Chapter 8
Ordered to take a leave of absence. Rafe blew out a breath as he checked over his motorcycle. He hated screwing up. Hated it even more because the agent in charge at the field office was right.
He’d gone undercover without backup or teamwork. And now he was certain Hernandez was checking him out. Rafe had destroyed the ID and everything associated with the fake identity. Still, he had to watch it.
He could have totally blown it. Or gotten killed. Hurt Allison and Diana.
“Stupid, stupid,” he muttered in Spanish.
Letting Hernandez get the best of him wasn’t his style. He’d always managed to be calm and cool under pressure.
But all he could see when looking into Hernandez’s face was the laughing image of Sofia, ready to slip a deadly pill of fentanyl into her mouth.
A nightmare image of Sofia lying pale and still on the ground as EMTs tried to revive her and save her life.
Sofia, rushed to the hospital. Allison coming into the waiting area shaking her head, no they couldn’t do anything more for his beloved goddaughter.
Sweat streamed down his back as he polished the chrome on the bike. Three weeks suspension with pay. The annual Teddy Bear Run was in a few days, and he’d already arranged for vacation, but still...
This bit the big one.
When had he become reckless? Hernandez, yeah, he could blame it on the man, but deep down, Rafe knew there was more to it.
He examined his conscience and found a certain trauma nurse named Allison staring back at him. Allison, whose sister was marrying into that family. Allison, who loved her sister and would do anything for her.
Emotions had gotten the better of him.
His cell rang. Rafe smiled as he looked at the caller. Jason, one of his teammates, who’d risked his own life to take down a dangerous gang of jewel thieves.
“Hey, Jase.”
“Heard what happened. Sorry, man.” Jase sounded sympathetic. “Anything I can do while you’re gone?”
“I’d tell you to keep an eye on Hernandez for me, but you have your own case files. How’s Kara?”
“Terrific. She finally set a date for the wedding. Six months from now. You’re coming of course.”
“As long as it’s not at a certain drug dealer’s mansion on Starfish Island,” he muttered.
“Far from it. Kara’s parents have money, but not that much, and Kara wants something low-key. Intimate. A few family and friends.”
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”
“So when are you gonna find someone and settle down?”
“Who are you, my nana? I get enough nagging from them. Go focus on your own wedding.”
“I will. But Rafe, life isn’t only the job. One day you’re gonna wake up and wonder what happened.”
He rubbed the scar of the bullet wound. “Don’t I know it. So you and Kara aren’t coming on the ride?”
“Sorry, man. Too much wedding stuff. Maybe next year.”
“If you both aren’t expecting.” He grinned, genuinely happy for his agent. “Keep in touch and let me know what’s going on.”
He hung up and pocketed his cell phone, feeling a ping of regret. Jase, married. One of his best agents now committed to someone other than the Bureau.
You need to do the same.
Maybe this ride would help clear the muck out of his head.
Sliding the black helmet over his head, he slipped onto the bike and roared out of his complex’s parking lot. The hospital wasn’t too far from his condominium, and traffic was fairly light this time of day.
One advantage of being suspended with pay—he had plenty of free time to visit his nana.
Inside the hospital he retrieved a visitor name tag, handed over his driver’s license for them to copy and then, when they handed it back, went upstairs.
Elena had been at the hospital since her collapse.
The doctor said she suffered not a heart attack, but some technical term that meant she needed a cardiac catheterization.
She’d had the procedure done yesterday and they kept her overnight, watching her.
The antiseptic smells triggered bad memories. Lying in a hospital bed, listening to the machines beep by his pillow, wondering how long he’d remain in bed.
Wondering who the angel was who’d saved his life. All he remembered was a quiet whisper, a firm, professional hand, and then he’d fallen unconscious. When he’d finally awakened, he was lying in ICU, a few of his family gathered around his bedside, crying with relief as he opened his eyes.
The door to Elena’s room was open. He popped his head in, expecting to see one of his family members.
