Page 28 of Desperate Justice

“Stupid, stupid,” he muttered in Spanish.

Letting Hernandez get the best of him wasn’t his style. He’d always managed to be calm and cool under pressure.

But all he could see when looking into Hernandez’s face was the laughing image of Sofia, ready to slip a deadly pill of fentanyl into her mouth.

A nightmare image of Sofia lying pale and still on the ground as EMTs tried to revive her and save her life.

Sofia, rushed to the hospital. Allison coming into the waiting area shaking her head, no they couldn’t do anything more for his beloved goddaughter.

Sweat streamed down his back as he polished the chrome on the bike. Three weeks suspension with pay. The annual Teddy Bear Run was in a few days, and he’d already arranged for vacation, but still...

This bit the big one.

When had he become reckless? Hernandez, yeah, he could blame it on the man, but deep down, Rafe knew there was more to it.

He examined his conscience and found a certain trauma nurse named Allison staring back at him. Allison, whose sister was marrying into that family. Allison, who loved her sister and would do anything for her.

Emotions had gotten the better of him.

His cell rang. Rafe smiled as he looked at the caller. Jason, one of his teammates, who’d risked his own life to take down a dangerous gang of jewel thieves.

“Hey, Jase.”

“Heard what happened. Sorry, man.” Jase sounded sympathetic. “Anything I can do while you’re gone?”

“I’d tell you to keep an eye on Hernandez for me, but you have your own case files. How’s Kara?”

“Terrific. She finally set a date for the wedding. Six months from now. You’re coming of course.”

“As long as it’s not at a certain drug dealer’s mansion on Starfish Island,” he muttered.

“Far from it. Kara’s parents have money, but not that much, and Kara wants something low-key. Intimate. A few family and friends.”

“Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”

“So when are you gonna find someone and settle down?”

“Who are you, my nana? I get enough nagging from them. Go focus on your own wedding.”

“I will. But Rafe, life isn’t only the job. One day you’re gonna wake up and wonder what happened.”

He rubbed the scar of the bullet wound. “Don’t I know it. So you and Kara aren’t coming on the ride?”

“Sorry, man. Too much wedding stuff. Maybe next year.”

“If you both aren’t expecting.” He grinned, genuinely happy for his agent. “Keep in touch and let me know what’s going on.”

He hung up and pocketed his cell phone, feeling a ping of regret. Jase, married. One of his best agents now committed to someone other than the Bureau.

You need to do the same.

Maybe this ride would help clear the muck out of his head.

Sliding the black helmet over his head, he slipped onto the bike and roared out of his complex’s parking lot. The hospital wasn’t too far from his condominium, and traffic was fairly light this time of day.

One advantage of being suspended with pay—he had plenty of free time to visit his nana.

Inside the hospital he retrieved a visitor name tag, handed over his driver’s license for them to copy and then, when they handed it back, went upstairs. Elena had been at the hospital since her collapse. The doctor said she suffered not a heart attack, but some technical term that meant she needed a cardiac catheterization. She’d had the procedure done yesterday and they kept her overnight, watching her.