by Unknown
Rafael’s hand clenched. He’d tried that once, with disastrous results. The man had killed his girlfriend and the man she’d been caught with. His last words on the phone had been, “I can’t live with everybody knowing and laughing behind my back.”
Rafael punched in the number with one hand and picked up the bullhorn with the other. “Answer the phone or I’ll call the one person who has always been proud of you.”
Silence.
“You have five seconds. Perhaps your—”
The phone was picked up. “You better not call Mama! She has a heart problem!”
“Help me!” a woman screeched.
“Shut up, bitch! I trusted you, loved you. I should kill you!”
“J.R. is probably expecting a call from you and his stepmother tonight, James,” Rafael interjected, trying to get James to stop and think past his rage.
“From me at least. All she talks about is his weight. How could I have been so stupid?”
“Please don’t kill me. He took advantage of me,” the woman moaned.
“Shut up or I’ll kill you now.”
Rafael wanted James to focus on his son and not his wife’s betrayal. “James, think about your son. You said your mother had heart problems. Who will take care of her, your son?”
“My own brother, man. I gave her the best of everything. She never had to work after we got married. I can’t let her get away with this.”
“Then what happens to J.R.? If your mother can’t take him, he’ll have to go into foster care if you’re in jail.”
“I won’t be in jail,” he said quietly.
A chill raced though Rafael. His hand tightened on the cell phone. “James, listen to me. I won’t snow you and say I know how you feel. I don’t. I do know that there are enough children without parents in the world. I do know that no one can love and support him like you can or understand his asthma.”
“Just leave me alone and let me think,” James demanded.
“Let Vanessa come out, James. You have to think of J.R.”
“I swear I’ll be a better mother, I swear!” she wailed.
The sound of a gunshot, coupled with a woman’s scream, splintered the air.
“Tear gas,” his captain ordered. Cannon stepped forward with the tear-gas canister on her shoulder.
“Wait,” Rafael said. He didn’t want to escalate the situation. James was at a fragile point. “She’s screaming and crying, but not in pain,” he said, then into the phone, “James, put the gun down and let Vanessa come out. Then you come out behind her.”
“No, leave me alone or I’ll really do it this time,” he warned. “My mama tried to warn me about her, but I wouldn’t listen. Is he the first? How many times have you cheated on me?”
“Please, James, please!”
“Send Broderick back in here.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Rafael said. “Let Vanessa come out, and then you.”
A shot was fired from one of the turret windows. The bullet lodged in the back tire of the patrol car. “Send him in!”
“Rafael,” Captain Coats warned. “We need to go in.”
Rafael lowered the cell phone. “If that happens, the chances of James and his wife coming out alive aren’t good, and we both know it.”
“That’s all we need,” the captain stated, as he looked up to see a news helicopter hovering overhead.
Rafael shook his head. “His brother says he’s a good shot. He wasn’t trying to hit us.” He held the cell phone to his mouth. “James, we’re running out of time. A news camera overhead is going to pick up everything that happens. You have to decide. What is the image you want your mother and son to remember of this day? Your son and mother need you. Send your wife out, and I’ll meet you halfway I want your son to go to sleep tonight knowing he’s going to see his father the next day and the day after.”
“This hurts, man! I want her to pay!”
“If you do what you threatened, you, your son, and your mother will pay with her,” Rafael told him. “You haven’t come this far without overcoming obstacles. I’m sure you can figure this out as well.” He could only hope James understood his innuendo.
There was a long stretch of silence, then, “Get out of my house.”
“She’s coming out!” Rafael yelled, seconds before the front door swung open, and immediately slammed shut. A slender naked black woman ran screaming down the walkway. Two policemen rushed to intercept her, leading her to a waiting ambulance.
“James, we’re waiting.”
“Kids are going to tease J.R.,” he said, his voice tormented. “I can take it, but . . .”
“He’ll have you to help him deal with it,” Rafael said. “I was fortunate enough to grow up with my father, a man I admired. J.R. will be able to say the same thing about you.”
“You’re sure you’re going to meet me?” a hint of fear crept into his voice.
“The moment you open the door with your hands raised, I’ll start walking,” Rafael promised.
“Man, I know you have snipers. I hope you aren’t lying to me. I’ve seen cops get trigger-happy.”
“I’m not, James.” Somewhere unseen, Diaz was in position to take James down if things went bad. There were at least fifteen other officers there.
The front door opened slowly. Rafael clicked off the cell phone and stepped around the car. James, stocky and balding, appeared to be in his midfifties. He had on a white shirt and black dress pants. His face was haggard. He swallowed, blinked.
“You made the right decision.” Rafael started toward him.
“You bastard!” Vanessa shrieked. “I’ll take everything for this! You tried to kill me!”
Panic flashed in James’s eyes and was quickly replaced by rage. He started toward her. She screamed.
Rafael tackled James, pinning him to the ground and handcuffing him. “Stay down, James. Too many guns are here. Remember your son.”
The haze seemed to clear from his eyes. “And she knows it.”
