Two Sides to Every Story (Love Spectrum Romance) (9 page)

Chapter 10

Rafe curled his muscular body around hers and pulled her into his arms. His right arm was flung across her torso and his lips nuzzled her neck. Within minutes Angela heard soft snoring sounds and her heart shattered with swift understanding.

He hadn’t been able to sleep in his own bed because he wanted to be near her, just as it was with her. They were breaking all their own rules and she didn’t know what to do about it. She attempted to move away from the cradle of Rafe’s arms but even in his sleep he pulled her back and held her tighter. She moaned.

“Rafe, what have we done?” she said into the darkness, then fell asleep.

In the morning she looked into his eyes and knew it was time to share the reason with him for her anger.

“My brother is in Statesville,” she began without preamble, watching for his reaction. “I go to visit him a twice a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday. We’re very close.” Still he waited silently.

“About two years ago,” she shrugged her shoulder, “actually, almost two and a half, he was in this neighborhood just minding his own business. Long story short, there was a big gang fight with the cops. My brother tried to tell them he wasn’t involved but they wouldn’t listen. He was beaten by the cops.” She paused and waited for some reaction. “My brother went to jail.”

“And you moved here from Naperville. Why?”

“I moved here to clear my brother,” Angela continued.

“How?”

“To try and find the cops, the ones who beat my brother. I have to prove my brother’s innocence. That has to be my primary function.”

“That’s your reason for hating cops?”

“That’s not enough?”

“I’m just asking.”

“It’s been my reason for hating them for the last two and a half years. They give me new reasons to hate them every day.”

“So why did you pick me for your poster child of hate?”

“I didn’t pick you; you stopped me, remember?”

“I remember you were speeding.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Raphael attempted to laugh but his heart was pounding too rapidly in his chest. He was extremely familiar with the case Angela was talking about. He’d been one of the officers involved in the gang fight. The thought of the hatred in her eyes when she found out he was involved stopped him from telling her. He couldn’t, not now, not when she was finally tearing down some of the barriers between them.

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

“I want you to know why we can’t take this any further.”

He eyed her sharply. She was contradicting herself. She was taking it further by merely telling him. In the entire two months they’d slept together, she’d never once told him who she was seeing in prison. He’d wondered if it was a boyfriend.

“All of this because of my job?” Raphael asked.

“It’s not just any job, we both know that. Look, we knew going into this what we were doing. Remember, we both agreed it was just for fun?”

“I thought it was just sex?” Raphael said over the lump in his throat.

“Yeah, just sex,” Angela amended, “until it stopped being fun.”

“Has it stopped being fun for you?”

“No.” Angela stared at him, wanting to tell him that the opposite had happened, what they’d vowed wouldn’t. She was starting to care for him and she could tell from the look in his eyes he was feeling the same things.

“So why are you telling me this?” Raphael asked again.

“My brother has to be my main priority. That’s why I’m here, to find evidence of his innocence.”

“Don’t you think that an investigation was done? If he were innocent he wouldn’t be in prison.”

Angela laughed, then, “Get real. Do you have any idea how many men have died in prison that were innocent? Don’t you keep up with what’s happening? Innocent men go to prison.”

“And so do guilty ones.”

“My brother’s not guilty.”

“What if he is?”

“My brother’s not guilty.”

Raphael closed his eyes, then reopened them. “How do you expect to find the ones you think are dirty cops?”

“I have my ways.”

Raphael knew what her ways were. He’d known from almost the moment she’d moved into the neighborhood and begun asking questions. Only then he’d not known why, only that she was…he’d thought she was a reporter doing an undercover expose on the department. And there had been enough dirt in the past two years to give her more than enough information to do her article. Now he knew that the entire time it had been as he’d thought in the beginning. It was personal.

“Angel, you’re playing a very dangerous game. Harassing the police department is not the way to go about trying to clear your brother. And you have no idea who you’re talking to on the street. You can get yourself into trouble if you’re not careful.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“If you find these dirty cops, what are you going to do to them?”

Angela wished for a millisecond that she could tell him, but she couldn’t. She also couldn’t tell him that she was trying hard to find the one witness her brother had said could definitely prove his innocence. Teresa Cortez.

“Rafe, I think it’s best if you stay out of what I’m doing. You won’t want to be in the middle of this when it all goes down. And it won’t matter to me if the cop is a friend of yours or your relative. I’m going to take them down.”

