Eighteen

Legend smacked Raph across the face. Hard.

Then she got all up in his face.

"What the fuck did you do that for?! You could have—" she couldn't say the word that defined one's body floating up to meet the Creator with angels that looked nothing like the cute, diapered babies that were on chocolate boxes, so she slapped him again.

Raph smirked at her. The medic tending to his cut threw her a dirty glance.

"If you keep on doing that, you might cause him more harm." She bit Legend's head off before turning her attention back to Raph, offering him a smile and practically pushing her tits that looked faker than celebrity beefs into the poor guy's face.

Ho.

Legend sat back and watched as she took extra care in bandaging the cut on his forehead, all the while chattering about nobody-gives-two-fucks-what and dropping not-so-subtle hints about how her current boyfriend was a dickhead and the amazing steak at Tarrence steak house.

Legend was mildly surprised that Medic Ho didn't kiss the boo-boo to make it all better.

Raph caught Legend's eye and flashed her a mischief-filled smirk before he proceeded to put on the best show of being in pain in the world.

As he groaned and complained—his head hurt, he could see two of everything, was he suddenly in heaven because Medic Ho was too pretty to be human (gag!)—The Medic Bitch alternated between huffing at Legend and cooing at Raph.

Frankly, it was disgusting and she'd seen and heard enough, so Legend went to talk to the other crew members.

When the brakes had failed to work, Raph swerved the car in such a way that his side of the car was more endangered than hers. Simply put, if they had had a major accident, he would've been brain matter and goo being splattered on the tar.

Luckily, they hit a tree and luckily, his airbag deployed. Luckily, he only had a cut on the forehead to deal with and luckily, the Medic bitch was still clucking around him like a mother hen else Legend would've let him have it for putting himself at risk like that.

"Are you sure you don't need painkillers, ma'am?" The other medic asked her for the fifth time in a minute. If the guy didn't stop bothering her, he'd need those painkillers he seemed so eager to dole out like candy.

Since the Perdome Family was one of the most influential, Raph got the special treatment and Legend did too by default.

"I'm fine, thanks. The sooner I get a bowl of ice cream, though, I would be a happy camper." She smiled at the man, and he smiled back. He was actually really good looking, but Legend had other pressing matters.

Like figuring out what the fuck just happened.

She needed to talk to Raph ASAP.

So, she gave Medic Ho enough time to scribble her number on his palm before she pulled Raph away from the little thief.

The police were on their way. They were told by the painkiller guy, and would they be so kind as to give their statement? No, they had an urgent flight to the Bahamas to catch so that wouldn't be possible, painkiller dude.

Legend had just been in an accident, so she had every right to be having bitchy thoughts.

"When was the last time you had the car checked?" Legend questioned with a glance over at the poor Beamer that had been partly totaled.

Goodbye, old friend.

Raph's lips thinned. He seemed reluctant to answer his question. With a little blood on his tie and his hair ruffled, he looked really hot, like a vampire CEO. Legend knew she painted a less attractive picture, though.

"Yesterday."

She gasped. That meant two things: Raph's mechanic was losing his touch—and that was impossible because Raph only went to the best—or someone had snuck into the apartment building's garage and had tampered with his car.

Raph's words came rushing back to her.

But I can't keep you safe.

Fear was a bitter taste on her tongue.

"Hey," Raph brushed his fingers against her face before he gripped her jaw and made her look at him.

"Everything's going to be alright," he smiled down at her, his eyes reassuring. He slowly bent to capture her lips.

Legend wanted to ask him why he was so sure of that, but her lips were too busy kissing Raph back.

Maybe it was because Raph had almost died or because Medic Ho was still hanging around, waiting to give Raph more love. It possibly could be the knowledge that this thing they had would soon be lost, whatever the reason, the kiss seemed desperate, wild.

Legend wrapped her arms tight around his neck and gave him all she had. She kissed him with the fear, with the fondness, with everything. Raph kissed her back just as ferociously, his tongue doing a mating dance with hers.

The wail of the police sirens made them come up for air.

Legend blushed hard when she saw the two medics watching them. Raph smiled and nipped her lower lip, causing her to shiver.

"I think she still wants your number. " She needed at The Medic bitch who had climbed into the ambulance none too happily.

Boo-hoo.

"Then, she's gonna have to come meet you, Sweetheart. You're the only one with my number."

She certainly did have his number and his breathing said so.

You're such a charmer," she rolled her eyes, trying not to smile.

"And don't you forget it, sweetheart."

When bad things like things happened, like stuff going missing in the office, business partners being uncomfortable about business deals that were signed, and a host of non-coincidence stuff, a normal human being would totally write it off as a luck thing.

Raph considered himself a normal human being. A normal human being who knew someone was out to get him.

He'd felt fear because Legend was now entangled in his shit and the helplessness made him angry. He didn't know if this was a vendetta or anything, but he didn't like it.

He also didn't like the fact that this particularly nasty package had Logan scrawled in capital letters all over it.

