leaned down to brush both cheeks with his lips. Lightly. Making certain not to touch her anywhere else.

  Nicoletta took a breath, but she didn't step back until he straightened, and when she did, she stepped to the very edge of the sidewalk. "I'm good."

  Two words, but at least she spoke. Up until that moment, Ricco had never heard the teenager say a single word. She still didn't quite meet his eyes, but her head was up instead of down. Her hair was glossy and thick, a beautiful, shiny color, so black it was nearly blue where rays of the sun hit it. He wanted the world to know this girl was also under Ferraro protection. They would shield her fiercely from any trouble.

  "It's so lovely to meet you, my dear," Lucia said, reaching with both hands for Mariko's. Her eyes were alive with true happiness. She smiled from Ricco to Mariko. "Nicoletta is a treasure to my husband, Amo, and me. She just took a job at the flower shop helping out Signora Vitale. Her grandson, Bruno, needs help. The shop is thriving but he can't make the arrangements and the deliveries, and they lost their helper."

  Ricco sighed and glanced at the girl, who looked a little defiant. The Ferraros wanted her in school. The teen was extremely intelligent and needed to know that. She hadn't been to a school since her parents had died and she'd been given to her step-uncles.

  Deliberately, Ricco turned his back just a little on Lucia, knowing that if he gave her visual cues, her maternal instincts would have her answering for Nicoletta, and that wasn't the best for the girl. The teen needed discipline and training. She needed to recover enough to face the world. Enough that she would have confidence in herself to do whatever was necessary to protect herself and those she loved.

  "Nicoletta, I believe you gave your word to my family that you would go to school. Where in your plan, helping Lucia here and working at the
flower shop, does that give you time to work with tutors to catch up with your education?"

  Mariko, probably sensing the girl's discomfort, shifted slightly out from under the hand on her back, that one physical connection between them. He caught her hand, enveloping her smaller fingers and holding her still, although he kept his attention on the younger girl.

  "Nicoletta?" he insisted when she remained silent, looking to Lucia to answer for her. He kept his voice low, but the note of authority couldn't be denied.

  "I want to work," Nicoletta said, looking more scared than nervous. "I don't want to be a burden on Lucia and Amo."

  "You could never be that," Lucia said immediately. "We love having you. We want you to think of our home as yours always."

  Ricco heard the ring of truth in her voice and for a moment wondered if they'd made a terrible mistake. Amo and Lucia had suffered so much loss already. If they grew to love Nicoletta and she didn't return their feelings and left immediately, he didn't know how the couple would be able to cope with another loss.

  "I know, Lucia," Nicoletta answered immediately. "I already think of you and Amo as my home, you've been so kind to me."

  Listening to her voice, there was no mistaking that she meant every word, and deep inside, Ricco breathed a sigh of relief. Lucia and Amo were magic. The epitome of a loving couple going through life together. They were the perfect couple for a lost teen like Nicoletta.

  "I still need an answer, tesoro. That you want to pull your weight with your family is admirable, but it doesn't tell me how you plan to keep up with your education." He was firm. Insistent. Nicoletta needed care, and gentle handling, but she also had to get an education. She needed her high school diploma and she had to catch up. She'd always feel inferior to others if she didn't, and she had enough trauma to contend with.

  Nicoletta toed the crack in the sidewalk, staring down at it as though it might give her answers. "I'm doing four hours with a tutor in the morning before work," she said in a low voice. "After work, another two hours. Amo said he'd help me as well."

  "Were the tutors vetted before they were hired?"

  "Your family is doing that now," she mumbled.

  He heard the resentment in her voice. He couldn't blame her. She couldn't turn around without stumbling over a member of his family. They guarded her carefully, knowing she truly was tesoro--treasure.

  "It's to keep you safe," he said gently. When she didn't respond he used a soft, commanding tone. "Nicoletta. Look at me."

  She raised her gaze to his reluctantly.

  "It's for your safety. Yours, Amo's and Lucia's. You understand that, don't you?"

  She nodded, color sweeping up her flawless complexion. She had Italian skin. A beautiful girl, one he knew would give his family trouble.

  "What is it then?"

  She opened her mouth twice, glanced at Mariko and Lucia, who were talking in low tones, clearly trying not to look as if they were eavesdropping.

  "Nicoletta, you have to be able to talk to us. We're the ones that keep all of you safe. We need to know what's going on."

  She shrugged. "Do you think the Demons are still looking for me?"

  He refused to lie to her. "I know they are. We're watching them. They have no idea how you disappeared or how your step-uncles were killed. Unfortunately, you caught the eye of Benito Valdez, their president, and he's determined to find out what happened to you. They've reached out to all the various clubs saying they'll owe a favor for information leading to your whereabouts."

  She swallowed hard. "He's the worst of them."

  "I know. You're safe here. No member of the gangs or clubs come into our territory. They're in New York. You're here in Chicago. They have no idea."

  "I don't want to take a chance with Amo or Lucia. They're . . . wonderful." She blinked rapidly and looked away from him.

  "We would never take a chance with them. We consider them family."

  She moistened her lips. "I don't know how your brothers saved me. I don't remember very much."