“And if it’s me?”

“It won’t make a difference.”

“Are you really sure of that, Angel?” he asked.

“Don’t call me that,” Angela reprimanded, though there was no fire in her words.

The need for more words was delayed when a ringing phone interrupted them. Both of their heads turned toward the kitchen counter to locate the sound.

“It’s mine,” Raphael said, heading to pick up the phone.

“
Si, mama, si
.” He turned slightly. “Angela Reed. No.
Gracias
.”

Angela turned back to look in Rafe’s direction. She’d turned to give him privacy but he’d called her name. Whoever he was talking to knew her. Suspicion mounted and her skin crawled with the knowing. She swallowed and waited while he punched in numbers on his phone. His eyes refused to meet hers, but his clenched jaw was telling her what he didn’t. He didn’t want to make the call with her there.

“Sir, no sir. I didn’t forget that I have an appointment. No, I’ll be there on time. Don’t worry. No, I don’t think I do. Thank you, sir.”

She watched as he looked in her direction.

“Angela Reed. Yes sir, thank you, sir.”

He flipped his phone closed and turned toward her.

“You want to explain?” Angela asked.

“My mother called to tell me that the commander wanted to talk to me. He’d tried to reach me and couldn’t. I have a meeting with IAD this morning. He wanted to make sure I didn’t forget.”

“Is it because of all the complaints I made?”

Raphael shrugged his shoulders.

“Rafe, have you been sleeping with me to get me to drop the charges?”

“Have I ever asked you to drop the charges?”

“No,” Angela admitted. “Why not?”

“Why would I?” he answered. “You hate cops.” He dressed quickly. “I’ll go home and shower. I have to go to the meeting in uniform,” he said pointedly, before kissing her, softly. “I’ll see you later, Angel.”

“Don’t call me Angel.”

“Why? You don’t object to it when we’re making love.”

“But we’re not making love now. My name is Angela. If you have to call me something else, my friends call me Angie.”

“So we’re friends now?”

“I don’t know what we are anymore,” she admitted honestly.

“Neither do I.” Raphael smiled. “But I don’t want to call you Angie.”

“Rafe, I’m not an angel. I’m not even close.”

“I’ll stick with Angel,
mi amor
.”

Angela shivered. Being called Angel was one thing, but being called his love was another. She stared at him, trying to will him to change the words into a joke. His green eyes blazed with passion, green kryptonite passion. He walked toward her and Angela sat still, waiting for him.

For the past two months she’d done her best to limit his touching her body outside of bed. She still couldn’t get used to the electrical current that passed between them.

But last night had changed all of that. They’d not made love. They’d slept in each other’s arms simply because they needed to feel the other’s presence. There was no denying it. That one act had made her painfully aware of her growing feelings for him. She was falling in love with him. And worse than that, she needed him. She shivered at her admission. Her soul needed him.

He pulled her gently from the chair and wrapped her in his arms and for a long moment she was only aware of the beating of his heart. Then came the heat, and for the first time she gave into it outside of bed. She was drowning in knowledge that she belonged in Rafe’s arms. At the moment she could care less that he was a cop, or if he had a dozen sisters that he would object to if they dated a black man. She didn’t care. She was falling in love with him.

There was no stopping her arms from holding him close, even as her mind screamed for her to stop, to remember that one of them was bound to be hurt in the end.

“Angel,” he murmured, and she raised her head. “We can’t keep pretending,” he said. She closed her eyes.

“Open your eyes,
mi amor
, look at me.”

When her eyes remained closed she felt his breath brush across her cheek and his tongue flick her lids. Her eyes popped open.

He smiled. “That’s better.”

“For whom?” she asked.

“For both of us. We can’t go back; last night proved that.”

“I don’t know if we can move forward. There are too many obstacles,” Angela whispered.

“Then we’ll stay where we are for the moment. I won’t push you,” Raphael promised.

No, he wouldn’t push her. She was right, there were obstacles. He was one of the cops she was looking for. Only he wasn’t dirty, he’d never been dirty. But he had been involved in that entire incident.

Raphael kissed her then, knowing it was wrong, that each moment he held her in his arms he was binding himself tighter, binding her. He was aware that he wanted to make her love him before he told her. He hated lying to her but he hated the iced topaz more. He didn’t want her hating him. And until she learned to love him, her hate would win out.

