Rafael

by Faith Gibson

  “It’s an excellent idea. We have an opening so asking her to apply would not be far-fetched. Nikolas, text me her number and I’ll give her a call.”

  Rafe let the men finish their food before he approached the next subject. “I have something to tell you and it’s not pretty.” He pushed his plate of untouched food away from him. “Last night there was an incident. Another shooting.” He waited for the chatter to die down before he continued. “I am almost certain someone is after Kaya. Before I get to that, I have to start at the beginning. Last night, I brought Kaya over here for dinner. Things went well, and let’s just say I’m positive she’s my mate. Those details I will keep to myself.

  “Julian placed his call and we drove to the warehouse, as you all know. Afterwards, I drove her home and we talked for a few minutes, but I left her so she could do some work. I came home, dropped off the car, and flew back to her house. When I got there she was upset. Someone sent her a video of me at the warehouse the night I found the detective. She was ready to arrest me. She had been sent a video of Frey, Lorenzo, and Jasper as well, but it wasn’t a clear picture.

  “I had to make a decision; tell her the truth, or allow her to think I’m a killer and put me in cuffs. When I tell you she’s my mate, I believe that with everything I am, so I told her the truth.”

  “How much of the truth?” Gregor was stony faced as usual, this time for good reason.

  “All of it. Now before you call for my crown, hear me out. Her gun was drawn. She was ready to shoot. I showed a little fang and claw and gave her time to digest it. That’s when I heard the slide of the rifle so I phased and took a bullet.”

  “Wait, you phased, as in fully?” This was coming from Frey who was looking as surprised as Gregor.

  “Yes. That’s when I knew without a doubt that she is my mate. I didn’t have control over the shift. I really didn’t have much choice in telling her everything considering I had her wrapped in wings. So I told her about us and explained the bond. I trust her or I wouldn’t have told her.”

  “I trust her too. I’ve worked with her for years, and she’s a good woman and a great cop. It will be nice to have her in the know. Easier to explain things that I just happen to figure out quickly.” Dante crossed his arms over his chest as if to say that was the end of the discussion. He did have the respect of all the men so it wasn’t surprising when they all just nodded and murmured, “Okay.”

  “We need to figure out who is trying to kill her, and why, and who the fuck got us on video. Has there been any movement at the warehouses?”

  “So far no, but it would probably be wise to add extra security to Miss Kane’s house if hers isn’t sufficient,” Julian reported.

  “I agree. I will check it out the next time I’m there. Frey, I want you to set up around the clock security detail for Kaya. Until we figure out who’s behind this, I want her covered. Coming and going.”

  “Is she okay with this?” Frey asked.

  “I didn’t ask. She’s my mate. I don’t care if she doesn’t want it, she is getting it. I don’t have to tell you all how important it is that we find this fucker. Julian, if I get you Kaya’s computer do you think you can find where the videos came from?”

  “Yes, I can figure it out. How long it takes depends on how well he triangulated the feed.”

  “Good. Then if you all will excuse me, I am going to shower and head to her house.”

  Chapter 41

  Isabelle was sipping a cup of tea, trying to enjoy the quiet morning. All the questions from the past few years were now answered. Well, most of them anyway. The missing journals, the strange experiments, and the blood samples with odd chromosomes were all explained in one conversation. Those answers only brought more questions, though. Where had her mother been? If Gordon wasn’t Tessa’s father then who was? Was Dane really her brother? Where and who were her other siblings? She could ask her mother for answers, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Of course, the obvious person to ask was Tessa.

  She didn’t want to see her cousin right now either, not really. Tessa could have told her the truth all along, but like the rest of her family, she decided to keep the truth from her. Since Tessa had already been through the change, she must know who her mate was, but why did she not want Caroline to know the trigger? There was a knock on her door, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to deal with anyone right now. She just wanted to relax and wallow in her own jealous misery.

  “Isabelle?” Tessa was coming through the house searching for her.

  “My door was locked for a reason. What did you do, pick the lock?” It wouldn’t surprise her if she had. Nothing her rebellious cousin did would ever surprise her again.

  “No, silly, I have a key. I thought you might want to talk some more, you know, now that you watched Dane go through his transition.”

  “You mean since I was blindsided with the fact you’re nice and cozy with my mother who looks my age.” Isabelle stood and walked past her, not bothering to be hospitable. She poured more hot water into her cup and added a teabag. Standing at the kitchen counter, she silently dunked the bag up and down in the water.

  “Hey Belle, don’t be mad. It wasn’t my decision to keep your mother’s condition from you. If it were up to them, you still wouldn’t know. I think you can help us better by knowing the truth of who and what we are.”

  “And just who is them? My parents? If you tell me nothing else, tell me the truth now, Tessa. Is my father really alive?” She stopped with the teabag and waited.

  Sighing, Tessa sat down at the kitchen table, stretching her boots out in front of her. She leaned back and hooked her elbow over the top of the chair. “Yes.”

  “Yes? That’s it, yes? Not yes Isabelle, he’s alive and well, and he and your mother have been hiding out in the South of France creating more little half-blood monsters?”

