Rafael (14 page)

The room was
cold and sterile. Where the hell was he? What the fuck happened? Dane tried to
sit up, but whatever drug he was given earlier was making it hard to focus. His
attempt to sit up failed, and he flopped back down on the bed. The overhead
lights were off, but there was a small lamp on the far side of the room casting
enough of a glow for him to see.

Voices were
coming down the hall toward his room. The door opened, and in walked who he
assumed was a nurse. She was dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope hanging
around her neck. “Hello, Mr. Abbott. I’m glad to see you’re awake. Let’s check
your vitals, shall we?”

“Who the fuck
are you, and where the fuck am I?” Dane attempted once more to sit up, but he
was unable.

“Mr. Abbott,
there is no need for hostilities. My name is Caroline Wexford. You were brought
here to our facility for your own protection. There is a lot I have to tell you
about yourself, but first I need to check your vital signs and see how close
you are to changing. The good doctor may have done more harm than good in
easing your pain.”

He watched
almost detachedly as she put the cold stethoscope to his bare chest and
listened. She flashed a light into both his eyes which caused an instant
headache. “Easy with the eyes, Jesus.” He closed his eyes and began rubbing
them.

The nurse pulled
his hands away from his face. “None of that, you’ll make it worse.” She wrote
notes in a metal clipboard then put a thermometer in his mouth. While it was
heating up, she pressed her fingers to his wrist, taking his pulse.

“Why am I here?”
He mumbled around the thermometer.

“Shush. Keep
your mouth closed.” When it beeped, she removed it. “Hmm.”

“Hmm what?
Listen, I’m a detective with the New Atlanta Police Department. I happen to
know that kidnapping is against the law and would appreciate some answers
here.” This time when he tried to sit up he was successful. The nurse sighed at
him as if he were a petulant child.

“I know very
well who and what you are, Mr. Abbott. I was hoping we could do this later, but
I guess now is as good a time as any. Dane, what do you know of your parents?”

“My parents?
What the hell do they have to do with anything? Oh shit!  Do I have cancer? Is
that what’s wrong with me?”

“Oh heavens no.
Quite the opposite. You, my dear, are special. Do you remember anything about
your parents, about growing up?”

Dane thought
back to his childhood. He had never met his father. His mom said he was in the
Marines and was killed in the line of duty before Dane was born. His mom was
loving and took great care of him, giving him anything he could want.

“My dad was in
the military, and even though I never knew him, I felt obligated to follow in
his footsteps. My mom is alive and well, living in Florida.” Another surge of
pain ripped through his body. The medicine Dr. Sarantos gave him yesterday had
eased the pain immensely. “Please, find Dr. Sarantos. She gave me something
yesterday, some type of miracle drug. I feel like I’m dying! Please Miss Wexford!”

“I’m afraid to
tell you that you are going to have to deal with the pain. It will all be over
soon and then you’ll be better than ever.”         

“What the fuck
are you talking about? What will be better?” Dane lay back on the table and
once again was thrashing about. The pain was becoming unbearable. “Just fucking
shoot me and get it over with, aggggggg!”

He heard the
nurse yell down the hall, “It’s time!”  That was the last thing he remembered
before everything went black.

Kaya picked up
her phone for the fiftieth time. Not only was she looking to see if Jorgenson
had called, she was also seeing if Dane had checked in. Before she went home
from the crime scene, she was going to go see him.

She got off the
elevator and saw Trevor at Dane’s door. “Hey Chief, what’s shaking? You know,
for a sick man he sure does attract some hotties.”

Kaya rolled her
eyes. “Trevor, is he home or not?” She laughed internally at the young man. He
was never boring; that was for sure.

“Not. I have
been trying him ever since I saw the brunette leave. If I had her coming to my
door, I think I’d stay home.”

“What brunette,
and when was that?”

“Uh, yesterday?
Yeah, yesterday. I think.”

“So was she
coming out of his apartment or just knocking to see if he was home?” Dealing
with Trevor felt like herding cats.

