Page 38 of One
“Not implying anything when I said it straight to your face.” He scoffs. “You broke him!”
“Listen, you… gym rat.” He raises an unimpressed eyebrow at my menacing tone. “Raph is not broken. I like him just as he is.”
“Shhh.” Raph’s breath hits my ear. “He’s just trying to rile you up, piglet.” He leaves a tender kiss on my head, and his warm hand slides on my belly under my shirt. His nearness feels soothing and exciting at the same time.
“Piglet?” Rami coughs into his hand.
Great! Is Raph trying to give his brother more ammo? I pinch his hand in retaliation.
“Rami, I don’t know why you insisted on coming here, but focus on the damn problem,” Raph scolds him.
“Sorry, I was just very curious to meet you.” He looks a bit sheepish, but not that much. “Anywho, let’s take care of this mess. You’re taking up a lot of my time lately, Mike.”
“Better than flipping Jeep tires,” I mumble, not getting what he’s saying.
“You’re funny.” He annoyingly chuckles and then flexes his huge biceps. They are as big as a baby’s head. “But it’s Caterpillar tires.”
I slowly roll my eyes at him.
“Stop flirting,” Raph growls, and I can feel the vibrating rumble against my spine.
“I wasn’t. Jesus. You see? No fun.” Rami waves his gloved hand at us, and his eyes move around the room again. “Back to the mess. Unfortunately, this room has no cameras, but the rest of the building’s showed a guy in a coat and ball cap come in through the east entrance and down here using the stairs.”
He turns his phone toward us to show the guy he described slipping past the reception desk when the nurse was distracted and jogging down the hospital stairs. Then strolling down the corridor with his head down.
“How did you…? You hacked into those cameras, didn’t you?” I pinch the bridge of my nose, knowing the answer to my question already.
“Not admitting anything.” He sniffs. “But I have to say that the security in this hospital, just like your building, is terrible.
My building? “Are you still checking on me?” The thought hits me like a freight train. I turn in Raph’s arms, my eyes demanding.
“No. I just want to be sure you’re safe.” Raph’s big hand cups my cheek. “Just go with it. Please, babe.” His soft tone guts me and I yield to it.
“My brother sayingplease. I’m still contemplating the idea that he was swapped by aliens. Or maybe I’m in a temporary coma—and not the good kind.”
Is there a good kind? God, he’s ridiculous.
I force my attention back to the video. “He took the stairs to get to the basement; that was a smart move. Nobody ever uses them,” I offer, looking at him.
“That’s how he got in and out easily,” Raph voices.
“But how does he know that? Maybe he’s been here before. I’ll make Serena check old video feeds. Hopefully we’ll be able to find something since I couldn’t get a clear shot of his face.”
“Show me the video again,” I suddenly tell Rami, hoping I’m right, and at the same time not.
“His coat!” I point at the screen. The video is in black and white and grainy. But I’ve seen that long, one-size-too-big, worn-but-still-top-quality coat before.
“I’ll be damned,” Rami mutters. “He’s the same guy who attempted to rob the convenience store.”
Raph snarls. “He was a fucking amateur. Didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”
“Yes, he’s the Martin Short of thieves. I saw the video from the store.” Rami snorts.
“How did you see it? The camera malfunctioned. Unless…” I’m finally putting the pieces together.
“I asked him to erase it.” Raph sighs.
“Why?”
