Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee

Chapter 16

Lexi woke up disoriented after a full night of sleep. The last thing she remembered was lying down next to Maura in a room Rafa had shown her. Lexi must have fallen asleep; she found herself covered in the same blanket as her daughter when she woke up.

Lexi turned over and looked at the spot next to her. She blinked a couple times and then jumped out of bed. “Maura!” She panicked and ran through the door of the room, skipping down the stairs and holding onto the rail as her feet slid down the last few steps. She ignored the pain she put her back through as she looked for her child. “Maura!” she screamed and rushed to the family room, opening random doors on her way. Then she heard noises and followed the sounds to the kitchen. It was Maura, eating from a bowl at the kitchen table while Rafa typed with nonchalance on his laptop as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Good morning,” he said and looked at her when a high-pitched ding caused him to start typing again.

“Morning.” Lexi slumped into a third chair at the table, breathing heavy as the fear of losing Maura still lingered in her mind. “I'm sorry I didn't wake up with her. I didn't mean for us to disturb you.”

Rafa shook his head while standing to refill the empty cup next to him. “No, she didn't wake me up. My phone did. It probably woke her up too. You can understand why my phone is always ringing.”

Lexi ran her fingers through her hair, now realizing it must have looked like a disorderly mess. The straight strands were easy to tame and she closed her eyes, trying to calm her heart. It would be a while before she got used to the idea that they were safe.

“Here.” Rafa set a second cup of coffee beside her, along with cream and sugar. “You look like you could use this.”

Lexi returned a small smile and started stirring in both. “Thank you. Do I really look that bad?” She inhaled its aroma and lifted the cup, blowing on the contents. “I don't really want you to answer that,” she added.

He grinned as he set the laptop in his briefcase and walked over to her. “I have to take care of things. Don't leave the house for any reason. Do you understand?”

“Believe me. I understand.” She nodded and rubbed her eyes.

“Good.”

“Are you going to see Jason?” She pushed a stray strand out of Maura's face and looked up at him.

“Don't worry about any of that right now. We’ll talk about everything later, since you fell asleep before we could talk last night. Use whatever you need while I'm gone. There’s meds in my room. If you want something stronger, wait until I get home when I can watch out for her.”

“Thank you,” she said. Rafa patted Maura's head on the way to the door.

After leaving, he drove to the hotel and entered the large office to speak to Angelo about the upcoming election in four months. Since Rafa would officially enter the race for governor, they needed to start making a checklist.

He sat in front of Angelo, opening his brief case and pulling out his laptop. “Here's what I've come up with so far. We have a good standing with Donnie for now, so I'm going to let him meet Lexi and show him how far Moretti and the governor will go to keep their power. He can talk to all of the girls…expose that scandal. I know how Donnie feels about protecting people, so I'm sure I can get his endorsement when I run.”

“Where are you planning your announcement?” Angelo asked.

“The police department. If I did it there, it would establish my character and get my name floating with the locals.”

“That sounds like a good start.” Angelo nodded with approval.

“Right, but being a part of the group will come out. You realize that. It isn’t illegal to be affiliated with you, but it could fuck up my credibility. Group activity needs to be quiet for the next few months. I’m thinking Pearson won’t stop once I enter, so we’d better tighten our security too.”

“I completely agree. I sent two men upstate this morning to start working for the governor as assistants. That means we have our people from the inside.”

“Who did you send?” Rafa asked. “If they screw up, that’ll be the end of it.”

“Thomas and Ian.”

Rafa exhaled and considered the two men's strengths. “Thomas is good. He’s been with us a while but not long enough for anyone to recognize him. Why Ian? It hasn't even been a year for him.”

“He's committed. This is his chance to prove himself. If he does well, I'll promote him. If he screws up, I’ll get rid of him.”

“We should kill him now and get it done.” Rafa shook his head, not approving. He did not like to take risks. “Anyway, Lexi said her stepfather used to work for the PD back home. We should probably look into that. We should also see if Abby is as good of an IT junkie as what Lexi says. It could help our case if it’s true.”

“Good to know. Is that all you have for now?”

“For now?” Rafa wrinkled his forehead and frowned. “Considering everything that's happened, I think that’s a damn good start.”

“Except you forgot one thing.”

“What? What else is there?” Rafa crossed his arms and sat back.

“How is Lexi with people? I don't think my first meeting with her really counts.”

“She does well with people…why?” Rafa asked suspicious of Angelo. What did Angelo have in mind now?

“Because it’ll look like you have some random woman and kid living with you. Your chances at winning are a whole lot better if you’re married.”

Rafa let out a breath and placed his laptop back in his bag. “So now you want me to get married?” He ran his fingers through his hair and sat back again. “You ever heard of letting someone get used to something before throwing something else at them? I can't ask her to marry me. She wasn't ready to go out with me much less get married.”

“She will when you tell her who you are.”

“Fuck, one thing at a time,” Rafa groaned and stared at Angelo. “How the hell did I ever get mixed up with you?”

“Because you’re a lucky bastard, that's how,” Angelo said amused.

“Lucky?” Rafa scorned the word. “That's exactly the word I would have used to describe getting caught up in this.” He ignored Angelo’s comment, changing the subject instead. “Look, I'm going to the warehouse to do some work, then to buy Lexi a phone and go back home. Can you leave me alone today unless it's a real emergency?”

Angelo gave a wave of his hand. “Get out of here, Rafa. You’re giving me a headache.”