“I honestly
don’t know, but his door was unlocked, so I went in. He wasn’t home. If he had
been home, she would have been naked. In his bed. Not huffing off down the
hall.”

“How do you know
she would’ve been naked? You know what? Never mind. When you went into his
apartment, was there anything out of the ordinary?”

“Other than the
narcotics, no.”

“Narcotics?”         

“Yeah, you know
drugs, pills, dope.”

“Were these not
prescriptions from his doctor? He said she made a house call. Could it have
been the doctor you saw leaving?”

“I’ve never seen
prescription drugs in non-labeled containers, well, not that a doctor
prescribed anyway. And I’ve never seen a doctor dressed in military fatigues,
unless they were, in fact, in the military.”

“Okay, Trevor,
thank you.”

“Anything for
you, my lady.” Trevor bowed at the waist then headed down the hall.

Kaya looked to
the ceiling, “Give me strength.” She knocked on the door and tried the knob.
Locked. Of course it was. If she didn’t hear from him by the end of the day,
she would ask around the precinct.

Once home, Kaya
immediately showered. The remains in the warehouse were worse than anything Rob
Zombie could conjure up in a horror flick. It had taken all her willpower, plus
some, to keep her coffee from coming back up. She was glad she had skipped
breakfast. The stench of death was bad enough, but the horrific odor seeping
from that body had been too much. The victim’s body was cut open with the
intestines strewn outside the stomach. The face and hands were melted down to
the bone. By some miracle, rats were not feasting on the flesh. She stood under
scalding hot water attempting to wash the decay from her senses. It wouldn’t be
enough to wash it from her mind though.

She turned her
thoughts to Julian Stone. The younger cousin was gorgeous with his dirty blond
hair. He, unlike Rafael, was not afraid to be seen in public. Almost every
newspaper article featuring the family contained a photo of Julian. The man was
built lean, like a runner. However good-looking he was, she felt no spark when
she was around him. Kaya hoped the disappointment she felt when Julian
introduced himself hadn’t been visible on her face. If she could focus near as
much on the case as she did Rafael, she might get somewhere.

When the water
ran cold, she turned the shower off. She towel dried her hair then combed out
the tangles. Pulling on her sweats, Kaya grabbed a glass of wine and settled in
for the evening. She was going to spend the rest of the night going through
what little evidence there was, and hopefully she would hear from her two
missing detectives.

Rafael never
went to Italy without visiting his father’s tomb. The family mausoleum was
located approximately fifty miles away from the villa. As with his home, he employed
caretakers to keep the property maintained as well as secure. Edmondo Di Pietro
had been a good father and friend to Rafael, and he missed him still, even
after two hundred years. He talked to his father’s tomb, telling him all that
had happened lately, including meeting Kaya. Nearly an hour later, he was ready
to go.

As the crew was
readying the plane for takeoff, Julian had called and filled him in on the
events of the morning. Rafe sighed and closed his eyes as the jet taxied down
the runway. The dip in his stomach as the plane lifted did nothing to help the
knot that was already there. He had to find Flanagan and put a stop to his
madness. Kaya already doubted Rafael’s innocence, even with the proof that he
wasn’t at the first warehouse. Now, with a second location being used, he had
to think long and hard about coming clean with her.

The plane
touching down woke Rafe from a troubled sleep. The horrible dream that invaded
his subconscious along with Julian’s phone call helped him make up his mind to
tell Kaya the truth. Well, most of it anyway. If she didn’t return his
feelings, there was no need to divulge his secrets. He would start with dinner
at his place and go from there.

He arrived home
to a quiet manor. The sun had yet to make its early dawn appearance. After a
quick shower, he headed to the kitchen where he heard the voices of his
houseguests talking with Priscilla. “Good morning.”

There was a
chorus of good morning responses as he poured his first cup of coffee.
“Priscilla, could you excuse us, please?” He waited until his housekeeper
exited the kitchen. “Okay, fill me in on the details of Friday night.” Rafe sat
and listened as both Lor and Jasper recounted what they had found at the
warehouse. They didn’t have much more to offer than Frey had told him over the
phone. Julian had already filled the others in regarding Magnus and the missing
detective. They were all waiting on Rafael to inform them of his plan.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with one. Not one that would hide the truth
about the Goyles.

