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Rafe
“Help me how?” Elena’s clear eyes narrowed on me as I moved around her dressing room, tidying her things into the sagging sports bag on the counter.
“First, I’ll drive you home. Unless you plan to take a cab?” I already knew she wasn’t. People who couldn’t afford health insurance wouldn’t waste valuable money on a cab. Cabs were expensive in this city, and the heavy traffic ensured you paid a hefty sum for the privilege of taking one.
Elena frowned as she chewed on her lip, a little tell when her mind was working furiously. I was quickly learning this woman and planned to know everything about her. My satisfaction at punishing Hugh had long since deserted me. Now, I was gripped with thoughts of Elena and how to get inside her head. My new obsession, after so long.
“Unless you don’t want me to know where you live. I can give you the money for a cab if you’d prefer?” I understood her guarded expression. Men in this city, and every city, were predators, and women were their prey. Whether it was in clubs, out on the street, or at home behind closed doors, women had every right to feel worried about their safety when it came to men.
But I wasn’t like other men. I was different. I might look like a man, eat, sleep, and walk like a man, but underneath my suit, I was something else.
I would never hurt Elena, but I would and could harm anyone who came between us or anyone who threatened her.
I’d never hurt a woman. They weren’t on my radar when men had so much to atone for. Despite this, I never fooled myself into thinking I was a good man. I knew I was a bad person, broken, twisted, and sick. Most people wouldn’t be able to live with the things I did for my father, but I’d accepted my fate. A devil lived inside me, and I managed him as well as I could. He only hungered for guilty souls, and my human side had no qualms about giving them to him.
But Elena was different. An angel. Pure. Innocent.
Mine.
“I’ll find a way to pay you back,” Elena said, breaking me from my reverie.
“Unnecessary,” I said immediately.
“Please. I can’t take money from you if you won’t let me pay you back,” she insisted.
My girl was stubborn. Proud. I nodded, giving in. What was the point in arguing? Soon, she’d understand. I had no need for her money.
Her scrunched brow relaxed, and she nodded. An urgent fury filled me that this stunning woman, talented and employed by a big company, couldn’t afford a taxi home after injuring herself.
“Let’s go out front. It’ll be easy to get a cab if I can’t persuade you to go to the hospital.” I was conscious of Hugh James slumped in the corner, liable to wake up at any moment and make a scene.
Elena shook her head resolutely, but her eyes couldn’t hide her fear. She was afraid of the cost and even more afraid of the injury to her ankle and her career. She didn’t need to worry. I was going to take care of her. She just had to let me.
“Do you need help? I watched her shift around, trying to stand.
She looked at me with a resigned sigh.“I don’t think I can put any weight on it.”
I nodded, stepping toward her and reaching under her before she could protest. Her slender ballerina’s body was light and lithe. I hugged her close to my chest with one arm and supported her leg with the other. Even being careful, she sucked in a hiss of pain.
“What’s your name?” she asked as I grabbed her bag on the way past and left the dressing room. We left through the backdoor of the theatre, and I headed through a dark alley toward the busy street out front.
“Rafael Luciano. You can call me Rafe,” I told her.
“Rafe. I’m Elena.”
“I know.” I flagged a taxi, and one stopped immediately. After carefully lowering her inside and getting more than a lungful of her delicious smell, I reached for my wallet and fished out a hundred-dollar bill.
Elena’s eyes widened as she saw it.“It’s too much,” she protested.
I handed it to the driver.“You’re paying me back, remember?” I gave her a grin to lessen her anxiety.
She nodded, biting her lip.
“Here’s my number.” I pressed my business card into her palm.
She looked down at it, and her gold headdress sparkled like a crown in the light from the theater.
“Call me if you need anything at all. Money, someone knocked out, anything.”
