Deanna shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. Abby’s husband and one of the local men had gotten into an argument. It had become physical from the look of his face when he returned to camp.”
Again Rafe seemed puzzled. “Her husband was there? I didn’t know they had couples on site.”
“They don’t, but he would just show up. From what I learned, he’d been doing that for years.”
“No one complained?”
“I guess the family had some kind of pull. Phoebe asked Abby about it once, and she’d told Phoebe that it was good for his political image. Strange because he didn’t look like a politician.”
Rafe paced a bit then asked, “Do you know what they fought about?”
“No. Everyone kept their distance because he was fuming mad. Whatever it was, he packed up and left right afterward. Abby didn’t seem all that upset with his departure.”
Rafe sat down beside her. “This is very important. How long before the attack did all this occur?”
Deanna had never put the argument together with the attack, but Rafe might be onto something. “Two days.” She gripped his hand and asked, “You don’t think that—”
“I’m not ruling it out. We need to know what that fight was about.”
“There are only two people who know, and one of them is no longer with us. But why would they attack? They had to know he left. The locals normally provide all the transportation to and from camp.”
“I don’t think it was him they were after.”
“Then who?” Deanna asked.
Rafe squeezed her hand and said, “That’s what I’m trying to find out. I have a feeling that connection is your connection to who has been threatening you.”
“And you think it has to do with what they fought about?”
“I do.”
“Well then, let’s get to work,” Deanna said as she stood up, raring to go.
Rafe stayed sitting on the bed, watching her. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To help find this jerk.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Placing her hands on her hips, she asked, “Why not?”
Rafe reached out, grabbed the waistband of her shorts, and pulled her toward him. “Because I promised you I’d never let anything happen to you.” He tugged harder, and she slammed directly into him before falling into his lap. He rolled her onto the bed then covered her body with his. “You’re staying here.”
“Right here?” Deanna asked, barely able to catch her breath from his weight on her.
He propped himself up on his elbows, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, urging him back down to her.
“Deanna, we shouldn’t. I’m not the man you think I am.”
She smiled up at him saying, “You mean, the man teasing me to try and keep me here?” There was so much more to him than that, but right now she wanted, no needed, him to hold her. Deanna had just shared the pain she’d held so long in her heart. Whether it was that release that had her feeling this way or a bond neither wanted to admit, she didn’t care. She wanted him to hold her, and if all they had was this tender moment, she wasn’t going to let it go. This wasn’t about anything sexual. It was more. So much more. Tightening her hold, she said in a soft tone, “Please Rafe. Just hold me.”
Her body instinctively arched up toward him. She could see it in his eyes. He was worried about losing control, that’s why he resisted.
“Deanna, I can’t fix what’s hurting you.”
He was right, he couldn’t, but it was more than just this moment. It was the same reason she didn’t leave him when she’d first arrived. Although he wasn’t willing to admit it, she was. Every cell in her body ached for him to notice her as more than his little sister’s friend. If he could read her so well, why didn’t he see this? Maybe I need to show him. She slowly licked her top lip, never breaking eye contact with him. Although he said nothing, she felt his body tense against her.
She watched as Rafe battled to maintain control. He swallowed hard, fighting to resist, before claiming her lips as he said, “One kiss.”
She tightened her hold and pulled him closer as she snuck one leg free from beneath him. As he kissed her tenderly, she twisted a leg over his. There was no way he could deny their bond after this kiss.
Deanna knew she’d savor this moment forever.
“Deanna, you should tell me to stop.”
She untangled her hands from behind his neck and cupped his face, bringing his attention to her eyes. “Rafe, I opened up to you. Now tell me the truth. Do you finally see me as more than your little sister’s friend?”
His eyes darkened as his gaze fell to her lips before returning to her eyes again. She felt him stiffen as though battling with himself for control. She didn’t want him to hold back. He bent his head, and she thought he was going to kiss her again, so she opened her mouth, waiting. Instead, he buried his face in her hair that was sprawled out on his blanket. “God, Deanna, you have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
“Tell me,” Deanna pleaded for the words she needed to hear. He raised his head and stared into her eyes. There was something in how he was looking at her. She could see it in his eyes. A longing churning in him, echoing her own, making hers even more intense.
Deanna was being consumed by her own longing. Never had she wanted a man to notice her as much as she did Rafe. She bit her bottom lip trying to control the urge to kiss him. It’d be so easy to give in, and she knew he wouldn’t fight it. There was no doubt the chemistry was strong between them. But she refused to until he opened up to her.
“I don’t know what you want to hear?”
She touched his cheek gently and repeated words he’d used on her earlier. “Just look at me and don’t visualize it.”
Rafe gave her a playful smirk. “Is this the way it’s going to be? You use my tactics on me?”
She winked at him. “Only if it works.”
He looked serious then said, “You don’t need any tricks, honey. All you need to do is be you. That’s more than enough to make me go weak at the knees.”
