Chapter 8
June 19, 2015
Rafael climbed over the boxes in the trunk of the car. He found the latch to open the hatch. When Rafael got out of the vehicle, he grabbed his backpack and quietly closed the trunk. Rafael ran down the road towards a street called Dunworth. He approached a red-bricked cube building at the corner of Dunworth and St James. When he heard gunshots coming from the back of the building, he ran towards the corner store.
"Call 911," Rafael said as he ran into the store. "Someone got shot in the apartment building up the street."
The sales associate called the police as the boy requested. He turned to tell the boy that they were on their way, but he was gone. Scratching his head, the boy returned to his job.
Rafael ran back to the apartment building. He watched as the ambulance parked at the back door to get their patient. A curly-haired woman got loaded onto the stretcher and pushed into the back.
Another ambulance arrived as the first one pulled away from the building. Rafael saw the paramedic team enter the building with another stretcher. After several minutes, they returned with a heavy-set person with his face covered in blood. The man got cuffed to the side of the gurney.
"What happened?" Rafael asked the police officer. He checked the man's chest to read his name, E. Gazarra.
"Steph got shot before she knocked out the guy with her pocketbook," Eddie explained, smiling.
"Is it funny?" Raphael asked, surprised the officer found a woman getting shot humorous.
"Sorry, son. I'm not laughing that Steph got shot. It's funny that she knocked Paul Tamboli out with her purse that contained a bottle of Dolce Vita," Eddie replied. "The perfume was a major improvement to his stench."
"I hope she'd be okay," Rafael said.
"Stephanie's tough. She's been through much worse, and it's only an upper arm wound. She'll pull through. Can I take you home?" Eddie offered.
"No. I'm fine. Thank you for offering," Rafael stated. Rafael had noticed a familiar car enter the parking lot. "I should get home," he said before running through the dark lot, disappearing behind the dumpster. He couldn't believe the woman was Stephanie Plum, the woman from the Trenton Times.
Eddie squinted his eyes as the boy ran from the lot. He couldn't help to notice that the boy looked familiar. Ranger approached Eddie, "Is she okay?" Ranger was afraid his love had died.
"Steph got shot in the left arm, through the flesh. She's fine, Ranger," Eddie said.
Ranger visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Gazarra. I'm going out of town for a few days."
"I'll keep an eye on her," Eddie volunteered. Ranger nodded before he got back into his car. Eddie watched Ranger leave. He shook his head, thinking that Ranger should admit that he loved Stephanie.
His TPD friends had a bet that Stephanie and Morelli would get back together. Stephanie and Joe started dating when she got shot in the ass by Jimmy Alpha the year earlier. He hoped for Ranger's sake that wouldn't be a thing. Eddie wanted Stephanie to get together with Manoso. He noticed how they watched each other when the other wasn't looking.
~~~
Stephanie got taken to the hospital to get her gunshot wound stitched. They took X-rays to make sure the bullet didn't hit the bone. She was fortunate it was only a flesh wound. Carl Costanza and Eddie Gazarra visited after she got ten stitches in her arm.
"Joe's here to visit," Eddie stated. "He's been worried since they brought you in."
"I don't want to see Joe. We broke up earlier today," Stephanie said. She was still angry that he called her useless. "Can you give me a ride home, Eddie?"
"Sure. I have your keys and your body receipt for Tamboli." The doctor gave Stephanie a prescription for antibiotics and painkillers. She had no intention of using the pain pills. Stephanie looked around for Ranger, but he wasn't in the room. He had always shown up whenever she got injured.
Bobby peeked into the room. "Hey, Steph. Are you ready to go home?" he asked.
"Um. Eddie's giving me a ride. Do you mind filling my prescription?" Stephanie asked. She held out the paper towards Bobby. He snatched the prescription from her fingers to get filled at the pharmacy.
~~~
Hector watched Eddie park his car at the back of Stephanie's apartment building. Before she could exit the vehicle, Bobby sped into the parking lot. He handed Stephanie a prescription bag through the window. A movement at the back of the lot, near the dumpster, caught his attention. An attractive child moved from behind the dumpster. The boy looked towards Stephanie's apartment window.
"May I help you?" Hector asked, speaking Spanish.
He replied, "I don't know. Do you know Stephanie?"
"She's like a sister to me," Hector replied. "I'll do anything to protect her." Hector studied the boy for a few minutes. "You're from Newark."
Rafael hung his head. "I am. The Latin Nails tried to get my new foster brother and his friend to recruit me, so I ran away," he confessed. "I can't go back, and I have nowhere to live." Rafael felt he could trust the man.
