by Faith Gibson
“Rafael, what is it?” Kaya was touching his arm. It might be the last time she ever touched him freely.
“That was Julian; you met him Saturday. After the murders at the warehouse, I thought it prudent to install security systems on the other buildings since we have no immediate plans to use them or tear them down. Julian went to install the last camera and found a body. It’s bad.”
“How bad?” He wanted to reach out to her but wasn’t sure she would appreciate it.
“Maybe you should sit down.”
“Rafael, just spit it out.”
“It’s your detective, Jorgenson.”
“Goddamit, I sent him out there!” She grabbed Rafe’s glass of watered down scotch and tossed it back. “I don’t have my car. Come on, you gotta drive me.” She didn’t wait on him to follow; she just took off through the house to the front door.
Kaya was already in the Jag by the time he reached the car. She was on her phone calling for CSU and the medical examiner. When she hung up, she asked, “Won’t this thing go any faster?”
“I wasn’t sure how you would feel about me speeding.” He accelerated a little, still hovering close to the speed limit. Kaya dialed her phone. “This is Chief Kane. Detective Kyle Jorgenson’s body has been found, and I am headed to the scene. Please alert those on patrol that I am traveling west in a black Jaguar XK convertible with the emergency flashers on.”
Rafe turned the flashers on and put the Jag in the wind.
By the time they reached the warehouse, several cruisers as well as the ME’s van were there. Someone had set up temporary lighting outside. Dante and Julian met them at the car. They both knew Kaya, so introductions weren’t required. Julian held out his hand, “Chief, I’m the one who found the body. I’ve already given my statement to Detective Craven.” Kaya shook his hand and turned to Dante. “Well?”
“Detective Jorgenson has a single GSW to the head. CSU is still looking for the bullet casing though it appears he was shot somewhere other than here. His body is in his cruiser yet there are no bullet holes in the vehicle. Rigor mortis puts time of death approximately 24 to 36 hours ago.”
Kaya was walking toward the warehouse when Rafe picked up the unmistakable sound of a rifle slide. “Gun!” he yelled right before he threw himself at Kaya. Not knowing who the intended target was, he didn’t take a chance. He felt the hit to his shoulder just before he took Kaya to the ground.
“Kaya, are you okay?” He knew that any damage she had incurred was from him landing on her in the gravel parking lot.
Dante told Julian, “Cover the King.”
“I’m fine, just find the motherfucker.” All of this was said in whispers so the humans couldn’t hear them.
Kaya still hadn’t responded. “Kaya, baby, talk to me.”
“Rafael, what the fuck was that? I’m fine except I can’t breathe. You’re heavy. You can get off me now.”
Rafe didn’t move. He watched as the others all scrambled for cover. “I’m not moving until I know there won’t be another shot.” He did however slide to the side a few inches so that all his weight wasn’t on her.
When there were no more shots fired, Rafe finally stood up and helped Kaya to her feet. He had to get away from her before she saw the wound healing. Dante was now at his back. “Chief Kane are you all right? Do you require medical attention?”
Kaya brushed the gravel from her knees and looked at her arms. “No, I just have minor scratches.” Her officers were all headed her direction. There was a moment of chaos as they tried to figure where the shot came from and where the bullet landed. Luckily, Rafe had been able to pocket the evidence before standing up.
Kaya looked at him. “How did you know? That shot had to have come from those trees over there, and you knew.” The look on her face was one of skepticism as well as distrust.
“I heard it.” That was the truth.
“You heard a gun from this far away?” Her hands were on her hips. He really shouldn’t but he loved when she did that.
“Yes, I did. I have exceptionally good hearing.” Truth again but he could tell she wasn’t buying it.
“Mr. Stone, if you would come with me, I will look at your shoulder.” Dante was running interference and trying to patch Rafe up at the same time.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder?” Kaya tried to get around him to look, but he held out his hand. “Nothing, just a scratch.”
