Chapter 12
At the motel in North Florida, they checked in and were assigned their rooms. Allison arranged to share a room with Diana. Diana wanted her own room, but the motel was fully booked.
They’d barely spent a day together and all Diana had done was complain.
Dinner was on their own. Dead tired from the ride and worrying about Diana, who had barely kept up with the others, Allison opted for takeout at a chicken restaurant next door.
Her sister protested, again, wanting to try the Asian fusion restaurant down the road. Allison waved at her. “Go off on your own. I’ve got a headache.”
Diana unpacked her belongings and arranged all her cosmetics on the bathroom counter. She began to brush out her hair.
“I’m so windblown, and I need to do another vid for my fans. I thought I’d do one on my bike,” Diana called out.
Rolling her eyes, Allison touched her braid. “You need to tie back your hair, you ding-a-ling. You should know that from your rides with Paul.”
“Paul doesn’t go this far. He only takes me on back roads where we can go slow.”
Allison stretched out on one of the beds and closed her eyes. Soon she heard the door slam behind her sister.
When Diana roared off on her bike, Allison walked over to the fast-food restaurant. As she emerged, bag in hand, she saw Rafe and Sam eating at an outdoor table.
Sam waved her over. “Join us.”
For a moment she hesitated. “I don’t want to interrupt. Looks like guy time.”
Sam laughed. “Cop talk. All gruesome. We could use an interruption.”
Mindful of Rafe studying her, she swung a leg over the picnic table bench and sat far from him, but next to Sam. “Shop talk in my line of work is equally gruesome. I’m a traveling trauma nurse.”
Sam whistled as Rafe kept eating. “I have healthy respect for trauma nurses. Especially after what happened to me.”
He showed her his right hand and the two fingers with scars ringing them. “The nurse made sure one of the guys put my fingers on ice after they were severed. I went first, didn’t wait for my team to back me up.”
“You’re such a cowboy,” Rafe murmured, shaking his head.
“Yeah, tell that to my fam.” Sam winked. “They’re still waiting for me to return to the ranch.”
“Let me see.” She examined Sam’s fingers. “Nice work. You had a good surgeon. And good PT.”
He wriggled his fingers. “Guess what they used after he reattached my finger?”
“Leeches.” Allison had seen this in her work. “They draw the blood from the hand to the reattached finger faster. It sounds and looks gross, but they’re effective.”
“Human leeches are worse,” Rafe said, sipping his drink. “Like drug dealers.”
Though she tended to agree, Allison remained silent, choosing to eat her food. She didn’t know Sam, didn’t know if the man had already formed opinions about her sister.
“Where’s your sister?” Sam asked.
“She wanted a real dinner. I wanted some time away from her.” Allison sipped her drink. “I love her, but sisterly love only goes so far.”
“Especially when the sister is in league with a drug kingpin,” Rafe murmured.
She slammed down her drink. “Damn it, I didn’t want to get into this with you, Rafe. Can’t I even have dinner without you harping at me?”
“Simply stating a fact. You know I’m right.”
“My sister is not a drug dealer.”
“Never said she was. But she is marrying into that family.” He leaned forward. “A family you’ll become part of as well.”
Anger and frustration boiled inside her as she stared at Rafe’s calm expression, tempted to toss her drink into his face, except it was good lemonade and she didn’t want to waste it.
“You’re so arrogant.”
“And you’re acting foolish, Allison, and you’re no fool.”
Sam looked back and forth at them. He slid out from the picnic table. “This is where I’ll say good-night and goodbye. I don’t get involved in lovers’ squabbles.”
“We’re not lovers,” she protested.
“Could’ve fooled me.” Sam winked and walked off.
She rubbed her temples, the headache growing worse. “Did you have to tear into me in front of him? I have enough on my hands.”
His expression grew sympathetic. “Migraine?”
“No, just a tension headache. It’s the riding.”
To her shock, he left the table and came in back of her. Rafe lifted her braid and began massaging her neck. Strong fingers kneaded the tired muscles. She wanted to tell him to stop, she was fine, always she was fine, but damn it felt so good.
Felt good having someone else care for her needs for a change instead of her always seeing to everyone else’s welfare.
“You’re tense. Relax,” he murmured. “It’s not the riding. You’re an experienced biker. It’s all this worrying about your sister.”
Moaning, she hung her head forward as he kept working her muscles. The man was a pain, but he knew how to massage away stress.
Bet he knows how to do something in bed equally as well.
Allison lifted her head and murmured thanks as he returned to his seat. She ate her dinner as he finished his drink.