"You can come home with me. I'll give you a safe place to live," Hector stated.
Stephanie looked over her shoulder, feeling a cosmic force pull her towards Hector's car. She approached the child standing beside the passenger side door. "Hi, my name is Stephanie Plum."
"Rafael Castillo," he said, holding his hand towards Stephanie. She touched his hand. Her mouth popped open as the electricity flowed up her arm, stopping at her heart.
"Will you please come to my apartment with me?" Stephanie gently asked. Rafael knew he could trust Stephanie. He nodded. "You may stay the night." Rafael grinned.
Eddie watched Stephanie enter the building with a young child. He recognized the boy from earlier in the evening. Eddie felt the boy didn't have a place to lay his head for the night. Stephanie was a remarkable woman. He wasn't surprised that Stephanie offered him a place to stay for the night.
Stephanie waited until they entered her apartment before asking him questions. "How old are you, Rafael?" she asked.
"Ten. My birthday is on September 3rd," Rafael replied. Stephanie's heart raced as she looked closely into his face, recognizing the nose, chin and eye colour.
She tamped down her emotions to ask, "Where is your mother?"
Rafael picked at his fingernails and dropped his chin. "Um, she died when I was born. She got hit by a car and gave birth to me three weeks early. My social worker told me that my mom died," he rambled.
Stephanie gently lifted his head using her index finger. "Sweetie, I don't think your mother died," she quietly said.
"Why?" Rafael asked.
"May I tell you a story?" Stephanie waited for him to nod. "I met an attractive man on New Year's Eve during my winter break in college. His skin was a few shades darker than yours. We spent a magical night together. But I didn't realize we never told each other our last name. I found out that I got pregnant and decided to keep my pregnancy a secret from everyone. When I returned to college on September 3, 2004, my mom helped me move into my dorm. I got hit by a car and had my baby. My mom said my daughter had died. Every year, on September 3rd and September 22nd, which was my due date, I went to church to light a candle for my daughter."
"Your daughter was born on my birthday?" Rafael asked.
"Yes. Do you know what else I had learned earlier this year?"
"What?"
"I learned that my mom had lied. My baby was a boy, and he lived. None of the families looking for a child wanted an infant with medical needs. The agency placed the child into foster care for the CPS to cover the medical expenses."
"Do you mean?" Rafael asked, unable to finish the question.
"Welcome home, son," Stephanie whispered as she hugged her child. "I want to get a maternity test. Would you let me?" Rafael nodded as he cried on her shoulder.
"The man outside was going to take me home with him," Rafael said.
Stephanie smiled before using her cellphone to call Hector. He would stay in the parking lot to guard her apartment for the night. She asked him to grab a DNA kit to compare her mitochondrial DNA to Rafael's sample.
An hour later, Hector arrived with the sample kit. Rafael was relieved when Hector removed cheek swabs from the box. He didn't like needles. "Thanks, Hector. Open your mouth, Rafael," Stephanie said. She scraped the plastic sample stick along the inside of his cheek. Stephanie placed his sample in the tube and sealed it. She used the other swab to take her sample.
"I'll take it to the lab," Hector said, speaking in English.
Rafael's mouth dropped open. "You speak English?"
"Yes, but it's our secret," Hector replied as he winked. Stephanie kissed Hector's teardrop tattoo before he left.
"Do you know who my dad is?" Rafael asked.
"One step at a time, sweetie. We'll establish my maternity first, then I will tell you about your father," Stephanie replied. Rafael accepted her opinion. "You can trust Hector. He's like a brother to me."
~~~
Ricardo Manoso Sr sat across the table from his wife after he hung up his phone. "Forgive me, Maria. For I have done something unthinkable, yet I am not ashamed," Ricardo said.
Maria glanced at her husband with narrowed eyes. "What have you done?"
"I watched Rafael climb into Celia's trunk and I remained silent until now. Celia called to say she's at the airport. I spoke to Hector Alvarez a few minutes ago. Rafael is in Stephanie Plum's apartment. He says the boy is her son. The DNA match should return this week," he replied
Maria screamed at him in Spanish before picking up the phone. She called her oldest boy. "Carlos, please call. We need to talk," Maria said. Maria called Tank who informed her that he was gone on a mission. She didn't leave a message to pass along. "Carlos is away. You better pray no harm comes to our grandson."
"He's with his mother. She will protect him," Ricardo said. He kept his face bank, praying his wife didn't realize he was happy with the turn of events. "Maria, I sent Hector money to purchase clothes for Rafael. He will never go without the basic necessities again."
