Two Sides to Every Story (Love Spectrum Romance) (19 page)

Raphael cursed loudly. He knew how family could twist you around their little fingers, especially if you had to go to prison to visit them. He shuddered, pushing away the dark memories from his past.

Someone had to free Angela from her brother. He closed his eyes. The thought of going into another prison made sweat break out on his body. He’d promised himself that he would never set foot inside another prison for as long as he lived. Too many visits, too many memories. Fear seeped in around the fringes of his memories and Raphael pushed it away.

It wasn’t up to him. He owed Angel nothing. She wouldn’t believe him anyway and it would serve no purpose.

The more he attempted to talk himself out of going to the prison, the more he was aware that he would go. He would not allow what had happened to him happen to Angela. The thought of men pawing her filled him with rage. He would do what he hadn’t done in twenty years—he would voluntarily go to the prison.

Raphael felt sick to his stomach. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was walk into Statesville and it had nothing to do with him being a cop.

Disgust filled him as the memories rolled in.

Chapter 21

Angela waited until they were in the common room before turning to her brother. She swallowed, deciding to give him the information she’d been sent into Pilsen to get.

“I got it.” She watched as her brother’s eyes widened and he sat down at an empty table and motioned for her to do the same.

“You found her?” Adrian asked.

“Not exactly,” she answered and waited.

“Then what the hell are you talking about?”

“I found people that know her. They say she went to Mexico, that she had a great deal of money and she split.”

“That bitch, that stupid, dumb-ass bitch!” Adrian hit the table with his fist, his eyes glowing with anger. “Damn it! I don’t believe it. If you’d done what I told you to do to start with you would have found her.” He jumped up from the table and looked angrily at Angela.

“There’s more,” she said, looking up at him.

“What?” he yelled, and shook his head as he tried to rein in his emotions. “What more could there possibly be? You let the bitch take off with my money.”

“Your money? Is that what this has all been about, money? You told me she had information that would free you.”

Her brother glared in her general direction and she could tell he was having a difficult time controlling his anger. He looked away from her, turned back and said between gritted teeth, “Your job isn’t over. Bring me proof.”

“How do you expect me to get proof?” Angela watched as her brother changed once again into a man that she didn’t know. “Adrian, were you the one she was involved with?”

“I was screwing her, big deal.”

Her heart ached. “Rafe saved my life.” She waited for him to ask how or why she’d needed saving, but when it became obvious that he wasn’t going to say a word, she laughed. “Someone tried to kill me. Rafe pushed me down and lay on top of me. He got shot.” Her brother shrugged his shoulder.

“They called me a slut, said I was disloyal to my family, that they should kill me.”

Still her brother said not a word.

“Did you send them to kill me?” she asked, her breath coming out so slowly that she thought she would pass out.

“No.”

Angela wanted to believe him. She pushed the tears away. “Did you tell someone to shoot Rafe?” There, it was out. She hadn’t just insinuated, she’d come right out and asked him. For a long moment Adrian stared at her with the eyes of a stranger.

“What are you looking for, a confession? Are you going to run to that cop boyfriend of yours and sell me out?” he finally said.

Angela felt like a fool, a blind trusting fool. She didn’t want to ask Adrian any more questions. The answers were all plain as the scowl on his face. She decided to try a new tactic. She had to see if there was so much as a trace of her brother left in the stranger who sat smugly in front of her.

“Dad’s putting the house up for sale.”

Her brother didn’t answer.

“I’m not going to let them do that. You’re not going to take everything from them.”

“I didn’t ask them to do it. It was their choice.”

“Yeah, you’ve got them fighting to free you when you know that you’re not innocent. I’m not going to let them go broke. I’m going to stop them from shelling out any more money to that detective.”

“What are you going to tell them?”

“The truth.”

“What truth, that you’re still sleeping with that cop and that you now believe him over your own brother, or that you’ve decided to hell with family?”

“I haven’t done that. I’ve just opened my eyes.”

“You think they’re going to believe you? I bet the rest of the family doesn’t even know about the cop, do they?” He laughed. “You’re embarrassed to tell them about him, aren’t you? If I hadn’t told Mom and Dad, even they wouldn’t know.”

“I don’t have to make an announcement to the family that I’m in love.” She looked her brother in the eye. “And I do love him.”

“So why are you keeping it such a big secret?”

“It’s my business,” Angela insisted.

