Just as the dust devils whirled harmlessly over the desert, so too did the D’Angelo family and Gabriel gather themselves up and head out by late afternoon. Serena took to walking about outside. She saw Raphael coming toward her with purpose in his steps. He didn’t look pleased. Her heartbeat instantly quickened, and not from watching his lithe form approach her either. She spoke first to quell the uneasiness growing inside her, as though it would give her the courage to face whatever he had to throw at her.
“I was beginning to wonder where you’d run off to, leaving me to fend off the coyotes and snakes all on my own,” Serena admonished.
“Oh, knowing what you do for a living, I figured you’d have them coyotes and rattlers running scared the minute they saw you, darlin’,” he joked. More sincerely he continued, “Thought I’d give you some time and space after spending time with the craziness that is the D&rs
There were men after her, bad men, men who wanted her and a man who wanted her dead. But now there was also Raphael, a good man, staring anxiously at her, with those eyes of the most curious blue. And he spoke from those lips that had set fire to her own. Did he just say something about being alive? Alive. She didn’t feel alive. She felt numb, empty.“Alive,” she whispered. “I’m alive.”“Yes, that’s right,” he encouraged. “You’re alive.”“Jared’s dead, and I’m alive,” she droned. “Why am I still alive? I should be dead, too. I should be dead….” She cocked her head, perplexed.“Serena, you’re alive because that’s the way it should be. Come on. Let’s get you off the ground and inside. I’ll get you some tea and we’ll talk.” He lifted her off the tiny stones surrounding the bench.“Yes, tea s
Her heart leapt to her throat at the stunning realization.“But why, Raphael? Why does he need me? What can I possibly do for him?”“Maybe he’s ill. Maybe he thinks you can heal him.” He rubbed his temples with his fingers.“You can’t be serious. With all the doctors and hospitals in the world, you mean to tell me he’s decided I can heal him? That’s crazy!”“I’m only guessing here, but it seems to make sense, in a twisted way, that if you look like the statue, maybe you could do what he thinks the statue can do. I don’t know. It’s just a thought, and a troubling one at that.”“So, now I possibly know why Dr. Crazy is after me. I can work with that. But Bull, he still presents a big problem. What am I going to do about him?”“First, you need to stop saying ‘I’ and ‘me’. We’re in this together, Serena. Don’t think for one minute I’m going to let you go or do anything on your own. Plus, we’ve got the other Brethren backing us up if we need them. So don’t worry about Bull. The Brethren wi
Serena soaked in the Jacuzzi tub resplendent with oils and fragrances. The heat from the water and the pulse from the jets served to batter away at the threads of anxiety and grief. She knew it wouldn’t take them away forever, and tears threatened to expose themselves. When she decided that to hold them back would be worse than having a good cry, she let them flow.My brother is dead.She would never have the chance to hug, laugh, scold, or tease him ever again. With every tear that mixed with the bath water, she said a prayer that he would rest in peace and be in a happier place.She ducked under the water as if to cleanse herself spiritually. As her head broke the surface, she took a breath, like the first a newborn baby takes in. It was a new world for her. A solitary one. And she decided to make the best of it.Resting against the back of the tub, she looked around at the bathroom for the first time and thought it a shame it had no windows. But
Raphael walked the perimeter of the property and stumbled across a pile of shell casings. Whoever the sniper, he didn’t seem to care too much about cleaning up after himself. He knew it had to have been Bull. The other men Serena mentioned were on Chappo’s payroll and looking to snatch her, not kill her. Bull was driven by some skewed vendetta towards her, and he’d never been shy about it. At least he had the sense to get the hell out of here before being found out. Raphael would have surely killed him first and asked questions later.He flipped open his phone and speed dialed Kemuel. “Hey, Kemuel. Bull’s been here, shooting at Serena. Can you come and trace him?”“You bet. I’ll fly right over.”He walked closer to the house, easily passing through the invisible protective shield Michael had erected, the latest and greatest in Brethren protective technology. It detected the DNA signature of people allowed on
Clothes were peeled and strewn about the hallway in passionate haste and desperation. Raphael slammed their bodies against one wall, and she slammed them into another as her hands frantically explored uncharted territory, and her lips sealed them together. They crashed down upon a settee at the end of the hall. Quite clearly, this first time would not be slow, or gentle, or any of those clichéd descriptions of lovers’ first times together.As one, they spun out of control, taking turns having the upper hand in their passion play. Dominating and submitting in turn.Serena pinned Raphael’s shoulders to the back of the settee as she straddled his lap, and raised herself above him in triumph. This act, while something she’d yearned for, shouted a big “fuck you” to her attackers. She had something to prove. They may have taken away her future, but she still had the goods. I am desirable, and I still have physical needs that can no longer
Raphael looked through the peephole himself and saw a swollen, beaten face. Bull. He could barely see Kemuel beside him, but if Serena had peeked through, she would have seen Bull, as well. Damn! He’d told her Kemuel would bring him back. She must’ve forgotten. He should have gotten to the door first.He turned to see where she went, but she had scrambled away to somewhere deep in the house, he figured. He opened the door and stepped outside.“Take him to the garage,” he barked. There was no way he wanted Bull anywhere inside the house, planting seeds of fearful memories for Serena everywhere she looked. Bull spat blood by Raphael’s feet.“You ain’t getting nothing from me, assholes. You hear? Nothin’! And there ain’t a damn thing you can do to me that’s gonna break me either! How’s your little bitch of a girlfriend, eh? She gonna be good and dead soon. Pow pow!” His hands mimicked a gun.
She traced the point of the letter opener up and down his thighs and back to center. She tapped resolutely, once there. He sucked in a breath and she watched him get hard.“I know, I think I’ll tell you a story. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. It’s a short story, so listen carefully. There will be a question after. Once upon a time, there lived a girl who dreamed of running her own business, getting married, and having a large family. But one day, an evil man—that would be you—and his evil friends decided it would be fun to play soccer with the girl’s body. They kicked her and punched her like a piece garbage on the ground. The cowards left her in the desert to die, but the funny thing about it, she didn’t.”Serena stalked around him, trailing the letter opener up one arm and around his neck. She stopped right at his jugular. “She survived, barely, thanks to the kindness of a stranger. But it was too late to s
I could be a father. Raphael stood dumbfounded at the notion. I could be a father, and there lies the woman who could be the mother of my child, despondent, broken, and an empty shell. He couldn’t let this go on a moment longer.“Serena.” He sat gently on the bed beside her. “Serena, you must know something very important. You must listen, Serena. You can still have children. Do you hear me? You were healed of everything wrong with you. Emma saw to that. So you can have the children you’ve been dreaming of, Serena.”She lay motionless, her stare devoid of all acknowledgment of Raphael’s presence. “Serena!” Raphael grasped her shoulders and shook her. “Serena! You’ve got to listen to me. You’ve got to snap out of this, sweetheart.” He grabbed her in a furious embrace that brought back tragic memories of holding Sirona in the same desperate way. Fear gripped him and frustration churned. He didn