Carpathian 15 - Dark Secret

them were definitely tense.
    Rafael reached out in front of everyone, his palm curling possessively around the nape of her neck. "You may let it be known that this woman and these children are under my protection. Should any harm befall them, I will take a hand in the hunt for the person responsible." He spoke the words almost formally, as if it was a ritual she didn't understand. But if she didn't, the Chevez brothers did. They looked at one another uneasily and one made the sign of the cross, even as they nodded their acknowledgment of his words.

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    Rafael bent closer to her. "Querida, I will see to the legal papers and return as soon as possible. You must try to eat something." Even through his dark lenses she could feel his penetrating, mesmerizing gaze.
    As tired as she was, Colby was afraid of falling forward and drowning in Rafael's strong personality.
    Without turning his head, Rafael added softly, "Paul, instruct Ginny to make vegetable soup and insist Colby eat it. None of you must wander too far from home in my absence. Juan and Julio will assist you with your work today."
    Colby tried to shake her head. "That won't be necessary."
    His thumb moved over her pulse in a long slow caress that sent her blood pounding. "It is necessary, meu lindo amor, as I can do no other than protect my own." Abruptly he released her, his black gaze finding and pinning the Chevez brothers." You will walk with me to the helicopter." Rafael had circled the burn site, studying it with more than human senses. The taint of the undead was there, but the vampire had not been the one to start the fire. He may have been the will behind it, but he had not done the actual work.
    Rafael had no way of picking up the scent of the arsonist as too many volunteers had shown up to fight the fire. The men, who come from the various ranches and the town, had been everywhere. He could only wait for the next time, and Rafael was certain there would be a next time. He might be helpless, locked in the ground. but he would see to it that Colby was protected while he slept.
    Paul's eyebrow shot up as he watched the group of men walking toward the helicopter, Sean talking earnestly to the fire captain, Rafael and the Chevez brothers a distance apart. Rafael had his arm draped affectionately around Julio's shoulders, but he obviously was giving them orders. "Protect my own? What does that mean, Colby?"
    She had turned up the volume of her hearing again, finding it a useful tool now. "Ssh, just a minute." She could hear the captain reassuring Sean Everett he was certain Colby hadn't set the fire and thanking them for their help. But she couldn't hear a thing Rafael was saying to the Chevez brothers. And strangely, she couldn't hear what they said to him. But they were talking about Paul and Ginny and her. She was very certain of that. "Do you trust him, Paul, enough to put the ranch into his hands? Because if we borrow that money from him, that's exactly what we're doing."
    Rafael De La Cruz removed the dark glasses and turned his head to look straight at her with glittering merciless eyes. She shivered and moved closer to her brother for protection. The helicopter was very loud, yet she knew he heard her question to Paul. Colby lifted her chin at him, pretending not to be intimidated. But she was. The Chevez brothers were not servants. They were wealthy businessmen, proud, strong men. They knew cattle and obviously worked their ranch. Yet they had exhibited signs of something very close to fear when speaking to Rafael. Who was he to have such an effect on them?
    "If he comes back with the terms he stated to me, there's no problem," Paul said. "He didn't say we would have to go back to some other country; it was a straight-up loan. Of course, you'll have to go over everything carefully, I just don't see we have much choice."
    "You're right, Paulo, it's just that everything is so awful. And he isn't a man who gives you something for nothing." She had lain with him, her hands on his body while he took possession of her over and over. "I don't trust him." His hands had been all over her, his body buried deep inside of hers. "Even if he lends us the money for the mortgage, where are we going to get a new stable? All of the horses are a mess, their owners are going to be upset, and rightly so. And Shorty—what am I going to tell him?
    Butane was his up-and-coming hope for calf