“Maybe you’re not so sure you have the story right. What if he’s shagging you to make you forget about the fact that you have a brother rotting in prison?”

“Stop trying to make it what it isn’t, Adrian. You make it sound so dirty. It’s not like that. He loves me. You need to understand that.”

“I’ll tell you what I don’t need, and that’s for you to visit me or to do anything else for me. But I’ll tell you something and I’m only doing it because you’re family. Watch your back.”

“If anything else happens to Rafe I’ll make you a promise.” Angela had her brother’s attention now. “I’ll make sure that I spend all my time making sure you stay here right where you are.”

His mouth dropped.

“I’m not kidding,” she added, allowing the coldness to color her words.

“Then you are choosing him over me.”

“You can put it any way that you want. Rafe didn’t do anything to put you in here. He was only doing his job that night. And to answer your question, no, all of the family don’t know about him but that’s going to change. I love him. I’m not going to keep denying it to you or lying to him.” She sat at the table while he stood.

“I’m outta here. You made your choice,” Adrian snarled.

“Just remember what I said,” she said softly. “I meant it.”

“Now you’re threatening me?”

“Fair’s fair. You did it to me. And I think I have a lot more weight behind mine. How do you think any law enforcement agency will react to what I have to tell them?”

He glared at her and she smiled. “If I were you, Adrian, I’d tell my friends to watch out for Rafe, make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“Excuse me?”

“Adrian, I know what you did.”

“You’re psychic now?”

“Don’t act cute.” She was shaking in anger. “I know what you did and I’m not going to let you get away with it.”

“First off, I have no idea who Rafe is, or what you’re talking about. You can check with the warden or the guards. I haven’t left the prison. What’s wrong, little sister, are you hallucinating?”

Angela was angrier than she’d ever been, angrier even than when she’d gotten the call from her father saying that Adrian had been hurt and was at Northwestern Hospital. She’d never known she was capable of such rage. And for two years the rage had grown, turning into a bitter hatred. Now that rage was turned on her brother.

“Don’t play with me,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

“Or what?”

“Do you really want to know? I’ll go to the police and I’ll tell them you were behind this.” She smiled at him in the same manner he was smiling at her, anger stretching her lips, not joy. “That was a dumb move you made having Rafe shot.”

She watched while her brother’s eyes turned hard and cold, his features no longer his own. A sense of evil settled around them.

“He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

Angela didn’t answer.

“I hope he stays that way.” Adrian smiled.

“Who the hell are you? When I leave here, I’m going to tell Rafe.”

He laughed. “Do that and I guarantee you he’s dead.”

Angela sat back in her seat, all the air gone from her lungs. No matter what she’d said, what threats she’d made, she’d wanted her brother to tell her that it was all her imagination, that he’d had nothing to do with Rafe being shot. But he hadn’t. He’d admitted to having Rafe shot and now he was threatening to kill him.

“I’m leaving Pilsen. I’m not looking for this woman anymore. She’s gone. I don’t know what you’re into but I’m out of it.”

“You’re leaving when I tell you to leave, is that clear?” Adrian cocked his head to the side.

“And if I don’t, will you have me killed?”

“I’d never hurt you. You’re my sister.” he smiled. “I can’t control things from here and I can’t help it if that cop of yours finds himself without a father…” He paused. “Or a mother.” Adrian laughed, “Maybe a sister or brother. I wonder how much he will love you when he knows that you set him up to have his family slaughtered.”

Terror rode her blood. This had to be some horrible grade B movie. This couldn’t be real. “I didn’t do anything.”

“But he’ll believe you did.”

“He won’t believe it, he loves me.”

“And he knows just how much you hate cops, that you moved into the neighborhood to take them down. You think with his family’s blood all around him he’s going to believe you love him?”

“Were you ever beaten by the cops?”

“Of course,” he answered without missing a beat.

“Were you beaten by Rafe?”

“I didn’t take names if that’s what you’re asking,” he laughed. “What does it matter? You’re done with him. When you go back to the apartment you’re going to break it off with him for good. Is that understood? And then you’re going to do the job I sent you into there to do and then you’re done.”

“I hate you,” Angela whispered.

“No, sweetie, you love me, remember. I’m your big brother.” He laughed louder and rose from the seat to leave. He cocked his finger at her as though it were a gun. “Remember what I said,” he smirked and walked away.

