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  “You already are, and you’ve been for a long time, even before we changed.” She turned away, but he drew her around again, capturing her attention.

  “Sakura.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m a bear.”

  She opened her mouth to make a quip but snapped her teeth together a second later. A bear shifter, like Shiya’s lovers? Had they done this to him? She frowned, thinking she should have gone to Juneau to kill them long before now. “You’re telling me you are a polar bear shape-shifter, and right now if I asked you to, you could change into this massive beast with white fur all over your body?”

  He blinked at her, and then his expression cleared. “I’m not a polar bear. Let me explain from the beginning.”

  He told her every detail of his trip to Alaska, his conversation with a man named Birk, and his flight to Texas. Sakura had a problem when the story turned to Laila, and she told him so. “She wants you. I heard her propositioning you in that spa at the Acqualina.”

  “You were there?”

  “You didn’t smell me?” She smirked.

  Guilt reflected in his expression, and Sakura was ready to go find Laila. “She kept pushing. I was dealing with a lot. Remember I told you about the emotions? They were out of control. Trust me, I smelled you everywhere, so if I picked up your scent at that hotel, I thought it was a figment of my imagination.”

  “Well, just like you, Adam, I don’t want her touching you. I’ll make it clear you’re mine real quick.”

  “She’s a bear, Sakura. I don’t want you provoking her.”

  “And what? I can’t take her because I’m a lowly fox?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  He drew her onto his lap, straddling his hips. Since they were both still naked, her pussy pulsed being inches from his cock, and she dared not look down because something told her he’d gone hard.

  “I know you can give her a run for her money, and she would come out of a fight with you wounded or dead. I’ve seen you in action, remember? But we haven’t come across a lot of large animals, and every time we did, I was there. You have to admit, they’re harder to take down. Laila is—we are—grizzlies.”

  “A—A grizzly.” Her mouth fell open. She thought of the predatory animal that even the smallest ones at three hundred pounds could run off a twelve hundred pound polar bear. Birk hadn’t turned him.

  A storm of emotions swirled through Sakura’s head, not to mention the probabilities and possibilities of being mated or married—or whatever one wanted to call it—to a grizzly bear. In nature, she would be his lunch.

  “Not to mention kids,” she murmured, tugging at her hair.

  “What?” Adam caught her hands and brought them down to her sides. His gaze left her face and traveled to her belly as if he imagined it swollen with his child.

  “Don’t even,” she grumbled. “We’re too different.”

  “That was your excuse before we became shifters.”

  “No, it was that I saw you as the newbie I helped train. Now you’re—”

  “Too far above you?”

  She rolled her eyes at him, and he laughed.

  “You’re loving this, Adam, but I’m serious. We can’t risk having weird mutant children who are half bear, half fox. That’s creepy and gross.”

  He seemed disappointed. “We’ll work through everything. There’s time. Meanwhile, how is your investigation going?”

  “It’s not. I’ve learned nothing. No, that’s not true. I learned where my mother was killed, but that’s all. Everything went to hell fast, and I haven’t had the chance to find out more.”

  “Well, you’ve got me now. We can figure it out together. Esta bien?”

  She nodded. “Bien.”

  Chapter Ten

  Adam stood behind Sakura’s chair as she shot off an email to her dad. He frowned. “Are you sure about this?”

  Sakura paused in typing, her lips moving as she reread the wording she’d chosen. “We already figured out Roger’s left Miami. I don’t know if he’s headed back to San Diego or what. Either way, he’s not what the family thought he was. They should be warned. I’m not going to say he’s a shifter—although I can’t explain why—but I’m telling Dad not to trust him. He’ll believe me and be more cautious when dealing with Roger. You better believe though when I catch up to him, his ass is mine.”

  “All right, it’s your call. We have more than enough to deal with here. The hunters can handle themselves. I got us an appointment with the medical examiner’s office at three.”

  “Mm, you’re so resourceful.”

  He shrugged. “I charm when necessary and threaten when it doesn’t work.”

  Sakura peered at him over shoulder. “Which was it this time?”

  “I’m not telling you.”

  She laughed, and he was glad for her good mood over the last couple of days. While they had planned to get moving on the investigation, they had hardly stirred from bed. When they had, they had discovered Roger fled Miami. Adam noticed a couple fox shifters watching them when they did venture out, but Sakura made no indication she knew, and he had no reason to tell her. As long as Deveron and his men kept out of his way and stayed away from Sakura, he didn’t care what else they did.

  That afternoon, Adam took Northwest Fourteenth Street, which sat off Twelfth Avenue and continued to Northwest Tenth Avenue, also called Bob Hope Road. Once he’d turned onto that street, he passed the Miami Transplant Institute and kept driving until he reached the building that housed the Medical Examiner Department, Records Bureau. After slipping into a parking spot, he stepped out of the car and jogged around to hold the door for Sakura. She quirked an eyebrow at him, but offered a slight smile. If he didn’t know any better he would think his mate was happier and freer than she had ever been. Was it the fox that did it or his change? Either way, he figured she would not admit the truth should he broach the subject, so he kept his observations to himself. For the moment, he decided to enjoy this new Sakura and help her solve the mystery around her mom. When it was over, well, he had some plans formulating in his mind, which he believed would work out great for the two of them.

