Rafael

by Faith Gibson

  “Safe travels my brother.” Frey hung up and told the other two, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Rafael leaned back in the soft leather seat of the convertible he had rented. Frey wasn’t wrong about telling Kaya what they found, but he also wanted to start a relationship with Kaya on a positive note and that included honesty. He called Julian to fill him in on Frey’s findings and to give him his orders. Once that was accomplished, he steered the car out of the courtyard of the Council Building and headed toward his family’s old country estate. Xavier and his mother probably wouldn’t like him snooping around but at this point, he didn’t care. Unless his mother had certain books destroyed, it was possible he could find the answers he was looking for in just a few hours.

  The albino sat in his shithole of an apartment, viewing the video feed coming from the warehouse. “Gotcha you bastards,” he thought to himself. He rewound the feed, spliced, diced, and then saved. He didn’t want the chief to see too much of the video, not yet. Opening a secure browser, he typed in Kaya Kane’s personal email address. “A little present for you” was typed into the subject line. He attached the video file and hit send. Leaning back in his chair, he lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and sent a text: “It’s done”.

  Chapter 23

  “I can’t believe you didn’t throw up.” Julian was listening to Nikolas fill him in on the information he’d found in Montague’s journal.

  “That’s all you got from what I just told you? We’re still on that? Fuck you, Jules. I bet when you finally meet your mate you sprout horns or grow warts or something.” After more than five hundred years, Nik still let Julian push his buttons.

  “No, that is not all I took from it, but it is important. Maybe she isn’t your mate. Maybe it was chemical and not psychological. There could have been something in the air such as a chemical used to clean the place.” Nik missed the grin on his brother’s face as he turned back to his computer.

  Nikolas knew Sophia was his mate. The few journal entries he found in the family archives described the reactions to mates when they met. Between Rafe’s nearly passing out and his own nausea, he was certain they were onto something. But why now? Why after all these years and two within hours of each other? They needed to find Montague’s other journals.

  “You’re not gonna believe this shit.” Jules was squinting at his monitor.

  “Why are you squinting? We have better than perfect vision. Is something wrong with you?” Nikolas was not paying attention to the information on the screen.

  “Maybe because I can’t believe my eyes? I found her. Dr. Isabelle Sarantos nee Montague lives right fucking here in New Atlanta.” Julian was writing down her address on a piece of paper. “Here, find this location. I’m going to give Ms. Sarantos a little visit.”

  Nik took the information and began an address search. “Don’t you mean we are going to pay her a visit? I did find her father’s journal after all. I should be the one to talk to her.”

  Jules frowned at his brother. “You are too high strung for such a conversation, little brother. I, however, will keep a level head and obtain the information we seek from the lovely doctor.” Julian was younger than Nik but was a couple inches taller. He never passed up the opportunity to remind him of the fact.

  “Lovely? How do you know she’s lovely?” He stopped typing and looked at Julian.

  Julian angled his monitor so his brother could see the picture he was looking at. “See, lovely.”

  “She’s all right.” Nikolas returned to locating her address. “Here it is. Southside, close to the prison. Are we going tonight?” Once again his brother was frowning at him.

  “All right? She’s beautiful.” Julian turned back to the monitor.

  “Yes, all right. I prefer blue eyes over dark. Now, are we going or not?” Nik was imagining a set of clear blue eyes behind a pair of cute glasses looking back at him. A paper wad struck him upside the head. “What the fuck? What was that for?” He stood, glaring at his brother.

  “You have it bad, man. I’m placing my bet now on that librarian. She’s your mate.” Julian’s hands were clasped behind his head as he grinned.

  “Fuck off. Just because I don’t think every woman is gorgeous does not mean I’m mated. It just means my tastes are changing. Are we going or not?” Julian was staring at him.

  Fuck, he’s right. Nikolas really loved women. All women. He could appreciate the beauty that was female no matter her shape or size. Now it seemed his appreciation was for one particular type: slender, average height, smallish breasts, button nose, and geeky. Well shit.