Aw, that’s so romantic. There was no way she’d tell him that. He liked to maintain his macho image. There was no doubt in her mind he was bad to the bone, but she’d seen the softer side. One he probably hid from most people. I like it too.
She knew there was more within him, but no one changed overnight. Intimate conversations were probably something he wasn’t used to.
Arching up to him, she broke down and kissed him. As soon as their mouths met, everything changed. Rafe wrapped an arm around her and rolled them so she lay beside him.
It was more powerful than she’d anticipated. Everything within her yearned for more. All the emotion she’d kept bottled up flooded through her to him. She’d resigned herself to wanting but never having; now he was holding her, kissing her.
Through their kisses, Rafe said, “Deanna, I don’t ever want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” Deanna answered breathlessly.
He stopped and cupped her face, so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. “I don’t know what this is between us or how long it will last. I can’t promise you tomorrow.”
Her heart ached, wishing it could be different, yet she knew he was a man who wanted to be alone. Why did she think she could change that? There was only one question left. Could she accept those terms after all she’d just shared with him? She knew she wanted more, but she wasn’t willing to have nothing.
“No promises and no regrets,” Deanna said as she claimed his lips again.
Chapter 14
He could’ve slept the entire night holding Deanna in his arms. Pulling himself from bed had never been quite so hard. But there were things she’d told him he’d needed to share with the others. They’d decided to keep Melissa out of the loop for now. His brothers had been concerned Deanna might start sharing this information with others. She’d given him her word she wouldn’t. Somehow that sweet lovely creature had
broken down his defenses, and he’d entered a realm he’d keep secret even from himself. He trusted her completely. It’s me she shouldn’t trust. All I’ll do is break her heart.
He thought back to all the enemies they’d racked up since they started Turchetta’s Promise. It was like each of them, mostly himself, had a target on their back. The last thing he wanted was for some jerk out for revenge to go after Deanna to hurt him. She has enough stuff in her life holding her back from happiness. She doesn’t need mine too.
She wasn’t some paranoid woman looking for attention. Her fears were legit. He didn’t tell her, but if she knew he was worried, she would freak out even more. It was his job not only to ensure her safety, but to make her feel safe. Those were two different things entirely. One took intelligence, manpower, and weapons. The other required her to have faith in him and trust him. From the closeness they’d shared last night, she definitely had something. Hopefully, not more faith than I can deliver.
It was stupid of him to have let his guard down and opened up to her. Even a freaking athlete knows not to get distracted right before the big game. He could tell himself it hadn’t affected him, but that was bull. Rafe couldn’t walk by his bedroom without thinking about climbing back in bed and holding her. That’s the crap that gets people killed.
He wasn’t worried about himself. He’d promised to keep her safe. Promised. I never promise anything to anyone. That only confirmed his fear. Deanna had him doing and saying things totally out of character. If his brothers knew, they’d slap him on the back of his head and tell him to wake up. They’d be right; he would’ve done the same to them. Somehow they know better.
“Rafe, I was able to pull the information on Abby’s husband, Milton,” Gabe said over the video conference call.
“Spill it.” And it better be what I’m looking for.
“Milton Enwright married Abby Prescott about ten years ago. As you know Abby’s family was loaded and Milton, well not so much. They met in college; he was there on a scholarship. His family is what you’d call from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“Trouble?”
“With a capital T. None of them ever served time for their crimes, and there is a list a mile long. But that might have to do with who Milton married.”
“That isn’t motive. Tell me something about Milton that would make me want to . . . knock him into next Tuesday.”
“Well, this is. Would you like to guess who Shadoa’s father is?” Gabe asked.
Milton? “Why the heck didn’t you say that in the first place? So the jerk was down there entertaining the locals, not just visiting his wife?” Loyalty was everything to Rafe; a man cheating on his wife made him sick. It was the cruelest form of betrayal as far as he was concerned. It left the other with the inability to trust anyone else. And without that, no relationship had a chance to survive. Even all Abby’s money couldn’t turn a pig into a prince.
“Yeah. That apple didn’t fall far from the tree. The men from Shadoa’s village may have been so t furious that they decided to take revenge against the entire camp.”
Rafe needed to put himself in the mind frame of the men in Moreira. Yes, it would infuriate them thinking someone from the Literacy Corps had abused one of their women. Could it cause them to attack and kill? Most definitely. He’d seen revenge on that magnitude over lesser things. From what he’d seen, these men didn’t value a woman’s life enough to prevent them from dropping her in the street and leaving her child an orphan.
“Gabe, I hear you, but if it was revenge, why wait until Milton was gone?”
“How the heck do I know? Sick jerks do stupid stuff. Maybe he wanted to hurt Milton by taking out someone he loved?”
“Think back to the conversation we overheard. Shadoa was their meal ticket. Why? If Abby was dead, she was no use to them. They’d lost their leverage for blackmail. It’s something more.” Something far worse if I’m right.
“You don’t think—?”
“Milton hired them to kill his wife and get her out of the way? Yeah, I’m starting to believe that.”