She saw the guard coming and got up from the table. “I’ll see you later,” she said, pretending for the sake of the guard watching that nothing was wrong. She wondered why she even bothered. As she walked out of the prison and to her car, she didn’t cry one tear until she was headed back on the Stevenson. Then and only then did she allow the tears to flow. She had to do what she’d been too cowardly to do before. She had to go in person and confront her parents.

* * *

Walking through the door of her parents’ home, Angela stopped for a moment and sighed. This could be the last time that she did this. They’d put so much money not only into keeping the home in good repair, but in fixing it up, adding on. It was the nicest home on the block. It would go fast. Angela had no doubt about that. And her parents would throw every dime of the money down a sinkhole.

Adrian didn’t care. He only wanted out and it didn’t matter to him what the cost would be. It mattered to her. She didn’t want her parents to lose everything they’d worked so hard to achieve. It had taken years for them to get to this point in their lives. They should have it easy. They shouldn’t have to struggle all over again, and for what?

Her mother came to the door to see who’d entered, took one look at her and backed away.

“Your brother just called. He told us what you’ve done.”

“Did he tell you what he did?” Angela asked.

“He’s not the one who’s being lying to us. All this time you made us think you were away for your job. How could you do that?”

“I was doing that for Adrian. I wanted to help him.”

Her mother was looking at her sternly. “And now you don’t want to help him anymore, is that it?”

“No, that’s not it. But what he wants me to do isn’t the right thing.”

“Will it get him out of jail?”

“Mom, I don’t think that’s what he’s worried about. I think this whole thing is about money. And what he’s doing to you, to all of us, is wrong.”

Her father was shaking his head. The disappointment reached out and grabbed her and wrapped around her.

“I never thought I would live to see the day my kids would turn against each other. I never thought it would happen, not to my kids.”

Angela saw his eyes become glassy with tears. In her entire life she’d seen her father cry only once and that was the day that her brother had been sentenced to prison. Then they’d all cried; now he thought she was a Judas.

“I haven’t turned against Adrian.”

“That’s not how it looks from here.”

“Don’t sell the house,” she whispered softly.

“We’d do it for you. What makes you think we wouldn’t do it for your brother?”

“You’re going to have nothing.”

“Do you think we care about that? What we want more than anything is to have your brother home where he belongs,” her mother shouted.

“He’ll be home when he serves his time.” Angela was crying softly. Somehow, she didn’t feel as if she had to right to cry when they were in so much pain. But so was she. It hurt to know what she knew.

“He did it,” she whispered. “He’s not innocent.

“And you think I care?” Her mother was now hysterical. “Do you think that makes a difference to me? That’s my baby in that cell with those criminals. He’s not used to being around that kind of trash. We didn’t raise him that way.”

“No one who’s in there had parents who raised them that way. It’s not the fault of parents for the acts adult children choose.”

“Are you really going to continue dating the cop that beat your brother? It was bad enough that you were dating any cop but one that did this to your brother? Adrian told us that he was involved. He said you knew it and didn’t care.”

Adrian had meant his threats to her just as she’d meant the things she’d said to him. He’d done a first-rate job of poisoning their parents against her.

She stared at them, wanting to tell them that Rafe had had nothing to do with beating her brother. But even he didn’t know if he had.

“Rafe isn’t a dirty cop; he was doing his job.”

“They sent him out there to beat my baby?” her mother screamed at her.

“No, they sent him out there to protect the neighborhood, to protect the people and that’s what he was trying to do. I don’t know if he hit Adrian. But I can tell you he wouldn’t have done anything to him if he hadn’t been provoked. He’s not like that.”

She was near hysterics, knowing that the more she talked the worse she was making the situation. Angela couldn’t begin to give an explanation her parents would like. Hell, she didn’t like it.

“Adrian tried to have Rafe killed.”

“He told us you would say that.”

“You don’t believe me?” Angela looked across the room at her father. “I wouldn’t lie about this. I wish I had a tape but I don’t.”

“You’re listening to the cop and you’re trying to help him. It’s your life,” her father said, coming to face her. “Do what you want to do.”

“Daddy, you know how much I love Adrian. I haven’t thought about myself for over two years, no shopping, no going out to movies, no dating, nothing. I’ve devoted myself to being miserable and hating. I’m tired of hating and nothing anyone can say will make me hate Rafe. I broke up with him, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love him.”