Page 25 of The Doctor's Promise
Rafael ended the call,still smiling. Even after such a short time together, he and Noemi were already a partnership, friends as well as lovers—the other person’s rock.
He went to find Bepi in the garden. “Come on, kid. Time for bed.”
His heart started to beat fast when he saw a tall figure talking to his son. He darted towards them, heart thumping. Where the fuck was his security? “Hey!”
“Hey yourself, brother.”
Rafa slowed down, and he squinted into the dim light. “Zani?”
Zani swung Bepi into his arms and walked towards Rafa, who was astonished at his brother’s slender appearance. “Zani… what the hell are you doing here?”
Zani smiled. “You mean how did I get through the seven layers of security you have here? This.” He pointed to his face, once so like Rafa’s, now quite gaunt and older. “I don’t look so different, hey?”
Yes. Yes, you do. Rafa took his son from his brother’s arms. “Come inside, Zani. I have to put Bepi to bed.”
Zani followed them in, admiring Mouse. “Nice dog.”
“It’s Nommy’s dog.” Bepi told him. “She lets me play with him when she’s at work.”
“Nommy, huh?” Zani’s eyes sparkled wickedly as he looked at his brother. “New girlfriend?”
Rafa didn’t answer. “Go to the kitchen, Zani. Help yourself to coffee, food, whatever. I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
“Always the gracious host.” Zani mussed Bepi’s hair. “’Night, kid. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow, yeah?”
Bepi grinned at him, oblivious to his father’s tense stance. “Cool.”
Rafa bathed Bepi and put him to bed, spending time to read to him, putting off having to go back downstairs to face his brother. What the hell was Zani doing here? And why hadn’t he called before showing up like this?
Rafa thought he knew the answer, but it wasn’t until he rejoined Zani that he knew for sure. “So, what brings you back to Seattle?”
Zani smiled. “A job, hopefully. A position back in the family business.”
Aha. He’d been right. Zani had finally blown through his fortune, and by the looks of him, most of it spent on booze—or worse. Zani was almost skeletally thin; he looked a decade older than his forty-five, and his once-handsome face seemed now watchful and spiteful.
Rafa made a pot of coffee while Zani studied the contents of the refrigerator. “You got anything in here that isn’t kale?”
Rafa tried not to grimace. “Plenty, if you look,” he said mildly. “Sit down, I’ll make you an omelet. You look like you haven’t eaten properly in years.”
“I like to stay slim.” Zani looked at his brother critically. “Still the pretty boy, I see.”
Rafa ignored the jibe. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re in town?”
Zani shrugged. “I haven’t seen them yet. Not sure of the reception I’d get. I thought maybe you could smooth the transition before I ask Dad for a job.”
“Dad’s not in charge of hiring and firing,” Rafa said, his tone even. “For that, you’d have to come to me.”
Zani smirked. “In that case…”
Rafa flipped a perfectly cooked omelet onto a plate and slid it to his brother. “Eat. Drink your coffee. Then you can tell me why you’re really back.”
Rafa wentto bed about two a.m. Zani’s answers to his questions had been evasive and even aggressive, and Rafa had eventually lost the will to listen. He offered Zani a guest room, which his brother accepted. “We will talk more tomorrow,” Rafa warned him. Zani just smiled that infuriating smile of his and slunk off to bed.
Rafa asked himself why he felt so unsettled. He certainly knew it was because he didn’t trust Zani’s intentions. A job? Zani had never worked a day in his life, and Rafa would bet that he wasn’t about to start now. Zani wanted money, position. Rafa wondered what had happened in Europe.
He was just falling asleep when he heard someone knocking at his bedroom door. “Come in.”
His security guard stuck his head in, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but I think you’d better come to the front door. Dr. Castor is here… and I don’t think she’s okay.”
