****
Genie groaned as she sat up in the hospital bed. She didn’t want to come, but Rafa insisted she get checked out. After lying still for the last couple of hours, she now realized how hard of a hit she took. Genie leaned over to reach her toes, stretching her tight muscles. She took her time sitting up straight again, conscious of how her head swam. But despite everything, she still had a job to do. Unless she was shot and on her deathbed, she couldn’t afford to rest. The attackers and Diego were gone. Flores was injured and Rafa… she hadn’t seen him for hours. He’s supposed to be my partner. “Argh, where is he!”
“Right here.”
He walked in and relief washed over her. He stood on his own two feet, and except for a slight bruise forming on the edge of his chiseled jaw, he seemed unharmed. He stopped at the edge of her bed and pulled a chair over. Sitting down, he stretched his arms over his head. Genie watched as his black t-shirt strained over his taut stomach. He drew her attention to his hair when one hand combed through it. Loose curls fell where they pleased, much to Genie’s pleasure. But his cloudy eyes and hard jaw betrayed tension.
She resisted the urge to scan his form, yet again, and focused instead on the bruise coloring beneath the stubble on his chin. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine, Genie. Got clubbed a bit but the other guy is much worse, believe me.” He chuckled and rubbed his jaw. He then noticed the redness of his knuckles and smirked.
Genie rolled her eyes. What a macho, macho… She dared not finish the thought. It wasn’t supposed to go that way in the first place. First she ogled him and now… She stared and he dimpled. Genie rubbed the small knot on her right temple to hide her eyes. “Well, good. At least you know you injured your attacker.” Genie scowled. “I think I fired twice, and I’m sure I hit the guy, but he kept coming.”
The attack happened faster than she realized and only now could she remember minute details. A brick, or something extremely heavy, was thrown through the glass window into the front living area. Flores screamed at the top of her lungs. Diego tried to quiet her down, but then the door burst open. A huge black figure came at Genie. It was all she could do to get a couple of rounds off. Weight bulldozed her into the wall and she slid to the floor, stunned.
After she finished relaying her story to Rafa, he filled her in on what he had experienced, including seeing a black sedan before they entered the house. “So you think this sedan might have been the car they were driving in?” she asked him.
“Well, Diego did say he was being followed. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time I saw the car. I only noticed the car because it seemed to slow down when it neared Flores’ residence, but then it continued to pass.”
Genie’s brows scrunched. “I don’t recall the previous surveillance detail mentioning anything about a black sedan canvassing the neighborhood.”
“Neither do I. It could be it never did until Diego showed up.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“I’m with you on that one. It was too dark to get the license plate, but I gave as good as a description as I could to the officers. All the units will be on the lookout for—”
“A commonly used vehicle,” Genie finished with another groan. She didn’t get any sort of look at her assailant either. So a positive identification was out of the question. “How is Flores?”
“A slight concussion, but other than that she’s fine. I left her sleeping.”
Genie felt a pang of sympathy for the woman. Flores was caught in the middle of an assassination attempt. If Genie and Rafa weren’t at her home that evening, she might have been killed along with her brother. Regardless of what role her brother played in the murders, Flores was an innocent. “She was pretty hysterical about Diego earlier.”
Rafa sighed audibly. “Yeah, she was, and I think she’d still be that way if she wasn’t so exhausted. When she wakes up, we need to ask her what her brother knows. If he’s told her anything at all, it could help with our investigation.”
“Do you think she knows something?”
“If Flores has been harboring her brother, I’m guessing he may have told her a thing or two. He’s been expecting the executioners. He wouldn’t leave his sister in the dark without some way of protecting her.”
Genie agreed. Diego did say he would’ve left town if not for his sister. But that decision risked a lot more than his life. “I wish we knew what he knows.”
“Me too,” he said quietly.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. The day had been long, and the night would be longer as soon as Lieutenant Winters arrived to berate them both for putting Ms. Cera at risk. Anger flared towards Diego. If he would turn himself in, the police could protect him. At least she and Rafa could avoid future unexpected run-ins with Huera and Montenegro.