“Angel,” he said as he deepened the kiss, losing the need for further words.

Angela heard him moan her name, felt the tremor that claimed his body, felt his need and his love and she no longer wanted to fight it. As his kiss deepened so did her need until it was just her and Rafe. No one else mattered, nothing mattered except the supreme feeling of peace that she felt in his arms. A mental image of her brother intruded. She clutched Rafe to her and pushed the image away.

When the kiss ended they were both shaken. They stood in the middle of the room, their arms around each other, holding on for dear life.

“I have to go, Angel, wish…” He caught himself. He’d been going to tell her to wish him luck, but it wasn’t necessary. Whatever happened, happened. He would not have her think for a second that he was lying to her, not about his love.

He ran the pad of one finger down her cheek. “Can I call you later?”

“I’ll be out at the prison. After that I need to work.”

He sighed as he made his way toward the door, taking her with him. “Tonight?” he asked.

“Yes, tonight,” she answered.

He kissed her lips softly, smiled and walked out the door.

“Rafe.”

He stopped.

“Yes.”

“Be careful, okay?”

He eyed her, then leaned back into the door and ran his tongue down the side of her neck. “It’s too late for me to be careful,
mi amor
.” And he closed the door.

He was right. It was too late for both of them to be careful.

Chapter 11

Raphael parked his car at the station, then walked toward the door taking his time. He looked up and down Damen Avenue, noting the people, the churches, and the other officers coming and going. He glanced down, feeling the same thrill that he always got at seeing his badge on his chest.

He’d graduated from college and gone directly into the police academy. Six months later he was a Chicago policeman. That’s all he’d ever wanted to be. He stood and watched the little kids running and playing already, thinking it was much too early in the morning for them to be out. Children had played a part in his dream. He wanted to gain the little kids’ trust and teach them not to fear the uniform. He wanted to be respected and he would give respect in return.

He’d been born in Puerto Rico, a part of the United States, even though it wasn’t treated that way. He’d grown up with the disrespect that most Latinos hated. And he’d watched as many had turned violent or bitter in the face of that blatant disrespect. He’d seen the same disrespect shown to other minority groups and wondered why they battled among themselves rather than banding together.

But none of that had pushed him toward his life choice. It was the fear of cops he’d carried in his heart. They wielded the power. He hated fearing the men with their uniforms and badges and guns. Too many times they’d rolled up in the neighborhood ‘just because,’ and talked down to Latinos as if they were lesser. He’d seen his friends run and hide. They shared the same fear. They all had too many friends and relatives arrested by cops that spoke not one word of Spanish and didn’t care if the people knew their rights or not.

Raphael had become a cop to right a wrong. He wanted respect, not only for himself but for all Latinos. He was determined to stay in the community and be a buffer, to treat each and every person, Latino or not, with the utmost respect, and in turn to be respected.

He’d been on the force for eight years now and this had yet to happen. Even the kids would call him names and give him the finger as he rode around on patrol. And when he entered homes and attempted to comfort the kids, what he received was about a million steps away from respect. And every time there was a question of police conduct, every cop in the department was painted with the same brush. They were all portrayed as dirty, as womanizers, wife beaters, hard drinkers.

Sure, Raphael knew such cops existed; in fact it was rampant. But he wasn’t a part of it and neither were a lot of other decent officers. He always felt proud that he’d not succumbed. His plan to never fall in love had taken care of the cheating-cop-that-abuses-his-wife angle.

Now he wondered if lying to Angela made him what he hated, what Angela hated, a dirty cop. He cringed inwardly. He knew he should have told her of his role when she told him of her brother’s plight. But he hadn’t and there was no way to justify it either to her or to himself.

He was taking away her choices. It wasn’t fair to her to let her love him without telling her the truth.

He looked again at his badge. Raphael was still proud to be a part of the department, but he wasn’t proud of his actions or the fact that he had no plans to tell Angela of his involvement in the gang war. At least not yet.

He was wrong to allow his wants to overshadow doing the right thing. Still, he knew he would. He was falling in love with her and right or wrong, he wanted to see where it would lead.

Raphael took another look around before going inside. Part of the problem might be taken out of his control. It all depended on IAD. His career was in their hands.