  Julian brought him out of his thoughts, “A visit this late wouldn’t be appropriate. We want to give a good impression when we meet with the doctor. We should wait until morning, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, sure. I will pick you up at eight at your house.” Nikolas placed Montague’s diary on the desk in front of his brother. “Good night, Julian.”

  “Good night. Be well my brother.” Nikolas’ retreating form caused Julian to sigh. “Be well indeed.”

  Julian shut down his computer and grabbed the journal Nikolas left with him. He wanted to read it for himself. After punching in the codes on the alarm, he got in his Corvette and headed home. Surely it was a fluke. The odds of Rafe finding his mate were high. Add to that Nikolas finding his, those odds increased. Jules could calculate the odds in his head given the number of shapeshifters in the family as well as in the city and surrounding states.

  As he was pulling into his drive, his phone rang. Avenged Sevenfold’s Hail to the King let him know it was Rafe. Something was amiss. “Julian.”

  “Hello, Brother. I want you to drop everything including the search for Montague’s daughter. Frey was scouting tonight when he found two bodies in the Forest Grove warehouse. One of them he believes is Magnus Flanagan. The other is one of Kaya’s detectives.”

  “What do you mean believes it is Magnus?”

  “His exact words were, ‘Rafe, in all my years I’ve never seen anything like it. Dante is going to require dental records for a positive ID’. He did mention seeing security cameras at this warehouse. Where are you with the rest of the locations?”

  “I haven’t put a camera at that warehouse. It must be leftover from whoever owned the building previously. We were able to hit most of the buildings today and were going to finish tomorrow after the visit with the doctor. Rafe, we found Montague’s daughter, right here in New Atlanta. I will call Nik and let him know he is flying solo with the doctor, against my better judgment.”

  “This is fortuitous. Maybe one of our problems is becoming less of that, a problem. Yes, Julian, please finish the install. I’m sure your brother can handle a meeting with Ms. Montague. If there’s nothing else, I will speak with you tomorrow. Be well my brother.”

  “Be well my King.”

  Julian called Nikolas to tell him he was on his own tomorrow and why. He begged his brother to behave and remember how important the information was. He wasn’t surprised when Nik hung up on him. He also wasn’t surprised when he realized Rafael called the chief by her first name.

  Trevor stepped out of the elevator and all but ran into a pretty lady coming down the hall. “Oh, excuse me there, sweet cheeks.” She didn’t acknowledge him; she just kept going. He shook his head and continued toward Dane’s apartment. He had checked with the pharmacy several times, but a prescription was never called in. Maybe the detective was feeling better, and that hot little number was the cure.

  When Dane didn’t answer his phone, Trevor got worried and left work to check on him. He knocked then waited. He put his ear to the door and didn’t hear anything coming from inside. He knocked again a little louder. Still nothing. Trevor pulled out his cell phone and called Dane’s number. Some random song he didn’t know was coming from inside the apartment.

  He tried the knob finding it unlocked then stuck his head inside and listened. “Dane, it’s Trevor.” He stepped further into the room and looked
around. Medicine bottles were lying on the end table beside the sofa. He picked one up and noticed there was no pharmacy label. Trevor opened the bottle and dumped the pills into his hand. Upon further examination, there was no imprint on the pills stating what they were. “What the fuck dude? You’re a cop.”

  “Dane!” The apartment was laid out exactly as his was, so he headed down the hall to the master bedroom. Either Dane was a slob or something major went down in there. He looked in all the rooms but didn’t see the detective. “Maybe the black market dope did the trick. Guess the little lady was out of luck as well.” Trevor assumed Dane was feeling better and had gone out for fresh air. He left things as they were and went back to the Morgue.

  When he returned, Dante was talking to the Warden from the Pen. Their conversation immediately ceased, and Dante asked, “Trevor, you remember Gregor?”

