Free Rafael by Faith Gibson

the man. She packed her laptop
and left enough money on the table to cover the tab.
    Twenty minutes
later Kaya was pulling into the parking lot at Stone, Inc. for the second time
in two days. She shut the engine off and was opening her door when she saw a
sleek black Jaguar convertible pulling through the security gate that led from
the underground parking garage. Rafael Stone was behind the wheel. Kaya ducked
down in her seat quickly, hoping he didn’t see her. Her vehicle, being a
standard issue cop car, was pretty conspicuous. She rose up slowly to see the
tail lights disappearing down the street, heading out of town. She started her
engine and backed out of the spot, hoping to follow him wherever he was going.
    He surprised her
by taking New Buford Highway instead of getting on the interstate. She kept
several cars between them so he wouldn’t notice her tailing him. A few miles
down he turned off toward the abandoned Country Club. When they were the only
cars on the deserted country road, Kaya backed off. More than likely she would
miss where he turned, but she didn’t want him to know she was back there.
    Tall trees lined
the road on both sides. If it were summer, the road would be canopied by green
branches reaching toward each other. With it being late October, the leaves
were now vibrant oranges and reds.  If she had been any closer to Rafael, she
would have blown her tail for certain. He turned into a driveway, stopping at
the gated entrance to enter his code. Kaya pulled over on the shoulder, waiting
until he drove on, out of sight. Was this where the elusive Rafael Stone called
home? She glanced in her rearview mirror and noticed another car coming up
behind her. She couldn’t just sit there, so she pulled back onto the road and
drove off. The car, a dark SUV with tinted windows, turned into the same
driveway as Rafael.
    Kaya reached a
dead-end. She waited, hoping she wouldn’t be joined in the turn-around. When
she thought enough time had elapsed, she drove back the way she came.  Shit. Kaya passed several more cars and a few motorcycles headed toward Rafael’s.
Since there were no other driveways past his house, it only made sense they
were all headed to the same place. What was going on? Was he having a party?
She was pretty sure her cover was blown.
    She could always
gate crash. Not literally, but she was within her rights to question him. He
was under investigation, and she was saving him the trouble of coming downtown. Right. She just wanted to see how the other half lived. Her little
two-bedroom would probably fit in his living room. Not that she could see his
house from the road. What if it wasn’t a house? She needed more information.
Her search earlier didn’t elude to his home address. It was almost six so
calling Wilkes was out of the question. Shit, she needed Dane.

     
    Rafael had
called Priscilla earlier to tell her that most of the men were coming for
dinner. He requested the back patio and deck area be set up so they could enjoy
the cool air. The brothers never passed up the opportunity to eat one of
Priscilla’s home-cooked meals. While most of them employed their own
housekeepers, none had a Priscilla. Rafe was climbing out of his Jag when he
heard the rumble of the bikes.
    The men parked
in the drive just outside the garage. Geoffrey, along with Lor and Jasper were
exiting the Suburban. Rafe smiled at his cousins. He had met Lorenzo about
fifty years prior but Jasper was new to him even though he was probably four
hundred years old. Lorenzo approached and bowed his head, “My King.” Rafe
pulled him in for a friendly hug. “My brother.”
    Jasper looked
less than thrilled as he approached Rafe. Bowing his head, “My King.” Rafe
didn’t pull him in for a hug, instead held his hand out to shake. “Jasper,
welcome to New Atlanta.” They shook hands, and Rafe headed toward the house,
his Clan in tow.
    A bar was set up
off to one side of the enormous deck. Jonathan was handing