She wasn’t having it, “Let me see.”
“Oh my God, you were shot!” Kaya was no longer scowling. “You saved my life.”
“Really, it’s just a little nick. I’ll be fine.”
“Mr. Stone, I really should look at that.” Dante knew the wound would close up quickly, and Kaya didn’t need to see it happen.
“Yes, go.” Kaya looked as though she were going to cry. He reached out and touched her arm.
“Hey, I’m okay, I promise. Let me get patched up. You still have a job to do here.” She nodded, and he waited until she turned to her officers. He followed his brother to the van. He unbuttoned his shirt and lowered it off his shoulder so Dante could put a bandage on it.
Julian appeared beside them and glanced at Rafe’s shoulder. “I found where the shot came from as well as the casing. I examined it as thoroughly as I could without touching it. It’s appears to be from an L115.”
“Isn’t that British?” Frey was the expert, but Rafael knew a little about weaponry himself.
“Yes it is. The scent of cigarettes was strong, like the shooter was chain smoking. I did find one discarded butt that happens to be in my pocket. There was no sign of the shooter. I followed his scent, but it disappeared into thin air. He is either really fast, or I’m losing my touch. I’m pretty sure it’s the same shooter from Saturday.”
Rafael froze. “Excuse me?”
“I might have taken a bullet when I met Miss Kane on Saturday.”
“And you’re just now thinking to mention that fucking fact?” Rafe was almost yelling.
“My apologies, but I’m telling you now.” Julian had his hands up in the defensive position.
“First the murders and now attempted murder? Rafe, we have to assume at this point someone is after us.” Dante placed the final piece of tape on his shoulder and pulled his shirt back up.
“Whoever it is must be watching us. They knew someone would eventually find the bodies so the shooter must have been waiting. Were the shots meant for us or Kaya?”
“That is the question of the hour. I finally have all the security cameras in place. Fin and Uri are on around the clock shifts monitoring the feed. So far they have seen absolutely nothing. Our killer is either lucky or better than we are.” Julian was scanning the area as he spoke. “Your woman does not look happy.”
The three of them turned at once to see Kaya looking at Rafael.
Chapter 35
The albino watched through binoculars as the intended target stood up. Why was the bitch with Stone? Did she not see the video he sent her? If she did why was he still walking free and not behind bars? Flanagan would not be happy. Maybe she needed a little prodding. He pulled out his cell phone and sent her a message. “Did you see the video?”
Kaya couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something. She had to believe that someone other than Rafael was using his warehouses as a killing ground. She wouldn’t even entertain the possibility that he could be involved. Not after tonight. He threw himself in the path of a bullet and then he called her baby. Oh God. Another piece of her heart fluttered away. She watched the imaginary item float over to where he was standing with his cousin and Dante.
Seeing them all together was a shock. The medical examiner looked more like Rafael than Julian did. Holy shit. Her cell phone pinged, somewhere. Looking around, she saw it lit up on the ground where Rafael had tackled her. She retrieved her phone and saw a text from an unknown number. She didn’t have time for spam.
An hour later she was ready to go home. Shit, she didn’t h
ave her car. She could either ride with Rafael or have one of her men drive her. That would be the smart thing to do, but her heart was telling her to go with Rafael. He was leaning up against his car when she walked out of the warehouse. He didn’t move, just watched her intently.
“Do you mind giving me a ride home?” She was ready to get out of her dress and heels.
“I don’t mind at all.” He rounded the car and held open the door for her. She slid into the seat then toed the shoes off her feet and leaned her head back. The stress of the last couple of hours was taking its toll, and she needed a drink.
“Are you in any pain? I would apologize for any damage I may have caused to your beautiful skin, but it’s better than you being shot.”
She turned her head to look at her hero. Perseus. “I’ll live, thanks to you. I just want a hot bath and a cold drink.” She couldn’t stop staring. Something just below the surface was tugging at her subconscious.
