chapter ten
"Jesus, Lulu, I've missed you."
When Lucia looked up at her brother, all she wanted to do was hold him. "I missed you too." She looked down at her feet, shoving her hands in her back pockets. "My life was never the same after. My whole world fell apart when you were gone."
He reached for her and stroked his thumb over her cheek. "You have to understand. If there was any other way, I never would've left."
She frowned up at him. "Then tell me what happened. Why did you leave? What was so important that you had to go to that house? Do you know that for years I wasn't able to remember what happened?"
"Lulu, that's not something you have to worry about anymore. I'm back."
"All due respect, Rafe, but I do have to worry about it. You've shown back up in my life, and you expect me to just trust you blindly. When I needed you, you weren't here. Now that I'm able to stand on my own, you want to tell me I can't trust the man that I love." She threw her hands up. "You're going to have to give me more than that. I need more to go on."
Rafe ran his hand through his hair and stepped back. "You don't think I want to tell you? You don't think I want to give you every reason to run away from him? The problem is the more you know, the more danger you're in. I've exposed myself coming for you. But there was no way I was going to let them hurt you. The people Noah works for, they're dangerous. They're ruthless. And they wouldn't hesitate to kill you just for knowing that I'm alive. I've stayed hidden a long time just to keep you safe. That's why I need to take you with me, get you to safety."
She shook her head. "You don't need to get me to safety. I'm safe with Noah."
"No, you're not. I don't know what game he's playing considering it's his organization that is hell-bent on killing you. Maybe he wants to hold you for information. Either way, it's not safe for you. I was able to get to you in that penthouse. Imagine what a horde of them could do. This isn't some little security company that plays at doing the right thing. Blake Security is a front. All of those guys in there, killers. That one guy, with the knife. Did you see the way he was enjoying it? He wanted to kill me. But he didn't want to make it quick. He wanted me to hurt. He wanted to enjoy himself. Those are the kind of people you're protecting? Those are the kind of people that you call friends?"
"You don't know anything about it. Because you weren't here."
He stared at her, pain evident in his eyes and the tight set of his lips. "I wanted to be."
"Not good enough. Not good enough by miles. And you just turn up at my office one day, no warning, no nothing. And you expect me to leave with you. Are you insane?"
He tossed his head back. "Clearly. Because if I had my way, I would just sedate you and carry you out of here. But you had to pick somewhere really fucking public. Let me guess: Noah's guys are posted at the exits? There's no safe way to take you out of here unless you can walk on your own. Too many innocent people could get hurt."
"You mean like my friends? Matthias and Jonas? Heads up, you could have permanently blinded him."
Her brother shrugged. “If the enemy can't see you, they can't kill you."
"For the love of God, they are not the enemy. They help people."
"Is that what Noah told you?"
She stared at him. That familiar face, but yet, somehow, unfamiliar. "Yes, that's what he told me. But it's also what I see. When some woman walks in there because she has a stalker ex-boyfriend and they make that stalker stop, I see that. I see the good that they're doing."
Rafe stepped into her space, staring down at her. When he spoke, his voice was low, and icy. "Just how do you think they make that stalker boyfriend stop? Do you think they have a stern conversation with him? Do you think they file a restraining order? They take that stalker ex-boyfriend, and they make him go away. Permanently."
"You're wrong. They don't kill people. Noah doesn't do that anymore. Besides, isn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? He told me that you trained him. You're as much of a killer as he is. Why would I trust you?"
"Because I'm your goddamned brother."
Lucia stepped back. "You'll have to do better than that."
Rafe scrubbed his hand over his face. "Yes, I did train him. And there was a time that the organization we worked for did good things. They took out the worst of the worst. And I was part of that. Those people that trafficked children and drugs and wanted to see whole populations decimated, those were the kinds of people we went after. But somewhere along the line, something changed; they became the people we were trying to stop. I saw it, found a way out. And I took it. Noah, he never left."
"Yes, he did."
"No, he didn't. He’s still in touch with them. How do you think he found out about the hit on you? He’s still in bed with those people. And I need to get you away from him."