  They walked into the building and located Transcriptions, the secretary of which scheduled appointments for the medical examiners. The unit also produced reports for autopsy protocols, neuropathology, and microscopic exams. During his conversation with the secretary, she had shared that the building housed two research rooms should any research be needed. His mind had produced all kinds of scenarios for what one could study within these walls, and most of them made him cringe in disgust. What he never wanted to see now that he was one of them, was studies done on a shifter. Then again, this probably wasn’t the facility for it. A shifter might be sent off to some secret lab in DC.

  Adam touched Sakura’s arm to signal her he would do the talking this time around. He expected annoyance, but she acquiesced and stepped aside. The pretty blonde smiled at him, and he returned it with caution, sensing rather than seeing Sakura stiffen. “Hello, I’m Adam Martinez. I believe we spoke on the phone. I have an appointment with Jon Stine.”

  “Of course, Mr. Martinez, I remember you.” The chirpy voice had dropped low and sultry. Adam caught Sakura’s forefinger just before she raised it to point at the woman. He kept her tight to his side, and she frowned at him, but he kept his gaze on the blonde.

  “Yes, before we see him, I wanted to ask you about any records you might have on file for Yvonne Keith.”

  The woman swiveled to her computer. “If the incident happened after nineteen ninety, then we have the records here. If it’s between nineteen fifty-six and nineteen eighty-nine, then they’re off-site, and I need a few days to get access to them. Plus, I’ll need you to put the request in writing.”

  Adam waited with limited patience while she ran through procedures he had already familiarized himself with. He found it comical she called the murder an “incident” and r
ushed to inform her the death had occurred well after nineteen ninety. Soon they were handed a bunch of papers, and Adam sat down with Sakura to peruse then. Right away, he saw there was missing data and glanced at Sakura.

  “There’s nothing about the bear attack,” he whispered, careful not to allow the human to hear. He frowned. When had he begun thinking of himself as anything but human, separating himself and Sakura from the secretary? Was it part of a self-awareness that developed the more time passed?

  “It doesn’t have anything in here about the stab wounds,” Sakura commented. “There are whole chunks missing. All of this is useless!”

  Adam stood and approached the secretary. “There’s missing paperwork here, and there’s not one picture included. Do you have anything else on file?”

  The blonde shook her head, curls bouncing. “I’m sorry. That’s it. I don’t know where the rest could be. We keep meticulous records. We have to because often they’re depended on for depositions in court. I shouldn’t admit it, but I checked the computer, and there’s even less there. It’s weird.”

  “Thanks.” Adam turned away. No, it wasn’t weird. Hiding shifter existence was the name of the game with both the Keiths and shifters themselves. The original report from Kasen Keith, Sr., Sakura’s dad, was that he’d found Sakura’s mother dead, the apparent victim of a bear shifter attack. Had the shifter been there at the time, and did Kasen Keith kill him?

  A short while later, the medical examiner entered, and Adam stood to shake his hand. Jon Stine seemed like a reasonable man with nothing to hide, yet it could be an act. Adam and Sakura walked with him to his office and sat down.

  “Can I get either of you some coffee?” Stine asked.

  “No, thank you,” Adam said. He got straight to the point. “What can you tell me about the…uh…” He glanced at Sakura. “Body of Yvonne Keith? Anything unusual?”

  Stine appeared to check his notes. Adam had informed him of whom they were coming to discuss and gave a plausible cover story that Stine seemed to accept. As a part of his previous work with the Keith family, Adam kept false credentials in support of Sakura in case he had to get into places that were off limits.

  “When you called, I checked the database and the physical records, and I found a lot of information missing. I don’t understand it,” Stine said, and Adam’s hope faded. Stine continued. “However, I like to keep my own personal notes to add my thoughts. The file on my computer is missing, but I have a paper backup. I’m old school.” He winked, and Adam sat forward, interested.

  “So you do have information?” Adam prompted.

  Stine opened a desk drawer and pulled out a file folder. He opened it, and Adam saw that several photocopies of pictures lay stacked inside. He handed a few to Adam and some to Sakura. Then he held up another to show them. “If you see here, here, and here.” He pointed with his little finger to several spots along the wounds. Adam checked on Sakura and found her lips tight. She appeared paler than usual.

  “Okay?” he whispered. She nodded. Adam didn’t think she was, but he knew she would never admit it. He longed to take her into his arms or at least to hold her hand, but neither of them wanted Stine or his people to know her true identity. If she were simply a colleague of his as he had indicated, there was no reason she should have an emotional response to the pictures.

  “Go on, Dr. Stine,” Sakura encouraged.

  “The wounds are consistent with a sharp object, probably a knife or a sword.”

  “A—A knife?” Sakura choked. “But I was led to believe they were caused by a…” She coughed. “An animal.”

  The man frowned. “No, I’m sure of this. Besides, how would an animal that could do this much damage get into a motel room, unless someone put it in there?” He stroked his jaw. “I suppose that could happen. I’ve seen stranger situations in my line of work. Desperate people perform desperate acts to cover their tracks.”

