Rafael (The Santiago Brothers Book One) (10 page)

“So what do you want him for?”

“The people who may have killed Ms. Canales
are very dangerous. If your brother knows anything, he needs to
come forward.” There was urgency in Rafa’s voice.

The woman’s arms moved from across her chest
to her hips. She bit her lip hard and glanced from Rafa to Genie
and back to Rafa. She tried to hide it, but Genie detected the
slight look of fear in the young woman’s eyes. At that moment, the
surveillance team appeared from the back of the property, giving
Genie the all-clear.

Genie stepped forward, catching the woman’s
gaze. “Ms. Canales was left to die in her own blood on the cold
stairwell in her apartment building. Please, if you know anything,”
she entreated.

The woman’s lower lip quivered until her
teeth bit down hard. “Look, I don’t know nothin' about her murder.
All I know is that my brother went missin' right after we heard
about Maribol.”

“Missing?” Genie feared the next words out of
the woman’s mouth.

“I called him and he told me it wasn’t safe
for him to talk. He hung up the phone and that was two days ago.
That’s all I know, I swear.”

“Okay, we believe you,” Rafa said gently.

The woman nodded multiple times and breathed
in deeply. She let out a slow breath and set wide eyes on Rafa.
“Will you find him for me? Maybe the guys who got Maribol got him
too.”

“Don’t think that way.” Genie laid a hand on
her arm. “We’ll do what we can to help but, for now, if your
brother contacts you, we have to know. Will you call us?” Genie
produced a business card from her credentials case.

“Sure. Sure.”

Genie caught Rafa staring at her with
surprise. She mouthed the question “What?” He cleared his throat.
“Um, your name, ma’am? Sorry we didn’t ask in the beginning.”

She
smiled at Rafa. “Flores. Can I call
you
if I hear anything?”

Rafa
smiled, his cheeks coloring slightly. Genie thought his reaction
uncharacteristic.
He
should be used to female attention by now!
But nevertheless, the slight
color was genuine, and Genie shook her head to clear it. The last
ten minutes were a rollercoaster of fury, fear, and intense
flirtation. Cold and direct — that’s what she found appealing… and
safe.

“Sure. You can reach me at the number on
Detective Green’s card. Have a good day, Ms. Cera.”

“
Y tú también, guapo
,” she purred. Rafa chuckled nervously and Genie stomped
towards their vehicle.

“
Y tú también, guapo
. What’s that? You too handsome?” she snapped.

“Sure.” Rafa matched her step with his hands
in his pockets.

“Wow. You know, you have a real talent with
women.”

Rafa gave her a sideways glance but didn’t
answer. She saw the corners of his mouth fight an upward pull.

“I bet they have you working all the female
subject interviews.” Genie tugged hard on the door handle.

“You don’t have to be jealous, Genie,” came
his smooth reply.

“Jealous? Ha! Why would I be jealous of her?
Over you?” She got in and slammed the door closed.

Rafa slid effortlessly into the seat, calmly
closed the door, and jerked his seatbelt on when the car surged
forward. Genie nearly forgot to brief the surveillance team, and
she whipped the vehicle around and pulled alongside the other car.
She rolled down her window. “Let’s give it another day, fellas.
I’ll let the lieutenant know and if there’s any change to the plan,
then we’ll give you a call. Until then, your relief will come as
scheduled.” They nodded in affirmation, and Genie drove away.

“Watch your speed,” Rafa teased.

“
My
speed? What about
your
speed?”

“
My
speed?” His
voice feigned innocence to her insinuation.

“
In
another minute, Ms.
Flores
Cera
would have forgone the call and invited you in. I’m sure she could
whip up some fajitas and rice in no time.”

Rafa roared with laughter. “Do you hear
yourself? Fajitas and rice? Who knew Ms. Church could toss around
stereotypes?”

Genie blinked. Did she truly say that? Shame
swept through her. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That was unkind. I
don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I do.”

Genie heard the smile in his voice. She
wasn’t jealous.

