Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (25 page)

He
pinned my hands above my head with one hand while covering my mouth with the
other. “
Stop screaming
,” he gritted out.

My
pupils dilated as Rafael’s house faded away. I was suddenly staring at an open
beam ceiling built entirely from pine. Justin was suffocating me as he tried to
rape me. “Please, Justin, don’t do this.
Please don’t do
this,
” I
mumbled against his hand. I bucked against his body, struggling to get loose. Then
I closed my eyes and sobbed as I bit his hand.

He
immediately withdrew his hand. He reached for my hair as he forced me to my
feet. He locked my back against his chest, then wrapped his forearm around my
neck. He dragged me back toward the gym. “Shut up, bitch.”

I
clawed at his arm, then froze. I was suddenly lost in the arms of another man.
You
stupid fucking bitch
shredded my brain, then echoed through the pieces that
remained. I shook my head as I tried to dislodge Tom’s snarling face. “No,” I
whispered. “You don’t get to hurt me anymore.”

Rafael
continued dragging me backwards down the hall.

I
bent forward as hard as I could. Then I threw myself back until my head slammed
against his. I turned as he released me. I kneed him in the groin. I kicked him
in the shin as he bent forward. Then I brought my elbows down on his back. I
turned and ran for the stairs as he fell to the floor.

I
didn’t stop at the front door. I ran to the edge of the river, then fell to my knees.
I curled in on myself and began sobbing as I wrapped my arms around my head.

My
tears had subsided by the time I heard his voice. “Hey,” he said softly. He
kneeled beside me. “You did it.”

I
removed my arms from my head as I turned to face Rafael. Thankfully, that
horrid suit was gone. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a black short
sleeved shirt. I shook my head as he tried to touch me. I narrowed my eyes at
him. “Don’t ever ask me do that again. I’d rather die at someone else’s hands
than relive those moments.”

Rafael
reached for my hand. “But you did so well. You worked through those memories,
and they didn’t leave you frozen in fear.”

I
swiped at my tear stained face. “Promise me you won’t make me do that again.”

Rafael
wrapped me in his arms as he tugged me onto his lap. “I promise.”

I
gradually relaxed into his chest. A few minutes passed before I spoke again. “You
promised you’d never be the cause of my tears,” I whispered accusingly.

Rafael
cupped my face in his hands as he forced me to look at him. “Was I the cause of
those tears?”

I
reflected on what had happened. “No,” I finally conceded. “Justin and Tom
caused those tears.”

Rafael
released the breath he’d been holding. “I’m sorry I scared you. I know those
memories are painful… but for what it’s worth, I think you stand a good chance
of getting away if anyone ever tries to hurt you again.”

My
eyes locked on his. “You really think so?”

He
nodded. “I do. I think we should celebrate. Look at everything you’ve
accomplished this month. You completed your first semester of graduate school.
You finished your Russian immersion course and your self-defense training, and
you finished developing all of the training materials for Ukraine. That’s
huge.”

The
tension in my shoulders eased a little bit more. “I was hoping we could
celebrate the end of finals, although I haven’t given much thought as to what
we should do.”

Rafael
lifted me from his lap. He reached for my hand as he stood. “I know exactly
what we should do.” He led me back toward the townhouses. “Why don’t you change
out of your gym clothes and meet me in my garage in thirty minutes? I need to
take a quick shower.”

We
returned to Rafael’s house so I could retrieve my keys. Rafael gave me a hug
and a quick kiss before I left. I felt gritty and my muscles were already
beginning to ache, so I jumped into the shower as soon as I got home. I contemplated
my clothing options while I toweled off. I had no clue what we were doing, so I
wasn’t sure how to dress.

I
settled on a soft yellow sundress and strappy white sandals in the end. I thought
the outfit might help lift my spirits. I was feeling down, and I wasn’t sure
whether it was due to my self-defense lesson or the fact that I was leaving for
Ukraine in four days. I suspected it was a combination of the two.

Rafael’s
face brightened when he saw my dress. “You look great.”

I
smiled as I ran my fingers through his damp hair. “And you look… wet.”

His
hands cupped my bottom as he pulled my hips against his. “I bet I can make you
wet too.”

I
swatted at his arm. “Rafael! That’s terrible.”

He
nipped at my bottom lip. “I know just the thing to make you forget all those
bad memories…”

I
swayed toward him as he spun my need. “What?” I whispered breathlessly.

A
smile tugged at his lips as he loosened his hold on me. “This,” he said,
slipping the keys to his car in my hand. “You drive this, and you won’t be able
to think of anything else.”

I
stared at the keys in my hand, thoroughly confused. I bit back a smile when I
realized he had been toying with me all along. I pasted an innocent look on my
face. “I can’t believe you trust me with this car.”

Rafael
helped me into the driver’s seat. He walked around the car and slid into the
passenger seat. “Well, I trust you with my heart, why wouldn’t I trust you with
my car?”

I
shrugged as I toyed with the paddles on the steering wheel. “Well, I have been
in a number of accidents and earned quite a few speeding tickets…”

Rafael’s
jaw fell open. His eyes suddenly narrowed. “You have not.”

I
laughed as I started the car. “Nope. I’ve never been in an accident, and I have
yet to earn a speeding ticket, but there’s a first time for everything.”

Rafael
hooked his hand behind my neck. He pulled me toward him, then kissed me
forcefully. “You are not wrecking my Ferrari.”

He
offered brief instructions on how to operate the car before he sat back and
motioned for me to go. My pulse quickened as I put the car in reverse and eased
out of the garage. “So, where are we going?”

He
reached across me and pressed the remote so he could lower the garage door.
“Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.”

I
shifted into drive and pulled away from the garage. “West Virginia? Why West
Virginia?”