“Ally, you can’t deny Diana is in the middle of a dangerous situation.”
“She’s in love and I can’t convince her otherwise. She’s determined to marry Paul. It’s a tough situation.”
He leaned forward. “Then put the tough situation to good use. If she’s truly innocent, convince her to get evidence on Hernandez to put him away for good.”
Nearly choking on a sip of her lemonade, Allison sputtered. “Are you for real? You want my sister to rat out Paul’s uncle? Not exactly a great way for her to start out her married life.”
“She’s our best shot at taking him down. No one can get close to him. You saw for yourself. All we need is evidence he’s smuggling fentanyl and I can obtain a search warrant...”
She saw where this was headed and her temper rose. “You want to use my sister to get the glory of the arrest, the headlines. FBI man nabs known drug dealer. You’ll do anything for your career.”
His dark eyes flashed a rising fury as well. “I’ll do anything to bring down that murdering asshole and make Miami safer for innocents. It’s what I do, Ally.”
Allison saluted him. “Yes, sir, Captain America.”
“Call me whatever you want, but you know you’d do the same if you were in my shoes.”
Wadding up her trash, she headed for the garbage can. “Not a chance. I don’t use people to get what I want. Leave my sister alone.”
She felt the weight of his gaze burn into her back as she headed back to the motel.
* * *
For all her agitation about the conversation with Rafe, Allison still managed to sleep. When she awoke, her headache had vanished. But Diana still slumbered. Allison almost regretted sharing a room with her sister.
Despite the animosity between them, she couldn’t help her fascination and interest in Rafe. She daydreamed about inviting him to her room for more than a pajama party. Maybe a glass of wine or something more.
Much more. But not convos about her sister.
She showered, shivering in the cold water that awakened her faster than the hot coffee waiting in the lobby. In minutes she braided her hair, dressed and went to the buffet breakfast in the motel lobby.
Ignoring Rafe and the others, she chose a seat far from them.
Diana followed her a few minutes later, yawning. She frowned at the array of food set out for guests.
“Not much choice,” she told Allison.
“Not all of us can afford a five-star breakfast at a waterfront restaurant,” she muttered.
Heading into the restroom to splash cold water on her face, she left Diana to muse over the selections.
By the time she fetched a plate of food and balanced it with her coffee, Rafe and Sam were tossing out their garbage. Rafe nodded to her.
She watched him walk out the door, the way his jeans hugged his oh-so-fine butt. The man had killer looks.
Watching her from the table, Diana snickered. “I think I know what you really want for breakfast and it isn’t eggs and sausage, but a different meal packaged in a nice pair of jeans.”
Allison scowled. “Stop it. Eat your breakfast.”
“Come on, Ally. Be human for a change and climb off that pedestal and admit you want him. Or at least his bod. He’s got a terrific bod and he’s super cute.”
Stung, she sipped her coffee. “Rafe and I are just friends, and I am not on a pedestal.”
“Can’t convince me of that. Everyone puts you on one, Ally. I’ve seen how they worship you.”
“Our parents?” Allison ate some eggs. “You’re the one who gets all their attention.”
Diana’s mouth turned down. “Right. They always worried I’m going to screw up again. Not you, the perfect daughter. And I’ve seen how your coworkers respect you, Ally. How they all look to you, even that ER doctor.”
This was news to her. Allison drank more coffee and took a long look at her sister, seeing more than her perfect body, her astonishing good looks.
She set down the cup carefully and reached for Diana’s hand. “Jellybean, are you okay? Do you love Paul?”
Moisture glistened in her sister’s eyes. “Yes, I mean, of course I love him. I’m marrying him, right?”
Not a good answer. “Hon, if you want to back out, it’s not too late. No one will think bad of you. It’s your life.”
Diana stared at her plate, her long hair curtaining her face. “It’s not really my life, Ally. I can’t screw up again. Not this time.”
Now she felt truly confused. “Screw up? You, the perfect daughter?”
“Perfect?” Diana shoved at her plate. “You’re the perfect one, the smart one with the 4.0 GPA who got a scholarship, and went on to get your master’s as a trauma nurse practitioner. I’m the pretty, stupid daughter who Mom and Dad thought would never amount to anything much. Not like you.”
Whoa. “You’re not stupid, Diana.”
What happened here? All this time she’d thought Diana had everything, doted upon by their adoring parents. She’d been wrong, so wrong.
Misery etched her baby sister’s face as she raised her head. “I can’t afford to screw up again, Ally. I have to go through with Paul... He’s good to me and loves me so much. He has business connections, he helped get me this new modeling contract in South Beach. I owe him.”