9. Raphael
Raphael
9
“What is it with my sons bringing strange women home like lost puppies?”
Dominic chuckles into his coffee cup, and I quickly kick his shin beneath the table, causing him to choke on the hot liquid. He tosses me a dark look over the cup, and I return the look with a smirk.
“We’re twins, Dad,” Michael reminds our old man like he even needs it. “To be honest, I’m surprised she’s not a redhead, but then again, Raphael has always had poor taste.”
Don’t get me wrong, Rose is a beautiful woman with gorgeous red hair and vibrant green eyes to match, but that’s all she is to me. A beautiful woman.
I would do anything for my future sister-in-law because she’s family, but I don’t love her the same way Michael does. My brother worships the ground she walks on. He would burn the entire world for her if she asked. Hell, he would hand her the matches and watch her do it herself before fucking her senseless on the ashes.
I want that kind of passion in my life, that kind of devotion that consumes every inch of your heart, body, and soul. The kind of love you would go to war to protect.
Lily’s face flashes across my mind. It’s easy to see why Xiao kept her around. She’s a beautiful woman, tortured soul and all. Blond hair frames her delicate and angled face with the most brilliant blue eyes I’ve ever seen. But she’s in pain. She’s lost and confused, with more weight on her shoulders than anyone should have to bear. And for some fucked-up reason, it calls to the protector in me, which is highly inconvenient given her past. Because a man is the last thing she needs trying to help her.
“Any updates on Xiao?” I ask, changing the subject before Michael’s mouth gets us in too much trouble when Dad’s already in a foul mood.
Dom shakes his head. “Nothing. I’ve had eyes on the house since last night, and it’s been silent.”
“Do you think he knew you were coming?” Dad asks.
Michael says what we’re all thinking. “If he did, that means we have a mole in our ranks.”
“And high up too,” Uncle Leo adds.
Only a handful of our closest men knew about last night’s mission. Each one arguably as close as family to us. If it is one of them, the betrayal will be terrible and the punishment even worse.
“Leo, look into the men,” Dad orders his brother and waits for him to nod before looking at me. “This girl and child you took from Xiao. Is it true she’s his wife and the girl their daughter?”
“She’s not his wife, but the girl is their daughter.”
“You’re certain?”
“I am, and I think it’s safe to say she hates the man.”
“What makes you think that?” Dad asks.
“He was abusing her.”
“Even husbands abuse their wives,” Leo reminds the room solemnly. “She could be lying. You could have brought a snake into your home.”
I turn a dark look to my uncle, not caring much for his tone or implication. “Then, it’s a good thing it’s my home.”
Uncle Leo turns to Dad, gesturing to me with a hand. “Dante, we know nothing about this girl. She could be a spy planted by Xiao himself. Why else would he have kept her around for so long? You should throw her into—”
Dad holds his hand up to silence his brother. Uncle Leo does begrudgingly with a frown. He turns to me, and I meet his identical light hazel eyes, a strong family trait we all share. “What has she said to you?”
“She said that he is nothing but a narcissistic man who enjoys raping and abusing women,” I recite her words out loud. “You didn’t see the fear in her eyes, Dad. She genuinely hates him and has agreed to help in any way she can to take him down.”
“How exactly does she expect to do that?” he asks.
“She said he’ll come for them.”
“And when he does, we’ll be ready,” Michael adds, having already heard the plan on the ride over. “We’ll finally get rid of this rat.”
“Do you think maybe she was trafficked?” Dominic tosses out the idea. “Some girl he got pregnant and then kept around for some reason?”
“If she is, then that would explain why we knew nothing about her,” I add bitterly. “In all our research, neither of their names came up.”
“Okay, fine. If everything she says is true, what does she want in return?” Leo asks with an edge of challenge lacing his tone. “What do we do with her when Xiao is gone?”
“I offered to help her and Mei start a new life once Xiao is dead,” I answer his challenge with a steel look not to fuck with me.
Dad releases a hard breath before pushing back from his desk and standing. He rubs his eyes and runs a hand down his tired face. “Alright. Bring Lily and Mei here to the house. We can guard her better here. If Xiao doesn’t already know we have them, we need to let it leak and—”
“No. She stays with me.”
Dad swings his gaze to me. “And why is that, exactly?”
I struggle to come up with an answer, and my eyes flick to my brother for help. He sees my plea and glances at his phone like he’s just received a message.
“Rose says Lily won’t talk to her.” Michael glances at me briefly, and I know right away that’s a lie. “She says she’ll only talk to Raphael.”
Dad’s lips form a tight line, revealing his annoyance, but he doesn’t push the issue. “Fine. Do what you can, Raphael, but make it quick. Something tells me that Xiao won’t take kindly to us having them, and he will retaliate. Soon.”
The elevator opens to the foyer of my penthouse. Except for the hum of a television show playing, it’s quiet inside. When we round the corner, I immediately see why. Rose rests on the couch with Liam fast asleep on her chest.
And they’re alone.