He breathed deeply, not wanting to admit how much he wanted to remain on the force. If he were suspended or fired, he would forever carry that stain. Raphael sighed. All he wanted was to remain an officer, to uphold the law. That and to find some way to make things work with his stubborn angel.

He knocked on the door of IAD and went in smiling, his thoughts on the changes with Angela. She’d told him to be careful. She was falling in love with him also and that thought warmed his heart. Taking a look around the office, he tried unsuccessfully to wipe the smile from his face, to stop thinking of his angel and bring his thoughts back to the outcome of this meeting.

“Officer Remeris, did the captain speak to you before you came in?”

“No,” Raphael said, puzzled.

“I thought from the look on your face…you seem happy. Never mind,” the man said and waved his hand in dismissal.

Raphael glanced at the man dressed in a navy suit. He was short and stubby looking. He then turned his attention to the man seated behind the desk. He couldn’t tell much but the men didn’t look or act as he’d expected. He sensed a friendly atmosphere, something he’d always been told was non-existent.

“Sit down, sit down,” the shorter man said, pointing to a chair. “I’m Captain Smith, and that’s Lieutenant Johnson,” he said, pointing to the officer still seated.

Raphael sat and waited.

“We wanted to let you know that the investigation is over.”

“And?” Raphael asked.

“And you’ve been cleared of all charges.”

“Actually,” Lieutenant Johnson interrupted, “the complainant rescinded the complaints.”

“When?” Raphael asked. “Did she just call?”

“No, she came in about five weeks ago,” Lieutenant Johnson continued.

“Five weeks? Then why were you still investigating me?”

“We had to make sure there was no coercion behind her coming in, you know, no threats.”

Threats? Raphael knew he was being told good news but he felt as if he’d still been accused of even more things, and this time by the department. “Threats?”

“Yeah, we didn’t want the woman dropping the complaints if under duress. So we investigated what she had to say and we investigated you.”

“What did she have to say?”

“She told us her brother was in prison, that he’d accused the police department of beating him, and he’d accused it of a cover-up. When we checked things out in the files, we found your name as one of the officers involved. I guess she must have found out that you were involved and wanted some retribution.”

“Did she say she knew I was involved?”

“No, but it stands to reason that she did. Otherwise it wouldn’t make much sense, now would it?”

“No. No, I guess it wouldn’t,” Raphael said. “Why did it take so long?”

“We had to be sure. Anyway, it’s over now. Listen, Officer Remeris, we’re aware of the reputation that we have in the department and in part it may be true. We have to keep our distance in order to give an unbiased report. But no one is ever happier than we are to clear an officer. It’s not our goal to harass officers; we respect them and appreciate the job that they do. And believe it or not, we’re on the same team. So congratulations and keep up the good work. From that look on your face when you came in, I thought you already knew.”

“What look?” Raphael asked.

“The happy, goofy look. If you didn’t know about the outcome, then it must be love. Enjoy it, Officer, and hold on to it.”

Raphael walked out of the office, stunned, first that his feelings for Angela had been displayed so that anyone could see. He’d have to work on that. Secondly, that she’d dropped the charges and all this time had not said one word to him, not even this morning when he’d told her of the meeting. He wondered why.

His emotions warred within him. Anger at her that she’d not bothered to mention it and joy that she had done it. He wondered what had made her do it.

* * *

For the past twenty minutes Angela had driven without her mind on where she was going. She was at the prison so often it seemed as if her car knew the way.

Her thoughts were on Raphael and his meeting with IAD. She wondered if he would be angry when he found out she’d dropped the charges weeks ago and hadn’t told him. Then again, he couldn’t be any angrier than he’d been when she filed them.

For a long moment she wondered why she’d ever done it. She’d known what she was doing was wrong; still, she’d done it and pretended that it didn’t matter if she destroyed the man in the bargain, destroyed his career.

When she’d told her cousin about the complaints, Simone had remained silent. Her silence spoke of her disapproval, as Angela had known it would. She didn’t know why she’d told her. Maybe it was her conscience. She only knew now that she wished she’d never done it. Then it hit her. It was in part because of her complaints that she’d been thrown into such frequent contact with Rafe.

She had no idea where they were headed, but she wouldn’t deny that she was content to have him in her life. And she’d done nothing to dull the light in his eyes. She rather enjoyed having him look at her as though she was his world, knowing in her heart that he found her special.

