Page 61 of The Senator: Raphael

I curse under my breath. “There are two of these people on the loose and nobody told her?” I raise my voice and feel the blood simmer in my veins.

The thought of having put her in danger is driving me nuts. Consciously, I know this is no one’s fault. She couldn’t predict that stupid innocent kiss would blow up on social media, and I didn’t know that saving her from that coffee shop creep would lead to this. But I can’t stop thinking that if I had done something differently, she’d be safe now. Guilt builds in my chest and I can’t keep it down.

“There is no reason to assume they’re here in Los Angeles. For all we know, they could be dead. It happens all the time: criminals drop off the radar and you find them ten years later in a car in the middle of a lake.”

“Yeah, but not two related to an old case who magically disappear after the main witness of a trial goes viral on social media!” I bark, and he has the decency to not laugh at my outburst.

“She’s safer with you. You’re a future senator, hurting her would be the same as attacking you personally. They’re not that dumb to try something, especially publicly. And then there’s your father. A lot of people are scared to piss him off.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I murmur, but we both know what he’s talking about. The FBI knows about him. They’ve been trying to put their hands on him since forever, and I’m in the middle of this battle. My father always kept me out of his “secondary business” to keep me clean. Neither my opponents, the public, or even the FBI have anything against me. I’ve always played by the rules so as not to jeopardize my rise to the highest arena of politics.

He raises an eyebrow, challenging me to insult his intelligence again. I drop the subject and suck in a deep breath.

“Listen, we’re keeping an eye on you anyway for the intel you’re giving us. Adding those two to the list is not a big deal. If there’s anything even slightly off, I’ll personally warn you,” he tries to reassure me. “Right now, there’s no reason to be concerned. It’s more likely they’re buried in concrete somewhere for pissing off the wrong crowd.”

I nod, appreciating the effort he’s putting into this. He’s probably doing it because I feed them information and they don’t want to lose my help, but still, he’s going out of his way to give me these tips.

“Thank you. I’ll use this.” I wave the folder.

“Good. Oh, and next time we should meet somewhere else. This warehouse is too exposed.”

“Okay. Just out of curiosity, do we have to meet in secret like this?” I suggested a warehouse the first time because I was so scared, I didn’t want to risk meeting anyone I know, but now it just seems silly.

“No, but it’s fun to watch you pretend to be a secret agent meeting in creepy places.” He chuckles, turning around and walking away.

“Asshole!”

He laughs and waves without even bothering to turn around. I watch him disappear silently, like he didn’t just drop a bomb on my life.

***

I knock at Silver’s home office, and she looks up with a smile. She’s decorated this place nicely, with pastel furniture, plush carpet, and comfortable armchairs with coordinating cushions. One entire wall is covered in shelves where she keeps adding law books. I’ve never seen someone so passionate about a job she can’t technically do.

“What are you working on?” I ask, walking to her desk when she waves me in.

“Doing some research on human trafficking.” She turns her computer toward me.

I chuckle. “I’ll have to tell the guys at the FBI not to freak out at your research history.”

She grins. “They’re your friends. You deal with them.”

I kiss the crown of her head. She seems surprised by my sudden display of affection, but then leans into my touch. After my conversation this afternoon and the worries pounding in my chest, I crave contact with her. I need to know she’s safe and sound in this house.

“Did you find anything interesting?” I scroll through some of her research. It’s various deep analyses of human trafficking organizations and how they find ways to snatch girls from their everyday lives. How they brainwash them to not rebel against the life they’re forced into.

“Not exactly. This is outside my area of expertise. I was just trying to get an overview, so I know what to dive into with my research. If I don’t know the basics, I can’t help you in all this,” she explains and my chest caves in.

She’s too good for this world, and too precious to be staying with me in a fake relationship.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” I kiss her temple and she blushes; I don’t know if it’s the compliment or the kiss.

“Where have you been today? Not even Matthew knew where you were, and that guy knows how many times you go pee!” She giggles so innocently it makes her look almost younger.

“I went to meet my father for some stupid campaign thing,” I lie, and my heart squeezes in my chest.

I hate not telling her the truth, but I don’t want her to worry about what’s happening. Maybe she’ll be mad if she finds out, but I’d rather see her happy. I can take care of her safety.

I always had the dream to protect the world, I suppose I’m starting with her.

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