Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (6 page)

Pain
radiated from his soft brown eyes. “It was horrific. Seeing them bloodied and
beaten… It’s been fourteen years, and I still can’t get that image out of my
mind.”

My
heart hurt just thinking about it. I gently squeezed his hand. “Is that why you
joined the special operations group?”

Rafael
nodded. “I was too late to save my parents, but I was determined to protect
others from suffering the same fate.”

I
nodded. What Rafael had been through with his parents explained a lot. “Do you
know why they were targeted?”

He
shrugged. “My parents had a lot of money. Some thugs broke into the house to rob
them. When they thought my father was holding out on them, they tied him up and
made him watch while they beat and raped my mother. They shot my father before
they left.”

I
pushed my plate away, suddenly too nauseous to eat. “I hope they were caught.”

“They’re
both dead,” Rafael responded vaguely.

I
sighed sadly as I leaned my head against his chest. “My uncle was murdered when
I was in high school. My father had to identify his body. The trials were awful…
the photographs, the autopsy report, and the bloodied sheets.” I shook my head
as I tried to dispel the images. “Four people were prosecuted, so the trials
dragged on for over a year. My family relived his death over and over again.”

Rafael
reached for his wine. “What happened?”

I
took a deep breath and blew it out. “My uncle had money… not the kind of money
your family had, but a good chunk of money for someone living in Montana. He
remarried after my aunt died, but we didn’t meet the woman until the night he
was killed. He was visiting my family while in town for his class reunion. His
wife insisted they stay at a hotel instead of staying at our house. He was
beaten and strangled that night. We learned later that the woman had planned it
from the very beginning. She seduced my uncle, convinced him to marry her, and paid
her son and two nephews to kill him so she could take his money. They’re all in
prison now. One of the men is sitting on death row.”

Rafael
squeezed my shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Kristine. I never knew.”

I
looked down at the napkin that was now clenched in my hand. “Those trials and
the prosecuting attorney inspired me to pursue a law degree, but my ex-husband wouldn’t
allow me to go to law school when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in
pre-law. I finally took the entrance exams for law school last year, but then I
discovered this graduate program in conflict resolution. I think part of the
reason I chose this program is because I want to believe there are ways we can
prevent violence.”

Rafael’s
jaw clenched. “Michael told me about your ex-husband. I’ll admit that it has
taken considerable restraint not to track him down and make him pay for what he
did to you.”

I
shook my head. “He’s not worth it, Rafael. He’s not worth a single second of
your time.”

The
waiters returned to our table to clear our silverware, glasses, and plates. Two
more waiters arrived with fresh silverware, new wine, and two plates holding
small steaks. Again, every action was synchronized.

Rafael’s
eyes met mine as he cut into his steak. “We make quite the pair, you and me…
both haunted by violence and still trying to save the world.”

I
laughed softly. “That sounds about right, although you make it sound like the
back story for a couple of superheroes.” I cut into the steak. My eyes widened
when I realized I didn’t need a knife. The steak tasted like it had been drenched
in an herbed butter. A soft moan slid from my lips as the steak melted in my
mouth.

Rafael
looked thoughtful as he watched me take another bite. “I’d like to propose
something, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”

I
took a couple sips of wine before nodding. “Go ahead,” I encouraged warily.

“If
you take this peace-building job, I’d like to train you in self-defense. Shoot,
I should probably train you in self-defense even if you don’t take the job. You
seem to be a magnet for trouble.”

I
swallowed hard, so the wine wouldn’t spray out of my nose. “You want to teach
me how to protect myself?”

A
determined look settled over his face. “Yes. I can’t protect you all of the
time. Well, I could, but it would drive you crazy if I followed you everywhere
you went. I’d feel better if you knew how to defend yourself.”

I
set my wine glass down and ate another piece of steak while I considered the
merits of his proposal. “You know, Rafael, I think that sounds like a very good
idea. Can you teach me Russian too?”

His
smile faltered. “Russian? Why?”

I
popped the last piece of steak into my mouth. “If I get this job, my first
assignment will be in Ukraine.”

A
cloud fell over Rafael’s face. “No amount of training is going to protect you against
the Russian mafia or the underground KGB.”

I
smiled. “I’m not planning any parties with either group.”

Rafael
just shook his head.

The
waiters stopped by to clear our silverware, glasses, and plates again. Two
other waiters arrived with fresh silverware, wine, and plates containing a
breaded meat.

Rafael
reached for his fork. “I’ll be tied up with an assignment over the next three
days. Can we start Saturday morning?”

I
eyed the meat skeptically. I wasn’t terribly fond of breaded mystery meat. “Sure.
Do I need to buy any special equipment for this?”

Rafael
shook his head. “I should have everything you need. I converted one of the
rooms in my house into a gym. We can train there.” He paused as he took a bite
of the breaded meat. “Would you be willing to consider lifting weights? It
would really help with the self-defense training.”

I
nodded as I cut into my own piece of mystery meat. “I used to lift weights in
Montana and when I worked on the Hill. I wouldn’t mind picking it back up
again.”

“Good.
I’ll give you the key to my house and the security code. You can go over there
any time you want to work out.”

“So
we’re trading keys now?” I teased. I sampled the meat and breathed a small sigh
of relief. The breaded meat was Chicken Kiev, which was totally doable.

“I
already have a key to your place,” he reminded me, “and the code.”

My
eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah. About that. How did you figure out the code?”

He
shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult once I saw your friend Kadyn over there.
Besides, I can bypass most security systems. That was part of my training in
special ops.”

“Speaking
of Kadyn…” I began nervously. “I should probably let you know that he’s coming
over tomorrow night.”

