Rachel lee: Involuntary Daddy

Rafe Ortiz slouched his way into the Drug Enforcement agency offices looking as though he was ready for a trip on somebody's yacht. He wore a white cotton shirt, razor creased khaki slacks and deck shoes. His inky-black hair was quoted in a little ponytail at the back and a large diamond ring in his left earlobe. It was 8:00 in the morning and he hadn't slept in nearly forty-eight hours. The only thing he could think about right now was his bed, if he could remember where he really lived. The past six months has made us real life see distance, as if it belongs to someone else. As usual, he had the feeling that he didn't know who he was, that he had never known. It was a safe way to live, playing one role or another, always acting a part, at least until he got tired. Then everything started to get jumbled, like the pieces of puzzle he couldn't quite put together. He needed sleep. The adrenaline rush had quit hours ago. He had arrested LeVon Henry and his crowd, and he'd been running empty ever since. After another hour or so here at the office typing up loose ends, he was going to split and rediscover where he'd left his own bed six months ago. "Rafe?" The far too pretty receptionist with the brilliant white teeth smiled at him. He saw her so rarely that he could ever remember her name, but he always remembered her teeth. He had the feeling she was hoping she would ask her out sometime but he never would. There was no room in his life for anything except work. "yeah?" "Section hospital called. Some friends of yours are in critical condition and asking for you." Rafe stilled. His mind rifled quickly through the agents he worked with and could come up with the idea that no one should be sick or injured. Hell, he'd talked to them all in the last couple of hours as they'd wrapped up the bust. "Who?" "Raquel Molina" In the instant before he slammed the door on any possible feelings, he felt his heart skip a beat. his face suddenly felt wooden. "She's not a friend of mine." "All I know is she's asking for you. Who is she?" "The sister of Eduardo Molina" Carefully penciled eyebrows lifted. "the guy you busted last spring? hey, he was a real big fish wasn't he?" Rfe didn't answer. "Maybe she's not got some info for you, wants to get it off her chest before she dies." Rafe looked down at her, his eyes burning oddly, "yeah, maybe." Turning on his heel, he headed for the door. "hey" she called after him. "whaddya wants me to tell Keits?" Keits was the agent inchaege. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. " I'm sorry, Mr. Ortiz," the young woman in blue scrubs said to him. She looked as exhausted as he felt. "Ms. Molina died about an hour ago." He didn't know what to say. He stood looking at the doctor as if she must have something more to say, something that would clarify matters. "It was a gunshot wound" she said finally. "The police can tell you more about what happened. We did everything we could." He continued staring at her, thinking that this is how Alice must have felt as she slipped down the rabbit hole. "It's hard to know her" he said finally. Something in the doctor's face tightened. "Really? Well, there is a little problem you need to take care of." "Problem?" "She wanted you to take the child away from Miami, away from her family." "Child?" Raquel didn't have a child. At least, not one she'd told him about. "What child?" The doctor's expression grew distinctly disapproving. "We delivered an eight-pound baby boy by cesarean just before she died. Mr. Ortiz, you're a father."