Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee

Chapter 20

With their groceries put away in back, Rafa looked at Lexi as he sat behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition. “Is there anywhere else you’d like to go before we head to the house?”

Her eyes felt dry as she blinked to ease the burn. “Not really. I think I’d rather relax for the rest of the day. A lot has happened.”

“Sounds good.” He tapped a name on his phone as he shifted the car to drive. “Hey, it's Rafa. Do you think you could come over to my place for half an hour? I have something to talk about… No, I wouldn't involve you in group business.” Rafa let out an annoyed breath. “Yes, I'll be there in ten.”

As he drove, he only thought of wedding plans. He never thought he would be given another chance with her and now they were getting married. He wanted to talk to her about it but did not feel the timing was right after the morning. He would have to give her another day or two. She still needed time to adjust.

He stopped the car in the long driveway that led to his house and clicked a button under the visor to open the tall metal gate. “I'm going to grab the mail,” he said.

Lexi nodded, watching him leave the door slightly jarred while he took out a key to unlock the mailbox. As he pulled out a couple of envelopes, a car screeched behind to a halt. Rafa did not wait to see who it was; the person driving instantly became the target of his gun.

“Hey! Wait-wait-wait! Don't shoot! It's me!” Desperate to stay alive, Donnie waved his arms back and forth in a frenzy. “Did you ask me to come over here to kill me?”

“What are you? Crazy?” Rafa exclaimed. “How do you expect me to react when you come speeding to a stop like a madman? You're lucky you're alive, you know that?” Rafa put the gun away and looked back. “Follow me.” He slid behind the wheel again and looked at Lexi. “There’s someone I want you to talk to for a few minutes. Is that okay with you?”

“Who is it?” She looked in the side mirror but could not make out any person.

“His name is Donnie. He's the sheriff around here. I trust him.”

“You’re serious.” She looked in the mirror again but Donnie was still obscured by the Escalade. “Sure.” She let out a sigh as he parked and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Do you trust me?”

Lexi took a long, deep breath. “Yes, I trust you.”

“Then you know that you’ll be safe.”

Lexi stepped out and unstrapped Maura, ignoring Donnie as Rafa grabbed the groceries and opened the front door. Donnie looked at her with surprise, following them both inside. The men waited at the table in silence until Lexi returned from putting Maura down for a nap.

“Donnie, this is Lexi…Emmalyn Alexis Taylor.”

Donnie understood and stared at her and then back at Rafa. So many questions were on his mind. “Fill me in, would you?”

Rafa glanced at Lexi who did not try to stop him from talking. She did not seem thrilled about the sheriff either and sat with a blank look in her eyes.

“Donnie, I'm running against Pearson for governor. Moretti swaps women for debts and makes them do his dirty work. Pearson entered a deal with the mayor to knock off Angelo for money.”

“All right.” Donnie's brows creased and he raised his hand in question. “How do you know all this, Rafa?”

“Her.” His chin pitched at Lexi. “She's one of those women who were exchanged. Her stepfather—he still works for the Homestead Police Department.”

“Mommy,” said a small, sleepy voice.

“Excuse me.” Lexi welcomed the opportunity to escape and stood at Maura's voice, picking up her daughter to bring her back upstairs.

“Kenneth Taylor is her step father. You won't find him in the system unless you look deep. He's the one who exchanged Lexi. That's probably why you couldn't get any info on her when you made that call to PD down there.”

Donnie scratched his head and propped his arms forward, nearly whispering what he had to say. “Rafa…I don't want to doubt your words, but didn’t Angelo say she was trying to kill you? I mean, how do you know this isn't another attempt on your life, that she's not using the kid as a cover?”

“You need proof?” Lexi quietly interrupted, surprising Donnie with her silent entrance as she knelt down in front of him. “Rafa told me I can trust you, but I don’t. I will never trust a cop. I'm showing you this because I trust him.” After she carefully pulled up the back of her shirt to her neck, Lexi heard Donnie clear his throat.

“Who did that to you?” She lowered her shirt and sat down next to Rafa when he answered for her.

“Nobody that matters anymore.”

Donnie said nothing, pondering the situation as Rafa spoke again. “I knew Lexi back in Homestead. The kid…she’s my daughter.” Lexi nodded her head to confirm what Rafa was saying, making Donnie shake his head with his eyes closed tightly, rubbing his face.

“What the hell kind of small world is this?” He raised his hand toward them both. “Fine-fine. You want to run? Do it. But what does that have to do with me? Where do I fit in to this shit show?”

“I need the endorsement of Miami PD.”

Donnie’s fingers flipped through his short brown hair as he looked at Rafa with disbelief. “What the hell, Rafa. You know you're supposed to keep me out of your shit. Do you have any idea what kind of red flags that's going to cause?”

“So you're okay with what's going on between the governor and the mayor as long as you don't have to get your hands dirty?”

“That's not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Look, me running and the group are separate. This is about getting rid of assholes that will use people like Lexi. Our group isn't perfect, but we don't push our rules on someone for no reason at all.”