Rafael
raised an eyebrow questioningly.

The
waiters returned, this time with sea urchin, which was artfully presented
inside its prickly shell. Like the previous courses, the sea urchin had its own
pairing of wine.

My
eyes met Rafael’s as the waiters walked away. “Rafael, we’re just friends. When
I came back from Paris, Kadyn made it clear we could
only
be friends. He
couldn’t stomach what had happened between Michael and me. Anyway, we went on
this scavenger hunt to benefit Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital last weekend. He
had to dress up in a Batman costume...” I laughed at the pained look on
Rafael’s face. “I know, but it was for a really good cause.”

Rafael
reached for a lock of my hair. He wound it around his finger, then gently
released it. “What were you wearing?”

I
looked up from the sea urchin and smiled. “I was dressed as Supergirl.”

“I
think you’d make a great Catwoman,” he murmured suggestively. A wicked smile
danced in his eyes as he polished off his sea urchin.

I
just shook my head. “That’s when Kadyn discovered that I haven’t seen any of
the Batman movies from the Dark Knight Trilogy. We have a movie marathon
scheduled for tomorrow night. He feels it’s his civic duty to catch me up on
the adventures of Batman.”

Our
plates, silverware, and wine glasses were cleared. Two additional waiters
arrived with fresh silverware, wine, and scallops. The chef had drawn a heart
around the scallops with a light orange sauce.

Rafael
swirled one of the scallops through the orange sauce before popping it into his
mouth.  “Are you going to tell Kadyn about me?”

I
leaned back in my chair as I sampled the wine. “Yes. I plan on telling him
tomorrow night.”

Rafael
glanced at me as he reached for his wine. “And how do you think he’s going to
react?”

I
shook my head. “I honestly don’t know. He said he only wants to be friends, but
neither one of us has dated anyone since I returned from Paris. The fact that
you’re Michael’s brother won’t sit well with him. I’m sure he considers you an
accomplice.” I paused as I sampled the scallops. “How do you feel about Kadyn
still being my friend?”

Rafael
tucked me against his chest. “I don’t harbor any ill will toward the guy. I’m
thankful he was able to rescue you from Justin Morris… a little peeved that he
got there before me, but I can’t fault him for that. I think he’s a fool for
not taking you back, but I should be thanking him for that too. If he had taken
you back, I doubt I’d be sitting here with you now.”

The
waiters returned to our table. This time they brought dates stuffed with basil
and goat cheese. I watched the waiters perform their dance before focusing my
attention on Rafael. “So, you’re okay with it?”

He
studied me as he popped a date into his mouth. “You do realize he’s still in
love with you?”

I
shook my head. “No. I don’t think he is. He loves me, as in he really cares
about me, but I don’t think he’s
in love
with me… not anymore.”

“Oh,
but he is. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. His ego and his pride have been
hurt, so he’s not about to admit it to you. Although, once he knows you’re
dating me, he may decide to tell you.”

The
waiters returned. They removed our dishes while another set of waiters delivered
fresh silverware, two plates of strawberry foie gras, and coffee.

I
took a bite of the strawberry foie gras and moaned. The foie gras was lovely,
but it was the strawberry-port preserves that made me want to lick the plate.

Rafael
laughed as he reached for his coffee. “That good, huh?”

I
hummed appreciatively. I considered Rafael’s comments about Kadyn as I dug back
into the dessert. If his suspicions were right, my life was about to become a complete
train wreck. I wasn’t capable of dealing with that train wreck, given all the
wine I’d been drinking, so I reached for my coffee and steered the conversation
into a more manageable direction. “Who’s your assignment? Can you say?”

Rafael
sank his fork into the dessert. “A Saudi prince. He has his own bodyguards, but
he wanted to add someone to his security detail who knows DC. I would have
assigned somebody else, but he insisted on me.” A grin spread across Rafael’s
face as a mischievous look sparked in his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ve still got
you covered.”

I
peered at him over the top of my coffee cup. “What do you mean you have me
covered?”

He
reached for his coffee and relaxed back into his chair. “I have two other
security guards assigned to watch over you while I work this assignment. I’m
going to take a wild guess that this doesn’t sit well with you, but I’m not
convinced that the people who are after Michael won’t still come after you.”

I
narrowed my eyes as I lowered the coffee cup. “These men won’t be sneaking into
my house?”

Rafael
shook his head. “Not unless they have good cause and clear it with me first.”

Our
waiters arrived with yet another dessert. This time they came bearing dark
chocolate mousse.

I
took a bite of the rich chocolate mousse and sighed contentedly. The mousse was
heavenly, perfect when chased by the smoky notes in the coffee. “Well, if I
have to choose, I’d rather have people watching over me than have a repeat performance
of what happened in the water fountain.” I shuddered, remembering the crazed look
on the man’s face as he tried to drown me.

Rafael
rubbed his warm hand up and down my arm. “Me too,” he whispered as he kissed
the top of my head.

I
felt like another change in topic was in order. “There’s another question I’ve
been meaning to ask you.”

“Hmm?”
Rafael responded as he ate a bite of the chocolate mousse.

My
eyes narrowed as I studied his face. “Did you send me roses on Valentine’s
Day?”

A
smile spread slowly across his face. “Yes. I had them delivered to your
school.”

I
reflected on the note he had written and never signed…

If only the world would
stop moving long enough for me to capture you in my arms. I would chase all the
pain away and heal your broken heart. What I wouldn’t pay for the world to
stop, for you to finally know you are my heart’s greatest desire. I would make
you mine, Kristine, and never let you go.