Then she shivered again from fear as she remembered her brother’s comments. As a car zoomed past her, she glanced at the speedometer and noticed that her speed had dropped to below forty. She laughed, thinking it would be funny to now get a ticket for going too slowly. After all, it was her speeding that had brought Rafe into her life.

She didn’t want to think that there had to be a reason for them being together. But she did. She believed him when he said they were meant to meet. He’d not said they were soul mates, but she knew he thought it. And darn if she didn’t wonder about it herself. Angela shook her head. She’d better keep her mind on what she was doing, and thinking what she was at the moment was definitely not what she should do when she was driving.

She came upon the Bolingbrook exit, wondering how she’d gotten that far. The trip today appeared to have flown by. Angela made a left turn and headed south on Route 53. Everything seemed so normal.

She passed Arena Auto Auction, remembering when the building had once housed one of the country’s first (and only indoor) amusement park—Old Chicago. She’d been there often. Writers had written about the park, placing it in different suburbs, even in the Chicago city limits, but it had never been anywhere but Bolingbrook.

She knew she was wasting time pretending that this was just an excursion, just a drive. As she came into Romeoville, the tension mounted. The prison was just a few more miles.

She observed everything on both sides of the streets, fast food places, stores, anything to take her mind off what was coming up after the next light. Angela took a look to her right at the red brick lining Lewis University and she choked back the sob. Her brother had gone there for nearly a year and a half and now he was literally next door, sitting in a prison. She shuddered with the irony of it all.

She gritted her teeth, preparing to stomach the familiar pat down, knowing that it was a little more each time. But she had to do it in order to see her brother.

She smiled when her brother came to the point of contact. She noticed he broke the hug quicker than usual and she wondered why. They both knew they wouldn’t be allowed to touch in the visiting area. She took a seat opposite him as he sat in the elevated seat reserved for the prisoner.

“What’s wrong?” she asked at last.

“You haven’t been here in over a week.”

His voice was hostile, accusing, void of any affection.

“I’ve been busy,” she said. “I have to work, make a living. I have bills to pay for two apartments, I might add.” Her tone matched his. She hated when they snapped at each other, especially now when he was at a disadvantage.

“It’s not my fault that I’m not working,” Adrian told her.

“I didn’t say that it was. I’m just telling you that I have to.” Angela sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. You know I try to get here to see you as often as I can.”

“You worked before. What’s new? Why don’t you have the time now?”

There it was again, the accusation. “I’ve already answered,” she replied. “I work.”

“You sure it’s not that cop you’ve been screwing?”

Angela glared at her brother, the anger rising quickly at his crudeness. “How would you know what I’m doing? Not that who I care to have in my bed is any of your business.”

“Is that how you plan to help me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t move there to let some cop get in your pants. You’re supposed to find Teresa Cortez. How can you do that when you’re spending half your time with that immigrant cop?”

As the impact of his words hit her, she wanted to reach out and shake him, erase that smug look from his face. “Are you having someone spy on me?”

“Looking out for you is a better way to put it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s dangerous, your asking questions. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He paused a moment and gave her a smile she knew was fake. “And you don’t want that cop hurt, right?” he said.

That sounded and felt like a threat to her. “What are you talking about?” Angela whispered, wanting to see him laugh, make a joke out of it.

“You. Do you think I can allow you to…what?” He laughed even more crudely. “Entertain a Chicago cop in your bed? That doesn’t look good for me. Looks like I can’t take care of my business.”

Fear skittered along the nerve endings in Angela’s body. She would have to be a fool to miss the brazen innuendo, the deliberate threat. She couldn’t believe it. For the first time in two years she had doubts as to her brother’s innocence.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Your brother.”

“I don’t think so.” She attempted to smile, hoping to somehow change things with the quick motion of her lips. “What have you done with my brother? I want him back.”

“This is your brother. Maybe you should try opening your eyes for a change and see things as they are, not as you want them to be.”

Angela swallowed. “Tell me how you have the power to have me followed. Who are you?” she said again, not surprised when he laughed.

“I sent you in there to do a job. It shouldn’t take you that long to get what I need.”

“You didn’t send me, I volunteered to go. And if you have so much power, these friends of yours you have following me, why haven’t they found this woman you’re looking for?”

“Your job is not to question me. Just do as you’re told. Find that woman so you can get me out of here and stop seeing that cop.”