  He held out his hand. “Sure do, how’s it going, Mr. Stone?”

  Gregor shook his hand then narrowed his eyes. “Why the fuck do you smell so good?”

  Trevor pulled his hand back quickly. “Excuse me?”

  “You smell like sunshine, like a woman, that’s what I meant.”

  “Sir, no offense but I think you’ve been around the general population a little too long. I do not smell like the fairer sex. I don’t smell like sex at all. I haven’t had sex in far too long. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going over there with the dead. They don’t freak me out.”

  Chapter 24

  Kaya was waiting to hear from Jorgenson and Craven. The drive to the address on the note would take a while, but they still should have arrived by now. She discarded her uniform into the dirty clothes hamper and put on a pair of flannel sleep pants and a worn out UGA t-shirt. The University of Georgia, like most everything else, had taken a hit during the bombings but was once again thriving.

  A glass of wine in hand, she sat down on her sofa and turned on the television. Rarely did she watch anything other than the news. Not tonight. She wanted something to take her mind off her everyday life. She saw enough of the real world on a daily basis, so tonight she was going to indulge in good old-fashioned fantasy. The Underworld marathon was starting in less than an hour, and she planned on watching them all. They contained the best of both worlds: vampires and werewolves.

  As a kid, she loved scary movies and all things that go bump in the night. Werewolves were her favorite. She drove her mother crazy pretending to be a shapeshifter, crawling around on all fours, howling at the full moon. Her father would have indulged her had he lived. She was the son he always wanted. Her mother loved Kaya but when her father was killed, it changed her. She went from a loving, sweet woman to a withdrawn introvert. Kaya really should call her. Knowing the conversation would be the same tired script, she put it off until later.

  Her stomach growled alerting her to the fact that she hadn’t eaten since lunch. Dammit, she was not going to think about lunch with Rafael. Or the kiss. Did he eat lunch like that every day or did he bring it in knowing she was going to be there? Surely he wasn’t interested in her, was he? The way he kissed her said yes. His erection said hell yes. She was definitely smitten with him. Smitten. Who the hell used that word? Obviously someone who hadn’t dated since college.

  Kaya didn’t think much about dating, not with her job. She took it in stride that she would be alone the rest of her life, but what if? What if she were to let someone in, someone like Rafael Stone? He was a complete enigma as far as the public was concerned. According to him, he would keep it that way if he were seeing someone. Did that mean he would never take her out in public? Would they only meet each other under the cover of night?

  Maybe he would take her to eat at Chez Vaison but have her sign a confidentiality agreement first. She laughed at herself. Surely he wasn’t that private. If he were, did she really care? She was in the spotlight often, and it got tiresome. She could go for a little privacy now and then.

  She still had a little time before the movie started so she opened up her laptop and went through her personal emails. When her mother felt nostalgic, she would send Kaya messages with old pictures. Then she would go into her rant about needing grandchildren and Kaya needing a husband. Her computer pinged with a new mail notification. It was from an unknown sender. The subject was “a little present for you”. There was a video attached. Her finger hovered over the mouse. She could be opening a virus, but the subject matter had her curious. If it was a virus, she would deal with that later. She clicked the paper clip icon to open the file.

  The film was grainy. Three men were walking toward a warehouse. The film pauses then starts with the men walking back out of the building. She replayed the video several times. The taller man looked very familiar, but she still couldn’t make out his features. The surroundings were undistinguishable since it was filmed at night. If this was supposed to be a tip, it was a bad one. How had someone get her email address anyway? She forwarded the clip to Wilkes. Hopefully, he could clean it up so they could at least identify the men.

  Was someone trying to point a finger at Rafael again? It would only make sense that this warehouse belonged to his family as well. She would call him tomorrow and set up another meeting. This time she would keep her hands and her lips to herself. Glancing at the television, she noticed the movie was starting. She turned her mind from Rafael and the video to Selene and the vampires.