“Hey, where’s Lily and Mei?” I quietly ask, aware of the sleeping baby.
Rose turns her head to look at us, her face breaking into a huge smile when she sees Michael. He leans over the couch to plant a kiss on her lips.
“Missed you,” she whispers, reaching up to run her fingers up his face and into his hair before tugging him back down for another kiss.
“Keep that up, and Liam won’t be an only child for long,” I muse leisurely.
“I wouldn’t complain,” Michael remarks.
“Oh my God, Michael, stop.” Rose giggles, her face blushing a bright red, but the sinful smile on her lips and the sparkle in her eyes scream she is anything but embarrassed.
Igor stabbed Rose in the aftermath of their wedding, resulting in the loss of one of Rose’s ovaries. The doctors froze the eggs they could salvage and had Michael fertilize the ones healthy enough. And while her other ovary survived the attack, it makes the ability to get pregnant naturally much more difficult.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I want to see you pregnant,” Michael growls against her mouth, kissing her once more. It’s a sore spot for my brother knowing that he didn’t get to be there for Rose during her pregnancy and the birth of his son.
“Moving on,” I say, a tad bit louder this time. The two are like a pair of horny teenagers, and keeping them focused is just as bad. “Where are Lily and Mei?”
Rose helps hand a sleeping Liam off to Michael before sitting up. “It was time for Mei’s nap, so they’re resting in their room. Look, I need to tell you both something, though, before they wake up.” Rose’s tone is as serious as the look on her face.
“What is it?” I ask, immediately alarmed.
“Lily told me about how she came to be with Xiao. Six years ago, she was working as a relief doctor in Columbia. There was another doctor there, a creep…anyway, he drugged her and took advantage. After he got his fill, he sold her to some local drug lords. From there, she was sold several times until she was brought to Miami, where she ended up at an auction and was sold to the Triads. Xiao found her next at one of his whorehouses and was apparently entranced right away. He took her for his own.”
“How the hell did she survive for so long?” The Triads are notorious for pumping their working girls with more drugs and alcohol than they can handle. It often leads them to overdose and death if something else doesn’t take them first.
“I think it goes without saying that she did whatever she had to in order to survive. For her and Mei,” Rose says.
I can only imagine what that included and shudder in anger at the thought of what Lily has endured these past six years.
“Do you think it was the same auction?” Michael wonders.
Rose fidgets with a lock of her hair. I’ve learned it’s a sign of her nerves, so we wait her out. “I don’t know. The way she described it to me…it seemed less sophisticated. But it could be.”
Michael nods and runs his free hand down her back before drawing her in to kiss her forehead. “We’ll look into it. I promised you I would end the one behind the auctions, and I will.”
“Thank you,” Rose murmurs, closing her eyes at his comforting touch. After a second, she opens them and stares directly at me. “Promise me you’ll take it easy with Lily. With both of them, Raphael. I only suffered a couple of weeks of that abuse and was lucky nothing worse happened. But she has spent years drowning in it. That kind of trauma doesn’t just disappear overnight.”
“I know.”
“So be patient. Because despite all that, somehow, she’s still strong. I can see it. And maybe you can help show her?” Rose suggests, reminding me once again why she’s the perfect match for my brother. Whenever Michael leaps off a cliff, Rose is always there, ensuring he’s safely tethered to a sturdy tree before encouraging him to jump.
After they leave, concentrating on actual work for our various businesses is difficult when I know Lily’s so close by, but there’s no rest for the wicked to maintain our vast empire. As Michael’s second, I’m responsible for the day-to-day, balancing the books and identifying any discrepancies that need further attention. On both the legal and illegal sides of our business.
The soft giggle of a young girl’s voice floats through the air, and I glance up at the clock, realizing nearly an hour has passed. Rose’s words echo through my mind, and I know I need to talk to Lily. Running a hand down my face, I close my computer and leave the office in search of my guests.
Just as I come around the corner to the kitchen, my phone rings. Digging it out of my pocket, I swipe the green button on Enzo’s name and accidentally hit the speaker button.
“Hey, hold on, En—”
“Raphael! I was just fucking ambushed by the Triads,” he rushes out, his tone laced with pain and adrenaline.
“What happened?”
From the corner of my eye, I notice Lily approach cautiously, leaving Mei behind to watch her show.
“They fucking T-boned my Land Rover and then started firing. Evie’s with me, man, and she could have been killed. Those titty-sucking, motherfucking fuckers—”
“Enzo!” I shout, interrupting my friend to keep him focused. “Where are you?”
“The corner of Antonia and Fifth.”
“Are you two okay?”
“We’re a little banged up, but we’re more alive than those pieces-of-shit, beady-eyed assholes. I killed every one of them,” Enzo declares.
Of course he did.
I quickly glance up and catch Lily’s worried expression, her wide eyes reflecting her concern. I don’t know what she sees in mine, but whatever it is, it compels Lily to reach out and tightly grip my arm, and I remember Rose saying she was a Doctor. “Bring them to me. I can help them.”