She. Wasn’t. Jealous.

Jealousy was an emotion for the weak… for a
girl who couldn’t keep her man interested in her. Sure, plenty of
women fell all over Jeff. He was classically handsome, a jock, and
destined to follow in his parents’ footsteps and be a doctor or a
high-powered attorney. Genie’s parents were middle-class: not poor,
but not rich. She was considered pretty but not the stunner that
should have been on Jeff’s arm. But Jeff chose her. She had no
reason to be jealous, but she was. Those women who fell all over
Jeff? He fell all over them, too. Wherever smoke rose, fire always
followed. Always.

“Wait a minute. Ms. Church?” Her anger
suddenly rekindled.

“Oh, just what we used to call you in
school.”

“
Who
used to call
me?”

“Me and some of the other boys,” he said
casually, as if it were a time long past.

He had
noticed her!
I must have looked cute
. Plaid skirts and flowered blouses came to mind. And her
hair… always in a braid.
I did not look cute
. “That’s not very original,” she muttered. But it
was news to her, and it stung.

“Well, weren’t you president of the Chastity
Club?”

“Chess Club!” Genie flushed hot. “And the
Bible Club.”

His triumphant laugh enveloped her. “Close
enough.”

Genie
resisted the urge to stare at him, knowing if she did she wouldn’t
be able to stop glaring and then they’d run off the road. Instead,
she silently counted to ten. Then she counted to ten again. She
heard Rafa chuckle softly. Genie gripped the steering wheel.
I can’t believe I
even considered him a changed man. I even felt guilty!
Her prejudgments were correct.
All along Rafa saw her as “Ms. Church.”

A few years ago, she would've been proud to
know her witness was impactful but lately it embarrassed her to
admit her faith. So much of it had followed Jeff when he walked out
of her life with the other woman. She knew plenty of people at the
Bible study the other night but managed to make it through without
speaking to anyone except Rafa and his mother.

Genie shot Rafa a quick glance. His eyes were
on her and his dimples were deep chasms in his perfectly bronzed
face. Heat shot up her neck and into her hairline. She marveled at
how in one minute he made her so angry and in the next, completely
flustered. She hadn’t blushed this hot since Jeff. She swallowed
hard, lifted her chin, and let out a quick breath. She wouldn’t
allow Rafa’s opinions of her nor his smiles dictate her emotions
any longer.

You have to deal with this.

His words came back to her. The only problem
she saw was Rafa, and the sooner they solved this case, the sooner
he'd be dealt with.

AH
,
Ms. Church
.

Rafa remembered well his thoughts of Eugenia
when he had secretly given her that nickname back in high school.
She was so pure and his thoughts … well, they weren’t. His friends
had dared him to pursue her if only to dump her later. Getting a
girl to fall for him was his specialty, but something held him back
from playing the game with Genie. Maybe it was because she attended
church; he didn’t know. When his father had left his mother, Rafa
swore he wouldn’t follow in his footsteps, but then he never could
stay in a relationship. He blamed his father's influence, and for
the last several years, he avoided emotional attachment, convinced
deep down a part of him still hadn’t changed.

Rafa felt a soft buzz in his back pants
pocket. He pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen. Jimmy, his
friend in the San Diego FBI division, had sent him a text. The FBI
in Springfield had been briefed about San Diego’s money-laundering
investigation against California’s La Cocina Dulce restaurant. An
agent would contact him immediately. With the investigative
resources of the FBI at their disposal, the motive for these
killings would soon be uncovered.

“Green, you have a suit waiting for you by
your desk.” An officer met them at the front of the office.

“Okay, thank you,” she replied.

Both he
and Genie had just returned from their encounter with the colorful
Flores Cera. Rafa smiled. He was no stranger to women flaunting
their attraction for him, but Genie’s reaction had caught him off
guard. Her anger at
him
of all
people not only amused him but also gave a boost to his deprived
ego.

