Packing Heat(19)

As I walked out into the warm summer day, I stopped in my tracks.

Up ahead, leaning against the hood of a black muscle car, was Rafa. He smiled and took his sunglasses off when he spotted me.

Fear and excitement spiked through my chest. It was a strange feeling. I wanted to run away and I wanted to run toward him, and I didn’t know which was stronger.

In the end, I just stood there. He walked up to me, wearing an expensive-looking suit and smiling that cocky grin.

“You look good,” he said to me.

“How did you know I was here?”

He shrugged. “I followed you.”

“You what?”

“Followed you.”

“That’s creepy.”

“Yeah, maybe. But you’d thank me if you understood why.”

“Try explaining.”

He frowned at me. I wanted to reach out and touch his handsome face. I wanted him to press me against the wall and kiss me until I couldn’t stop myself from tearing his clothes off. I wanted to scream for help.

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked.

“I need to know.”

“Your friend is dead.”

I gaped at him, sadness welling up in me. I barely knew her, and yet I felt such sadness for her death. I could barely describe it, but I had felt a strange kinship with her. She was so much stronger than I could ever be, but part of me thought that if things had been different for me, maybe I could have been her one day.

But now she was gone, and I felt a sadness drill its way through my stomach.

“How?” I asked.

“You know how. If it makes you feel any better, she didn’t talk. Well, except to dime you out.”

“It doesn’t make me feel better.”

“I didn’t think it would. But listen to me. You’re in even more danger than before.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the only lead they have left.”

“But I don’t know anything.”

“I know that. They don’t.”

“What does this mean?”

“It means that I was making sure nobody is trying to snatch you off the street and tear your fingernails off until you tell them anything they want to hear and more.”

I took a step back from him, horrified. “They do that?”

“They do that.” He shook his head. “I’m not trying to scare you here, Cassidy. I’m trying to help you.”

“You’re doing a great job of not scaring me.”

“I’m not suited to this,” he said. “I’m not normally trying to fucking save someone.”

“What are you normally trying to do?”

He was big and intense, muscular and tattooed. I knew what he normally did.

“I normally break skulls. I normally hurt people. Bad people, but still.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Trust me. That’s all you can do.” He gestured at his car. “Come on. I’m going to give you a ride home.”

“I have my car here.”

“We’ll get it later. I want to make sure you get home okay.”

“And then what? You stay at my place forever?”

“No,” he said. “And then I leave. I need to go back to the compound and figure this shit out.”

“What compound?” I ground my teeth, frustrated as hell. “I’m over my head here, Rafa.”

“I know that.” He suddenly stepped toward me and put his hand on the small of my back. I froze, the twin feelings of fear and excitement surging through me.

Excitement won over. I didn’t move a muscle.

“I’ll take care of you,” he said. “Come with me.”

“Okay,” I practically whispered.

We walked toward his car, and I felt a tingling desire rush down along my back. As I climbed into the passenger seat and his engine roared to life, I wondered if I was making the right decision here.

I didn’t know this guy. He was intense and gorgeous, but so far all I had was his word for it.

But he knew my name. And he knew who Dasha was.

And he was definitely in the mob.

I knew I was screwed. There was no going back from that.

Maybe Rafa could keep me alive and get me through this.





10





Rafa





I drove Cassidy back to her apartment, checked to make sure nobody was waiting for her, and then left. As far as I could tell, I was the only one following her, and none of Ernesto’s guys were lurking around the building.

As much as I wanted to stay, I had to get back. I had to talk to Ernesto and see what he was thinking before I made any other moves. Maybe I could have brought the girl with me, but that was like pulling her into the hornet’s nest.

She was safest in her apartment. I told her that if anyone other than me came to the door, she should call the cops. That wouldn’t help in the long run, but it would keep her alive for a little bit. Long enough for me to try to help, at least.