Rafael pulled James to his feet just as other policemen arrived. He was read his rights. “Call your lawyer so he can make bail. You want to be the one to tell J.R.”
James nodded as they led him away.
“Another one completed,” Captain Coats said from beside Rafael and the shift supervisor. “But you had me worried.”
“Me, too.” Rafael took off his vest. “When I don’t, it will be time for me to quit.”
Early on, Rafael had made a habit of going back to the station to file a report on a hostage taking, then heading home to relax with some jazz music and quiet. Negotiating was emotionally and physically draining.
So why had he taken the turn leading to Fontaine instead of continuing to his house?
Since it was a Monday night, it only took one circle of the parking lot before he saw a car pull out. Quickly parking, he switched off the motor and sat there.
No one knew better than he that life could turn and bite you on the butt in the blink of an eye. He’d seen it happen too many times to friends, on and off the force, and to total strangers, as he had today.
He didn’t understand why people cheated and lied. Whatever pleasure or gain they thought they were getting out of it didn’t last. Affairs had ended several marriages of his comrades, and not one of them had married the person they were cheating with.
The child always paid the price, just as J.R. would initially. His father had to be forcibly restrained when he was informed his son had been turned over to social services until his grandmother could fly in from Virginia the next morning.
Getting out of the car, Rafael made his way to the entrance and went inside, waiting behind two couples. He wasn’t sure what he’d say when his turn came. Nathalyia had been cautiously warming up to him when he’d received the call from his commander.
“Rafael.”
He turned to see Clarice. Her green eyes filled with concern, she quickly crossed to him. “We caught some of it on TV.” She grabbed hi
s arm and led him to the bar area. “I have a quiet table open. I’ll tell Nathalyia you’re here just as soon as I get you something stronger than tea.”
He eased into the chair, feeling tired and anxious. “A beer, I guess.”
“You got it.” Clarice went behind the bar and drew beer into a glass, then returned to place it on the table. “I’ll be back to get your food order in a bit.”
Rafael wrapped his hands around the cold beer he really didn’t want. Clarice had obviously wanted to do something, and it wasn’t unusual for people to feel the need to help out. He didn’t need a beer. He needed—
He rose to his feet as soon as Nathalyia came around the corner of the bar. He didn’t like seeing the worry lines in her face. They weren’t there this morning. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” She took the seat he pulled out next to him without hesitation. “Are you all right?”
He smiled to reassure her. “Couldn’t be better.”
“The man shot the police car you were standing by.”
Automatically, Rafael’s hand covered hers, felt hers tremble, and he saw the fear in her eyes. “He was hurt and angry because of what had happened.”
Nathalyia bowed her head for a moment. “The news on TV kept showing the wife running from the house—with a warning and her strategic areas covered.”
“Maybe it will help the husband in divorce court,” he said, then glanced around at the group of men loudly commenting on a football game on one of the five TV screens in the bar area. “You mind if we go outside for some fresh air?”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Of course.” She stood and motioned a watching Clarice over. “Rafael and I are going out for a bit. Please let David know.”
“I will. You know we can handle things.”
Nathalyia looked beyond Clarice to the bald-headed bartender intently watching them. “Reassure Jake, will you?”
Clarice grinned. “Count on me.”
Nathalyia turned to Rafael. “Ready.”
Taking her arm, Rafael led her outside, aware that they were being watched by several members of her staff.
They strolled along the boardwalk near the ocean in silence. Unlike during the day, there weren’t any bicycles or mopeds on the walk. A quarter moon hung over the calm ocean. It was a quiet, beautiful night.
“This is nice.” She stopped and leaned against the iron rail, looking out at the boats with the lights on. “I seldom get a chance to come out here.”
“Managing Fontaine must keep you pretty busy, but from what I’ve seen, you’re up to it.”
She smiled at the compliment. “Martin taught me.”
“Your late husband?”
“Yes.” She threw a quick glance at him. She didn’t have any experience, but she didn’t think men wanted to know about deceased husbands. She wasn’t sure when she’d stopped trying to push Rafael away and began thinking about the possibility of getting to know him better. Yes, she did. It was when the bullet lodged in the police car a few feet from where he was standing.
“He was a smart man, but you had to put what he taught you into practice,” Rafael said easily, bracing his arms on the railing beside her. “A couple of friends of mine inherited businesses, but they couldn’t make it work. You have a large staff and they all appear happy.”
“Martin always said—” She flushed. “I’m sorry.”
He turned and leaned back against the rail, facing her. “For what?”
“I seem to bring up Martin’s name in almost every sentence.”
“Shows you cared for each other, respected each other.” He frowned. “I’ve seen too much of the opposite.”
“You helped that man today,” she said. “You helped his little boy.” Her mouth tightened in anger. “I couldn’t believe a news-woman had the nerve to try and interview a seven-year-old child.”
“What people do for their own selfish gain no longer surprises me,” he told her.
“That makes me a bit sad,” she said.
