Broken Together (11 page)

I
stepped in front of him so I could study his face. His eyes were steeped in
pain. “Are you okay?”

Rafael
shook his head. “I was protecting this man while he abused that little boy. I
ignored the child’s cries. I thought he was being rebellious, that he didn’t
want to be adopted. I just assumed he was missing his friends at the
orphanage.”

I
grasped Rafael’s hands.

Tears
welled in his eyes. “I intervened the second night. The boy’s screams were
just… more than I could bear. The ambassador didn’t hear me when I entered the
apartment. He was…” Rafael’s eyes slammed closed. “He was raping that little
boy while whipping him with a belt.”

I
pressed my dampened cheek to his chest. “I’m so sorry, Rafael. That’s
horrifying.”

“I
lost it. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed such a monstrous thing to happen on my
watch. I beat the ambassador until he was unconscious and left him lying there
with his pants tangled around his legs. I didn’t dare take the boy back to the
orphanage. I knew there had to be some staff members at the orphanage who’d
been bribed, who’d allowed this child to be violated. I didn’t know who I could
trust on the police force, given the ambassador’s prominence and his wealth. So
I took Manuel, the little boy, directly to Chief D’Souza. He was the highest
ranking person I could trust.”

“Is
Chief D’Souza a Templar?” That would certainly explain the trust.

 “Yes.
Chief D’Souza is the one who petitioned for me to be inducted.” Rafael wrapped
his arm around me as we resumed walking. “He had his suspicions about who was
involved in the pedophile ring. We took Manuel to the hospital before placing
him in protective custody. Then we developed a plan for nailing the other
members. I was assigned to protect the politicians and the celebrities we
suspected were participating.”

“Were
you able to implicate anyone else?” I inquired softly.

“One
other individual. Only seven individuals have been prosecuted so far, although
I’m sure there were a lot more people involved.”

I
peered up at him. “Is this what Chief D’Souza wanted to talk to you about?”

Rafael
stopped walking again. “Yes. Benjamim told him I was in town. He wants me to
come back and help him put an end to this pedophile ring once and for all.”

My
heart sank. “Is this a request from an old friend or an order from the Templar?”

“It’s
currently being framed as a request, which leaves some room for negotiation,
but the President of Portugal has deemed this a national priority. Portugal has
lost its standing among the international community for allowing these children
to be violated for so long, and our citizens have lost faith in their
government.”

I
hugged myself as I stepped in front of him. “I understand this is important.”

Hope
flickered briefly… then sadness… and fear. “Would you be willing to live here
for a few months, possibly a year?”

My
heart struggled in fits and bursts to start beating again. I knew. In my heart
of hearts, I knew Rafael wanted this. He’d sacrificed so much for me, indulged
and supported me in every way. I knew I should do the same. If I truly loved
him, I’d stand by him. I’d support him in this so he could put this case to
rest. But to walk away from my family and friends, my career, my degree
program, and my country? Tears welled in my eyes. “I… I don’t know, Rafael. How
do you see this playing out?”

He
pulled me close. “I don’t see this taking more than a year, but it is possible.
He wants me to return to work immediately.”

My
head fell to his chest. We stood holding each other for the longest time. Although
we were standing in the middle of a long, narrow street, it felt as if we’d
reached a fork in the road. We were going to have to choose between Rafael’s
dreams and mine.

My
heart ached. The hands of time began to wind the wrong way. Months simply fell
away. I was holding Michael. I could feel his pain. We’d just returned home
from the hospital and were mourning the loss of our baby. I tried to comfort
him, but he walked away.

Time
surged forward with a violent jerk. I was kneeling in the snow in the middle of
Lexie’s driveway. Kadyn was hurt. He couldn’t forgive me, not after everything
that had happened with Michael. Tears streamed down my cheeks as he drove away.

Time
twisted cruelly until I was kneeling at the edge of Michael’s sailboat. Rafael
was pouring Michael’s ashes into the ocean. I reached out so I could feel Michael
one last time. The only thing I could feel was Michael slipping away.

Somehow,
this felt the same.

*
* * * *

I
was pacing across Rafael’s living room, anxiously awaiting his return. I’d
barely slept last night and was now running on fumes. Rafael left to speak with
the police chief hours ago. With every minute that passed, I grew more fearful.
I’d been doing some serious soul searching while he was away.

I
decided I could walk away from Seeds for Peace. I was certain I could find a
career in Portugal that would be equally rewarding. But I couldn’t walk away
from my degree program. I was only five months away from graduating. The
faculty had been lenient with me, allowing me to complete assignments remotely
while burying Michael and working out of country for Seeds for Peace, but
George Mason wasn’t an online university. Attendance was required. Short
absences were tolerated as long as students remained on task. But five months? Five
months was not an option.

My
friends and family didn’t present the obstacle I thought they would. Between
the jet, Rafael’s resources, and mine…
thanks to Michael
… I could fly
back to see them anytime.

A
plan had been unfolding inside my head, but I hadn’t sorted through all the
details yet. I spun on my heel when I heard Rafael slide his card through the
door.

His
eyes locked on mine. “Kristine?” He walked toward me as if he were approaching
a frightened doe.

I
took a deep breath and slowly released it. “What did he say?”

Rafael
pulled me down onto the smooth leather couch. I found the cool material
soothing. My skin felt heated, fueled by the tension and the panic building within
me. “Chief D’Souza would like to reinstate me into the
Grupo de Operações
Especiais
permanently. To the best of my knowledge, no operative has ever
been reinstated before… at least not in Portugal.”

