“It got away.”
Tío Javier advanced toward us. “You let it get away? A shifter, Javier? You couldn’t handle a shifter?”
My lip curled at his harsh tone. Javi’s fists clenched by his sides, but he said nothing. I blinked at him. Wasn’t he going to defend himself?
I turned to my tío. “He shot him. It ran away before we could do anything. This isn’t Javi’s fault.”
He didn’t spare me a glance. Did my words mean nothing to him?
“Get inside. Both of you. I’ll handle this.”
I bristled. “This isn’t our fault. There’s nothing else he could have done. That thing was too fast and too strong.”
Javi shot me a look. “That’s enough, Rose.”
Heat rushed across my face. “Fine. I’ll be in my room.” I marched past them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Javi start to follow, but my tío stepped in front of him. I paused to listen.
“I trust you to handle this, Javier.” His words sounded more like a command than a statement.
Javi’s face hardened. He gave him a curt nod and walked toward me. I glared at him, but he avoided my eyes. Inside, Javi closed the door and turned on his heel before I could say anything.
I could read the anger and embarrassment in his stiff movement. There was something he’d been hiding too. Resentment, maybe? I felt sorry for him. Papi might have lied to me, but I knew without a doubt, he’d done it out of love.
He really and truly loved me and that was why he’d kept these secrets all my life. To keep me safe from the harsh, cruel world my cousin knew.
A world that I felt so utterly and totally unprepared to face without Papi.
3
It was nearly dinner time when I ventured out of my room. The savory aroma of my tía’s cooking wafted from the kitchen, making my stomach rumble in anticipation. I could hear my little cousins laughing and chattering, but I didn’t hear Javi. Did he leave with my tío? Did they catch my father’s killer?
His ghastly transformation replayed in my mind. It was hard to picture Manny the way he’d been before. Human—I’d thought.
A part of me never wanted to lay eyes on him again, but another part of me was kicking myself for missing the chance to confront him. He’d killed my father. I didn’t know how exactly, and I didn’t see the body, but his guilty apology was proof enough.
I’d gone through every puzzling memory and random piece of knowledge I had, but I was left with only questions. Why did he do it? Was my mother’s death caused by a shifter too? All questions that I knew would only be answered by Javi and his family, but if I went down that path, where would it lead? It wouldn’t bring Papi back and accepting this revelation meant that I’d be forced to become like them—a GRIMM.
My fists clenched. I hated that my parents kept such a big secret from me, but I was old enough now to decide for myself and I wasn’t so sure I wanted that life, whatever it entailed. Maybe it was good they’d kept me in the dark, given me freedom. The question was, did I still want to remain in the dark?
“They didn’t catch him.”
Javi’s voice made me jump. I turned to see him standing behind me.
His eyebrows were furrowed in worry. I blinked as his words registered.
Manny. He’d gotten away.
“I’m sorry, Rose. My dad had a long talk with the GRIMMs stationed here. They will find him.”
I nodded. “And then what?”
His jaw clenched. “He’ll pay for what he’s done. He pretty much confessed to killing a human so once they find him, they’ll execute him on sight.”
A shudder went up my spine. Who was this boy? What had he seen and done that he was so comfortable with all the… violence? Though, admittedly, I couldn’t find a speck of sympathy for Manny myself. Not after I’d seen the monster he was.
I wanted him to pay for his crime. Did that make me just as bad as Javi?
“Javi! Rosa! Vamos a comer.” Tía Teresa’s shrill voice broke the silence.
“Do you want… to know what happened?” Javi leaned in closer.
My heart pounded in my ears. Yes. No. I wasn’t sure I was ready to know everything.
His dark eyes searched mine. I had to give him an answer.
“Rosa! Javi! Vengan!”
I took a deep breath. “After dinner.”
He nodded. Nausea rolled through me as I followed him to the dining room, and it had nothing to do with the mouthwatering posole my tía prepared.
Cristina and Juliana looked up from their places at the table and stared at me. Did they know what happened at the graveyard? I took my place next to Javi and watched as Tía Teresa served us generous portions of the steaming soup. She hustled about, a small smile on her face, either oblivious to the recent events or doing an A+ job of pretending not to notice my sullen mood.
“Gracias, Mama. Looks delicious.” Javi gave her an appreciative nod.
She beamed and planted a noisy kiss on his cheek, which he pretended to shrug off. My eyebrow arched at their exchange. Definitely a Mama’s boy. I glanced at the empty seat where Papi always sat. For as long as I could remember, it had just been he and I, with the occasional friend, sharing meals. A lump grew in my throat. Would Marta stay on and cook for just me now?
Tía Teresa took a seat and said the prayer. Hollowness filled me. I pushed away the vision of eating alone and dug into the food. I hated to admit it, but it was even better than Marta’s version. Is that what my tía did all day? I couldn’t help but be impressed. Despite her obvious wealth and the stigma of not having a personal chef, she didn’t give up something she enjoyed. Cooking was not one of my skills, and I wondered if my mother had known how to