 “Lor, have you
been to the quarry yet?”

“Yes, I spent all
day yesterday there.”

“Excellent.
Jasper, Julian has your paperwork in order. I am hoping to dine with the chief
very soon. I will let her know to be expecting your application next week. If
either of you wish to borrow any of my vehicles, just tell Jonathan. I have put
in a call to Sixx. He will transfer your bank accounts and your investments, if
that is needed.”

Michael Gentry
was one of the more eccentric of the Goyles. He was a genius with numbers, and
he headed up the Clan’s private equity firm. Any business venture he suggested
they invest in was always a winner. However, to look at him, you would think he
was in a rock band. With his spiked black hair and leather pants, he could have
been the love child of his favorite guitarist, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. When
the world fell apart, so did the music and movie industries. It took many years
to rebuild what was lost. Art forms that should have been classics remained
mainstream. If Goyles could get tattoos, he would no doubt be covered in them.
Their thick skin would not allow the ink to penetrate properly.

 “Thank you. I
would like to borrow one so I can take a look around to see where I want to
live, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. Do
you need someone to accompany you? Show you where everything is?”

“I was going to
ask Lorenzo if he wanted to ride with me.”

Lor took a sip
of coffee then replied, “Sorry man. Finley is picking me up, and we’re going to
his house.”

Rafael didn’t
miss the flash that went through Jasper’s eyes. “Yeah, no problem.”

“You’re welcome
to go with us. We’re just going to hang out and watch a game.”

Jasper wouldn’t
meet his eyes. “No, you go ahead. I want to look at houses.”

“I assume your
furniture and vehicles are being delivered to you at some point?” Both men
confirmed this was the case.

Rafael hoped the
tension he felt rolling off Jasper was not from jealousy. He would have to wait
and see. “You know Jas, if you want the best view of properties, you should
have Geoffrey take you up in the helicopter.” Jasper’s eyes grew wide. This
obviously excited him. “Do you think he would do that?”

Rafael laughed. 
“Frey never can find enough excuses to fly the bird, so yes, I’m sure he would
love to. Just give him a call.” 

Rafe left the
two men to their day and refilled his coffee then went outside to the garden.
He sat on his favorite bench and pulled out his phone. He dialed Kaya’s number,
hoping she was awake.

 “Hello?” Her
voiced sounded sleepy. If she hadn’t been slumbering she just recently woke.
“Miss Kane, this is Rafael Stone. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I’m up.
What can I do for you, Mr. Stone?” Rafael could hear Kaya moving in her sheets.
He closed his eyes and visualized her blonde hair spread over her pillow.

“You can have
dinner with me.”

“Dinner?” She
was pushing the covers back and probably sitting on the side of the bed.

“Yes, Miss Kane,
dinner. Tomorrow night, six o’clock. Is that too early, too late?”

“Mr. Stone, I
don’t think dinner is a good idea. You are a person of interest in an ongoing
investigation.”

Ah, the conflict
of interest card. “Miss Kane, dinner is an excellent idea. I need to speak with
you and would rather do it in private. So, may I pick you up at six?”

“Mr. Stone, if
you have information on the murders I would appreciate you telling me now
instead of making me wait and losing precious time.” Her feet were now padding
across the floor. She was pacing.

“Kaya, please,
what I wish to speak with you about is more personal in nature. So I will pick
you up at six tomorrow evening. Please wear a dress. I will see you then.”
Knowing it was rude, he hung up on her. He would not give her time to overthink
this any more than she already was.

What the hell
just happened? She was having dinner with Rafael. Tomorrow. At six.
Wear a
dress.
“I don’t own a dress!” She shouted to her ceiling. It seemed her
plans for the day had been made for her. She was going shopping. For a dress.
What a rude ass, hanging up on her. She should call him back and tell him to
shove a dress up his tight, toned, ass. Not that she had noticed his ass. Or
his arms. Or his chest.     