Lucia gasped.
JJ put her arm around her shoulders protectively. “Stop trying to scare her,” she growled.
Rafe looked between them in frustration. “She needs to be scared. I’m trying to get her to see reason.”
Lucia squeezed her friend’s hand. JJ was worried about her, but she didn’t want her friend getting in the middle of all of this. She didn’t think Rafe would hurt her friend but that was the thing, she wasn’t really sure what he would do now.
"You need to make me go willingly, and I'm not leaving him. You need to talk to him. Work out your differences; figure out what the hell is going on. Because there was a time when the two of you were on the same side."
"That time was a long time ago. Noah and I have nothing to say to each other."
"Just talk to him. I can set it up. It'll be okay. And at the very least, you can stop trying to hurt each other. You're both my family."
"He's not your family. I am."
"Well, you know what, Rafe? You abandoned me and he took over as family. Who the hell do you think has been looking after me and Nonna all this time? Making sure that Nonna had money to pay for things like my prom, like college?"
He took her by the shoulders "I did. I sent her money every month to make sure that you had what you needed."
Lucia's jaw dropped open and she staggered back a step, but her brother held onto her tightly. "What did you say?"
"I sent her money. Every damn month. I made sure she was taken care of. I made sure you were taken care of."
"Noah has been there for the Sunday dinners. He's been there when some idiot broke up with me and hurt me. Noah has been there. When Nonna started having health issues, he was there, helping me take her to the hospital and getting her checked up on. Bringing doctors over. Where were you?"
"Lucia, I was always watching from afar, making sure you would be okay. I was never far away."
"Oh yeah, you think that counts for anything? What I needed was someone who was here. To help me carry the burden."
"Look, you don't understand. And you won't. Not for a while. Because he's pretty much got you brainwashed. If you just come with me, I can get you help. Get you away, and then you can see things clearly."
"I'm not going with you Rafe."
And then a mask slid over her brother's face. Cold and efficient. And suddenly she could see the killer he must've been. "Yes, you are Lucia. Even if I have to knock you out and drag you out of here. I have one other exit. It's not ideal, but I can take you unconscious."
The next three seconds happened so quickly she didn't understand what was going on at first. It took her a moment to catalog everything. Suddenly, Rafe's hands were off her shoulders and he was fighting with Matthias.
Oh God. Next to her, on one side stood Ryan, his gun trained on her brother. On her other side stood Dylan, in the same position. His gun was ready and trained on the fighting duo, safety off. Oskar, Jonas and Noah watched as Matthias unleashed on Rafe.
"Stop it," she screamed. But either they couldn't hear her, or they didn't care. Either way, they were going after it. Elbows crunched noses, arms got dragged behind them. She heard cracking noises. She shuddered, knowing that bones were breaking.
What she saw terrified her. Dylan, Ryan, Noah, Jonas, and Oskar all just watched calmly as Matthias and her brother fought. And Rafe was right. Matthias looked like this was a good time. The problem was so did Rafe. Their expressions were identical as they fought.
With a flurry of kicks, Rafe was pushed back toward her. Ryan and Dylan stepped in front of her to shield her, and she tried to see around their massive shoulders. Damn it. She scooted around Dylan and stood on tiptoes look around his shoulder. "Stop. Please, you'll hurt him. Rafe, I swear to God if you hurt Matthias…" She felt like a girl watching a schoolyard fight.
The two shifted again, prowling around each other, and finally Noah put up a hand.
"Okay, that's enough Matthias. You got it out of your system. Anyone else have anything you need to say to Rafe?"
"I've got a bullet with his name on it," said Oskar.
A bullet? Hell no. It was one thing when Noah asked her to wear a wire to try and convince Rafe to talk to them. It was another thing if Rafe was going to get hurt. Lucia shoved against Dylan, who she caught off guard so he actually managed to shift enough so she stepped around him, sprinting to her brother before stepping directly in front of him.
"No. No one else I care about is going to get hurt tonight. So all of you put your guns down. Now!"
