Page 85 of Hidden Raphael
Chapter 24
Kimberly picked up a bag of frozen peas and pushed them against Raphael's bruised abdomen. She sucked in her breath, and averted his intense and passionate stare. She reminded herself that she was mad at him. Raphael was the one that had lied and told her Roger was dead. She swallowed then asked, "Will your sister be okay? There were more pill bottles then I expected in her bag."
He sighed like he was defeated. "I hope so."
There was more to come, she could tell. Raphael was never defeated, so far. Kimberly swallowed and realized he must feel helpless. She pressed the vegetables harder on his ribs, and he winced. She pressed her forehead to his. "What else haven't you said?"
He reached behind his head and scratched his neck. "It's my sister's secret, not mine."
She pressed her lips together and kept silent. Neither of them moved to pull apart.
He bowed his head. "Ali was Michaela's fiancé. Eileen was mine. We were how they met."
She dropped the frozen peas between his legs on the seat in the kitchen. She picked it up and massaged his leg muscle and wished she could take away the pain.
He inched away. Raphael reached down and handed the cold bag back to her. Kimberly took the bag back without a word, but kept her body slanted as far from him as she could. They couldn't get close like that again. He then told her, "If I didn't bring Eileen home, then my sister might have had the father of her child with her."
"Child?" Kimberly withdrew her hand and pressed the peas to her own heart, and then quickly returned the bag to his injury. She couldn't think. "Where is her child?"
"With our mother." Raphael turned and glanced at the door, like he hoped someone would rescue him. She tipped her head to the side, and he finished. "She kept her pregnancy quiet and didn't tell anyone. She doesn't want the royal family of Ashtibia to interfere with her life."
"You can't hide a child forever." With a heavy feeling in her stomach, she asked, "Did Eileen know how your sister was poisoned?"
Raphael pressed his lips together so fast she wondered if it hurt. "Not that night. On the night of his engagement party, Ali told my sister he married Eileen and then Michaela fainted from the poison. They found out at the hospital she was pregnant."
Her skin felt cold. "I knew that on some level. I remember blogging about it. I probably wasn't nice about your sister. Can she ever forgive me?"
Raphael's green eyes bored into hers as if he were a judge. She stilled. She had no idea what to say or what he thought. Then he finished, "Mica doesn't care about the press."
Kimberly touched her throat with her free hand. "It was still me, though. I'm not a faceless person anymore."
Raphael shook his head, and she turned away as she expected another sledgehammer of a shock. "With Ali and Eileen now dead, her son can be raised in Connecticut without much of an issue. Mica thought he intended to come and somehow take her son from her."
She did a double take. "Why would there be an issue? Mica wasn't married to Ali and she had her baby in the US, I’d imagine."
“She did.” Raphael's arm crossed his chest. "His family is male-dominated. The assassins were fighting the royal family and Mica became a target while engaged to him. The whole thing is a nightmare. It's better she keeps her son out of sight."
She chewed on her lip and then closed her eyes. "He should be safe."
Raphael dropped his arm, but still held her hand and the peas on his bruises. He turned his head toward the ceiling. "Roger and Harry knew about Mica's son and how their poison failed. The royal family has internal enemies."
"Roger and Harry were only stooges in the plot to kill the royal family?"
"Yes." His mouth came closer.
He'd kiss her in a second. Electricity coursed through her. She sighed and he drew closer.
"Thankfully, she left her son at home today."
She turned her face. No kisses. He brushed against her hand and nodded. She withdrew her hand from the embrace and turned away. Her body tensed. He dropped his hands to his sides, along with the bag of peas. "What's wrong?"
There was no more holding back. Her body heated, and it wasn't from passion. "Raphael, you lied."
He stilled like she'd said something passive-aggressive that he could ignore. "I wanted to protect you and for you to feel safe."
He thought this was just about the men he had in his dungeon. She dropped her hands to her hips and shook her head. "That's just one thing, but we can start there."
He moved his hands to his lap and crossed his legs. "Okay."