“How long do you think we have until the lieutenant shows up?” Rafa asked.
“Not long!” Lieutenant Winters stood in the doorway, hands lost underneath the folds above his hips, his face flushed with anger. “What in the world happened tonight? This was supposed to be a simple surveillance and here I find some young woman has a head injury and one of my officers is laid up in the hospital.”
“Sir, I’m not laid up.” Genie swung her legs over the side of the bed to stand, but a warm hand on her knee restrained her. Already out of his chair, Rafa’s eyes told her to take it easy. For a second, she forgot her boss stood a few feet away, watching her every move to see whether she was fit for duty. As warmth traveled up her thigh, her gaze lingered on the dark pools before her.
“You sure look laid up.” Winters broke the spell.
Genie closed her eyes in frustration.
Rafa faced his temporary boss. “We had no idea Diego was being followed until after we began talking to him. By then it was too late.”
Winters’ gaze tightened on Rafa. Genie’s throat went dry. He wouldn’t blame Rafa for what happened, would he? Would Lieutenant Winters ship him back to California?
“Look, Santiago, I appreciate you coming all the way from California and all, but Detective Green is one of my best. I can’t have her getting killed over chasing down a possible witness.”
“Sir!” Genie tried to interject but was ignored.
“Lieutenant Winters,” Rafa began, “we both agree Detective Green is invaluable to your department. Believe me, I don’t want to see her dead either,” he ended sarcastically.
“Can you two please stop talking about me as if I’m not in the room? For the record, I’m fine, just a little beat down, that’s all.” She appreciated the fuss but the paternal implications unsettled her. She was an officer just like the two of them, and just as capable at performing her job. Not depending on men made her tough.
“Santiago, take her home as soon as the doctor discharges her. I just finished briefing Agent Compton, who was asleep, if you can believe it.” He snorted his disapproval. Winters pointed in her direction. “I want you to rest, and then tomorrow start fresh. New leads on this Diego guy and I want to see your FBI liaison out of his office and hitting the streets with the two of you. Understand?” He didn’t wait for their response.
When they were alone, Rafa gave her a sheepish grin. “I think that went well.”
Genie laughed and then clutched her chest.
“Are you alright?” Rafa’s hands were on her upper arms and she was drawn to his eyes.
The pain subsided and she forced a grin. “I’m okay. It hurts to laugh. The doctors said I might have some bruised ribs, but it shouldn’t be too serious.” She tried to stand, but his hands held her in place. “Rafael?”
“Maybe you should just rest a little while longer. Delay your discharge.”
“Actually, the doctor said I was free to go before you showed up.”
“What if you tell him your chest hurts?”
Genie smiled at his scheming. “I’m fine really, and I want to sleep in my own bed tonight.” She pushed his hands away, but he planted them firm
ly on the bed on either side of her. Genie sucked in air when his face stopped inches from her. She stilled and nothing drew her notice but his face, his nearness.
“Eugenia, for once, just slow down. You don’t have to do everything alone. Let me help you.” His voice was soft but demanding. His eyes spoke of concern for her, and she marveled. Could she let someone else help? Let someone else in? The bitterness of her broken heart still had a stranglehold on her life. And she was choking. All her energy went into proving her own worth, her own merit. The man before her didn’t doubt her abilities, didn’t ask her to sacrifice everything; he just wanted to help. To be her partner. She could count on him.
As the heat of their bodies joined, she inhaled his sweet, minty breath. Then, as if willed by something beyond her control, her eyes drifted to his lips. What could she do? Full, pleasantly curved, they were there — staring at her like forbidden fruit… just ripe. She knew if she could just have one taste, it would change her life forever, and satisfy a childhood daydream. It’d been too long since she had been kissed. A kiss from a man of integrity, of worth. Genie relinquished her control to the magnetic pull and went willingly.
Her eyes closed.
Chapter Twelve
Rafael (The Santiago Brothers Book One) Page 26