Page 108 of Rafe: Sins of the Father

“Here, drink this.” Bev slides a tall glass of orange juice on the table next to me. “Sugar always helps after a blood donation.”

“Thanks.” I take a big gulp. When I finish it all, I move to a bar stool.

Tori steps closer to me, and I put an arm around her. “Are you sure you’re okay, Tori? You want the doctor to check on… anything?”

“I’m fine. I just need to go to the bathroom before we leave.” She hurries away, a hand over her stomach.

“Maybe she should ride home in the van with me and Kyle,” Fiona suggests, sidling up to me. “Maybe you should, too. Cole said the prospect who drove the van out can ride your bike back, and I can drive the van.”

“You may be right.” I don’t like it, but I see her point. Still, I was looking forward to Tori being on the back of my bike, where I can feel her arms around me and know she’s safe. To me, that’s heaven.

The nurse comes over. “My name’s Yolanda, by the way. Are you feeling better now, son?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“It’s gonna take about thirty minutes for the rest of that IV bag to finish, then you’ll be able to move your brother. By then, you should be good to drive, unless you don’t feel up to it.”

“Thanks. I would rather ride my bike if I can.” I reach out to shake her hand. “You were amazing. I hear you were a nurse in Vietnam.”

“Yes, sir. Saved as many as I could.”

“Well, you saved my brother today, and I’ll never forget you.”

“Glad to do it.” She nods and walks away, and Jake and Shane come and stand next to me.

“You okay, brother?” Shane asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be all right.”

Fiona tugs on my arm. “Rafe, I need to ask you something. Did you get any texts from Tori? She told me she called and texted you a million times and you never responded. And she said she never got a call or text from you.”

I turn to her with a frown. “How is that even possible?”

Jake holds out his hand. “Open your phone and let me see it.”

I pass it over, and his thumb moves over the screen, pulling up my settings. “She’s blocked.”

“What? I never blocked her.”

He shows me the screen. “Right there, man. If you didn’t do it, then someone got their hands on your phone and did it behind your back. I’m guessing it’s the same with Tori’s phone.”

I frown. “That fucking day they tried to set me up for arson. I was cuffed and bent over the hood of the squad car. They emptied my pockets on the hood, including my phone, then fucking Alex Powers came over, and knocked it onto the ground, then walked off. He came back a minute later and claimed he mistakenly laid his phone back on the hood instead of mine, and he switched them back.”

“Gotta be him. It only takes a minute.”

“But how did he get into your phone?” Fiona asks.

“Facial recognition. He held it to my face and asked if this was my phone. I thought he was just being an asshole. He had it all planned out. Motherfucker.”

When thirty minutes pass, Yolanda removes the IV from my brother, and the boys load him into the back of the van.

“Come on. Let’s go,” Cole barks from the door.

I wait for Tori by the bathroom, and when she comes out, her face is damp, and she’s pressing a paper towel to it.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

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