Logan wouldn't do such a thing, could he? He was a spoiled brat all the time, and he was evil as hell, but him hiring someone to mess with his brother's brakes sounded too Al Pacino for him.

Except that one time he'd destroyed Raph's toy car when they were five.

And MaryAnne.

"Are you two in a relationship?" That drew him out of his musings and Raph shot the policeman a questioning look.

"I definitely see the connection between that and us almost being broken bones and bloody eye sockets." Legend sassed Detective Can'tRememberHisName. His partner flinched at Legend's graphic description.

Narrowed eyes met Legend's. Raph didn't think the officer liked them, especially Legend, very much.

"I assure you, ma'am, I'm going somewhere with this."

"Yeah, off point," Was the muttered response. Raphael didn't bother holding in a snort.

The good detective sneered at Legend.

"Maybe, you two had a spat and knowing how vengeful women can be, you decided to tweak things a little bit?" He flipped open a jotter and stroked his goatee, probably congratulating himself for such whack detective-ism.

Raph had to reach over to snap Legend's jaw shut before she caught a fly.

"Apart from the misogynistic vibe of that statement, do I look like someone who could tell a spanner from a spoon?"

"I wouldn't know," The detective sniffed. "You could've hired someone to do it for you. You're the evil mastermind, not me"

"Please, tell me that there are actual detectives coming and that you two are just trainees who decided to play Cop."

Raph could feel a headache coming on. It didn't help that they were standing in the middle of the road. It didn't also help that these detectives weren't the brightest bulbs in the room.

No, they weren't the brightest bulbs, period.

"Sir," The goateed detective trained a bared teeth smile that reminded Raph of a shark at him. That was probably his ass-kissing smile.

"Did you and the lady have a spat?"

"Jesus Christ," Legend interjected, massaging her forehead. From her stance, she looked ready to make Goatee miss a tooth or two.

"No, we didn't have a spat and instead of showing your lack of skill, why don't you actually go do something? My building's garage has surveillance cameras."

The implied message was Go check them, asshat.

The smile fell off Goatee's face and his partner guffawed. That earned the poor guy a glare from his beet red partner.

Legend turned to Raph and smiled up at him.

"If I wasn't so angry right now, I'd be on my knees asking you to marry me."

Looking at her disheveled short hair and her impish smile, he'd totally say yes.

"So long as I don't get to wear a dress."

Legend pouted. "But that's the fun part."

The detective cleared his throat. He was seriously contesting for asshole of the day right next to the medic that wouldn't leave Legend alone. The sucker had been staring down her chest while offering her help that she hadn't needed.

Remembering that made Raph want to break something, and Goatee was looking more appealing by the minute.

"This is far from over. We'll be in touch." He snapped his notebook shut. If Raph had to take a guess, he'd say that the guy had been making a list of groceries he needed to get at the store and not actually taking stock of the accident.

Where'd they find these people?

His partner waved eagerly at Legend before he got into the car. Raph half expected him to stick his head out the window and leave a mile long drool like a besotted puppy or something.

"Thank God they're gone." Legend huffed, linking her arm through his.

Raph looked at her. He couldn't blame the detective and the medic, though. He was short of being her doormat, she was that adorable.

And he'd almost lost her.

And she was still half in love with his brother.

That thought was like an ice storm on whatever feelings he was having for her then.

Her words came back crystal clear to him. While he was being a lovesick puppy, Legend had been laughing behind his back, all the while thinking about Logan's great smile, his nice eyes, his perfect height.

When they were fucking, did she picture Logan's face? Did she think it was his brother working her body that way, making her scream until her throat was raw?

She said she'd said those things to get a rise out of him, but Raph didn't know what to believe anymore.

All the insecurities of the past came rushing back, hitting him full force.

The boys who had befriended him in high school because they wanted to hang with his brother.

All the girls that talked to the cool kid's brother who mind you was so not cool because they wanted said boy's number.

And then the girlfriend who had lied to his face because of the same fucking Logan.

"Raph!" Long fingers flashed across his face, and he was dragged out of his devasting oh-shit-no epiphany.

Legend looked concerned. "Are you OK? You look like you just saw a ghost pissing on a fairy's head."

"I'm fine," As fine as the ghost that would actually want to pee on a fairy's head, which was not fine at all.

"I think you hit your head harder than you thought. How many fingers am I holding up? "

"I said I'm fine," Raph's voice came out harsh and abrupt, making Legend flinch away from him.

How dare she act like she gave two shits about him when she was messing with his head?

"Raphael? What's wrong?" She gently placed her hand on his chest. Raph could feel the burn of her fingers through the fabric of his shirt, and he stepped back suddenly. He couldn't stand being so close to her. Having said that and establishing the fact that he was the biggest coward of all time, he pulled out his phone and hunched over it to stop himself from looking at her hurt face.

"I'm calling Shane to give us a ride home. Why don't you go find somewhere to sit?"

He didn't watch her walk away but he could feel her pain and it tore at him.

He was still a fool because no matter how much she hurt him, he couldn't stop loving her.