Two Sides to Every Story (Love Spectrum Romance) (16 page)

“What did you think?”

“I thought you wished you hadn’t said you love me.”

“Do you regret telling me?” Angela whispered.

“Are you kidding? I planned that whole trip to tell you that I loved you. I wanted to make everything right, to share my life with you. I want you to know everything about me, why I became a cop, what I’ve done since becoming one. I want you to know everything.”

“Are there secrets you’ve been keeping from me?”

She was running her tongue across his lips, pressing even closer, and he could feel himself getting hard again. The quickie had been just that, a quickie. She was backing away from him, teasing him, making him want her even more.

Raphael was painfully aware of his arousal. His erection was straining against the zipper of his jeans, begging for release, begging to be buried in the one woman who could crush his dream. He watched Angela as she took another step away from him.

“Don’t even think about it, Angel,” he said softly. “No more games.”

“Was I playing games?” Angela asked.

“You were,” he answered.

The deceptively soft voice was laced with steel. Angela stared at the green eyes that were holding her gaze. A shiver claimed her, running down her spine and settling in her toes, only to start the journey in reverse in a matter of seconds. She started walking back toward him. “Are there any secrets?”

“Secrets can wait,” he growled, lifting her in his arms and taking her to the bedroom. This time they would do it right. He would make love to her as an angel deserved. He would make sure that she saw heaven again; then he would tell her.

* * *

The blinding sun streaming through the window woke Rafe and he glanced at the clock in alarm.
Oh shit.
He had less than twenty minutes to get to work and he had to go home and change.

“Angel, wake up.” He bent and kissed her eyes. “I have to go.” He dashed into the shower, making it short and sweet. He was out in under two minutes, putting his clothes on and rushing out the door to his own apartment to change into his uniform. The commander would have his ass if he showed up late for roll call. “See you tonight, Angel. How about I take you to dinner?” he called over his shoulder, not giving her time to answer before leaving.

Chapter 18

Angela stayed right where she was, sated from the night of passion. She knew she should get up and get moving, go out, get clues, but she didn’t want to budge. She thought about Rafe’s words as he left her apartment. This would be their first real date. This would be their real beginning.

But before she could get to that she had to try and make things right with her brother. She called her parents. She knew Adrian had not taken her off the list without telling them.

“Angela,” her daddy said after taking the phone from her mother, who’d barely said hello to her.
Angela?
This was serious if her father wasn’t calling her
baby.

“Hey, Daddy, what’s going on? Are you mad at me or something?”

“Do I have a reason to be?”

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.”

“Daddy, don’t do this. Just spit it out, tell me what’s got you with a bug…” Angela blew out a breath, knowing not to finish that sentence. “He called you?”

“You talking about your brother?”

Angela sighed. She no longer had to guess. They knew. “Yeah. Adrian took me off his visitors list.”

“He told us that it was dangerous for you to see him. He said that you’re dating a cop and he’s afraid that you might give him some information that would hurt him.”

“He really thinks that I would do something to hurt him?”

“Are you dating a cop?”

“Yes, but how is that hurting Adrian?”

“You know how much this family has been hurt by the Chicago police. I can’t believe that you would do this.”

“I didn’t do this to hurt you. I didn’t do it to hurt any of you. You told me I should live my life. You said I deserved it. Don’t I deserve to have someone love me?”

“The only one you could find to love you was a cop?”

Her father’s voice was filled with disgust, making her want to cry. “I didn’t fall in love with him because he’s a cop.”

“Who is he?”

“His name’s Rafe Remeris.”

“He’s Mexican?”

“No, he’s Puerto Rican. What difference does it make?”

“Your brother said a Spanish cop beat the shit out of him and you’re asking me what difference does it make?”

“It wasn’t Rafe.”

“How do you know?”

“I know.”

“Have you asked him?”

“I told him what happened to my brother. He would have told me if he’d been involved.”

“Dream on. Listen, I’ll tell your brother to put your name back on the list and you can go and try to sell this to him. You don’t have to worry about Adrian anymore. Your mother and I already made our decision and this time you’re not talking me out of it. We already put the house on the market.”

“Daddy!”

“Don’t
daddy
me. Someone has to stand by your brother. I always thought you would, that being a part of this family meant something. But I see the first chance you got to show what family means, you showed us. Too bad it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I was always so proud of you. Now…”

His voice trailed off and this time the tears came. “Daddy, I am loyal. I have done nothing but help Adrian. I moved into the Pilsen neighborhood to help him. Didn’t he tell you that or did he forget?” Angela asked angrily.