“Correct me if I'm wrong, but this, you running for governor sounds personal. People don't decide to run for governor overnight. Have you even stopped to think about what all this involves? And Angelo…you think he's going to let you loose?”

“It was Angelo's idea in the first place…before the Lexi thing happened.” Rafa inhaled deeply and countered the skeptical sheriff, leaning dangerously close to his face. “You're right, it is personal. It will be good for you too. Do you follow? So make it happen.” Rafa screeched his chair back and walked out of the room, leaving Lexi and Donnie alone.

Donnie stretched his neck and stared at the table. “I know the kid is his, but are you two together; or is this an arrangement since you’re the mother?”

Lexi's chest tightened with the tension around the table, her body slouching with the slight nauseous feeling in her stomach. “We’re together,” she said.

“So what do you think about him running for governor? Is that the kind of life you want—having your man at the center of attention everywhere he goes? I'm sure you've had enough of the political scene, haven't you?”

True or not, his question was unwanted. Lexi frowned and held her head at the thoughts that bombarded her mind. Nothing was what she wanted. She had grown to accept that life did not work like that for her. At least, she had Rafa.

Rafa returned to the kitchen table and grabbed her hand, leading her back to the family room. “I didn't mean to leave you alone. Come in here with me.”

He pulled Lexi directly next to him on the sofa and laid his arm around her shoulder. “Do you need some medicine?” She shook her head and nuzzled into his chest. As her eyes drifted closed, he pulled the lever to the side and reclined the sofa, allowing her to rest against him.

At least twenty minutes passed when Donnie came out of the kitchen and looked at him. “She looks good with you,” he said and walked toward the door before looking back. “I'll do it. Consider yourself endorsed, but you’d better do a damn good job, Rafa. Don’t drag my name to the dirt. Don't make me regret this.”

Rafa strummed his fingers through Lexi's hair and did not bother to look up. “There isn't anything I can't do. Of course, I will do well. I'm great at everything.”

Donnie huffed and turned the knob. “Cocky ass.”

After Donnie closed the door, Rafa gently lifted himself from Lexi's sleeping body to open and shut the gate; then he came back in to see Maura standing on the bottom step.

“Shh.” He put his finger over his lips and motioned for Maura to come closer. “Let's let mommy sleep, okay?” Maura nodded and held out the doll he gave to her. “What do you want me to do with her, Maura?” Then she handed him a brush. Rafa smiled at her and chuckled inwardly. Wouldn't I be the talk if they saw me brushing a doll’s hair? He smiled again and waved Maura to the other side of the sectional sofa. “Come over here, baby,” he whispered.

Rafa sat next to her and made his first attempt at brushing the hair of a doll. After three dozen strokes, the doll did not look half-bad as he stared at it, amused with himself.

“My dolly's name is Violet.”

“Violet, huh?”

“Uh huh, like me. Maura Violet.”

“Maura Violet…pretty name.”

She beamed at the compliment and handed him a rubber band.

“Violet needs a ponytail.”

Rafa cleared his throat. Way to let a four year old prove you aren't good at something. “All right, I'll give it a shot.”

Rafa wrapped the rubber band around the doll's hair twice. It did not work. He wrapped it around three times, but it still fell out. Feeling a little out of his league, Rafa brushed the doll’s hair again and wrapped the rubber band around as many times as it would stretch. Fifteen minutes later, Rafa looked at the doll as though he won some sort of victory. He would have to ignore the small bump in the doll’s hair when he finished.

“I'm afraid that's as good as it gets.” Maura seemed happy, which was all that mattered to Rafa as he studied her features and watched her play.

I know where you get your curly, brown hair, but I don't know where the red comes from—she continued to play as he thought—and you definitely have my tanned skin but…you sure don't have my personality, thank god.

Maura placed her small hand on his chest and stared up at him, fidgeting with the stubble on his chin. “Pokey,” she said and gripped his shirt, balancing herself to the floor. Then she ran upstairs.

Rafa sighed when she left and laid his head against the cushion behind. He completely missed holding her as a baby and watching her grow…bonding with her. That was something he would never get back. While he could still do that now, it did not make him feel any better about what was lost.

He thought about how Moretti had shot at Maura to keep Lexi in line. Rafa seethed; they would pay for keeping his woman and child from him. They would pay for hurting them. Nothing would satisfy him until he slit their throats as they lay in their own blood.

As he plotted, Rafa did not notice that Lexi woke up, looking at him from the other side of the sofa. She scooted higher from where she was reclining and smoothed down her hair. “What are you thinking about?”

He closed his eyes. He could not tell her his savage thoughts; instead, he stood and resumed his spot before she had fallen asleep.

“I'm just tired, Alexis,” he answered after getting comfortable beside her again. “Do you think I should run for governor?” he asked even though he already finalized his decision.

“Do you want to run for governor?” she returned, her voice still drowsy from her nap.

“Yes,” he lifted her hand to his lips and then firmly clutched it to his heart, “I would do anything for you, love. And I mean anything.”