Who was she
kidding? She was going to spend all day stressing over the perfect outfit for
her date. She, Kaya Kane, had a date. With the man that made her insides melt
with just a phone call. Was it wrong that she was going out with someone who
was still involved in the largest case she had ever worked? Her brain told her yes.
Her body said, “Who gives a shit? This is Rafael Stone.”

She needed to
shop for the Ball so she could kill two dresses with one shopping trip. Dammit.
If she bought a new dress, she would probably need shoes. She hated buying
shoes almost as much as she hated buying dresses. She loved the look of high
heels on other women but being tall made her feel self-conscious when she wore
them herself. Rafe was a tall man. If she did find a cute pair of shoes with
some height, he would still be taller than her. Now that she was rambling to
herself, she mentally prepared for her day.

The stores
didn’t open for a few more hours, so she had time to get a little work done.
First she would have some coffee and shower. Then she would do what she
dreaded; she would head to the mall.

 Kaya found the
perfect ball gown in the first store she went in. It was black with a draping
crisscross over the chest area. It would show cleavage but not enough to be
immodest. The slit up the side of the skirt ended just above her knee. Sexy but
not slutty.

Finding a dress
to wear to dinner was proving to be harder. She wanted something flirty but not
desperate. Not knowing how formal it should be was also a hindrance. Since all
magazines mentioned a little black dress, she was on a mission to find one even
though hers would not be little. At five-nine, she was anything but small. She
wasn’t overweight, she just felt like an amazon most of the time.

The number of
stores left to visit was dwindling right along with her hopes that she would find
something to wear. As she walked past a store that featured younger gothic
clothing, a little voice told her to go in anyway. A very spunky salesgirl
greeted her. “Hi there, can I help you find something?”

Kaya felt like a
fool, but told the girl anyway, “I’m trying to find a dress to wear to dinner
tomorrow night. I’m almost out of options so I thought I would just browse.”

The younger
woman looked her over. “Is this a special occasion? Like, is there a hot man
involved?”

Kaya laughed. “I
guess you could say that. It’s technically a first date.” 

“Come with me.”
The salesgirl walked toward the back of the store to a rack of all black
dresses. She pushed hangers around until she pulled out a black dress that
looked like it wouldn’t fit a ten year old. “Try this.”

“But that’s so,
small
.”
There was no way she would fit her size twelve ass in a size two dress.

“Trust me, it
stretches and as toned as you are, this is going to be the shit.” The girl
didn’t look abashed at her own language. Instead, she was grinning and pointing
toward the dressing room.

“What the hell.”
Kaya took the dress, handed the girl her package that contained the ball gown,
and went into the dressing room. She removed her clothes, again. She took the
skimpy article off the hanger and slid it over her head. She smoothed out the
front and was blown away. It was perfect. The neckline was scooped, billowing
over her breasts. The fabric was soft and flowing and was not as tight as she
thought it would be. The length hit right above her knees. Teamed with a nice
pair of pumps, this would be stunning if she did say so herself. This was
indeed the shit.

“How’s it look?”
The young woman certainly knew what she was doing. Kaya opened the door and
stepped out.

“What do you
think?” She kept running her hands down the front, feeling the softness of the
material.

“I think your
man is gonna eat you alive.” She was grinning and wiggling her eyebrows. Kaya
laughed at her.

“Yeah, well, we shall
see. I’ll take it.”

Finding a pair
of black heels proved to be relatively easy. She found a pair of open toe pumps
on sale at the first store she went in. Now all she needed was a pedicure. A
mask to wear to the Ball would have to wait until she could find a costume
store. With packages in tow, she headed to her car. Placing the dresses in the
back seat, she locked the door and returned to the mall to find a spa.

Kaya picked up
Chinese takeout and headed home. She had twelve murders, a missing delegate,
and two missing detectives on her plate. She was going to spend the evening
focusing on all of those things.