“He told us that you had met this cop and moved into the Pilsen area so that you could be with him. He told us that you went on vacation with him. So Adrian took your name off the list. And I can’t say that I blame him, not after you lied to all of us.”

“Daddy, I’ll go and see Adrian. He’s just mad at me. When you go again he’ll tell you the truth. I was doing all of this to help him.”

Angela was shocked her brother had lied and had turned everything that she had tried to do to help him into a lie. Now her parents doubted her intentions. “Simone knows the truth,” she said weakly.

“Simone would tell us whatever you tell her to say. She and Adrian fight all the time. You think I would believe what she has to say about your brother? She’s always made it known that she doesn’t believe him. Look, you do what you have to do. You’re right, it is your life, and I hope you’re happy. I hope you can live with yourself for lying to us and for betraying your brother. If that cop is more important than your family, then go for it.”

Her father hung up the phone, leaving Angela shocked and dazed. Five days, she’d only taken five days for herself and this was the result. She couldn’t believe all that she’d given up for her brother. All her time, not to mention almost every dime she made, went into something for his benefit. She had no idea why he needed so much money in prison, and she hadn’t questioned it. She just put it in his account.

Angela couldn’t help the anger that was now claiming her. The things she’d done for her brother she’d done willingly. Still, she’d paid a high price to help him and now to have it made into a lie…

She took a pillow from her rented sofa and threw it against the wall in frustration. She hated the sofa. In fact she hated every piece of furniture that she’d rented. She’d done it all for her brother and for no other reason. She’d given up her home, taking on the expense of another apartment in the Pilsen community as Adrian had asked her to do.

The whole crazy plan had been his scheme, not hers. But when he’d said he thought it would help, Angela had readily volunteered. Adrian had been the one who’d told her not to tell their parents. He’d suggested she lie to spare them the worry and she’d agreed. Now he’d turned on her.

For a moment she hated him and for that moment her eyes were clear and she saw in him the same things that Simone had pointed out. He wasn’t the innocent victim that she’d championed for the past two years. An innocent person wouldn’t have destroyed her so thoroughly. He’d done it all deliberately, all because she’d defied him and fallen in love.

Well, she wasn’t going to cry. She’d come here to do a job. And if there really was information, which she truly doubted at this point, she would find it. Now there was more to consider. There was the possibility of her parents’ selling their home and of something happening to Rafe.

Angela grabbed her purse and attacked the streets of Pilsen like a commando. Although her Spanish was a tad better, for some unknown reason the people that she ran into were speaking English. She made a connection and soon was talking freely with a group of women that knew Teresa Cortez. One said that she’d moved to México. Angela didn’t know if it was true but if so, it would answer why she’d had such a hard time finding her.

“I know Teresa.”

Angela turned around. “You know her?” Angela asked, surprised that the woman was speaking to her so freely.

“Yes, I know her. She was dating this guy who went to prison. Since then lots of people have been looking for Teresa. I think she ran off with a lot of money.”

“Do you know where she got the money?”

“I don’t know. I think it belonged to her boyfriend.”

“The guy in prison?”

“Yeah, him. Someone told me that she was scared that he was going to try and kill her.”

“Kill her?”

“Yes, I heard it had to do with drugs. If you want, I could take you to her brother’s house. He’d be able to tell you more.”

The hairs on the back of Angela’s neck stood up and for some strange reason she didn’t trust the woman who was speaking. She’d lived in the community for several months now, and no one knew anything. In the past week clues had been coming much faster than they should have. Now without even knowing her, this woman was telling her more than she needed to know and was offering to take her to the woman’s brother.

“Thank you. I can’t go right now but if you would give me your number I would appreciate it.”

“Tell me, why are you needing all of this information?”

“I’m doing a story about the Chicago police and I hope to get some things changed. I heard about this big gang fight a couple of years ago and I’ve been working on it. Someone happened to mention that Teresa Cortez would have some inside information.

“I heard that some of the men that went to prison had been set up. It happens too often and I want to see if I can make a difference, maybe help some of the families. If enough noise is made, it’s possible that someone will try and fix it.” Angela smiled. “I’ll be willing to pay for any information.”

She pulled a twenty from her wallet and thanked the woman, reaching for the torn piece of paper with the woman’s number on it and wishing that for once she could ask Rafe’s advice.

She turned to pay for her items and saw the women she’d been talking to earlier look away quickly as though they no longer wanted to talk to her. Something was wrong. All of her instincts were screaming that warning at her. Getting information was what she’d moved to Pilsen for but it had come too easy.