“Don’t be.” He straightened, lightly taking her arms in his hands. “The other side of that is the courage and generosity I see in far more people. There will always be those who try to get over or get by, but there will also be those who will stop to give a stranger a hand, to help those in need, just like you do. Every day you make a difference.”
“So do you,” she said. She had been frantic with worry.
His hands fell. “Just doing my job. I read that the restaurant is coming up on twenty-five years next summer. Quite a feat in today’s economy.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t want to talk about his job. She wasn’t used to carrying on conversations with men outside of work or church. “Have you talked to your family yet?”
A lazy grin spread across his gorgeous face. She almost sighed. He had to be the most beautiful man she’d ever met. He also had the type of lean, muscular body that drew a woman’s attention and made her think about how it would feel being held in his strong arms.
“Yes. I’ve spoken with all of my brothers, their wives, and my future sister-in-law. Alec was off today, so he was in Charleston until his permanent transfer comes though. I’ll miss him when he leaves.”
“Your mother was right; you go take care of each other.” Rafael had the kind of family she’d always wanted and was destined to never have.
“That we do. It’s great knowing your family will be there for you,” he said.
The only thing Nathalyia’s mother and her older sisters had wanted to do for her was demean her and take what little money she had earned working. None of them ever worked, just schemed to live off welfare and gullible men.
“My only family are the people at the restaurant,” she said, the lie rolling easily off her tongue. Only Martin had known the ugly, embarrassing truth.
“I’m sorry.” He gently took her into his arms, rocked her. The gesture was comforting rather than sexual.
She wouldn’t feel like a fraud, a liar. In a way, she was right. Her father might as well be dead because he’d never acknowledged her, and her mother had never wanted her. Reluctantly, she pushed away and stepped back. Being in his arms was as incredible as she had imagined. For those short moments she’d felt a strange peace. “I better get back.”
“All right. What time do you finish up tonight?”
“Probably around twelve if we’re lucky.” She started back. He fell into step beside her. “We close early on Monday and Thursday because Friday through Sunday we’re so busy. It gives us all a little time to regroup.”
He lightly touched her on the arm to stop her on the walkway to the restaurant. “I’d like to drive you home.”
“I drove,” she said, feeling a twinge of regret. She enjoyed talking with him, being with him.
“I can follow you,” he suggested.
The request didn’t surprise her, but it was time to be sensible. Rafael made her heart race and her mind think of naughty possibilities. “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.” She extended her hand. “Good night, Rafael. I’m glad you’re all right.”
He was slow to take her hand. She hoped he didn’t feel her racing pulse, but from his narrowed gaze she didn’t think she was that lucky. “I don’t mind waiting, or I can come back.”
She shook her head. “Closing time is controlled chaos, and tonight the cleaning crew is coming in to do the floors. I’m finishing up the time cards for payroll, so I’ll be busy doing paperwork.”
Taking a card from his pocket, he wrote a number down and handed it to her. “I live about thirty minutes from here. If you change your mind, all you have to do is call.”
“I won’t.” She reached for the door, then turned back. “You haven’t eaten.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“If you’re tired, I’ll put a rush on it,” she told him.
Smiling, he lifted his hand toward her cheek only to open the outer door instead. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“All right. Good
night.” Trying not to be disappointed, she turned to go inside.
“Wait,” he called.
She swung back around to see him wearing a mischievous grin. She grinned back before she thought not to. “Yes?”
“I didn’t get all that was promised.” His gaze strayed to her mouth.
Heat pooled in her lower body. She tried not to think of his hot, sinful mouth on hers.
“I didn’t have my dessert and the tour.”
She might not have much experience, but Rafael wanted more from her than dessert and a tour. “I can meet you here at nine in the morning for the tour, and I’ll box a variety of desserts for you to take with you.”
He frowned. “I know it’s my fault and you’re busy, but I’m hoping you can fit me in.”
Her mouth went dry. Her mind strayed where it shouldn’t have.
“How about around eleven tomorrow night? I don’t want to interfere with you running Fontaine. And . . .”
“And,” she prompted, when his wicked smile blossomed again.
“I can keep working on you to let me follow you home.”
Too tempting and too dangerous. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“I’m sure you are. There’s another reason.” Reaching out, he brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She shivered. Everything about Rafael enticed and excited her, and made her remember she was a woman without a man.
“Rafael,” she prompted again before her wayward thoughts got her into trouble. “I have work to do.”
“If I follow you home, I might be lucky enough to find out if you kiss on the second date.”
She blinked at his boldness and tried not to stare at his lips. There was nothing she could do about the wild fluttering of her heart. “We aren’t dating.”
“Depends on your perspective, I guess. In any case I’m patient when something is important to me.” He opened the door. “I’ve kept you long enough. Until tomorrow night.”
His voice shouldn’t make her skin tingle. He was so close she felt the heat coming from him, caught his masculine scent. She wanted to lean closer. She quickly stepped back. “Good night.”
She slipped inside the restaurant before his incredible face and intense black eyes made her do something silly. Several employees, including Jake and Clarice, stared at her as she went to her office.
