Rafael (8 page)

Kaya dragged
herself into the precinct, tired from lack of sleep. It had been a long time
since Kaya felt as aggravated in her job as she did at this moment. She knew
the routine: discover, research, follow, investigate, solve. This case left her
feeling like a rookie. A certain suspect kept her distracted to the point of
frustration. What was it about him that demanded her attention? He was just a
man after all. On top of that, the last few nights had been restless. She felt
as if she were being watched.

 If she could
connect with Dane, she would feel better about taking the weekend off to relax.
Rarely did she take time off from work. Her last vacation, about five years
ago, had been mandatory after being shot during a drug bust. The scar on her
right shoulder still ached when it was going to rain. Not that she was able to
get out of town, but even if she could, she had nowhere she wanted to go.

If she were a
girly girl, she would go to the spa for a relaxing massage and pedicure. Manicures
were out of the question. She long ago gave up painting her nails. They would
chip within an hour and just piss her off for wasting the money. Maybe a
shopping trip was in order. Right. What did she need? New uniforms? Maybe she
would buy a new dress for the ball. Just because she went alone didn’t mean she
couldn’t look her best.

Sighing, she
opened her laptop. Before she could worry about the weekend, she had to get
through today. The first email was from the Governor’s office reminding her to
RSVP for the ball. She looked closer at the message. It contained a copy of the
invitation. This year’s ball was themed: Masquerade. That might be interesting.
She hit reply just as the dispatch band announced an assault in progress at
Lion Hart Dojo and Gym. It was said to be the elite training facility in the
south. Geoffrey Hartley, owner, was a cousin of the Stone brothers.

Rodgers and Smithson
were in the vicinity and took the call. Kaya had trained at the dojo. Geoffrey
Hartley ran a tight ship and took no shit from anyone. He was a mixed martial
arts trainer, former Marine, and all around badass. If there was a dispute,
Kaya hated to see what the other guy looked like. Soon enough she would read
the report when it came across her desk.

Her desk phone
rang. “Kane.”

“Hey boss, it’s
Dane. I need to take a couple of days off. I’ve come down with a virus, and
it’s contagious.”

“No problem. Did
you check out that lead yesterday? Do you have anything to report?”

“I did check it
out but nothing came from it so far. Look, Chief, I’m sorry to bail on you.
I’ll be back in as soon as my fever breaks, yeah?”

“Yeah. Feel
better, Abbott.” She hung up the phone. Something was up with him. He never
missed work. She often made him go home when she was afraid he was going to get
the rest of her team sick.

Sitting back in
her chair, she flicked her ink pin back and forth between her forefinger and
thumb. She stared at the ceiling as though it would give her the answers she
sought.

Screw it. She
was going to talk to Rafael Stone. He said he could provide video verification
of his whereabouts. She opened her cell phone and called his number.

“Stone,
Incorporated. How may I direct your call?” She recognized Willow’s voice.

“Willow, this is
Chief Kane. I need to speak to Mr. Stone, please.”

“I’m sorry, he
isn’t in yet. May I have him call you?”

“Yes, tell him
it’s important.”

“Yes Chief, I’ll
let him know right away.”

“Thank you,
Willow.” She thumbed off her phone.

One of her other
detectives walked in and placed a file on her desk. “Here you go, Chief. The
report on the armed robbery from last night.”

“Thanks.” At
least she had a file to look over, anything to keep her mind busy.

All of the
lights in Dane’s apartment were off, the curtains drawn. Never having had a
migraine, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he knew what one felt like, but he
imagined it felt like this. Every sound was amplified so much that he thought
his head was going to explode.

His skin itched
like he was infected with the worst case of chicken pox known to mankind. His
joints ached, his gums hurt. He truly felt like he was dying. Why didn’t he get
that pain prescription when Dr. Sarantos offered it? He could call her now, but
there was no way he could go get it. He could ask Kaya to bring it to him, but
he didn’t want her to see him this way: fucking curled up in the fetal position
on the floor. The tile was cooler on his skin than the cotton of his comforter.
He heard the door slam down the hall and knew it was the kid who worked at the
morgue. Trevor was weird, but he was friendly enough and often kept Dane
entertained on boring Friday nights.

He dragged
himself off the floor and made it to the front door before his neighbor had
time to disappear down the steps. “Trevor. Hey Trevor.” It took him a couple of
tries before his voice caught.

The kid turned
around and looked surprised. “Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you
fucking contagious? Whatever the fuck
that
is, I don’t want it.” He was
pointing his finger at Dane and circling it to emphasize
that.
                