Angela pasted a smile on her face and walked out of the store, walking in a different direction than her apartment. The feeling that had come over her was fear. She didn’t like it, never had, but she realized it was there for a reason, to warn her against rash movement.

For two hours Angela roamed the community, this time not asking questions, just taking pictures, pretending to be the reporter that she’d portrayed herself to be, hoping that somehow she would be believed.

At last she felt safe enough to return home. Despite her misgivings, she felt the information was true. Something had nagged at her from the moment her brother had concocted this scheme.

Money
, she thought. Could this all be about money? And if so, who was the Black guy that Teresa was dating? Had the woman really come into a large sum of money and taken off? Either way she had something she could tell her brother and gauge his reaction. She’d tell him that she’d tried and had hit a dead end, that the woman was gone and she sure as hell wasn’t following her out of the country.

Angela checked her watch. Rafe would be picking her up soon. Their first date, she thought, and this nonsense with Adrian and her parents wasn’t going to ruin it. He had already doubted that she’d meant it when she said she loved him. She was not going to have him doubt her again. Her family was already angry. They could remain angry until after her date with Rafe. It would serve them right.

* * *

Rafe was watching Angela. Something was wrong. He’d tried to ask her about it but she had been evasive. He wondered if somehow she’d discovered his secret on her own. But he doubted it. She wasn’t angry at him or disappointed; she was preoccupied and sad. He’d done nothing to make her sad. At least not yet, he thought.

“Que paso?”

“Nothing.”

“You understood what I asked?” Raphael said in stunned surprise.

Angela blinked. “I guess I did. I’m not sure. Say it again.”

“Que paso?”

“What’s the matter?” she repeated. “Yes, I understood.” She smiled, then stopped as the waitress approached the table and began talking rapidly to Rafe. She frowned, ignoring that he said
excuse me
to her before continuing his conversation.

She heard him say
pollo
and knew he was ordering chicken. She heard
arroz
and knew it was rice. Still it irked her. And made her feel guilty. She didn’t want to give up either her family or her heritage for Rafe.

Rafe watched the iced topaz return.
This was going to be a long night
, he thought. They had both chosen to make loving harder. He shrugged his shoulders and looked hard at her. “We’re in a Spanish restaurant. What did you think they were going to speak?”

“What if I had come in here alone? Are you saying they wouldn’t have been able to take my order?”

“Why are we fighting? It seems if we’re apart for a few hours something happens. Why don’t you tell me what it is, because I don’t know what the hell we’re fighting about.”

“Neither do I,” Angela answered honestly, then turned to watch a young mother comfort her child. “It’s okay,
poppi
. You don’t have to eat that,” she heard the mother say to her child.

A lump formed in her throat. “We’re so different, Rafe.”

“I know,” he answered. “I’m a man and you’re a woman.”

“It’s more than that. I don’t like being out with you and not knowing what you’re saying half the time. Sure, I can learn the language but why should I have to? I’m not in a foreign country. This is America. Why can’t everyone that comes here speak English?”

“I thought you didn’t have a problem with me being Spanish?”

She looked again at the mother and child. “I don’t, I just don’t understand.”

“I told you why mothers call their children
poppi
. It just means that she loves him. It’s no big deal.”

“But it is. I didn’t think it would be,” Angela whispered as tears slid beneath her lashes. It wasn’t Rafe’s fault that her family wasn’t speaking to her or that she actually liked to hear the young mother saying
poppi
to her son as she comforted him.

It was just that now it seemed that she only had Rafe in her life and it frightened her that there were some parts of his world that she didn’t share or fully understand. She knew for a fact that their religions were different. She wasn’t changing hers for anyone, not even him. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed that they should stop before it went any further, while they could still call a halt.

He touched her hand; then the pad of his finger slid up her cheek and she burned, burned with wanting him. It was already too late. For better or for worse it was too late to call a halt.

“Angel, if you want to stop loving me, then do so now because I’m done with this. I’m Puerto Rican, I speak Spanish. I’m American, Angel, a citizen of this country just as you are. You’re going to have to believe it when I tell you that I would never do anything to hurt you. I know how you feel about not understanding what I’m saying, and I’ll make you a promise. Unless it’s absolutely necessary I’ll talk in English when you’re around. And if not I’ll tell you what was said. So tell me, have you changed your mind?”

“No.”

“In that case this nonsense is over. I’m not going to put myself through it. This ends tonight. You’ve been in charge of our,” he smirked, “I’ll use the term loosely, you’ve been in charge of our relationship but that’s over. No more.”