Rafael (7 page)

Coffee was doing
more harm than good on Kaya’s empty stomach. She needed food. Dane hadn’t
called yet to update her on the lead he was checking out. She wanted to run the
anonymous tip by him and have him question Rafael, but Kaya was tired of
waiting on him to call her back. She packed her laptop in its case and grabbed
her keys. After she had lunch she would have another talk with the prime
suspect. Kaya passed the dispatcher on her way out. “I’m going to check on a
lead. It’ll take a while, so if you need me call my cell.”

Kaya wanted more
information on Rafael before she approached him again. She drove to Giovani’s,
a nearby Italian restaurant. The lunch crowd was thinning out. The lack of
clientele along with a table in the back allowed her a modicum of privacy.
After taking her seat, she pulled her laptop out of its case and began
searching. Kaya didn’t want Rafael to be guilty, but that didn’t mean she
shouldn’t research him anyway. First she was going to look into Elizabeth
Flanagan.

Even though
there was no proof, the consensus at the office was that Gordon Flanagan had
abducted his twin. When her uncle’s clinic was bombed and Elizabeth
disappeared, the media spent all their time researching the Flanagan brothers
and their relationship with Elizabeth, as well as each other. When Gordon and
Magnus were teenagers, they both fell in love with Elizabeth Carson. Magnus
went off to medical school, and Gordon joined the military. Gordon would come
home on leave as often as possible to see Beth. With Magnus out of the picture,
Gordon eventually convinced her he was the brother she wanted.

Soon after they
were married, Gordon began showing his true demeanor: dark. Magnus graduated
and returned home to join their father’s private practice. By then, Elizabeth
was already married to the wrong man. She confided in her brother-in-law that
she was pregnant, and soon after, she disappeared. Somehow, Gordon found out
Elizabeth was hiding out in Atlanta with her uncle.

Kaya wondered if
Elizabeth was still alive. Whoever helped her disappear had succeeded in
erasing all trace of the woman and her daughter. If Gordon had managed to track
down his brother after thirty-three years, it was possible he could find his
wife as well. Not likely, but possible. Kaya had encountered quite a few rich
and powerful men over the years, but none as hell bent on revenge. If Flanagan
was indeed behind these murders, she was going to need an army of her own.

The waitress
cleared away the dishes and asked Kaya if she was ready for her check. She
noticed the time in the corner of her computer.
Shit.
She had been
sitting there for over three hours with no more information on Rafael than she
already knew. She would just have to go talk to the man. She packed her laptop
and left enough money on the table to cover the tab.

Twenty minutes
later Kaya was pulling into the parking lot at Stone, Inc. for the second time
in two days. She shut the engine off and was opening her door when she saw a
sleek black Jaguar convertible pulling through the security gate that led from
the underground parking garage. Rafael Stone was behind the wheel. Kaya ducked
down in her seat quickly, hoping he didn’t see her. Her vehicle, being a
standard issue cop car, was pretty conspicuous. She rose up slowly to see the
tail lights disappearing down the street, heading out of town. She started her
engine and backed out of the spot, hoping to follow him wherever he was going.

He surprised her
by taking New Buford Highway instead of getting on the interstate. She kept
several cars between them so he wouldn’t notice her tailing him. A few miles
down he turned off toward the abandoned Country Club. When they were the only
cars on the deserted country road, Kaya backed off. More than likely she would
miss where he turned, but she didn’t want him to know she was back there.

Tall trees lined
the road on both sides. If it were summer, the road would be canopied by green
branches reaching toward each other. With it being late October, the leaves
were now vibrant oranges and reds.  If she had been any closer to Rafael, she
would have blown her tail for certain. He turned into a driveway, stopping at
the gated entrance to enter his code. Kaya pulled over on the shoulder, waiting
until he drove on, out of sight. Was this where the elusive Rafael Stone called
home? She glanced in her rearview mirror and noticed another car coming up
behind her. She couldn’t just sit there, so she pulled back onto the road and
drove off. The car, a dark SUV with tinted windows, turned into the same
driveway as Rafael.

Kaya reached a
dead-end. She waited, hoping she wouldn’t be joined in the turn-around. When
she thought enough time had elapsed, she drove back the way she came. 
Shit.
Kaya passed several more cars and a few motorcycles headed toward Rafael’s.
Since there were no other driveways past his house, it only made sense they
were all headed to the same place. What was going on? Was he having a party?
She was pretty sure her cover was blown.

She could always
gate crash. Not literally, but she was within her rights to question him. He
was under investigation, and she was saving him the trouble of coming downtown.
Right.
She just wanted to see how the other half lived. Her little
two-bedroom would probably fit in his living room. Not that she could see his
house from the road. What if it wasn’t a house? She needed more information.
Her search earlier didn’t elude to his home address. It was almost six so
calling Wilkes was out of the question. Shit, she needed Dane.

Rafael had
called Priscilla earlier to tell her that most of the men were coming for
dinner. He requested the back patio and deck area be set up so they could enjoy
the cool air. The brothers never passed up the opportunity to eat one of
Priscilla’s home-cooked meals. While most of them employed their own
housekeepers, none had a Priscilla. Rafe was climbing out of his Jag when he
heard the rumble of the bikes.