“I know you’ve had a long day. Do you want to continue our date or do you want me to take you home?”
“As much as I would love to go home with you, I have phone calls to make and paperwork to go over. Duty calls and all that.”
Right at that moment, Kaya wished she weren’t in charge. For the very first time in her career, she wanted to be a woman with a regular nine to five job. One where she didn’t have the weight of the world, or at least New Atlanta, on her shoulders. She would give anything to be going home with Rafael and letting him show her if he could do slow and gentle.
Rafael took her hand and brought it to his lips. Oh yes, she had no doubt he could do slow and gentle.
After a silent ride to her home, Rafael pulled into her driveway and parked. Once out of the car he walked her to the door. She surprised herself when she asked him, “Would you like to come in?” She needed to get busy, but she wasn’t quite ready to let him walk away.
“I would love to.” He followed her in and began looking around. The house was old but in good repair. The few pictures she displayed were of her and her father when he was alive. Any picture of her mother was put away long ago. There were pictures of herself getting awards over the years, but those were also stowed away in a chest. It was sad, really. Photographs were the reminders of happy times. Did she have nothing to celebrate since her father died?
“You have a lovely home. Is this where you grew up?” Rafael was holding a small ceramic black cat.
“Yes, it is. My mother moved out when I joined the force. She had stayed for me while I was growing up but when I became a cop, she couldn’t take it. She left me the house and moved on. I like the neighborhood, and it’s fairly secluded. My neighbors keep to themselves.”
Rafael put the trinket back where he got it and moved closer. “Kaya.” That one word sent a shiver up her spine. If she gave in now she would not get any work done, and those phone calls couldn’t wait until morning. She had given herself to him tonight, and it had been mind-blowing. She had no regrets.
“Rafael, thank you for a wonderful evening. Well, mostly.” She closed the distance between them and took his hands in hers. “I would like nothing more than to get comfortable with you, open a bottle of wine, continue where we left off. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Do not apologize for doing your job, Love. It’s who you are. And I love who you are. I am disappointed that our time was cut short, but there is always tomorrow. I want to see you again, continue getting to know each other. I want to see where this goes. Please tell me you want that too.” He was whispering in her ear, the intoxication as potent as a bottle of wine.
“Yes,” was all she could manage with him standing so close.
“Yes,” he purred in her ear then nipped her earlobe. “Then I will take my leave. I would love to see you tomorrow, but I will leave that up to you. Call me if you are free and I will come get you, yes?”
“Yes. Okay, that sounds good and Rafael?” She waited until he was looking in her eyes, “I love who you are too.”
He pulled her hands to his lips and brushed kisses across her knuckles. “Goodnight, Miss Kane.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Stone.”
As badly as Kaya wanted a glass of wine, she grabbed a bottle of water instead. She applied Neosporin to her scrapes before she slipped into her sweats. She heard her phone ping with an incoming text. It was the same number she didn’t recognize from before. This time she opened it.
“Did you watch the video?”
Another text: “Check your email.”
She had watched the video from earlier. Was there another? She had a bad feeling about this. Her gut instincts or woman’s intuition, whatever you wanted to call it, rarely led her down the wrong path. Who was texting her, and how did they get her number? Was it the same person that called her at work and sent her the previous email?
She called the lab at the station. Wilkes wouldn’t be there but, hopefully, the third shift guy could help. “Danny, this is Chief Kane. Is there any way you can find out where an anonymous text is coming from?” She listened as she turned on her computer. “Okay, thank you.” He would try. Seriously, with technology as advanced as it was, they should be able to track down whoever was sending her messages.
She opened her email program and saw there was a new video. There was darkness, then movement. A man walking toward the camera. What was he wearing? As he closed in she could tell he was in fatigues and combat boots. No shirt. He walked into the warehouse then a few minutes later he exited the building. The camera zoomed in. Kaya was looking at Rafael. She rewound the video and looked closer. That was the warehouse she had just left. She looked at the date stamp on the video. Last night. Oh my God. Rafael lied to her. Rafael was her killer. She was falling in love with a killer.