He could hear Gabe typing. When Gabe looked back up at the monitor, he said, “Would you like to guess who the beneficiary was?”
You son of a gun. “How much?”
“Three point five million dollars. And her family hasn’t cut ties with him. Seems they are backing him.”
“For what?”
“Glad you’re sitting down for this, but that evil jerk is running for Senate. I’m reading some of his blogs, and you’d never guess what he’s using as a platform to run on?”
“What?”
“A fight against domestic violence. Guess it doesn’t count if you do it outside the United States? This guy’s a real piece of work.”
That was putting it lightly. But right now all they had was speculation. That wasn’t good enough. There was something they were still missing. Rafe knew no matter how hard you tried to cover your tracks with money, there was always someone out there stupid enough to talk. They just needed to find that person.
What concerned him was how long it took Gabe to find this information. Was there someone helping him bury it? “Why is it you didn’t know any of this before?”
“Well, Abby kept her maiden name, so I wasn’t looking for a husband. And there really weren’t any flags with her family to make me look twice. He’d kept a very low profile until he started to run for office.”
“Next thing you’re going to tell me is this jerk thinks he could be President someday.” That wouldn’t surprise Rafe one bit. He’d been doing his own searches on Milton, and he was one cocky man. “I need you to find a money trail leading back to Moreira. Even if he paid them to wipe out the camp, my gut is telling me the payments haven’t stopped.” Greed goes both ways, and it sounds like Moreira is in the business of collecting hush money.
“Will do. So far nothing has hit the radar. I’m going to dig further into his family.”
“Anyone in particular catch your attention?” Rafe asked.
“His kid brother, Peter. He hasn’t worked a day in his life, yet he does a lot of traveling. Like to guess where?” Gabe asked.
Gottcha. “Gabe, I need you to detain Peter. I think he and I need to have a chat.”
“He’s in the States right now. Want me to have Renzo pay him a little visit?”
“Yeah, and make sure Peter has no idea who we are. I’m going on a fishing expedition, and I’m hoping we can use him as bait.”
“Do you really think Milton will give a hoot?” Gabe asked.
“Not about his brother, but I’m thinking he might want to ensure his brother’s silence.” It was messed up, but he had a feeling Milton would take out Peter just as easily as he had Abby. But who are you going to hire this time to do your dirty work?
That was the problem. For all the good Turchetta’s Promise did, there were many more for hire doing the exact opposite. They needed to keep their eyes and ears open because bad stuff might be about to go down. He had to make sure Deanna wasn’t caught in the crossfire. I lost Phoebe due to this evil man. I’m not about to lose Deanna too.
“Where do you want him taken?” Gabe asked.
Not to Rhode Island. “You pick and let me know. Just make sure it’s laid out, so we have the advantage when trouble comes knocking.”
“You want me to pull Josh back in?”
“No. Keep him there with Shadoa.” She was innocent in all this and probably highly sought after as well by both parties. The last thing he needed was another person to worry about. “Just make sure you give Josh the update.”
“You don’t think Alex would divulge that we’re utilizing his island do you?”
Alex had gained Rafe’s respect, but he knew if Alex’s wife, Ziva, or any of the Henderson family were in harm’s way, Alex would do what he thought was best. Protect his own first. “We all know a man has his limits. Just pass along the information. You might want to update Bennett Stone as well.”
“St
one? Why?”
“It never hurts to have your veteran brothers ready to have your back.” Rafe would be the one doing just that, but right now he needed to be here. I have my own protection detail.
“I’ll let you know when we’re set.”
He knew Renzo would act swiftly. This was about to blow up in Milton’s face. Rafe wanted to make sure he was the one to deliver the message when it did.
Rafe heard his bedroom door open, and he quickly closed the laptop. Deanna didn’t need to know what was about to go down. The less she knows, the better.
He turned to find Deanna walking toward him.
Sitting on his lap, she said, “Good morning. I didn’t know if you were . . . hungry? And wondered if you’d like to make breakfast together?”
Rafe picked her up in his arms and gave her a kiss. Gabe had his instructions. Everyone did. Rafe had a few things he needed to attend to himself. Seeing her happy is all I want right now.
* * *
After breakfast he’d told her he had to go out and she needed to stay in the house with the doors locked. That was how she normally lived, but there was something more to his request than basic concern. When she asked him where he was going, he said he was meeting up with his brother Renzo. She knew they weren’t meeting up for coffee or a chat. Her gut said this was business.
Deanna knew very little about what they actually did for a living. That should be cause for concern, but she knew Rafe wouldn’t do anything illegal. He was a man of honor.
She had hoped they would talk more about what had happened in Moreira. Not that she liked discussing it, but she figured he would have to deal with this new revelation. Yet when she asked him how he was feeling, he changed the subject. It was evident that he was closing off those feelings of loss, not just from her, but from himself as well. Deanna wished there was something she could do or say to change that, but she knew only time could fix some things. And sometimes time isn’t even enough.
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