The family paid for Elena to have a private room. Dozing off, his grandmother opened her eyes as he came inside. She brightened and struggled to sit up.
“No, no, stay still. I’ll help you.” Rafe rushed over and helped her sit, adjusting her pillows. He kissed her paper-thin cheek. “Tita, so good to see you. How are you feeling?”
“Bored. I want to go home.”
“Where is everyone else?”
“Gone, I sent them away. They were nagging too much. Rafey, can I go home today?”
“Soon. I think you may go home by tomorrow. I have to check with Mama and your doctors.”
The door to the bathroom opened. Rafe’s mouth opened in shock as Allison strolled into the room. She saw him, narrowed her eyes.
Yeah, well, couldn’t blame her for that. He had not been nice to her upon their parting.
But she plastered on a wide smile for his grandmother. “I thought I’d find these in the bathroom cabinet. Open wide,” Allison instructed. “These mouthwash swabs are refreshing until you can brush your teeth.”
Allison swathed his grandmother’s mouth with something that looked like a giant cotton swab dipped in mouthwash.
She threw out the swab as Elena licked her lips. “That feels wonderful. Thank you, Allison.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked her, frowning.
“The same as you. Visiting.”
Rafe ignored her and squeezed his nana’s fingers gently, relieved at the color on her face.
“Elena is a tough cookie.” Allison smiled at the woman. “She comes from strong stock.”
“Like my Rafey.” Elena patted Rafe’s hand. “He’s a strong man. Handsome. And he’s single. Very single.”
Heat crept up his neck. “Stop playing matchmaker, Tita.”
“She’s a nice girl, this Allison. Smart and pretty. Nice figure, too. Why don’t you ask her out,” Elena told him in Spanish.
He hoped Allison didn’t understand that much Spanish. He glanced over, saw pink suffuse Allison’s cheeks. Yeah, she did.
“Concentrate on resting and getting better, Tita.” He adjusted her pillow again. “Stop worrying about me.”
“I always worry about you, Rafey. I will go to the grave worrying about you.”
“No more talk of graves,” he said lightly, continuing the conversation in Spanish. “Do you need anything?”
“I need you to stop running around, trying to save the world.” Elena sighed. “Maybe if your papa hadn’t died in the line of duty, you would have joined your mother in the family business instead of going into law enforcement.”
Dumbstruck, he stared at his grandmother’s knowing expression. “What... Why...”
“I’m old, Rafey. Not stupid. I’ve been living long enough to recognize the symptoms of a son who struggles with a...” Elena’s head turned toward Allison.
“What do you call it in English when a son worships his father?” she asked Allison in English.
“Hero complex?” Allison suggested.
Elena beamed. “I told you she was smart, Rafey. Yes, hero complex. You wanted nothing to do with the bakery business. You only wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps and you ignored the family.”
Truly red now, he sputtered, feeling the stinging truth of Elena’s words. “I didn’t ignore the family, Tita. And my brother also didn’t choose to work in the bakery.”
“Ah, but you were the youngest and missed him the most. You were only twelve when he died. I always worried about Carmela marrying a police officer, more than I worried about her marrying a non-Cuban. I feared the day he would never come home. You worshipped him more than anyone else.”
This was unsettling. Did Elena have to share his whole damn childhood with Allison?
“I never ignored my family,” he protested, drawing his hand away from his grandmother.
“You may not have ignored us, Rafey, but you chose the company of friends who were different. Look at that Jason, your friend. He became an FBI agent like you.” Elena sighed. “I don’t know who influenced whom.”
“Long time ago, Tita. I always wanted to be an FBI agent. It had nothing to do with my father.”
“Why did you become an agent?” Allison asked.
“It’s personal,” he grated out. Rafe glanced at his grandmother. Was today pick-on-Rafael day?
“You were there the day I graduated from the academy, Tita. You seemed proud. You never voiced an objection.”
The woman sighed and plucked at the bedcover.
