Page 1 of Rafael

Chapter One - Amelia

Help me. I need you so bad.

There's no response to my text, but I'm running. Everything is so screwed up and Rafael's the only one I can turn to. He's the only one who won't try and bring me into the fold... or kill me. The smell of blood is hanging in my nose so strong I'm sure I'm covered in it.

I'm not.

It was days ago. I've showered a dozen times since then.

And I was on the other side of the street.

I know my family does bad stuff. It's the kind of family that comes with a capital F. Family. Familigia.Â

Mafia.

It's nothing I want to be a part of.Â

But you can't help the family you're born into. I stay on the fringes. What I don't know can't hurt me. At least, that's what I thought until...Â

I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life.

How did I let it get to this?

If I tell my grandfather that I won't say a word I think he'll believe me. But he'll want more. He'll want a sign of loyalty. One thing will lead to another, and I'll be stuck in the family's world for the rest of my life. It won't just be one murder that haunts my dreams. It will be every crime that comes after.

I won't be the one to pull any triggers but knowing is its own kind of crime.

My brother, Angelo, could have helped me out of this mess. He's been pulling me out of scrapes and saving me from the family since I was little. He's been dodging them for years too. But he's not here right now, he's out of town doing some business of his own.

That makes Rafael my only option.Â

My brother's best friend.Â

A cop.

My oldest crush.

Of course he is. He's eleven years older than me and always seemed so grown up. And the man he's become... if I wasn't on the run from my family I would eat him up.

Or I'd try.

I haven't exactly had any success in the eating men up department. Do I want to be a twenty-three-year-old virgin? No, not really. But the only man I can imagine touching me is Rafael.Â

But I can't think of that now. I can't want him when I need him this much.Â

The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end and I can swear someone's following me. They're not. I checked. Three times. Angelo taught me how to lose a tail when I was nine. Rafael was right there with him.

And now Rafael is my only hope. I shouldn't bring this to his doorstep. He walked away from all of it a long time ago when he chose to become a cop rather than follow in his father's footsteps.

I make it to Rafael's building and run up the steps to his door. No one's chasing me. Not here. I would have seen them.

But I don't know if I'll ever be calm again.

I pound my fist against the door so loud that it startles me. Please be home. You have to be home.

He hasn't responded to my text. He could be anywhere.

With anyone.

I don't have time for the stab of jealousy that nearly cuts me off at the knees. I'm nothing to Rafael but his best friend's little sister. I don't have the right to be jealous.

I hear the lock being turned and relief pours through me.Â

He's home.

Rafael opens the door, and my heart skips a beat. He's tall, well over six feet, with dark blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and the kind of jaw that makes models jealous. Right now, it's covered in stubble. His lips are full, and I have to tear my gaze away from them before I give myself away. I don't get to think of him like that.

He's wearing loose-fitting jeans and a tank top that puts his biceps on display. This is the man who has been starring in my fantasies since I was old enough to fantasize.Â

"Amelia." He breathes my name out as he looks me over.

Then he reaches out, pulls me close, and covers my lips with his own.