Page 23 of Raphael

Idiot! Stop talking.He could probably see the terror on my face. After all, Anya always said I had a lousy poker face.

Thankfully, he didn’t comment. He put his hand on the small of my back and nudged me forward. His palm pressed against me sent a shiver through me. My brain couldn’t process it. My body was just reacting unlike ever before. This was bad. So fucking bad.

But recognizing that at this moment, he might be the only one who could help me out of this building, I followed.

It took us less than five minutes and my hands gripping this man’s sleeve to make it through what looked like a war zone. It wasn’t an easy task in three inch heels. This guy, on the other hand, looked right at home in this disaster, even wearing an expensive, custom made three-piece-suit and some fancy shoes.

He looked like the handsome devil ruling his domain.Hell.

Through the chaos and debris, so many groans, moans, and cries, that nobody paid attention to us. We were two that still managed to walk and weren’t bleeding. We didn’t need help.

Once outside, lights and sirens screamed through the air with more coming our way. Both of us kept glancing over our shoulder but nobody was following us as we rushed across the parking lot.

An SUV appeared out of nowhere. It pulled over in front of us with screeching tires and still nobody even glanced our way. Two large men jumped out of the car, one wearing jeans and a white t-shirt and another wearing a suit.

“That’s her?” Two sets of eyes, one blue and one dark, flickered my way.

“Get in the car, Sailor,” Raphael ordered firmly.

I scoffed. “I never said I was going anywhere with you. You got me out of there, thank you very much. Now let’s both be on our way.”

He actually looked amused. “I don’t think so, Reina.” My brows scrunched. That sounded familiar too. “You and Gabriel are coming with me.”

His hand wrapped around my wrist as he attempted to lead me to the vehicle. If I got in, all would be lost. So I did the only thing I knew. In one swift move, just the way Royce Ashford, my best friend’s brother, taught me, I shifted my body towards him and kneed him in the balls.

It took all of a fraction of a second, but it felt like it took minutes. Pain flashed across Raphael’s expression while his bodyguards stared confused. Honestly, I was confused too. I didn’t actually expect it to work.

Then I finally snapped out of it, kicked off my heels and took off sprinting away from them. The end destination was my son’s school. Risking a glance over my shoulder, I caught Raphael’s form hunched over, cussing like a sailor in Spanish while holding on to his balls.

Adiós, amigo, I thought smugly.

I couldn’t help a self-satisfied smirk. Unfortunately, Raphael raised his eyes at that very moment and caught my expression. The look he gave me promised retribution.

Although, I couldn’t understand why my body shuddered in delight.

ChapterThirteen

RAPHAEL

Madre de Dios.

She kicked me in the balls. Fucking hard too. She better not have impacted my ability to have children. Not that I strived for any. Not after the fucked up way I grew up under my father.

The woman was supposed to be sophisticated. Not a fucking wild cat. Despite it, if my balls weren’t aching, I’d be hard for the blonde woman with a filthy mouth right now. Yeah, fucked up priorities.

I’d make her pay though. For kicking me in the nuts and for that smirk she gave me as she glanced over her shoulder, running like the devil himself was chasing her. I guess I was the devil.

Next time, it’d be me smirking.

“Does it really hurt as bad as they say?” Caine questioned and I narrowed my eyes on him. It was so much worse that I feared my voice would come out sounding like a girl. “You don’t have to answer,” he assured me. “I can see you’re in pain.”

“Would you like me to demonstrate?” I gritted, shoving him out of the way and getting into the car. “Get in the fucking car so we can get the woman before she gets my brother killed.”

“Or herself,” Caine added unhelpfully, grinning like an idiot that he was.

“I don’t give a shit about her,” I said coldly.Lies.“The woman’s recklessness is putting Gabriel at risk, and I won’t tolerate that.”

Caine looked like he didn’t believe me but he said nothing else. Instead, he got in next to me and Diego started driving.