Out of Nowhere(55)

The guy nods convulsively, his hands up in a pathetic don’t-hit-me pose, desperate to get away from Rafe. Rafe spits at his feet and then comes back to the car, shaking his hands like he can dispel his anger that way instead of through a punch.

“These entitled white boys see you as a hot Mexican girl they can take something from,” he says to Cam. His voice is fierce. Poisonous. “Okay? You can’t trust them. I’m sorry.” She nods and buries her face in his chest. He puts her in the backseat and gets in with her. “This is my friend Colin.”

“Hi,” says Camille miserably. “I’m sorry, Uncle Rafe! I just didn’t know—”

He shushes her and pulls her against him as he gives me directions. The roads deteriorate as we get closer to Cam and Luz’s, the space between streetlights measured in blocks rather than feet.

In the rearview mirror, Rafe looks intensely relieved, his hand running absently through Cam’s long curls. I pull up where he tells me. It’s not a street I’d ever stop on in the middle of the night if I could help it, and I make a mental note to lock the car doors behind them.

“Come inside for a minute, okay?” Rafe says. “I don’t want you sitting out here by yourself.”

Yeah, that’s not humiliating in front of his niece or anything.

“Uh, I’ll be fine, man.”

Camille says something in Spanish under her breath, and Rafe gives her a warning look.

“Please,” he says, and he gives me that look. I roll my eyes because it’s a combination that basically makes me incapable of not doing whatever he says.

The building is run-down and smells like mold as we trek up the stairs to Cam and Luz’s third-floor apartment. Cam stops at the door, turning a pleading look on Rafe. She bats her eyelashes.

“Thank you so much, Uncle Rafe. You’re a lifesaver. Maybe I should just go in by myself, though. Mom’ll be tired when she gets home from work and she probably won’t want a lot of people around, you know?”

She smiles a brilliant smile. It’s a valiant effort and I can tell Rafe’s the tiniest bit amused by her antics. Before he has a chance to say anything, though, the door bursts open.

“Camille!” the woman who must be Luz yells, then claps a hand over her mouth, like she’s just now realizing how late it is. She looks terrified as she grabs Cam and hugs her roughly. Over Cam’s shoulder, she looks up at Rafe worshipfully.

She lets go of her daughter and hugs Rafe.

“Thank you,” she says over and over, wiping tears on Rafe’s shirt.

When she pulls back, she notices me for the first time.

“Hi,” she says, giving me a wobbly smile. Her voice is friendly, though, and she shakes my hand. “I’m Luz.”

She’s just gotten off work, she’s clearly been worried about her daughter, and it’s nearly four in the morning, but Luz is beautiful. She looks a lot like Rafe. She’s tall and has the same strong, clean cheekbones and chin, and the same charmingly crowded teeth.

“Colin,” I say, feeling awkward as hell.

Her expression changes and she looks at me more carefully. “Well, aren’t you handsome,” she says, and I’d think she was flirting with me if she didn’t turn to Rafe and wink at him. Rafe snorts and I feel my face heat up.

Rafe’s expression turns immediately serious, and he focuses back on Cam, who is currently trying to tiptoe through the open apartment door while the adults are all distracted with each other. She freezes when she feels Rafe’s eyes on her and tries a smile.

“We’re going to talk later, Camille,” Rafe says. “After you’ve told your mother what happened.” Cam opens her mouth, but Rafe glares at her and she snaps it shut. “You and I are going to have a conversation about drugs.” He steps so close to her that she has to tilt her head way back to see him. “In case you’ve forgotten,” Rafe says, his voice gentler now, almost vulnerable, “I ended up in prison because of them.”

Camille looks ashamed, but before she can say anything, Rafe leans down and kisses her on the cheek.

“Always call me,” he tells her fiercely and kisses the top of her head before he pushes her inside.

He lets out a sigh and turns to Luz.

“Rafe, I—”

Rafe holds up a hand to stop her. He leans down and kisses her on the cheek too. “I can’t right now, sis. I love you.”

And he takes my hand and leads me away.

As we’re driving back to my place, Rafe leans his head back against the seat and closes his eyes.

“Thanks,” he breathes. When he turns to look at me, his eyes are warm.