“I don’t know
what this is, but I need meds. Will you stop at the pharmacy on your way home
for me?”

“Sure, but do
you think you’ll live that long? I mean fuck bro, you look like shit on a
stick.”

“Yeah,
bro
and I feel a million times worse. If I happen to kick it before you get back,
you can have my gaming system.” Trevor was an all-around great guy.  He loved
his job and talked about it non-stop when they spent time together.  His didn’t
take life too serious and lack of maturity made him that much more enjoyable to
be around.

“Fuck man, don’t
talk the morbid talk. I was kidding. Shouldn’t you maybe, I don’t know, go see
a doctor?”

“I did,
yesterday. Until she gets the test results back, the jury’s still out.”

“Okay, which
pharmacy? And for the record, I think you should call her back and tell her the
fucking jury better hurry the hell up.”

“I’ll have her
use the one at the hospital so you don’t have to go out of your way. Now, I’m
going back in here and pass out. Thanks, Trevor.”

“Yeah man, I’ll
see you later.”

Dane shut the
door and went to the thermostat on the wall. Even though it was October and the
weather was cooling off outside, it felt like a furnace in his apartment. He
cranked the AC down to fifty.

Breakfast dishes
were cleared away, and the men were enjoying their coffee on the patio. “I’ve
read your files. Lor, if you want to continue working at the quarries we could
use you. Finley, like yourself, is ready for a change of scenery. He’s been
with us quite a while, and the workers are getting a little suspicious that
their boss of almost twenty years still looks to be in his thirties. Good genes
can only be explained for so long.”

“Yeah, I’d be
honored Rafe. It’s almost a passion of mine and where I feel most useful.”

“Jasper, what
about you? Your employment hasn’t been consistent like Lorenzo’s, but you have
been a fireman several times. Is that something you’re interested in?”

His cousin was
nodding his head. “Yes, it is. I really enjoy serving the community and being a
fireman is one of the more exciting jobs. That or being a police officer. Where
am I most needed? Do we have anyone on the inside?”

Rafe was glad to
see Jasper truly was a team player. “As a matter of fact, we do not have anyone
on the force at the moment. There’s nothing in your file about you being a cop
before now. Are you sure that is something you want to commit to?”

“Definitely.
There were already several men on the inside on the west coast, so I opted for
the next best thing. If it pleases you, I would love the opportunity. It’s
something I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Well then, I
will get Jules on your paperwork and we’ll get you transferred immediately.
Thank you, Jasper. Lorenzo, you can start at the quarry tomorrow. I will let Fin
know he can make plans to head west. He can show you the ropes for a few days
then head out. Today, I would like for you both to spend some time at the gym
with Frey. Being shifters, we don’t need to work out, but we do it to keep up
appearances. He also teaches martial arts, if that is something you are into.
It does come in handy, being able to explain our hand-to-hand abilities.

“Now, I have
business to see to so I will leave you to your coffee. Jonathan will drive you
downtown around ten. Just meet him out front. Good day my brothers.”

“And to you our
King.” Both men stood as Rafe did, but he waved them off.

Priscilla was
holding the coffee pot when he met her in the kitchen. Holding his cup out, he
watched his faithful servant as she poured the hot liquid. “Sir, I put your
mail on your desk. I noticed the invitation to the Police and Fireman’s Ball is
not in the trash. Are you considering going this year?”

“As a matter of
fact I am. It’s a masquerade ball. Since the invitation does not indicate the
name of the invitee, I could go and still keep my anonymity.” Rafe had thrown
the invitation in the garbage can. As soon as he met Kaya Kane in his office,
he came home and pulled it back out. “I have plenty of suits. What I do not
have is a mask. Can you see to that for me?”

“It would be my
pleasure.”

Rafe kissed her
on the cheek and headed to his office to make a few phone calls. The first one
was to Sin. His brother should be up by now.

“Yo. How are my
two transfers doing?” The cheeriness in Sin’s voice was a pleasant surprise.
The last few times Rafe had spoken to him he sounded stressed.

“Actually they
are doing remarkably well. That’s why I’m calling. Well, that and I need to
send Finley your way. Have you already replaced Lor at the quarry?”

“No, I was going
to look into that today. If Fin wants the job, it’s his.”

“Good, I will
speak to him this morning. Lorenzo is assuming Fin’s role here. Jasper has
agreed to join the police force since we have no one on the inside at the
moment.”

“Really? And
he’s showing no signs of aggression?” Sinclair sounded completely amazed.

“No, he’s not.
He’s the picture of the perfect brother, Sin. I want to ask you what the
problem was on your end. Was there something about him that caused you to treat
him differently than the others?”

