Leo came at me, yelling. This time, I was going to end it. He punched at me wildly, and I easily dodged him. I caught his right wrist and pulled him close to me. Then I slammed my forehead into his nose. He grunted, and I did it again and again until he fell to the ground, unconscious.
I could feel a smear of blood on my face, but I didn’t care. Ollie backed off, his eyes wide with terror. I walked calmly up to him and punched him three times in the face until he finally dropped to the ground, groaning and bleeding.
I spit next to him. “Tell your boss to fuck off, or else I’ll do worse.”
“Fuck you, Rafa.”
“Get your fucking friend out of here.”
Ollie slowly got to his feet, unsteady. He managed to revive Leo, and both men limped off as I headed back toward the car.
Cassidy was staring at me as I approached.
“What?” I asked her.
She climbed out of the car. “You have blood on your face.”
“Oh.” I took a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped it off. “Better?”
“No. And what the fuck was that?”
“Those were Ernesto’s men. I suspect they were here to harm you.”
“You suspect?”
“I don’t take chances.”
She gaped at me. “That was scary, Rafa.”
“You’re fine now.” I tossed the handkerchief aside. I didn’t even know why I carried one. I guess it felt right to have one when I was wearing a suit. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Okay,” she said softly, and followed me toward the building.
The crowd had dispersed already. I didn’t know if someone had called the cops or what, so I was in a hurry to get inside. It was a bad idea to be standing out on the sidewalk when the cops showed up after a fight.
We stopped in the foyer of her building. She turned to me, a strange look on her face. “You should come upstairs,” she said. “I should make sure you’re okay.”
“Fine,” I said, “but I’m okay.”
“Let me make sure.”
I smirked at her and nodded.
I knew what she really wanted. I could see it in her eyes.
She was starting to see the merit of my plan.
15
Cassidy
Watching Rafa beat the shit out of two guys was both terrifying and exciting, like pretty much everything involving him.
I’d had no clue what he was doing, so I’d had to get a closer look. As soon as he strode down the block toward my building, I got out of the car and moved a little closer.
Then the fight started. Rafa moved so fast, so gracefully, that it was possible to almost forget he was smashing the faces of two men out of nowhere. They hadn’t done anything to provoke the fight, but he seemed to think it was necessary.
As I watched, it slowly dawned on me. The Spiders said they’d protect me, but Rafa was actually doing it. He was willing to put himself on the line for me. He was willing to fight for me, draw blood for me.
The thrill was starting to win over the terror as he beat the two men down.
I quickly got back in the car, breathing deeply, trying to calm myself down before he got back. I was feeling something pretty complicated, something that rolled along my spine and made my toes want to curl.
It was lust, pure and simple. I’d wanted him before, but watching him defend me like that made me only want him more.
But I also felt like I knew him a little bit. He’d taken me to his home block and bought me breakfast, mostly just because he wanted me to know him.
Also because he wanted to get me pregnant. I couldn’t forget about that.
I bit my lip, looking out the window. He wanted to get me pregnant. He had said it was the only way to save both of our lives, but that just seemed crazy.
What if he was right? Maybe he really did need to get me pregnant to prove to the mob I wasn’t a threat. If I was his girl, or at least if I seemed that way to them, maybe they’d leave me alone. They had to trust him, even if they didn’t trust me.
But getting pregnant by a stranger, even a stranger I wanted, was just too crazy.
When he got back to the car, I followed him back into the lobby. As we stood there, I had an insane idea.
I wanted him to come up. I wanted him to come up and I wanted him to have me. I knew that he knew it. I could see it in his eyes. We both knew what I was thinking.
After I gave him my bullshit excuse of wanting to look at his injuries, we got into the elevator together. He stood close to me as we rode up in silence.
We stepped out and walked down my hallway together. I paused at my door and looked at him.
“Rafa,” I started, but I didn’t get another word out.
He pressed me against the door and kissed me.
I felt his hands on my hips, his lips against mine, and I gave in. I knew I should have said no, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I wanted this to happen with every single fiber of my being, ever since we’d first met.