“Because you were happy. That is all I ever wanted for my children and my grandchildren—their happiness. It’s the same reason I did not forbid Carmela from marrying your father.
Oh, Pedro, your grandfather, raged enough about her marrying an American and a police officer.
But I knew my daughter. She was in love, and she has a stubborn streak same as you. ”
“I am not stubborn.”
On the other side of the bed, he saw Allison raise her eyebrows and smirk.
“Well, maybe a little. But all for good reasons. You are so much like your father, Rafael. Everything is about the job and nothing left for family.”
Ouch. That stung.
“And everyone else isn’t focused on their careers?” he asked with a touch of bitterness.
“They have a good—what do you call it in English? Work-life balance. Their families come first.”
Elena gave him a censuring look as if to state the obvious. You don’t have a wife or children.
His grandmother turned to Allison.
“Rafey is dedicated to his job, the same as you are, Allison. Another thing you have in common. Except you save lives and he risks his. But I think you both would balance out your differences.”
Oh hell no, his grandmother was setting him up? Rafe bit back a groan.
Maybe he should make a smart-ass remark about going on Tinder to find dates. But his grandmother had already suffered heart trouble.
Pink once more suffused her cheeks. Allison smiled at Elena. “I’ll leave you now to get some rest. I have to go. If you need anything, press the nurse call button. I asked nursing administration to put you on the VIP list. They agreed and now they’ll be sure to check in on you more often.”
“Thank you.” Elena’s eyes closed. “I am rather tired. Rafey, would you mind walking Allison out?”
Cagey Tita. As his grandmother turned her head, he caught a slight smile.
Rafe kissed her forehead and bid her good-night. Outside her door, he gestured to the elevators.
They walked together. He became fully aware of the delicate floral scent emanating from Allison. Shampoo? Probably. Allison didn’t seem the perfume type, unlike her sister. As a nurse, she’d also be cognizant of patients who were allergic to scents.
Her thick brown hair tumbled past her slender shoulders. Rafe’s discomfort grew as he remembered busting into the women’s room and catching her making a phone call, clad only in scrub bottoms and a bra.
Scalloped lace had edged the cups.
Enough of this. He scowled and punched the elevator button.
“Thank you for visiting my tita, but you don’t have to look after her. You’re a trauma nurse.” He didn’t want to feel obligated toward her. Hell, he didn’t want to feel anything toward her.
Tell that to the part of you that keeps wanting to kiss her every time she draws near.
“It’s no big deal. I like Elena. It’s rare I get to save someone and see them after. Usually I’m bouncing from hospital to hospital.”
“You’re so dedicated to your profession.” He punched the elevator button again.
“I was.”
For the first time he realized she wasn’t wearing scrubs, but jeans and a purple T-shirt. A visitor pass, same as his, was clipped to the shirt. Allison saw him stare and shrugged as the elevator doors opened.
A woman in pink scrubs stepped out, saw Allison and flinched. “Allison, what are you doing here?”
His companion turned as pink as the woman’s uniform. “Visiting. I’m allowed to visit patients.”
Compressing her lips, the other woman shook her head. “You should leave before the COO finds out. It’s not good for our image.”
Allison scowled. “What happened to presumed innocent until found guilty.”
“You know what I mean. You’re no longer on staff here.”
Allison stepped into the elevator. Rafe joined her. The doors closed on the woman’s grim face.
“You got fired?” he asked.
“Yes, Captain Obvious. Nursing admin said I violated the terms of my contract. The agency I work for is not happy with me, so I’m taking a break. I got yeeted out of here when admin found out you hauled me away in handcuffs for possession of fentanyl.”
“You were released and no charges brought against you.”
“Well, gee, Rafe, image is everything, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “I can always find another job. I wanted to take time off for the wedding anyway, and to relax a little.”
As the elevator doors opened to the lobby, he turned to her. “Good luck with your life,” he said, meaning it.
He needed to stay far away from Allison Lexington and her troublemaking sister.
If he never saw either one of them again, it would be for the best.