Maria hugged Ricardo. "Thank you, my darling."
October 31, 2004
Stephanie looked around her dorm room at Douglass College. She was lucky to get the same roommate every year. Some girls on her floor complained about having to break in a new roommate. Bailey and Stephanie knew you had to request the same one from year to year. When they had met on the first day they moved into the dorms, the women got along. Neither woman relied on the roommate assignment lottery, so they submitted their roommate requests by the dorm application date.
"Hey, Steph," Bailey greeted as she sat beside Stephanie on the bed.
"Hi, Bail," Stephanie said. Bailey wrapped her arm around Stephanie's waist. Stephanie leaned into her friend. "Are you attending the aspirin party tonight?"
"Aspirin party?" Bailey asked.
Stephanie grinned. "ASA." Stephanie waited to see if Bailey understood.
Bailey giggled, "Alpha Sigma Alpha. Their theme is playboy bunnies."
"The men want to see a bunch of scantily clad women strutting around the room," Stephanie said. Stephanie wasn't going to the party. She still had to lose a few pregnancy pounds.
"Yes, I'm going. Judging by the bathing suits and lingerie littering our room, I assume you are not," Bailey said. Stephanie tapped her nose.
Bailey dressed in her sexy lingerie then pulled her knee-length silk robe over her shoulders. She tied the belt to hold it closed. "Have fun, Bailey. If Dickie screws someone, I don't want to know," Stephanie stated.
"Um. You should want to know if your boyfriend cheats on you," Bailey said.
"We've gone on two dates, and we never kissed," Stephanie stated. "Neither of us established a relationship label. So, technically, he is not my boyfriend."
~~~
Dickie Orr watched the women enter the frat house. One by one, each woman removed her robe to showcase the sexy lingerie beneath. A few more reserved women wore itty-bitty-teeny-weenie-bikinis. His dick got hard seeing the barely covered ample breasts of the women.
He watched as a gorgeous dark blond woman with grey eyes entered the house. She wore pumpkin orange sexy lingerie beneath a white silk knee-length robe. Her breasts were the largest he had seen. Dickie wondered if the breasts were natural or implants.
"Hi," Dickie sexily said as he approached the woman. "I'm Dickie."
Bailey raised an eyebrow at his forward approach. She had never met Dickie before but was attractive. Bailey could understand what attracted Stephanie to the man. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lee," Bailey said. She didn't give her full name to men.
Dickie and a few of his friends kept feeding Bailey alcohol. She could drink any of them under the table. Bailey accepted another drink from the tall, blond man named Brad. He pulled her against his chest as they danced and drank. She kissed Brad and let him carry her to the bedroom.
The room contained a king-sized bed that looked messy, like the owner couldn't be bothered to make the bed. She shrugged before removing her robe. "You are sexy," Brad said, trailing his fingers across the swell of her breasts.
"You're not too bad yourself," Bailey purred.
"I have to ask, are you're breasts implants?" Brad asked.
Bailey removed her bra. She grabbed Brad's hands, placing them on her breasts. "What do you think?"
"They are not implants," Brad said, tweaking her right nipple with his left hand and groping her left breast. Bailey moaned as she pressed her breasts into his hands.
She heard the door open but dismissed the noise as somebody not realizing the room was in use. Brad sucked a nipple into his mouth. Another set of hands pulled her panties down her legs. Bailey got caught up in the sensation that she didn't care.
Brad wrapped his arm around Bailey's waist, holding her steady as the second man kneeled on the floor. Her legs got shifted to rest over the other man's shoulders. A tongue licked her folds before plunging into her warmth. Bailey couldn't stop the attention on her body. The sensations were overwhelming. Her body shook as she erupted on the second man's mouth.
Bailey let the men carry her to the bed. A third man had entered the room and turned out the lights. The light cancelling curtains prevented the exterior lights from shining into the room. Bailey couldn't see the men, but she didn't need to see them to feel all of the good loving.
After multiple orgasms from each of the men, she closed her eyes. Bailey woke up a few hours later and climbed from the bed. She grabbed her phone from her robe pocket to take a picture. Nobody would believe that she had sex with multiple muscular sexy men.
Neither Brad nor his friends woke up when she snapped the photo. Her jaw dropped open when she saw Dickie in the bed, next to the spot she had vacated. Bailey pulled on her lingerie as tears dropped from her eyes. She sent the photo to her email inbox then deleted it from her phone.
Bailey grabbed sweat pants and a shirt from the dresser before calling a cab to take her home. "I'm sorry, Steph," she whispered.