I
forced myself to breathe. I wasn’t expecting this to be so permanent. Clearly,
it was an honor to be reinstated into a special operations group… an
unprecedented honor at that. I reached for his hands. “Do you want to be reinstated?”

Uncertainty
flickered in his eyes. I maintained a firm hold on his hands when he tried to
pull away. He glanced at me, surprised.

Tears
welled in my eyes. “We’re in this together, Rafael. I will support you either
way, but I won’t allow you to slip away.”

He
folded me in his arms. “I wish this didn’t come at such a high cost.”

Some
time passed before either of us spoke again. Hesitantly, I began. “I’ll resign
at Seeds for Peace, and I’ll move here, but I need to finish my degree first.”

Rafael
tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Few marriages survive special ops. I
could be unavailable for weeks, maybe even months, on VIP protection missions.
If they reassigned me to the counter-terrorism unit, you could be targeted,
just like you were when you were with Michael. I can’t put my wife or my
children through that.”

My
heart stalled.

He
grasped my hands. “I told
Chief D’Souza that I would consider a
temporary assignment, no longer than six months, to help them nail the scum who
are abusing these children. He conceded, but he reserved the right to extend
the assignment for another six months if we hit any roadblocks. I didn’t
commit. I wanted to talk to you first.”

I
stood and stepped out onto the balcony. “So we’d be separated for five months.”
That was the length of time I needed to complete my degree. I could spend the
remaining time in Lisbon while he wrapped up his investigation.

Rafael
joined me. “I’m afraid so. I could come visit you in Virginia or you could travel
here one or two weekends out of the month, but the timing could prove tricky.
If I’m assigned to someone, I wouldn’t be able to leave until that security
detail was over. Assignments can run anywhere from a day to a few weeks, they
often include weekends, and they can be extended unexpectedly.”

I
gazed unseeingly at the courtyard. “We can do this, right? I mean, it’s only five
months. We can reschedule the wedding so we’re not getting married until after
your assignment ends. That would be July or December if you wanted to play it
safe.”

I
could feel the heat rolling off Rafael’s chest when he stepped behind me. “We’re
not delaying the wedding. May 21
^st
is already too far away.”

I
leaned against him when he wrapped his arms around me. “So we’ll get married on
May 21
^st
and delay the honeymoon.” I turned in his arms. “I think five
months is doable. Oni’s coming in a few weeks. I’ll have midterms, Rwanda,
finals, graduation, and the marriage preparation course. You’ll be immersed in
this case. We’ll be busy planning the wedding, and we’ll be flying back and
forth to spend time together. Five months will be over in no time,” I reasoned
with forced optimism.

“Rwanda,”
he groaned. “How could I forget? I’m supposed to be going with you to Rwanda.”

“You
can send Jase or simply expand the security detail beyond Brogan and Aidan.” I
didn’t know Brogan or Aidan very well, but they had served as the security
detail for my colleagues when they were working in India and Pakistan a few
months ago. “What are you going to do about the security firm?”

“You’re
speaking as if this is a done deal. I still haven’t decided if I’m accepting
this assignment,” Rafael gritted. He blew out a breath. “Ethan can manage the
firm. I’m more concerned about you. I can’t leave you unprotected. I don’t
trust Maxim, and there’s still a chance the SVR could come after you.”

“Jase
is already serving as my bodyguard. Can’t you just extend his hours or assign a
second person to guard the townhouse at night?” I paused, surprised by how
easily that suggestion had rolled off my tongue. I’d had a bodyguard for more
than two years now, ever since Michael sent Rafael to watch over me in DC. I
wasn’t really aware that I had a bodyguard until I met Rafael in Paris. Still,
that was eighteen months ago. Now, I didn’t even think twice about having one.

Rafael
shook his head. “If I do this, then I’m asking Brady and Jase to move in with
you.”

My
voice rose three octaves. “Move in with me? Why?”

His
eyes darkened. “While I may trust them to protect you, I don’t want either of
those men spending the night alone with you.”

“But
Brady and Jase aren’t even remotely interested in me.”

“You
presumed the same about me when you were living with Michael,” he noted drily. “If
Brady and Jase are both sleeping there, they can keep each other in check
and
watch over you.”

“Fine,”
I conceded. “I can live with that.”

His
eyes softened. “That helps, a lot. I’m just… I’m not so sure I can. Chief
D’Souza gave me twenty-four hours to think this over. We should sleep on it and
make our decision in the morning.” He led me back into the living room.

“Do
you want some time alone? I can read my Kindle or study Portuguese in the other
room so you can think about this.” I went into the kitchen to pour some coffee.

He
shook his head. “No. I would like to discuss something else.”

“What
do you want to talk about?” I handed him a cup of coffee before joining him on
the couch.

“I
want to host a party to celebrate our engagement.”

“But
you may not be returning with me,” I noted softly.

His
expression grew fierce. “Even if I accept this assignment, I will see you
home.”

I
wasn’t about to argue with that look. “Okay. We should pick a date so we can send
the invitations out. How soon do you want to do this?”

He
rubbed at the stubble along his jaw.

“What
about New Year’s Eve?” I suggested.

A
smile slid slowly across his face. “That’s perfect.”

I
glanced at the calendar on my cell phone. “We’re going to have to send
electronic invitations. That’s only ten days away.”

Rafael
opened the laptop he left sitting on the table last night. “If you can gather
your friends’ e-mail addresses, we can send the invitation now.”

I
scribbled their names and e-mail addresses on a piece of paper I snagged from
his printer. “Your house or mine?”

“I
need to make a phone call.”

I
looked up. Rafael was already walking down the hall. He disappeared into the
bedroom with the laptop.

I
fell back against the couch. “What was that all about?”