Page 2 of Rafael

Chapter Two - Rafael

I don't even think when I open the door and see Amelia standing on my doorstep, eyes wide and wanting. The first taste of her is heaven, seared on my tongue in a way that I'll never forget. I want to hitch her up in my arms and march her to my bed. Once she's there, I'm never letting her go.

But something's wrong.

It takes me a second to realize.

She's stiff in my arms.

She's not kissing me back.

Some dark force inside of me whispers that she's not pushing me away either.

I have to pull back. I've got my hands on her shoulders, but I've put a bit of breathing room between us. Two days ago I put the biggest scumbag of my career - George Browler - in prison. This is supposed to be the best weekend of my life.

But Amelia has tears in her eyes.

"Please, Rafael, I don't have anywhere else to go." Her voice is weak, her lips wet from the kiss, and I've never felt like more of an asshole.

Something is wrong. Very wrong. And I don't know why Amelia is coming to me. She's never done it before. I've been waiting for years. And that text she sent me an hour ago was like a dream come true.

She's my best friend's little sister. I can't make the first move.

But if she comes to me...

She's not. Not for that. I need my cock to settle down so I can help her. It has to be bad if a daughter of the mob needs a cop on her side.

We're standing in the doorway and Amelia looks liable to jump out of her skin. I tug her inside and shut the door behind us. Now is the time to let her go. I have no right to keep touching her.Â

But Amelia looks like she'll crumple to the floor if I let go. I lead her to the couch and help her sit, but that's it. No more touching. My hands feel empty when I pull them away. I should sit on another chair, far away from her and the temptation that she brings.

I sit right beside her.

She needs help.

She needs comfort.

She needs me.Â

"What's going on?" I ask it in the same voice I use on fragile witnesses. And Amelia glares at me like she knows I'm handling her with care.

It makes me smile. Even when she's hurting, she's strong.

"Angelo is out of town," she starts with and that has to be why she's here. She'd go to her brother if she had any choice. "I saw something. Something I shouldn't have. And now I think someone's following me."

I want to spring out of my chair and look out the window, but I stay where I'm sitting. "What did you see?"Â

She takes a deep, shaking breath and then the words pour out. "Vinnie DeLuca shot Denis O'Shea in an alley off Fourth Street three days ago. I was getting dinner at Uncle Dino's restaurant and when I was walking to my car I heard two men arguing in the alleyway. I know, I know," she holds up a hand, already shaking her head, more to herself than at me, "I should have kept walking. IÂ know. But I recognized Vinnie's voice. And Uncle Dino doesn't like trouble. I turned the corner to say something. I don't know what. That's when I saw Vinnie pull out a gun and shot Denis point-blank. Denis fell. I must have made a sound. Vinnie saw me. I was right under a streetlight. He pointed his gun at me and I ran. He even shot. The bullet went wide. He's been trying to find me ever since. He knows I'm the only witness." She's shaking as she speaks and hunches in on herself, wrapping her arms around her.

Fuck this. I pull her close, letting her shiver against me. She needs comfort.

And more help than I thought.

"I'm assuming Denis O'Shea is related to Rob O'Shea." It's not a question.

She still nods.

"Is Vinnie trying to start a war?" I'm keenly aware of the tensions between the Italians and Irish in this town. Any man named Rafael Maguire would be. I'm not thinking with my cop brain here even though I have a duty to report this crime. I'm thinking like a son of two mobs and a man who needs to protect his brother's little sister.