Read Rafael (The Santiago Brothers Book One) for Free Online Page A

his mother accepting him with open
arms. When he was awake, he imagined multiple outcomes, each ending
badly… for him. What if she changed her mind after seeing him? What
if she rejected him? Ordered him from her home a second time?
    “God, please give me strength. All I want is
forgiveness. If only—”
    The door creaked open and Rafa opened his
eyes, startled. There stood his mother in a soft pink robe, her
rich mahogany hair in sponge rollers. She’d hardly aged; only the
laugh lines around her eyes had deepened, as did the small
half-moon creases at the corners of her mouth.
    “ Rafael. Mi hijo .” Tears
glistened her eyes before streaming down to her open-mouthed
smile.
    Just like in his dreams.
    “Mamá.”
    She released a soft cry before throwing her
arms around him, crushing him in a fierce hug. Rafa let the garment
bag drop to the porch and he wrapped his arms around her, his own
tears falling into her hair.
     
    ****
     
    Genie hugged her jacket to her frame, the
cool wind of the emerging spring causing her to shiver. She kept
her hood low, passing all late-night stragglers without a glance. A
few more blocks and she would be at the meeting place — a familiar
alleyway in the heart of the roughest part of the city. She hated
coming to this part of town; most of the domestic violence calls
were from this area, the worst grade schools in the county weren’t
far from where she was, and the liquor stores outnumbered the
convenience stores two to one. But officers of the law serviced the
whole community, and not just the affluent.
    Genie stifled a yawn. Perhaps she should have
followed her own advice. Right now, Rafael Santiago would be at his
mother’s house, snoozing. Well, she couldn’t sleep — wouldn’t sleep
— until she solved this case. She had her career to think of.
    Rafael Santiago .
    Genie shook her head in disbelief. He hadn’t
left her thoughts since she abandoned him in a dark conference
room. She stifled a chuckle, wondering what he thought of her now.
He had never noticed her in school, but they were paired on this
case, so he’d have no choice but to acknowledge her now. Genie
couldn’t help the feeling of pleasure that shot through her at the
thought of Rafael Santiago being aware of her.
    Stop it, Genie .
    And just like that, the elation deflated.
    He may look even better than he did some odd
years ago, may even be more intelligent than he obviously let on in
school, but a cheetah doesn’t change its spots. Can’t change its
spots. She considered what he'd said earlier about not being proud
of his former actions. It had surprised her that he would confess
at all to the infractions he made as a minor. Rafa alluded he’d
done more than what she knew of when they attended school together.
What had those actions been? How much more of a train wreck had he
become? Rafa left Virginia shortly after graduation and she hadn’t
seen or heard of him since, except in the prayers of a fervent
mother in church.
    Maria Santiago .
    She hadn’t seen his mother in quite a while.
Her work as a detective, and the disagreement she had with God over
Jeff, left little room in her life for church. She still attended,
but only if she didn’t have a pressing investigation.
    And every investigation was a priority.
    Still, she knew she should return with more
regularity. Her best friend Audrey Hughes had encouraged her to
attend a weekly Bible study. Perhaps she could sit in for a class
or two. She had questions that needed answering and what better way
to get those answers than from the source.
    The source.
    She had to meet hers tonight. The Snakes were
a gang of drug addicts and money launderers, or so Rafa had
mentioned. She’d meet with the gang unit after the autopsy, but
right now she’d talk to her eyes and ears on the street. She hadn’t
heard of any new packs forming in the city and now this group had
killed four people? Her precinct needed to be ahead of the game,
not behind it.
    A whiff of