  “Yes, Isabelle, he is alive and well and he and your mother have been living their lives away from the Goyles. They are not having more children, and I take offense that you just called me a monster. You are a half-blood. Are you calling yourself a monster?”

  Isabelle pulled the teabag out of her cup and took a sip of the hot liquid. “Tell me this, cousin, how many brothers and sisters do you have? If Gordon isn’t your father, who is? Please tell me Jonas is not your father, and you are not one of my many siblings I didn’t know I had.”

  “Of course I’m not your sister. You know that Elizabeth is my mother. After she married Gordon she met one of your father’s nephews, another full-blood. She was his mate. The passion mates feel for each other is explosive, sometimes to the point of being volatile. My mother had an affair, and I’m the product of that tryst. Long story short, Gordon was already becoming a tyrant before I was born. When I was cloned, Jonas made sure they had an exit strategy in place.

  “My biological father took my mother and me, and we disappeared. Jonas took my brother and disappeared as well. The bombing at the clinic was the perfect cover for his assumed death. He has lived with your mother ever since, just in secrecy. As for my siblings, I only have Tamian.”

  “How can Jonas be a Gargoyle if they don’t age? Last time I saw my father he looked sixty something.”

  “Do you remember the Mission Impossible movies? You know, with that old guy, Tom Crash, Tom Cross…”

  “Tom Cruise?”

  “Yeah him. In the movies, they used biometric scanners and a latex polymer to make them look like other people. Of course, some of that was smoke and mirrors, but who do you think developed that polymer that was used in the masks?”

  “Let me guess, my father.” What hadn’t the man created?

  “Yes, your father. Any time he was in public he was wearing a prosthetic. Belle, he looks as young as your mom does.”

  “Did you already know about Dane when we went to his apartment? Is that why you were there so quickly? And why don’t you want Caroline to know that you know the trigger?”

  “Yes, I’ve been watching Da
ne for a while and like I already told you, your father was kicked out of the Inner Circle for mixing with humans. If one of our mates happened to be a full-blood, that wouldn’t go over well with them. I’m afraid they would try to keep us separated somehow.”

  “You’ve transitioned. Who is your mate? You have to know.”

  The phone ringing broke up their discussion. “Hello?”

  “Dr. Sarantos?” A very deep voice was on the other end of the line.

  “Yes, who is this?” She watched Tessa come out of her chair, eyes wide.

  “Gregor Stone. Dr. Sarantos, I’m the Warden at New Atlanta State Penitentiary, and I have recently had an opening I would like to speak with you about.”

  “Mr. Stone, I have a job. I own my practice, and I have no interest in working for you.” Tessa was waving her arms and shaking her head no.

  “You haven’t heard the offer. Please, at least hear me out. Allow me a few moments of your time and then decide.”

  “Isabelle, you can’t. Your family needs you.” Tessa must be using her super hearing to eavesdrop on the conversation. Screw them. Her family hadn’t needed her for the past thirty two years; they could continue on without her.

  “All right, Mr. Stone, I will listen to your offer. When would you like to meet?” She turned her back on her cousin who was now cursing like a biker. Hmm, fitting.

  “Are you available this afternoon? It is crucial we hire a doctor soon, and whether you agree or not, I want to get the ball rolling.”

  “This afternoon is fine, Mr. Stone. Is one o’clock good for you?”

  “That is perfect. I will see you then.” They said their goodbyes, and Isabelle hung up the phone.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Belle? Did you not hear me tell you we need you now? Your brothers and sisters are going to require a doctor who knows about them and can help them through the change!” Tessa was throwing her arms around dramatically.

  “Oh, I heard you all right. I also heard the rest of what you said. I haven’t accepted the position yet, but I do think it would be an interesting change of pace. I have been feeling stifled and bored. I am at least going to meet with the man.”

  “Then I’m going with you. Do you even know the kind of monsters they put away there? Jesus H! You think I’m a monster? Belle, you haven’t seen anything yet. Have you ever come across an Unholy? That’s the kind of monsters you’re going to be dealing with there, not your family.”

  “How do you know who they keep in the prison? It doesn’t matter. Come with me or not. I don’t care. I’m at least going to see what the Warden has to say.” Isabelle left her cousin standing in the middle of the room while she went to shower.

  Dane was phasing with little trouble. He had stayed awake most of the night trying to come to terms with his new body and all he’d learned. Caroline stayed with him, talking him through each change. He preferred the cute redhead until he found out she was his cousin somewhere down the line. Even though he shouldn’t be, he was shocked to learn that Dr. Sarantos was his sister.

  “Dane, I assure you, Isabelle was unaware of your relationship until last evening. Our family is divided on how to handle the shifters who are coming into their own. The full-bloods do not know that any of you exist. Oh, they may have met you, but they don’t know that it’s possible for humans to mate with shifters. My husband and I want to keep this knowledge hidden if possible. The Gargoyles turned their backs on Victor when he rebelled against them to be with me.

  “We would love for you to work with us in some capacity. Tessa has her hands full with your brothers and sisters, especially since we don’t know what causes the shift. So far, there is not a common thread that we can find. If you decide to continue in your current position, we will support you. You will be better equipped to battle the Unholy.”

