Off the Record (With Me in Seattle Mafia 3)

“I’m done denying what my heart and head both tell me is right. Rafe is it for me. And I’m finally with him. The fact that he’s very much a part of his mafia family is just something I’ll have to learn to live with. And, for the immediate future, we have to figure out who’s trying to kill us and stay alive.”

I refuse to be a widow before he’s even asked me to marry him.

I yawn and then frown when I hear someone yelling my name. I glance around and narrow my eyes when I see Rafe running over the grass, calling for me.

“Hey!” I wave out the window and smile when he sees me. But he doesn’t look happy in the least.

He runs over to the tree house, faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move in my life. He lifts his phone to his mouth, but I can’t hear what he says.

And when he reaches me, he quickly climbs up, rushes over, and yanks me into his arms.

He’s panting, gasping for air.

“Hey, what happened? Rafe, what’s wrong?”

“We couldn’t find you.” He pulls back and frames my face in his hands. “Jesus Christ, A, don’t do that to me ever again. You scared the shit out of me.”

“I didn’t go far.”

“What if someone had nabbed you?”

“I’m right here.”

He just rocks us back and forth, clinging to me.

“I just got you back in my life. I can’t lose you again. Now or ever.”

“Funny.” I turn my face and kiss his chest. “I was just thinking the same. I want to wrap this all up so we can get on with our lives. And I need us both to live through it.”

“We will.”

“Promise.”

“I promise. I have no intention of being apart from you again. And the next time you want to go for a walk, just let me know, and I’ll go with you.”

“I wanted a few minutes alone,” I reply and then snort when he scowls as if I’ve hurt his feelings. “We’re allowed to have a few moments alone now and again. It’s healthy.”

“Then just warn me so I’m not off on a frantic wild goose chase.”

“Deal. I didn’t mean to scare you, Rafe.”

“I know. Hey, are you ever going to call me Rocco?”

I laugh and lead him to the ladder. “Hell, no.”

“Why?” He’s not mad now. He’s just grinning. He knows the answer to this.

“Because Rocco is a meathead’s name. And you’re no meathead.”

“I kinda am, honey.”

“No.” I bounce down to the ground and wait for him to join me so I can plant a kiss on his cheek. “You aren’t. Everyone else in the world can call you Rocco for all I care, but your name is Rafe. So that’s what I’ll call you.”

“Fine.”

“Do you really hate it that much?”

“No, but I have a reputation to uphold here. Rocco sounds tougher. I need people to think I’m a badass.”

“We all know you’re a badass.” He takes my hand and leads me back to the path so we can walk back to the house. “But you’re not badass with me. You’re sweet and gentle. Sexy. Everything.”

“I like that last word the best.”

I glance up and grin. “Yeah? Well, it’s true. Besides, it would sound weird if I called you Rocco.”

“Try it.”

“Hey, Rocco, will you pass me the chips?”

He thinks about it and then starts laughing. “Okay, yeah. It sounds dumb when you say it.”

“See? Told you.”

“I’m hungry.”

“We literally just had pizza.”

“Yeah, but then I thought you were missing and used up about two thousand calories in adrenaline. I think there’s some pepperoni left.”

“Let’s go find it, then.”

Chapter 15

~Rafe~

“I thought it would be easier today with fresh eyes,” I mumble as I sit on the couch, Annika next to me, and another pile of papers in my lap. “It’s not. Still boring as fuck.”

“Drink more coffee,” Ivie suggests.

“I never thought fuck was boring,” Nadia says, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she sips her coffee. “I mean, if you’re doing it right.”

I shake my head. “Carmine, control your woman.”

Nadia’s face splits into a slow grin. “Yeah, Carmine. Control your woman.”

“She’ll kill you, man,” Carmine says to me with a sigh. “Don’t provoke her.”

“Did anyone ever go talk to this Danvers guy?” Curt asks out of the blue. He looks up from the page he’s been reading and frowns. “It says here that John Danvers killed Vinnie, but so far, I haven’t heard any of you mention any research into that dude. No personal investigator interviews or anything.”

“I don’t know,” Shane says, shaking his head.

“I’ll go talk to him. Where is he?”

“Hold on,” Ivie says as she taps on the keys of her laptop, which is always nearby. “He’s at a maximum-security prison in Walla Walla. On death row.”

“Who do we know that can get in there to have a little chat with Danvers?”