“Lucia, get away from him!” Noah reached out, as if he could pull her to safety even from a distance. But before he could move, she saw Rafe’s arm come up.
And in the span of a few seconds, Lucia went from peacemaker to hostage.
Noah stared at the man who had been his mentor. It really was him.
He knew from the surveillance footage that the guy in Lucia's office looked like Rafe. But to see him fight, to see him holding a gun on the woman he loved, Noah knew it was him, the man he’d once called his brother.
Where the hell had he been? All this time—as the guilt had wracked Noah and the sorrow had torn Lucia apart—Rafe had been alive. But where? What the hell had happened?
"Rafe, you can understand my surprise in seeing you, you know, alive and shit."
"Sorry to disappoint you Noah."
"Disappoint me?" Noah shifted on his feet. His eyes tracked the gun pressed to Lucia's side.
Would Rafe really do it? Would he shoot his own sister? If he thinks he's saving her life. If he thinks he's saving her from you. Just how fucked-in-the-head was Rafe right now?
"I mean, dude, you did me a favor. I carried a lot of guilt around. But you're alive and well, so now I can feel free to be my usual shameless self."
"Nothing's changed for you Noah, still too cocky. You still think you know everything."
"I will admit I did not know this. You can imagine my surprise when the friend I buried walked into his sister's office."
Rafe narrowed his gaze. "We gonna stand around all night, or are we going to fight?"
Noah looked at his men. All of them with kill shots. None of them moving. Especially not Matthias. He had his killer face on. The one that remained detached and unemotional, and didn't give two shits. At a time like this, that was the face Noah needed. They'd all pay for it later though.
Noah did the one thing that Rafe wouldn't expect. He reached around his waist, and pulled the Velcro for his bulletproof vest off. When he slid his arms through and tugged it over his head, he tossed it to the ground. And then he de-armed himself. Tossed the gun in the holster at his back, tossed his ankle piece, and he tossed the one he was holding. He also rid himself of the knives. Almost all of them anyway. That was saying something.
Rafe frowned. "What are you doing?"
"What was that thing that pirates used to do? When they wanted to have a conversation to see if it was really necessary to blow each other out of the water? I saw it in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Parlay?"
Rafe scoffed. "You think that's a real thing?"
Noah shrugged. "I'm not sure. But considering Lucia has put herself in harm’s way to save your life, I figure you're worth having a conversation with before I let my guys kill you for real. And I'd rather you point that gun somewhere other than your sister. You want to shoot something, shoot me."
"My sister doesn't seem to know what's best for her. So if I have to convince her, then so be it."
From the periphery of his vision, Noah saw Jonas's eye twitch. And he prayed that twitch was a result of what the toxin had done and not an emotional response. If Jonas was going to get emotional, that meant trouble. Jonas was usually the coolheaded one. But when he had an emotional response, shit got out of control real quick. And Noah knew he wasn’t the only one who loved Lucia. All the guys did. Any one of them would give their life to protect her. And he didn't need anyone getting all emotional and trigger-happy right now. They'd all come way too close to death lately.
"Even if it’s not a real thing, it's got to be worth a shot. No one's dying today, Rafe. You seem to have a problem with me. And I get that."
Rafe shrugged "Well, you did shoot me dead."
"Is that how you remember it? I seem to remember you jumped in front of my bullet."
"Oh, Noah. Semantics. Either way, you shot me. Period.”
"Yeah, about that, Rafe. We're even. Gotta say, seeing you back like this makes me real paranoid. Care to explain what the hell's going on?"
"What's going on is I'm trying to keep my sister alive.”
"Okay, I feel like you’re being deliberately obtuse, and you're missing the irony, seeing as you have a gun on her. I’ll break it down. Who the hell do you work for?"
There was a long pause. Lucia slowly rotated in her brother’s hold, giving her back to Noah. "It's a fair question, Rafe. One both Noah and I deserve the answer to.”
Rafe sighed then clenched his jaw, but he didn't holster his weapon. "I work for the FBI. I've been an undercover agent for the past eleven years."
What the fuck? That was not what Noah was expecting. "So what, ORUS was doing some sort of exchange program?"