  For Dane it really wasn’t a hard choice. Being a cop was all he knew, and he was good at his job. He enjoyed it and if being a shifter gave him an added advantage in catching the bad guys, then all the better. “So the Unholy, do you know how that happened?”

  Caroline sat down beside him. She had tears in her eyes when she told him, “Unfortunately, yes. Gordon Flanagan and his men came across one of my sons, Gabriel. He was in the beginning of his transition. When Flanagan saw what Gabriel was, he abducted him and kept him drugged. For months, we searched for him to no avail. Finally, when the scientists had no further use for him, they threw his lifeless body in the river. The fact that he managed to pull himself out of the water and find his way home was nothing short of a miracle.

  “When he came back to us, he was a shell of the man he used to be: traumatized to the point of deep depression. The scientists had talked around him, thinking he wouldn’t be alive to tell what he overheard. They used Gabriel’s blood in their clones. We believe that because he was between human and shifter, his blood had anomalies the scientists didn’t synthesize properly. Instead of creating a strong shifter, they ended up spawning monsters. The Unholy are stronger and faster than humans, but they cannot control their shifting. Once they transition the first time they usually cannot change back.

  ”We did the best we could by him. His girlfriend, Rebekah, tried to help, but Gabriel pushed her away. Isabelle was just a toddler. For a while, Gabriel wouldn’t have anything to do with any of the family except for her, but even she couldn’t save him. Eventually Gabriel disappeared. We haven’t seen him in almost thirty years.”

  That was all Dane needed to hear to know he was making the right decision in returning to the precinct. He would take a couple more days until he was sure the phasing was under control, and then he’d call Kaya and get back to work.

  Chapter 42

  Kaya looked at her ringing phone. Rafael. “Hello?”

  “Good afternoon, Miss Kane. Do you feel like company?” He sounded hopeful, and she wasn’t getting anything accomplished.

  “If you are referring to yourself, then I would love some company, Mr. Stone. How soon can you be here?” There was a knock on her front door.

  Kaya pulled back the curtain to see Rafael grinning at her. She unlocked the door and took in his appearance. He was dressed in faded jeans and an untucked button-up shirt. The sleeves were rolled up, showing his muscular forearms. She liked him in dress clothes, but she loved him casual. He didn’t give her time to say hello. Grabbing behind her neck, he pulled her mouth to his and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in days, not hours.

  When he finally pulled his lips away, he leaned his forehead to hers. “Hello, Love.” Those two words left her breathless. There it was again. She should probably protect her heart, but the way this man had her body pulsing was beyond anything she could ever imagine.

  “Do you want to come in or are we going to stand in the open?” She looked behind him. “How did you know I wasn’t at work?” They both disconnected their phones.

  “Because you’re being watched.” He pulled her into her living room. “Speaking of open doors, I want to talk to you about your security system among other things. Can we sit, please?”

  She led him to her sofa, and they sat side by side. She turned to face him, angling her knee between them. He pulled her leg across his lap and began massaging her calf. “Kaya, I want you to allow Julian to upgrade your security system. Until whoever is after me is caught, I want to add a security detail to you as well.”

  “That would be much appreciated. You probably thought I would argue with you but honestly? I’m scared. And I don’t think the shooter was after you. Think about it. Both bullets hit you after you covered me. I think I’m the target.”

  “I am not happy you were the target, but I am glad you figured it out on your own. I know you are a strong, smart woman, not some damsel in distress. I agree with your assessment, I just didn’t want to scare you. And make that three bullets. Julian took one at the warehouse on Saturday.”

  “You must be mistaken. He didn’t tackle me.”

  “No, he was more subtle. Remember the sneeze
? That was actually a grunt covering the blow to his back.”

  “Holy crap. And the jacket?”

  “Was to cover the wound. We all keep extra shirts and jackets in our vehicles for incidents such as that. Now, I have a favor to ask. Can you do without your laptop for a few hours?”

  “I can, but I shouldn’t. Rafael, that’s Government Issue.” She could get in a lot of trouble if anyone found out he had access.

  “It’ll just be for a couple of hours, I promise. I want Julian to see if he can find out where the video originated. If we can find the sender, we may be able to locate the shooter.”

  “What makes you think Julian can find it better than my department?”

  “We have a state of the art tech facility at our disposal, and we have a Julian. Kaya, I trust you to keep this to yourself. If the government ever finds about us and our abilities, it wouldn’t bode well for anyone.”

  “Rafael, your secret is safe with me. Who would believe me anyway?”

  “So, you’ll let us have your laptop?”

  “Yes, as long as I get it back today.”

  “I promise.” Rafael dialed a number and put his phone to his ear. “Jules, you can have it. You have three hours.” He hung up, and there was a knock at the door. “That would be Julian.”

  “You’re pretty sure of yourself aren’t you?” She wasn’t annoyed, not really. Not when he was trying to find out who was trying to kill her. She pulled her leg from his lap and stood, going to the dining room table to retrieve her computer. He followed behind, stopping in the opening to the kitchen. “No, I’m pretty sure of you.” The look on his face was filled with another emotion she couldn’t recognize. Maybe someday she would be able to read all of his looks.