Chapter 7:Hidden Secrets

"Your thinking too much again, Doctor." 

Rafael exhaled and ran a palm over his face. And you are assuming nothing is wrong. 

She turned, raising a brow in arch form. "You want me to confess my crimes here?" 

He looked at her and said, "I want the truth." "What are you not telling me?" 

Sofia laughed quietly, but there was no fun in it. "You are overly accustomed to handling folks who approach life in absolues. both good and negative. good and bad. The world does not operate in that manner. 

Rafael stood closing the distance separating them. Though he was not a man who let feelings control him, darn it, she made it difficult to remain cold-blooded. "I have to know that I haven't been dragged into anything worse than I currently picture." 

She fixed his gaze, something sparking behind her black eyes. By now you would have walked away if you were truly that desperate to leave. 

Rafael closed his jaw. She was accurate. 

A voice intervened before he could press ahead. 

" Doctor." 

Bernard Milton leaned against the gateway, not sporting his customary smile. The older man changed the cuffs of his custom suit and then walked inside slowly and deliberately. 

Bernard advised caution, his voice silky but forceful. "You are playing with fire." 

Rafael sighed. "What you mean?" 

Bernard's voice remained the same. "This world will chew you up and spit you out, doctor. And you won't even notice it arriving if you're not watchful. 

Rafael became rigid. Say something if you have anything to say. 

Bernard groaned and slid his hands into his pockets. "Keep your distance; the next betrayal might be the last you will survive." 

Sofia turned to watch his response. You were looking for the truth. These are here. 

He swallowed and looked across the displays. This goes beyond merely safeguarding your family. 

She shook her shoulders. "It has to do with survival. Someone else will take over if you do not run the board. 

Rafael let out a harsh breath. And what happens to the folks standing in your path? 

Sofia answered but her lips curved at the margins. That quiet spoke to him exactly. 

Running a hand through his hair, the weight of it all settled in his chest. "You think displaying this will inspire trust in me?" 

Her attitude softened just a fraction. "No." At least now, though, you understand what I am guarding. 

Rafael paid close attention to her. She had not yet really understood the layer of history spun into the walls of this empire she had created. 

Then she stopped next to a locked cabinet just as they were ready to go. 

Rafael wrinkled his brow. "What is it?." 

She faltered then shook her head. "Nothing". 

Rafael grabbed Sofia's wrist and made her face him as they went upstairs. 

"What are you not telling me?" Though within something burned, his voice was precise, under control. 

Sofia stilled, her eye darting to his hold. "Let go, Doc.." 

He avoided. 

"You keep pushing me deeper into this, but you won't give me real answers," Rafael remarked, his pulse thumping. "That cabinet. What is within it? 

Sofia's countenance grew gloomy. Some doors are meant not to be opened. 

Rafael moved in front of hers, his presence commanding. "I refuse to play as your pawn in your game." 

Her lips opened slightly, but the tension was broken before she could reply by a knock at the door. 

Julian entered with a stiff expression. "You need to see something here." 

Their talk left undone, they trailed him down the hall. 

The lounge was barely illuminated, yet the air still smelled leather and fine cigars. Julian waved toward the security cameras. 

Rafael's stomach turned around. 

Michael Richards stood in the rear alley behind the club on the screen, talking to a woman covered in shadows. 

Vargas Lucia. 

The other mafia leader, a rival. 

The second-in-command for Sofia, Julian leaned forward with a tense jaw. "Some of the guys wonder about your calls, Sofia." 

Her eyes flew to his, as keen as a knife. Which ones then? 

He froze. Does it matter? 

Sofia slanted back and whirled the whiskey in her glass. "They can tell me straight forwardly if they have something to say." 

Quietness. The men cast nervous looks at one other. Now even those devoted to her were cautious. Her people were restless after the failed attempt at her life, Michael's treachery, and the rising presence of other groups. Hesitancy could be deadly in this world; doubt was a poison. 

Rafael kept close eye on her. She wore authority with ease, but under the cool surface he saw something else: a woman treading a tightrope between control and collapse. 

He got forward. Sofia is still on her feet. Say it right now if anyone believes they could perform better. 

The room murmured, but nobody said anything. 

Sofia graced her. That's what I assumed. 

Julian's phone buzzed before the friction could calm down. He wrinkled his brow as he studied the screen. "We have a difficulty." 

Sofia froze. "What kind of problem??" 

He let out a harsh breath. Two of our men suffered hits. shot fired on the Strip. 

The air grew dense. The Las Vegas Strip was her battlefield, not only one. An attack there was a message as much as an act of violence. 

Sofia stood with such imposing authority. "Ask someone who did it. Just now. 

Julian nodded and walked off angrily. 

Rafael shot her a quick glance. "This is not random, is it?" 

She shook her head, fingers tightly gripping the glass. " No. Someone wants me to know they are scheduled here. 

In his pocket his phone hummed. He drew it out, scowling at the unidentified number. A message showed up. 

Trust nobody. 

"You're thinking too much again," she said quietly. 

He exhaled. You ever find yourself bored with repeating that? 

She grinned, slanted next to him, her body just inches away. No, as that is always true. 

Rafael observed her. "How would you go about it?" 

She browsed. "What should I do?" 

Live with all this in mind. The blood is. its weight. 

Her eye strayed to the city. "Because I have nowhere to choose." 

He turned entirely in her direction. That's a lie. 

Something between them, something wordless passed. Then Sofia's phone buzzed on the table inside before either of them could say more. She turned aside to pick it up. 

Rafael saw her look change from inquiry to something sinister. 

"What is it?," he inquired. 

She delayed her response right away. She actually carried the phone to her ear. "Who is this??" 

pauses. then a slow exhale. 

On the other end, the voice sounded measured, quiet. 

"The moment for reprisals has come." 

Her fingers tightened around the phone. Who the heck do you suppose you are? 

A subdued chuckle. "I have been waiting in the shadows, observing you fall apart.."