She ran to the bathroom and dropped to her knees, throwing up everything that was on her stomach.
Chapter 36
Rafael knew something was wrong. He could feel the emotions rolling off Kaya. After taking his car home, he flew back to her house, wanting to be close to her. What the fuck was going on inside? Her heart rate was accelerated. She was crying and, fuck, was she throwing up? Fuck! He couldn’t stand being out here when she needed him. How could he explain knocking on her door so quickly and having changed clothes at that?
He quietly dropped to the ground and listened. The water turned on, and she brushed her teeth. The water turned off. She was walking through the house. Now she was talking. “Dane, Kaya. Listen, I know you’re sick but I really have to talk to you. I hate to leave this shit in a message, but I need you. Jorgenson’s dead. I sent him to that address you gave me and now he’s dead. We have another body that could be Magnus Flanagan. I also know who the killer is. I hope you’re feeling better, because I really need you. Please, call me.”
Jealousy charged through Rafe like a parade of bulls. “She needs him?” He made himself calm down and think rationally. Of course, she needed him as a detective. If he found out she needed the kid for anything else, he would rip his balls off. With his claws. Wait, she knew who the killer was? How the hell did she know that when he just left her. He had to get closer.
Quietly, he made his way to the window outside her living room. Her curtains were cracked just enough for him to see her. Kaya was sitting on the sofa with her laptop open on the coffee table in front of her. She was watching a video of some sort, rewinding then playing again. When she froze the video at one point, she started crying. Rafe looked at the laptop. He was staring at himself coming out of the warehouse. Oh, fuck me, motherfucking fuck me. She thinks I’m the killer.
He knelt down, placing his fists to the ground so he wouldn’t be tempted to punch something. He had to think. FUCK! How in the name of all that was holy did someone get a video of him? Was that all that it showed or did it show him phasing as well? Did he go inside and tell her the truth? Did he take the chance on exposing himself and his kind? Would she accept it or would she arrest him?
Her front door opened, and Kaya headed to he
r car. She undoubtedly was going to the station. In her hand she held the laptop and the damning evidence. If he stopped her it would be bad, but if he let her go it would be worse. Fuck it. “Kaya!” he yelled out to her before she could open her car door. He jogged toward her, but the look on her face stopped him in his tracks. She was staring at him as if he were a complete stranger. A stranger dressed exactly as he was in the video.
“Please, Kaya, let me explain. It’s not what you think; I promise. Just give me five minutes, and if you aren’t convinced, I’ll put the handcuffs on myself.”
“You lied to me. You lied and made me look like a fool. I let you touch me.”
“I didn’t lie, I just withheld information. Please, Sweetheart, let me explain.”
“Don’t you sweetheart me, Mr. Stone. Withholding information is lying by omission.”
“I did it to protect you. Please, five minutes. That’s all I ask.”
“Fine, start talking.”
“Not out here. What I have to tell you, show you, should be done in private.”
“Do you take me for an idiot? If I let you get me alone, I’ll be vulnerable. At least out here the neighbors have a chance of seeing you kill me.”
She thought he was capable of such atrocities? At that moment, Rafe felt pain, real pain, and it was straight through his heart.
“I would never hurt you, never. I am not a killer. No, that’s not true, I have killed before.” She blanched and reached for her gun. She dropped everything in her arms and pointed her pistol at him.
“You just admitted you’re guilty. Rafael Stone, you’re under arrest…”
“Stop, Kaya, STOP! I did not kill those men. When I said I have killed, it was in self-defense. I have never murdered a human in cold blood and never would. I am a protector. What I have to tell you is going to be hard for you to believe. You’re going to think I am making it up, but I assure you it is the truth. After I tell you, I promise to leave you alone.