The men parked
in the drive just outside the garage. Geoffrey, along with Lor and Jasper were
exiting the Suburban. Rafe smiled at his cousins. He had met Lorenzo about
fifty years prior but Jasper was new to him even though he was probably four
hundred years old. Lorenzo approached and bowed his head, “My King.” Rafe
pulled him in for a friendly hug. “My brother.”

Jasper looked
less than thrilled as he approached Rafe. Bowing his head, “My King.” Rafe
didn’t pull him in for a hug, instead held his hand out to shake. “Jasper,
welcome to New Atlanta.” They shook hands, and Rafe headed toward the house,
his Clan in tow.

A bar was set up
off to one side of the enormous deck. Jonathan was handing out drinks as
Priscilla was placing the steaming pans of food into the warmers that were situated
on a couple of side tables. The men all grabbed their drink of choice then
started filling their plates with food. There was no formality when they
gathered like this. They were just a family sitting down to a meal together.

Rafe grabbed his
plate and sat at the head of the table. Once everyone was seated he began
eating. Small talk was made while they ate. Nothing serious was spoken about in
front of the newcomers, not until Rafe felt them out, got a sense for where
their heads were. He stood to refill his drink and felt someone behind him.

Frey, who was
grabbing a beer, held an expression of amusement as he clapped Rafe on the
shoulder. “Did you happen to notice one police issue vehicle earlier?”

Rafe nodded,
grinning. “Yeah, for her to be chief she sure can’t tail someone for shit. I
clocked her as I was leaving the office.” They both enjoyed a chuckle then Rafe
grew serious. “We really can’t have her seeing us all together. We’d have some
serious explaining to do.”

“Truth, Brother,
truth, unless...”

Rafe cut him
off. “I need to speak to Jonathan, then on to the fun and games.” Rafe found
his old friend inside the house eating with his sister. “Priscilla, dinner was
excellent as always. Jonathan, when you are finished eating I need a favor. The
chief of police followed me home. I’m not worried that she knows where I live,
but I do not want her nosing around when all of the Clan are gathered together.
If you would, please monitor the perimeter cameras to be sure she is not trying
to find another way in.”

“I will be glad
to, my Lord.” Jonathan inclined his head.

Rafe returned to
the gathered men. He could tell Gregor was anxious to get the game started. He
loved the full contact. Rafe and Gregor were almost always captains when they
played. Today he decided to switch it up. He raised his hand, and everyone got
quiet. “Now that you all have your bellies full, I think we should play a
little football. We have new family among us, therefore I have decided we’ll
let them be captains. Lor, Jasper, I’ll flip a coin and you two can choose your
teams. Jasper, you call it.”

Rafe flipped the
coin and Jasper called tails. Tails it was. Pointing to opposite sides of the
deck, he separated the captains.                      Jasper eyed all of the
men and chose Gregor. Lorenzo chose Rafe. They went back and forth until
everyone was on a team. Rafe picked up the football he’d stashed earlier and
led the way down to the back field. “You chose first, so we get the ball
first,” he told Jasper and his crew.

“Any rules?” the
newcomer asked a little warily.

“Just one: no
phasing.” Rafe grinned at him and trotted off to his team.

All the men were
shirtless. No reason to tear apart perfectly good clothing and as rough as they
could get, that is exactly what would happen. Gregor and Rafe lined up facing
each other. Gregor loved the chance at rushing his brother and knocking him on
his ass. This was one time when Rafe was not King but just another player on
the field. Nikolas, in the quarterback position, called the play and Rafe
snapped the football between his legs. Players scrambled all over the field
trying to get away from the defense. Being shifters, they were equally matched
in speed and strength.                    

Lorenzo
zigzagged and used his muscular legs to jump a little higher than his opponent,
snagging the pass out of the air. Strong arms wrapped around his waist taking
him down. If he were human, the breath would have left his chest as he hit the
ground with a thud.  “Good catch, cousin.” Frey offered his hand to help Lor
up.

After the snap,
Nik handed the ball off just before he was knocked to the ground by Jasper, their
bare chests pressed together. “If I didn’t really like women, I might think
this was hot.” Nik laughed as the newcomer scrambled away from him. The plays
continued with Jasper’s team holding Lorenzo’s to no score.

Now on offense,
Gregor snapped the ball to Julian. He handed it off to Jasper who ran up the
middle for about ten yards until he was tackled by Sixx. Next play, Julian
pumped the ball a couple of times, muscles rippling in his toned arms. He
wasn’t as bulky as some of the others who spent a lot of time in the gym. He
was more streamlined and sleek, like a panther. He passed a perfect spiral to
Dante who ran the ball in for a touchdown.

Play continued
for about an hour until Rafe called the game a tie. Jasper didn’t show any
signs of aggression other than tackling really well. At some point during the
game, Jonathan brought water bottles down to the field. They all clapped each
other on the back recalling catches and tackles while they rehydrated.