“He was shy and
I couldn’t really get him to talk to me. I guess I may have pushed him too hard
to come out of his shell. Why, do you know something I should know?”

“I believe I do.
Until I know for certain, I am keeping it to myself though. I do not want to
speak out of turn if what I think is not true. When I find out for sure, I will
let you know. I believe his aggression was a defense mechanism.”

“As long as he
is working out for you that is all that matters. Has Julian been able to
determine how the files were hacked? That is still troubling to me.”

“As it is to me,
Brother. He informed me last night the he has the system updated and it should now
be impenetrable.  He is afraid the hack came from inside the family. He is
supposed to call this morning with an update.”

“Who on the
inside would fuck with the system?”

“That is a very
good question.  One I hope he finds the answer to.”

“Any other
business before I go?”

No, my brother.
Have a good day.”

“Same to you.”
Rafe disconnected the phone then waited for a dial tone, calling Willow.

“Good morning,
Willow, how are you today? Excellent. Yes, thank you. Please RSVP to the
Governor’s office that I will be attending the Ball this year. Yes, you heard
correctly. Yes, I have that covered. No, I will not be taking a date. She did?
Thank you, I will return her call. Yes, I will see you later.”

Before he could
think about Chief Kane calling him, his phone rang. Julian. “Good morning,
Brother. Do you have good news for me?”

“Maybe. I am
still digging into the firewall breach.  As for the email from Bartholomew
Cromwell, it seems to have gotten through because it was sent at the same time
the firewall was down. Even though it appears to be a coincidence, I am not
taking any chances.

“I have
researched Cromwell and his company. He tried to bury the true company behind
several false fronts, but I was able to get several layers deep. The odd thing
about it all is the parent company, WSD, Inc. is owned by a Richard Adams.”

“That name
sounds familiar… Richard Adams…”

“If you were
Nik, you would have picked up on it immediately. Since you do not read as often
as our dear brother, I will tell you. Richard Adams wrote
Watership Down
,
the dystopian novel about rabbits. Thus the initials for his company, WSD. Now,
I do not believe this to be the true Richard Adams since he is no longer of
this world.”

“So what you’re
saying is, we still have no idea who sent the email?”

“That’s what I’m
saying. I will keep digging. Also, Nik wanted me to tell you he may have come
across something. A book he found at the library seems interesting, with the
interesting part being the author: J.V. Montague.”

 “Montague, as
in Jonas Montague?”

“One in the
same. This was written as fiction many years before the clone wars. In this
novel, the heroine is human, and her mate is a shifter. His shifter isn’t named
by species, but it does have similar characteristics with Gargoyles. This seems
too much of a coincidence to let it go. I am researching his whereabouts as
well as his next of kin. If we can find him or his other writings, we might
find out if he knew the truth of us.”

“I thought he
was dead.”

“From what I can
tell, there was never a burial, just a memorial service. No body could mean no
death.”

“Tell Nikolas
that is his primary focus. I will reschedule his place in the rotation. He is
to continue digging until he finds this man or at least someone related to
him.”

“Yes my King.
Any more from your lady?”

“She’s not my
lady. However, I have decided to go to the Ball this year. It’s a masquerade
affair so I will be able to observe her more closely.”

“This oughta be
good.” Julian rarely allowed his vocabulary to lax into slang the way Nik’s
did. Rafe laughed at his cousin.

“Yes, it
oughta.” With that, he disconnected.

Rafe dialed the
number he had memorized after the first time she called. “Kane.” Sweet gods,
that voice.

“Chief Kane,
this is Rafael Stone returning your call. What may I do for you?” Besides throw
you down, strip you naked, and ravish your body?

“Mr. Stone,
there are a few more questions I have for you. I also need to get that security
footage you assured me would put you at the office at the time of the murders.”

“Ah, back to
that. I was hoping this was a social call. I will have the security feed sent
to your office, unless you would like to look at it here?” What the fuck was he
doing? Inviting her to his office last time had been a test of willpower like
nothing he’d ever endured and now, he was willingly going to go through it
again?

“As a matter of
fact, I would like to see it at your office, not that I think you would tamper
with the evidence.”

“Of course. I
have a few errands to run, but I can meet you at my office around noon. Will
that be sufficient?”

“Yes, I will see
you then.” The phone disconnected in his ear.

Obviously his
charm was losing its luster. Hers, however, was not. He adjusted the erection
that was pushing against his zipper. He could either wait for it to subside, or
he could take care of it in the shower. He opted for the latter.