Rafe shook his head. "No. For years, ORUS was the government's dirty little secret. The group to do the kind of wet work even the CIA wasn't going to do. The government sent ORUS into the worst places. Gave them the hardest targets. And they got the job done. But at some point, someone in ORUS started making their own targets. When the Feds got wind of it, they needed a young recruit, someone to go in and infiltrate. A deep, deep cover assignment. At the same time, it offered me the ability to stay close to home. All I had to do was be me."
Lucia shook her head, completely in disbelief. "That's not true. If you had been in the FBI, I would've known about it."
"No. You wouldn't. I was recruited during my junior year of college. My entire training was centered around breaking into cells like these. Exposing the traitors and moving on. I came by my position in ORUS the good old-fashioned way. I worked my way in. A little padding of my mercenary resume, and I was recruited, just like the Feds wanted me to be." He nodded at Noah. "I'd been there a year when they assigned you to me."
Noah shook his head. No. “There were jobs. We took jobs. No Fed would be able to do that."
"We all do what we need to do to survive. The hits that I took, the hits that I let you take, they were legitimate kills. The one time I stopped you, you were about to kill an undercover FBI agent. Even if you were none the wiser, I didn't want them to come after you."
So it had been deliberate. "You worked with him?"
Rafe nodded. “He was undercover with the Del Tino crime family. We shared a handler. About a year into his assignment, we realized that many of ORUS’s assignments coincided with Del Tino hits. We were working both cases together when the job came in to take out a Del Tino lieutenant. Someone blew his cover and they sent you in to kill him.”
Noah’s stomach churned.
Rafe continued. “When I found out they sent you to make the kill, I couldn't let that happen; for his and your sake. Because if you’d done it, they would've hung you out to dry. It was a set up. So I took the hit.”
The pent-up fury, grief, and anger from the last six years spilled forth. "You let us think you were dead. You let her think you were dead. Just so you could play undercover. What happened to the man I knew?"
Rafe shook his head. "You didn't know me. Just like I didn't know you. I thought after you murdered your mentor, you would be out of ORUS. But instead you’re still doing their bidding.”
Noah shook his head. "No. I left. After what happened to you, I couldn’t stomach it. I couldn't sleep at night. So I left." He inclined his head toward Matthias. "Took him with me."
Rafe's brows drew up. "Orion allowed that?"
Noah shrugged. "He didn't have much of a choice. I don't work for them anymore."
Rafe released the safety of his gun. "And here is where we reach an impasse. Because I know for a fact that you're in touch with Phoenix."
"He called, warning about the hit on your sister. That's it. As far as Phoenix is concerned, ORUS are still the good guys. He doesn't know what they are. Either that or he thinks it’s too late to get out."
Rafe shook his head. "No. I know you're still in."
Lucia spoke up. "Rafe, I told you. Noah isn’t lying. He's been out."
For the first time, Noah saw hints of his former mentor.
“The kind of surveillance you had at Lucia's place, I would have sworn you were still inside. I knew I had to get her away from you."
"I only added that extra security because they were coming for her. What was I supposed to do? Watch them kill the woman I love? Never going to happen."
Rafe stared at him. "You almost sound like you mean that."
Noah slid a glance to Lucia. "I do mean that."
Lucia reached a hand out for her brother's gun. "Rafe, we have to start trusting each other at some point. We've all lied. All hurt each other. It has to stop. Because we’re fighting the wrong people. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? These people will keep coming for me. We need to work together.”
Rafe squared his shoulders. “I'm your brother. I’ll protect you."
Noah shook his head. “She's mine. I protect her."
Lucia just rolled her eyes. "You two can stop posturing and marking your territory. I'm not having it. Right now we need solutions. If you're down for solutions, great. If not, we need to go."
Noah slid a glance to Rafe. "Maybe it is time to call a truce. We’ll sort everything out as we go." He held out his hand.
For a long moment, Noah was pretty sure Rafe wouldn't take it. Then his once-mentor looked between him and Lucia and slowly took Noah's hand.