  She never talked about the night her step-uncles died, not to anyone, not even her counselor. They knew, because Emmanuelle had been assigned to stay in the shadows just to make certain Nicoletta didn't make the mistake of revealing to anyone how she had been rescued. The girl was young, an unknown, and traumatized at that. They'd taken a huge risk rescuing and giving her to nonfamily members, but she needed constant care and love. Lucia and Amo were the two people the Ferraro family could trust to do right by the girl.

  Nicoletta may have been born capable of riding shadows, but if she wasn't properly trained, her body would be torn apart by the energy field they entered. Riders were trained from the time they were infants. A few had learned later in life, but they were never fast at it. Ricco's father didn't take jobs unless Eloisa went with him; mostly he used the shadows to visit his mistresses. Still, Nicoletta could produce children capable of riding the shadows, and very few could do that. Nicoletta was truly the treasure Ricco called her.

  There was no sound. Nothing at all to warn him. Instinct had him looking up to see a truck barreling straight at them. Someone screamed as he pushed Mariko into Lucia and caught Nicoletta around the waist. He took several steps to try to get them out of the path of the truck but it moved with them, engine roaring, coming so fast he was certain they wouldn't make it. Still running, he tossed Nicoletta away from him, uncertain if she was the target or if he was, but he had to get her clear.

  Something hit the windshield with deadly accuracy, hitting the driver's side, head high. Ricco was so close he could see the glass spider-webbing. Without Nicoletta to hinder him, he leapt onto the hood to keep from being run over and to keep the driver's focus on him. It was impossible to tell if the man was trying to kill the teen or him, but it wasn't a random accident.

  The driver spun the wheel, intending to send him flying. The truck barely missed Nicoletta. Emilio dragged her away from the tires as the truck lurched back onto the street. Ricco hung on grimly as the truck pitched violently from side to side, jumped the curb again, swiped two trees planted on the sidewalk and bounced into the street again.

  He was about to leap off when he glimpsed a gun through the cracks in the windshield. The driver seemed to be trying to shove it out the side window, but again, Ricco couldn't tell if he was aiming for Nicoletta or for him. He slammed his fist repeatedly into the windshield in order to keep the driver's attention centered on him and away from the teenager.

  Cars had pulled over seeing the truck so out of control, but one, directly in its path, was hit, spinning it around. The impact jolted Ricco's body. The force felt as if someone had hit him in the head with a sledgehammer.

  "Gun, gun," Enzo shouted as he ran along the sidewalk, trying to get a clear shot at the driver. "Everybody down. Get down."

  Instinctively, Ricco rolled across the hood and landed hard in the street. Emilio was on him in moments, covering his body with his own, both bodyguards returning fire. Blood spattered the windows and the seat as the driver was hit. The truck lurched to a slow roll. Emilio leapt off Ricco and ran to the truck just as Enzo tore open the door to steer it to the curb.

  Ricco was slower sitting up than he'd like. He'd hit hard, and his body was still healing. His head hurt the worst, every movement sending what felt like shards of glass piercing his skull. It took every single bit of discipline he had to set his teeth and just sit there in the street without keeling over. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his chest.

  It took him a few moments to orient himself and understand what had happened. He'd managed to shove Mariko into Lucia and both had gone flying, but they were safe. He could only send up a short prayer that Lucia hadn't broken a hip or done worse when she hit the ground. He knew he'd gotten Nicoletta clear, but the driver had fired off several shots before one of his cousins had stopped him. He had no idea if anyone had been hit.

  A cool hand swept back his hair. Mariko crouched beside him, her body between his and the si
dewalk where half the village was watching. If anything told him she was a shadow rider, that instinctive need to protect a fellow rider said it all. His gaze moved over her face, examining her for injuries.

  "Lucia?"

  "She's good. I rolled under her and she didn't even hit the sidewalk. Nicoletta's fine as well. He fired several shots into the crowd but no one was hit, thanks to Enzo shouting for everyone to get down. Can you get up?" As she gave him all the pertinent information, her hand wiped away the beads of sweat.

  She'd rolled to keep Lucia from hitting the pavement. Fast, fast reflexes. He'd shoved her hard to get her clear, deliberately making the choice to send both flying to get them out of harm's way. Even with a shove like that, hitting Lucia and going down, she had the presence of mind to roll before they struck the sidewalk. Definitely a shadow rider. Had he still been considering that he was wrong about her, the way she was guarding him from interested eyes and her astonishing reflexes said it all.

  He had to get up. There was no choice. "Were they after Nicoletta? Or me?" he asked. "Could you tell?"

  "I'm sorry, no. But it was deliberate."

  He gave her a small smile. His head hurt just making the little movement to look fully at her. Damn, but she was beautiful. He could look at her forever. He planned to do just that, and sitting on his ass in the middle of the street wasn't helping his cause. He took a breath, steeled himself and forced his body into a standing position. Waves of nausea crashed through him instantly, but he made it to his feet.

  Mariko slipped her arm around his waist. "Where should we go?" She was asking him how to get him out from under the eyes of the public.

  The sound of sirens was loud. The police would want to question him. He couldn't just leave, no matter how much he wanted to. Ricco straightened his body, ignoring the painful protests. "The deli. Masci's. They'll have chairs and I need to sit. Francesca will be there."