Genie was an anomaly. She rarely favored him
with a look and when she did, darts shot out of her eyes and never
missed their mark. He’d caught her attempts to hide a blush a few
times and despite her denial in the car earlier, he knew jealousy
when he saw it. Her persistent dislike of him was thinning.

Today he’d seen an unexpected side of his
partner. She spoke calmly and with compassion to Flores when the
woman was distraught over her missing brother. Genie had said she
empathized with the victims, but her hard exterior made it
difficult to believe she possessed a soul. He was happy to have
seen it… it complemented her well.

And for the first time in a long time, the
primal urge to pursue a woman burned hot within him.

From a distance, a tall blond male, in a
well-tailored suit, stood near their desks. As they approached, the
unidentified man faced them. “You must be Detective Green,” the
suit said.

“I am. And you are?” Green asked.

The suit flashed his badge. FBI. “Drake
Compton. Very nice to meet you.”

“And you.”

Compton faced Rafa. “And you must be,
um—”

“Detective Santiago.” He gripped Drake’s
hand. “I assume you heard from Jimmy?”

“Right, right. Our office should be receiving
a copy of San Diego’s case file. My boss called me from the office
and I was in the area, so I decided on doing a face to face.”

“Should we perhaps move to a conference
room?” Rafa suggested. As he passed the fax machine, he picked up a
few pages and read over the coversheet. “We’ve received the report
from the ME.”

“I hope you don’t mind me showing up
unannounced.” Compton placed a hand in his tailored pants pocket.
“But I heard my boss say money laundering and drug trade and I
couldn’t wait to be briefed.”

“Oh, Agent Compton, it’s really no problem.
It’s not often we get a case with the FBI so I’m glad we get to
work together,” Genie answered.

They entered the conference room and sat at
the table. Rafa, too, was pleased he would be collaborating with
the FBI. He'd soon be working for them and he counted this a great
opportunity to meet some of his future coworkers. “I’m actually
from the PD out in San Diego,” Rafa began. “There’s a restaurant
called La Cocina Dulce, which is well-known as a front for
laundering drug money. The owners are deep in the trade, dealing
mostly in cocaine.”

“Detective Green called our office a few days
ago when she heard about the San Diego restaurant. We’ve done some
preliminaries on the restaurant here, but so far, we don’t have
anything concrete. I also understand there have been a few murders
in your jurisdiction that might be connected.”

“That’s right, Drake,” Genie interjected.
“One man who worked at the restaurant was murdered last week, along
with a young boy. A mother has also been killed and, as you know,
two nights ago a young woman was found dead at her apartment. It
hasn’t been determined whether the latter three are at all tied to
the restaurant.”

“You said you have the medical examiner’s
report?”

Rafa slid the report across the table to
Drake. “Genie and I attended the autopsy the other day and—”

“Genie?” Compton interrupted.

“My nickname,” Genie offered.

“
Like I
was saying,” Rafa began again, “
Detective Green
and I attended the autopsy of Maribol Canales. She
was murdered in the same fashion.”

“I take it you have extensive experience with
this rabble?” Compton directed his stare at Rafa.

Rafa’s own eyes didn’t relent. “I do.”

Compton gave him a brief glance-over. “You
were a member.”

Rafa shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with
the level of the suit's perceptiveness. “I was.”

Compton smirked and eyed Genie. “Well, it’s
always good to have an inside man, especially one who has a similar
mindset to these perps.”

Rafa sat up straight, the muscles in his neck
hardening, as were his fists. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to meet
his future coworkers.

“
Wait a
minute, Agent Compton,” Genie interjected. “Detective Santiago was
a source
against
the
Snakes. I wouldn’t suggest he possesses their mindset.”

Rafa
couldn’t believe his ears, or his eyes. Genie had actually defended
him, despite all of
her
attacks. The
cavity around Rafa’s heart warmed, and the heat penetrated deep. He
saw her give him a glance and their gazes held.

Compton swiveled in his chair to face Rafa.
The smirk remained. “No offense, of course, Detective.”

Rafa responded with a stiff smile.

“What can you tell me about the money
laundering?” Drake asked.