  Rafael spent several hours in his old home. When his father moved the family to the Americas, Rafe talked him into keeping the Italian Villa. The property was located on the Ionian Sea, and the view was breathtaking. It was where he was born and raised; where he and his brothers and cousins had grown up together. Eventually, he paid a hefty sum to purchase the property from his father but it was worth every penny.

  Even though he didn’t want to move back, he was glad to have the option of vacationing there. Rafael was hopeful that one day soon he would be sharing the villa with Kaya.

  Priscilla’s younger sister, Penelope, and her family lived in the villa, taking care of it in Rafe’s absence. As far as his mother knew, it no longer belonged to the family.

  Part of Penelope’s contract included a non-disclosure agreement. She was never to reveal the true owner’s identity, and nobody except Rafe or his inner circle were allowed on the property. This included his mother and the Elders. Penelope’s mother and grandmother before her had cared for the villa. When Rafael found loyal people to serve him, he paid them well and treated them like family.

  He was disappointed with his time looking through the library. He hadn’t truly expected to find any information on bonding, but there had been an inkling of hope. Now he transferred that hope to Nikolas, who would be meeting with Montague’s daughter.

  The unease of the day seeped deep into Rafael’s bones. The weather in southern Italy was still such that humans could take a walk on the coastline and be comfortable. Being a Goyle, he didn’t have to worry about that, but the sunshine was always welcome on his skin.

  Rafael made his way to a cliff overlooking the sea. The view reminded him of his vision. He looked down at his side just to make sure there was no dark-haired boy standing beside him. The vision had pricked at his soul. He was half a millennium old and in all his years that part of him had remained dormant. Until now. Until Kaya Kane. Surely the fates wouldn’t be so cruel as to tease him only to have it be a deception to his heart. No, he had to believe the bonding was possible. Just thinking about her now, about her lips touching his, their tongues dancing together, made him want to be back on the other side of the pond so he could see her, touch her. He was ready to go home.

  The wind blowing across the land was like a balm to his soul. It gave him clarity when he thought about how to handle Kaya. If only he could come up with a plan regarding the murders. As King, he felt the need to handle all matters that affected the Clan but his brothers often reminded him they were family, and family had each other’s back. He would be in the line of fire soon enough.

  With one
last breath of the sea air, Rafael headed inside to gather his things. He still had one more place to visit then he would be on his way.

  Chapter 25

  Kaya was sitting her front porch enjoying a cup of coffee when her phone rang. “Kane.”

  “Boss, we just received an anonymous tip: two bodies at an abandoned warehouse.” Walter Craven was a twenty year veteran on the force. He was a good detective who was closing in on retirement.

  “Shit. Give me the address.” She wrote the location down then looked at it again. “Craven, that’s the address I sent you and Kyle to yesterday. Did you not go check it out?”

  “No, Ma’am. By the time I got to the precinct, he had left without me. Have you not heard from him?”

  “No, I haven’t. Okay, you go ahead to this location and I’ll meet you there.” Kaya was pissed. She hung up and dialed Kyle. The call went straight to voicemail. Next she called Wilkes. “Chief, I got your email but I haven’t had a chance to look at it.”

  “That can wait. I want you to find Jorgenson’s vehicle. He’s M.I.A. I know this is Saturday, but I have a missing detective. Call me as soon as you have the location. Also take down this address. I need the owner’s name immediately. Yeah thanks, Wilkes.”

  Kaya didn’t bother pouring her coffee out. She sat the mug down on her kitchen counter and went to her bedroom to change clothes. She would bet money the Stones owned the property.

  Kaya was about ten miles away from her destination when her phone rang. “Chief, I got the information you wanted. The good news is Stone, Incorporated owns the warehouse. The bad news is that Jorgenson’s GPS has been disabled.” Kaya muttered, “Thanks” and hung up. She immediately dialed a number she was becoming too familiar with.