Chapter 7 #2
Paul drove away, stopping beneath a shady tree. Through the passenger window, Allison saw Diana check her phone as she and Paul talked. Then Paul was on his phone.
At least he isn’t texting and driving. How many car crash vics have I treated due to that?
Rafe watched them as well after he climbed into his truck. He rolled down the window. Allison touched the bruise on his jaw. “You should have that looked at.”
He brushed away her hand. “I’m fine.”
With the short beard, Rafe had been handsome and had an aura of a bad boy. This smooth, baby-faced look took years off his face. Not for the first time she wondered about the dangers of his job. Rafe was the type who sailed headfirst into danger.
Sometimes that danger came with the business end of a gun. She sucked down a breath, remembering the cops she’d treated for gunshot wounds in the ER. Allison glared at him, angry he’d endangered himself with his smart-aleck remark to Hernandez.
“You’re lucky that pig didn’t do worse after what you told him. He’s got a lot of pull and no one talks back to him. Is there anything you got on him that you can use?”
“No.” Rafe’s hands tightened on the steering wheel until the knuckles whitened. The man had control, but barely.
“I can’t even get a damn search warrant. My probable cause is now sinking into the water. Useless.”
Allison leaned farther into the truck. She wasn’t going to let this go. Not when Diana was endangered.
“Rafe, you and I know what was in those cartons. It has to be the same candy, the wedding favors are drugs! You arrested me for possession of the same thing!”
“No charges were filed against you, Allison.”
“I don’t care about me, damn it!” Her fingers curled around his bicep, feeling thick muscle and sinew beneath the thin shirt. “It’s Diana. I’m terrified of her marrying into this family. You saw how bad Hector’s temper is. What if he unleashes it on her?”
“I know. But without any kind of evidence, my hands are tied.” Rafe rubbed a hand over his face. “Listen, Ally, do whatever you can to get her to postpone the wedding. Encourage her to elope, far away from Miami. Something’s going down the day of the wedding and it could get ugly, fast.”
“She won’t listen to me. Even my parents won’t listen. They think I’m jealous. And you saw how Paul is. She’ll do anything for him. It’s more convincing him to elope than her.” Allison dropped her hand. Never had she felt this defeated when it came to her sister.
Rafe squinted in the bright sunlight. “Jealous? Of what?”
A little tug of resentment pulled her, the same one that flared when she thought of how her parents adored Diana. “Of everything. Diana always was prettier and better than me.”
His broad shoulders shrugged. “There’s nothing to be jealous of, from what I can see. You have much more going for you.”
Allison licked her lips, and there were flutters in her stomach from the unexpected compliment. “She’s my little sister. I’ve tried to convince her to hold the wedding someplace else.”
“Try harder.” He started up the truck. “I’ll do what I can from my end, but that’s not much, until I can get some kind of evidence.”
He gave a brittle laugh. “Unless I can fish my tablet out of the bay and restore it.”
She couldn’t help but touch his arm again, feeling the reassuring steel of his muscles beneath his skin. He was alive. They all were.
But it had been a scary close call with a man known for his violent temper.
He looked at her. “Do you need a ride once you drop off her car? I can take you wherever you need to go.”
Touched at his consideration, she shook her head. “It’s okay. I have the late shift today, and I’ll just get an Uber back to my place. It isn’t far. What about you? Are you going back to work now?”
Rafe nodded. “I’m going to have to update my director on what happened. Going in without backup, without protocol, well, I blew it.”
Having been the subject of a director’s wrath a few times for violating the rules, even though she’d saved patients’ lives because of it, Allison knew what Rafe faced. Despite herself, she worried about him.
“Anything I can do to help?”
“I can handle it.”
His dark gaze flicked to her and his expression softened. “I know you’re worried about your sister. The wedding isn’t for another month. Take her out of town on a vacation. I’d separate her from her beloved fiancé, and once you get her alone, talk some sense into her.”
Rafe turned to look at the nearby car where Diane waited. “Guess we’d better continue with the show in case they’re watching.”
He framed her face with his hands, his fingers long and calloused. Rafe kissed her gently, barely a kiss, but it sent awareness zinging through her.
A five-second kiss from this man felt better than the tongue-dragging sessions she’d had with former lovers. It made all her nerve endings tingle and filled her with sensual longing.
“And Ally?”
Her heart fluttered faster, from the brief kiss combined with the nickname only a few close friends and family called her. “Yeah?”
His gaze narrowed. “You have a habit of making me lose all common sense and screwing things up. Do me a favor and stay far, far away from me.”
Stunned and annoyed, she stepped back as he climbed into the truck and roared out of the parking lot.