Page 29 of Hidden Raphael
"I am trying to break myself of old habits."
"Your sister-in-law likely isn't here, so you should be safe."
Had she just said that? That was not nice. She wrapped her fingers in circles at her side. He had every reason to run.
"That would be my worst nightmare. Besides, that one I spoke about died, and my brother's new wife seems to love him."
"Good." She smiled. "I like happily-ever-afters."
He stared ahead and not at her. "There is no such thing."
She swallowed. Jaded much? She kept that comment to herself. "Do you talk to your brother? Are you close despite the past?”
The silence in the room rattled through her. His lips were closed and he didn’t move. Her fingers ached in those circles at her side, but she didn’t dare move. Finally, he shook his head. "No. I went to the wedding last month."
She nodded. "Did you say sorry?"
He rolled his eyes, but not at her. "Yeah, but he shouldn't have forgiven me."
She dropped the circles at her side and stepped closer to him. "Then he's not the reason you've locked yourself away in a castle."
"True. There were other things."
She elbowed him. If he lightened up then he'd be better off. "Like what?"
"I'm a heartless beast most of the time."
She sighed. "I don't believe it."
"I'm not a good man." Raphael opened her bedroom door for her. "My family will attest to that. So I tried to use my abilities for a good greater than myself, but I still felt like a bad guy every night I went to bed."
She clutched her necklace. "Do you feel like a bad person for helping me?"
"No." He leaned forward again. "He was going to kill you. I saw it with my own eyes, and I can't forget it."
She released the medallion. "I've never been rescued before, or been much of a victim." She leaned closer to the bedroom door. "I've been the screw-up runaway daughter, rebelling against nothing. I was stupid and reckless. When I get back to the mainland, I intend to fly or run back to Florida and tell my mom I love her."
"You seem great to me. I'm sure everything will be fine."
She seemed great? Her mouth watered. "I'm sure your family is wrong if they said anything bad about you. You are my hero at the moment."
A huge crash boomed in the air and they both froze.
An explosion rocked from outside. She grabbed his chest for support as her mind reasoned the sound was from the courtyard.
Raphael handed her computer bag to her and stared at the dark hallway downstairs. "Where is your Taser?"
What? He was supposed to save her. Her hands trembled. "In my room."
A bell rang through the castle so loudly that it drowned out her heartbeat. He pushed her into her room. His strong voice soothed her as he yelled, "Stay inside and lock the door."
She stepped backward and clutched her bag like it would shield her. "What's going on?"
"Roger must have tripped the alarm. He won’t get past my security."
“Are we in danger?”
“Stay inside until I come back."