He
laughed as he programmed the GPS on his phone. “Because it’s a fun drive.”

I
shot him a condescending look before turning onto King Street. “What are you
going to do when your primary source of entertainment heads off to Ukraine?”

Rafael
leaned against the passenger door as he turned to face me. “Are you sure I
can’t talk you into letting me tag along?”

I
shook my head. “No. I need to do this on my own. How’s it going to look to the
rest of my colleagues if I drag my boyfriend along on my very first trip? I
told them I was comfortable working in conflict-ridden countries. Now, I have
to prove that I am.”

“You
weren’t nearly this stubborn with Michael,” Rafael noted sourly.

I
burst out laughing. “I resisted Michael’s sexual advances for over two months.
How long did I resist yours… like fifteen minutes?”

A
grin spread slowly across his face. “Are you saying I’m irresistible?”

My
eyes widened. “Oh, yeah. Your photo is probably sitting right next to that word
at Dictionary.com.”

He
folded his arms across his chest. “Then take me to Ukraine.”

I
merged onto GW Parkway. “Your picture probably appears next to the word relentless
too. So, what
are
you going to do while I’m in Ukraine?”

Rafael
leaned back against his seat and sighed. “I’m going to Paris to speak with
Michael.”

My
heart stalled. I glanced at him as I tried to shift the car into a higher gear.
“About us?”

Rafael
nodded. “He deserves an explanation as to why I’m dating you, and I want to be
clear with him about my intentions. I’m not comfortable doing that on the
phone. I really think that’s a conversation we need to have in person.”

I
shot Rafael an apologetic look as I fought a wave of nausea. “I feel really guilty
about this… for putting you and Michael in this situation. He’s going to be
hurt, and it could cost you your relationship with him. Are you sure you want
to do this?”

Rafael’s
eyes darkened. “Do what? Talk to him or date you?”

I
glanced at him nervously. “I don’t know… both?”

A
fiercely determined look settled over his face. “I want to do far more than just
date you, which means I have no choice but to talk to him.”

My
heart slammed against my ribcage. “What… what exactly are your intentions?”

“You
know my intentions,” he responded softly.

My
heart raced as I reflected on the statements he had made during the negotiations
with Shae. I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out as I merged onto I-495. “You
want to prove that you’re the man I should spend the rest of my life with.”

His
eyes softened. “I’m not dating you to pass the time. I have every intention of
marrying you, Kristine.”

My
voice climbed three octaves. “Are you trying to make me crash the car? We… we
can’t talk about marriage when I’m driving on the beltway!” Cars tore past us
on either side. A semi-truck bore down on us from behind.

Rafael
chuckled as his GPS navigated me onto I-270. “We’ll be exiting off the beltway
shortly. I can wait a few minutes if you’d like.”

“I
think we should change the topic,” I insisted shrilly.

Rafael
rubbed the stubble along his jawline. “I don’t know. I kind of like the
direction this topic is headed. So, hypothetically speaking…”

“Stop!
You don’t get to ask me that. Not when I’m driving your car.” My knuckles
whitened against the steering wheel as I risked another glance at him.

His
voice gentled. “Then when?”

I
stared at him, thoroughly unnerved. “I don’t know! In a few months?”

He
smiled, seemingly unaffected by my growing hysteria. “We’ve known each other a
year. Actually, I’ve known you for nearly two years now. Don’t you think that’s
long enough?”

I
glanced at him. The man looked completely serious. All of the air rushed from
my lungs. “We haven’t even been dating for two months!”

Rafael
shrugged. “I know what I want.”

I
stared at the road. What was it with the Garcia men? Most guys resisted
marriage as if it were the plague, but not the Garcia brothers. They latched
onto their women and dove in head first.

Rafael
changed the topic. “Will you e-mail me your itinerary and the names of the
hotels you’ll be staying at in Ukraine? You should probably do the same for
your family, so they can reach you in case of an emergency. You should also make
photocopies of your passport and all of the credit cards you’re taking, just to
be on the safe side.”

I
nodded, thankful for the reprieve. “Sure. I’ll e-mail the itinerary and the list
of hotels to you first thing on Monday. I’ll leave photocopies of my passport
and credit cards in the top drawer of my desk in case they get lost or stolen
while I’m there.”

He
relaxed into his seat. “Are you going to Simferopol or Sevastopol first?”

I
reduced my speed as I turned onto the exit for I-70. “Actually, we’re spending
our first night in Frankfurt, Germany. We fly to Simferopol the next day. Thankfully,
we have the weekend free so we can get settled in and adjust to the time difference.
We’re teaching in Simferopol that first week. We’ll be teaching in Sevastopol
the second week we’re there. Oh, and we’re stopping in Zurich, Switzerland to
decompress on our way back home. Do you think you can live without me for eighteen
days?”

Rafael
shook his head. “No. Please tell me you have an international calling plan on
your cell phone.”

I
nodded. “Yes, and I’ve already ensured the calling plan includes Ukraine.”

Rafael
looked visibly relieved. “You’ll need to purchase a SIM card in Ukraine.”

I
smiled. Rafael was beginning to sound a lot like my dad. “Yes, I know. We’re
picking up the SIM cards first thing on Friday.”

“Good,”
he responded. “At least we can talk by phone, maybe even Skype.”

I
shook my head. “I’ve heard Internet service is spotty there. I’m not even sure
how good their cell phone coverage is. We do plan to scout out some Internet cafés,
in case we don’t have good Internet service on our phones.”

Rafael
nodded. “Just watch what you write in your messages and who you send them to. I
wouldn’t be sending any e-mails to your military friends that could be viewed
as suspicious by Ukrainian authorities.”

I
sighed as I stole another glance at him. “Is it really that bad over there?”