  “Is there anything else you can share, sir?” Adam asked.

  “The wounds are precise, too ordered, as if they were made cover something.”

  Adam thought about it. Someone could have made the knife wounds to cover a shifter attack. That wasn’t unheard of, but why take away all evidence as if it had never occurred? Why provide a cover for a shifter kill then throw in more suspicion by making that evidence disappear? Unless by looking into the murder, Sakura had stirred a sleeping enemy who wanted to hide his involvement. While she had arrived under a false identity, at least one set of shifters knew who she was, and they had made use of their knowledge by making her one of them. On top of that, Roger with a foot in each world—both in the Keiths’ employment and a shifter himself—could have informed any number of others of her presence in Miami. Then he disappeared before Adam could question him. Or wring his neck.

  Adam stood. “Thank you for your help, Dr. Stine. I greatly appreciate it.”

  “Of course.” Dr. Stine stood as well. “I’m thinking it might be a good idea to reopen the case.”

  Adam stiffened. That had not been their intention.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t have the resources or the time. The most I can do is pass on my suspicions to the lieutenant who headed up the initial investigation and let him make the call. Trust me when I tell you there are more cases like this one than I care to admit. Well, I wish you luck in your search for answers.”

  Stine shook Adam’s hand again, and after Sakura expressed her own gratitude, Adam escorted her to the exit. Neither of them spoke a word until they were in the car. Sakura was the first to speak. “Do you think they did it to hide that they were responsible?”

  He knew she meant shifters. She hadn’t accepted what she was just yet. “It’s possible, but whoever did this had to know your family would call them on it. Did your dad ever say who specifically did this?”

  “No, I don’t think he ever had a name. He and the men with him just hunted the guy and killed him. End of story. The beast’s background didn’t matter to any of us. My dad made sure we all realized how dangerous shifters are. Believe me, as hard as it was to look at a picture of my mom, it did fuel my hatred to kill every last one of those fuckers I came across.”

  He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Do you still feel that way?”

  “Don’t ask me that, Adam.”

  “Okay, how about we visit the motel you found?”

  She looked at him. He still didn’t like her coloring and the obvious strain in her beautiful sienna gaze. “Why would we go there? I told you the room has been cleaned out, probably reused.”

  “It might be pointless,” he agreed. “But you were human the last time you visited, and so was your dad.”

  Sakura gasped. “You’re right.” Then she frowned. “But it’s been five years. Would there be anything left?”

  “Can’t hurt to see.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  They arrived at the motel not much later, and Adam frowned in doubt. At his side, Sakura chuckled.

  “Told you it wasn’t much.”

  “I agree.” He slipped his hand in hers and gave her a gentle tug when she started in the direction of the office. “Let’s handle this ourselves.”

  They headed up, and Sakura kept a lookout while he jimmied the lock. He had the door open in minutes and stepped inside. Myriad scents assaulted his nose, included among them some kind of cleaning agent. Adam frowned and shoved a fist against his nostrils. Sakura stepped in behind him and looked at him.

  “You okay?”

  “This doesn’t bother you?” he said, voice muffled.

  “It stings a little. I think they cleaned it recently, like in the last day or two.” She turned to press close to him and raised her chin. He found his attention arrested by the sight of her soft lips, and she tossed him a saucy look as if she knew the reaction to his libido. “I guess that means your bear outdoes my fox.”

  “My bear will do your fox any day,” he quipped.

  “Ew, you’re gross.”

&nb
sp; He chuckled and moved out of her hold in case he gave in to sudden urges, and tossed her on the narrow bed. After circling the small room a couple times, mentally preparing himself, he lowered his hand. The cleaner still burned, but he endured it to try to pick out anything else. “Humans,” he murmured, “a cat, maybe two.”

  “Shifters?” Sakura said, surprise in her tone.

  “No, housecats. Probably. Weird I never thought I could pick one out, but these scents are stronger. There are others that seem thinner, barely there.”

  “Older,” she supplied. “I think maybe new ones overpower them or they fade with time. I can’t believe you’re picking them out like this. I can smell it, but I just don’t know what I’m picking up. You’re pretty impressive, bear.”

  Adam strode past her on his third circle of the room and smacked her ass. She let out a yelp that made his bear raise its head. For an instant, his vision changed, and all he saw was Sakura in his sights. Although he blinked, it was as if the bear didn’t care about anything else except claiming her. Her scent and hers alone filled his nostrils, tantalized him, driving him to follow when she zipped away nearer to the bed. Adam put his hands out about to push her down on the soft surface and lay atop her.

  “I just want to know what really happened to my mother and put this behind me for good.” Her words, filled with hurt she worked to hide, stopped him cold.

  “We’ll find out. I promise.”

  She moved away, and he breathed a sigh of relief. His head began to clear, and he saw the room again. This time, a subtle scent tickled his nose, and he crouched by the bed, going still so he could concentrate. “Deveron,” he growled, and Sakura gasped behind him. He dipped his head and shut his eyes, allowing himself to breathe a bit deeper, ignoring the cleanser. “That big guy. I’ve forgotten his name.”