Page 3 of Desperate Justice
He removed the mask. Allison gritted her teeth and looked up at him. She hated how he towered over her by a good five inches. His dark gaze raked over her, cold, intense, searching.
This was Rafael the FBI agent on assignment. Not the Rafe who’d charmed and coaxed her into spying on a dangerous biker gang months ago. Awareness shot through her. Try as she might, it was hard to ignore how powerful he looked. The faint spicy scent of his aftershave shot through the stench of ammonia and chemicals. Why did he have to be so sexy? She hated feeling like this. Attraction to a guy like Rafael was complicated, something best left for daydreams.
Not now, not when all her focus needed to remain on her little sister.
“I’m headed to work.” She narrowed her eyes. “Unless you want to call the ER charge nurse and tell her why you’ve detained me, and you’d better have a damn good reason for doing so, I’m out of here.”
For a moment he studied her as if she were the suspect. Neither moved. Sweat trickled down Allison’s back, plastering her black T-shirt to her back. This felt like a showdown, a power play.
She hated that. Hated not being in control.
“Let go of me,” she muttered.
Knowing better than to touch him because he could arrest her for assault, she waited. Not caring if she made Rafael look bad in front of his team.
Her gaze flicked over the uniformed police, who seemed suddenly more interested in her and this standoff than gathering evidence. Suddenly she got it. It was all about who was in charge. Not showing weakness.
Yeah, she understood that.
Allison gave the men closest to her a pointed look.
“I’d hate for any of you to get injured or, God forbid, shot on the job, and I’m not there to treat you. I’m one of the best trauma nurses in Miami, and while you’re staring at me, I could be saving lives.”
Her gaze flicked back to Rafael. “We’re on the same team.”
Jaw tight beneath his well-trimmed black beard, he narrowed his eyes. “I’ll be in touch about why the hell you happened to be here at this salon, this particular day. In the meantime, stay out of my investigation.”
He released her and stepped aside. Made a mock sweeping gesture. But his dark gaze never left her, and she saw his pupils dilate.
Feeling as if the electricity between them could light up half of South Florida, she gripped her motorcycle helmet and slipped outside.
Allison grit her teeth. So what if he was cute and sexy and she couldn’t forget him? Rafael Rodriguez was bad news. Her sister mattered more.
Her stomach trembled as she ran for her motorcycle. Allison bit her lip. Diana wasn’t at the shop, thank the good Lord.
But having the hair salon raided gave her bad vibes. The kind of vibes she’d gotten while working as a confidential informant for Rafael when he gathered evidence of criminal activity in the biker gang he eventually took down.
Instincts always served her well in the past. She had to use them to investigate her sister’s future family.
She’d do anything to keep her little sister safe.
Not even mighty FBI SSA Rafael Rodriguez would stand in her way.
CHAPTER 2
Ican’t believe the FBI raided the shop, Allison! Catrina, Paul’s aunt who manages the place, has been trying to get me in there for styling. Now where am I supposed to get my hair done?”
Allison studied her little sister. “Diana, the FBI raided it for a reason. They’re looking for drugs. From what I saw this afternoon, they found them.”
“The FBI has to be wrong.” She waved a manicured hand. “They’re always trying to frame people. Look at what they always do to Paul’s uncle. Hector is a businessman and they’re jealous.”
Allison folded her arms and struggled for patience. Slow night in the ER and Diana had rushed in, needing to speak to “Ally, now!”
Diana paced before the nurses’ station in the ER, her long brown curls bouncing with every move. With her big brown eyes, full mouth and perfect cheekbones, slim figure and long legs, no wonder her younger sister had been a model. No wonder Paul Davis had fallen in love with her.
If only Diana had fallen for a respectable guy, say, a financial investor. Or even a sanitation engineer. Anyone but the nephew of a suspected drug kingpin.
Allison bit back her frustration. “Diana, the feds have a good case. They found fentanyl. Do you know what that crap does to people? It kills. The feds probably raided it because they suspect Hector is involved. It doesn’t exactly look good since Hector’s sister is the manager.”
