Page 28 of The Devil’s Feather

Rafael paused, noting the look on my face with a grimace. “I know. This was not my first choice, but it is one of the few vehicles with enough legroom that is not a fucking pickup truck. Wretched to drive in the city. Worse to park. Great for hauling bodies, though.”

1 “My Love/My Tomb” – Stoneside. & Connor Sweeny of Loathe

8

FAMILY VALUES

Rafael drove like a bat out of hell⁠1. Speeding far beyond what was socially acceptable, swerving through traffic, taking turns at the last possible second; all seemingly without a care in the world. Along with a background of hip hop in what I assumed to be Turkish.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a rap guy.”

He glanced at me. “I listen to all genres to keep my perspective broad and catch new innovations. Never the same thing twice in the car.”

Interesting. “Are there any you hate, and do you listen to those too?”

“Butt rock, and there was no escaping it for awhile.” Rafael grimaced. “The mainstream, post-grunge era of stations playing ‘nothing but rock’. If you tell me you love Nickelback and Creed, I will throw you out of this car.”

I snorted. “Ok, fair.”

By the time we reached Mountain View and pulled into the driveway, I had to peel myself off the floorboards. Probably had a few extra grey hairs, too.

The living room lights were still on in the little blue duplex. Hopefully, Deandra had just fallen asleep on the couch again. She did that a lot after a tiring shift or a double. Rafael opened the passenger door for me.

I slid out of the SUV onto wobbly legs. “Thank you for driving me. Please never do that again. In fact, let me drive you back.”

He scoffed. “Stop whining. You lived.”

“Shh, my housemates are probably asleep. I’m going to sneak in and get my stuff, then we can go.”

The front door flew open, and Annie descended on me like Tinkerbell’s brunette twin. Complete with her pink marabou feather-trimmed robe fluttering out behind her like a pair of diaphanous fairy wings.

“Where have you been, young lady? It is two o’clock in the morning, and you said you’d be back by—” Her eyes popped wide, fluffy pink slippers skidding to a halt on the pavement. “Holy shit, is that him? He is so tall! Why didn’t you say how tall he is?”

Rafael glared over from where he leaned against the Escalade.

“Annie, hush! He hates that. I’ll introduce you in a minute; I just need to grab my stuff. Did you not see my text?”

“What do you mean, ‘grab your stuff’?” Great, Deandra was awake too. She darted past me, running barefoot out onto the sidewalk in her oversized Looney Tunes T-shirt and matching pajama pants. Straightening her green silk bonnet, fearless, she glared up at Rafael. “Are you the axe murderer who kidnapped my best friend?”

The composer maintained his composure, and I congratulated myself on my cleverness. “Yes. I am now unkidnapping her so she can get her sexy nightguard and save her teeth. I want them for a necklace.”

Smartass! I bit my lip to hold back my laughter, but both housemates stopped dead at his voice. Annie shrieked and clapped with glee. Deandra whirled theatrically back to look at me with huge eyes.

“Rafael, not another word from you. Dee, go back inside. Annie, please shut the fuck up. You’re giving me a headache.”

Deandra waggled a finger at me. “Nope. Hell no.” She spun back. “Mr. Music Man, your big ass is coming in here for a ‘getting to know you’ chat while Runaway Bride gets herself cleaned up. Come on. I’ll make some tea.”

I raised my hands for silence. “Deandra Lee, Anita Martin—she goes by ‘Annie’—meet Rafael Nazim.” I disappeared into my bedroom before they could argue, to the sound of Dee and Annie ushering my new…lover—Date? What the fuck was he, exactly—into the house.

“Elaine, show me your room,” Rafael called through the door.

I glanced around at the haphazard formations of books, rock piles of clothes, leaf litter of random papers, and hillocks of mismatched shoes I’d kicked off from the unmade bed.

“Absolutely not! I wasn’t expecting company, and I need to clean it first.”

He rapped at the door. “I want to see the uncensored version of you.”

“No!” I turned the lock. “Next time!”