“Great job men.
Nothing like a friendly game to welcome family. Jasper, you and Lorenzo will be
staying here at the manor with me until we find your permanent homes. Tonight
we will let you settle in. Tomorrow night you can begin scouting rotation.
Before any of you leave, I’d like to speak with Jonathan. He’s been monitoring
the perimeter for any sign of Miss Kane. I want to make sure she isn’t hanging
out by the road. It’s bad enough she saw all your vehicles coming in at once.
Should she single any of you out and ask what you were doing here, tell her we
were playing poker.”

Once Jonathan
gave the all-clear, the men headed to their respective transportation. They all
said goodbye and left for home. Frey helped the two new members grab their
luggage, and Priscilla directed them to their rooms.

Rafe walked him
to his SUV. “Well, what do you think?” Rafe respected Frey’s opinion as much as
anyone’s.

“I have a
feeling I know what the problem is, but until I know for sure, I’d rather not
speculate. If I’m correct, we need to speak to Sin. Have Jasper and Lor come
see me tomorrow at the dojo.”

Rafe clasped his
hand, shaking it then pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you, Brother. I will talk
to you tomorrow.” He waited until Frey was out of sight then went in search of
his new houseguests. Voices coming from the kitchen told him Priscilla was entertaining
them.

Rafe leaned
against the door jamb while Lorenzo was telling Priscilla all about Sinclair’s
housekeeper, Ingrid. Jasper was watching Lorenzo intently. Rafe’s laughter
startled them all but none more than Jasper. If a Gargoyle could blush, his
face would be scarlet. The fact that he wouldn’t meet Rafe’s gaze was a clear
sign he was embarrassed. Rafe walked up behind his cousin and placed his hands
on his shoulders, offering a comforting gesture.

“Priscilla, how
long has it been since you spoke to Ingrid?” Most of the servants came from the
same family lines, and he should have realized they were related.

“I talked to her
just yesterday. She called to warn me about these two.” She pointed at them
with the spoon she was using to stir some sort of sweet batter. Priscilla was
always baking something sinful and fattening since Rafe loved his sweets. “She
told me that Lorenzo is a health nut and that Jasper really likes his meat.”

Rafe could feel
the younger man tense beneath his hands. Instead of playing off the double
meaning, he patted his cousin on the shoulder and let it go. “Then Jas and I
will get along famously since I love a good steak as well.” He used the
shortened name hoping to ease the tension he felt pouring off his new brother.
Is this what Frey was going to find out for certain, that Jasper preferred men?
Rafe didn’t care who he liked as long as he was loyal to the family and did his
job. He wouldn’t be the first gay Clan member. Rafe realized a long time ago
that love was love, no matter the gender.

Jasper relaxed,
glancing back at his King. Rafe squeezed his shoulder for extra reassurance.
“If you two are okay with your accommodations, I will leave you in good hands
and say good night.”

Both men stood,
shaking Rafe’s hand. He excused himself to his suite. He wanted to call Sin,
but he would allow Frey time to come to the same conclusion he had about
Jasper. Rafael felt an unrest in his body, the yearning to let go, unfurl his
wings, and fly high above the city. He wouldn’t kid himself. He was headed to
Kaya’s again.

It wasn’t often
one of the Clan broke the law willingly. Nik felt that sneaking into the public
library after hours technically wasn’t wrong. He wanted to research the public
information, and he could not do that with a certain librarian in attendance.
Therefore, Julian hacked into the security system and allowed Nikolas entrance
when no one else was there.

Instead of
taking the elevator, he took the steps to the third floor. That familiar scent
filled his senses, causing a slight flutter in his stomach. Pushing the memory
to the back of his mind, he strolled past the desk where the cute brunette was
sitting earlier. He made his way to the computer bank and typed
gargoyle
into the search field. Thousands of references came up, most having to do with
the stone structures that paid homage to his bloodline. It took several hours,
but Nik scrolled through every mention of gargoyle on the system. He began
writing down reference books that mentioned origins.

He walked
through the rows of books until he found the ones that weren’t solely based on
folklore. His excellent night vision squelched the need for lighting. When he
was about to give up, he happened upon one passage that mentioned the shifters
and their origins. The footnote mentioned the source of the passage that led to
another book. He returned to the computer and researched the book and its
author. Locating the mentioned book, he pulled it off the shelf and was just
about to sit down to look through it when his cell phone buzzed.

He looked at the
text message from Julian:  “Get out of there now.”

Nik placed all
the books back where they came from with the exception of the last one he
picked out. He would borrow it and return it tomorrow night. He paused and
listened. Footsteps were coming up the stairwell on the first floor. If he
hurried, he could make it to the roof before the security guard found an
intruder. As quietly as a mouse hiding from a tomcat, he opened the door to the
stairs and ran two steps at a time to the top floor. He exited onto the roof,
thankful Julian was manning the alarm. He tucked the book into the waistband of
his jeans and removed his shirt, tying it around his waist. He phased as he was
running to the edge of the roof and launched into the night sky.