Rafael slowly walked out of the car. I was about to follow him when he gave me a look that made me shiver.
"Stay here Jasmine" he says, looking intently into my eyes.
"But...But you can't go in there all alone." I reply almost stuttering.
"Why?" He asked and I could not tell what emotion was in his eyes but there was one.
"I'm scared, I can't stay here alone." I say.
"Your safety is of utmost importance to me. So I'll lock the car, let me go and check it out. Stay here." He says.
Before I could protest, he gets out, locks the car, and heads up to our apartment where the lights, which we had left off, were on. I watched him as he went and then disappeared into the apartment building. I could then see the shadows of two men inside the house, who were having a brawl. One was holding a knife, and the sight of that made my heart beat fast against my chest.
"Where are you now? I need you, my husband is in danger." I said to the spirit inside me. But it remained silent. Just then, the two men who were battling it out broke my balcony window, and I could see Rafael on the edge of the balcony rail and the other man, who was dressed as one of the men who was pursuing me a long time ago, holding a knife, trying to slit his throat. I immediately called 911 and I told the operator what was happening as the brawl continued between Rafael and the hooded man. Just then, I saw the man stab Rafael in the stomach, and immediately I felt my blood boil, finally. Without thinking, I broke the car door and ran out to help Rafael, when suddenly, someone whispered something behind me and threw some powder at me. At that moment, all my power left me and I felt the spirit inside me subside in the blink of an eye.
Rafael then turned to look at me as I fell to my knees, and four people appeared from behind me, and surrounded me, smiling wickedly at me.
"Oh, such a young beauty, and that too a virgin." One of them said, as he knelt down to my level, and grasped my face with his rough hands. He tried to kiss me but I instinctively spat on him. I thought he would slap me, so I prepared myself mentally for it, but he just smiled even more,licked it and basked in it's glory. Jesus Christ he was a bloody psycho. My heart raced and I felt my breath fade away into the night.
"My goodness, her chest, the way it rises and falls," another said, then hissed in bliss at the thought of whatever he was thinking about " no, let us have her. There are many maidens we can offer to Mother, but this one, this one is for us,what do you all think?" He said as he slowly moved his hand up my thigh.
I tried to make a quick move, but they all pinned me to the ground. As I looked up, I saw the ongoing struggle between the masked man and Rafael. Somehow, Rafael overpowered him, and he held him at the edge of the balcony rail, where he was so close to letting him fall to the ground, which was all the way from the sixth floor. Considering the fall from the height, it wouldn't kill him but it would cause some serious and significant damage to his brain and spinal cord.
When the men surrounding me saw that, they decided to get it over with before Rafael reached me.
"Let's take her and leave." One of them said. The others quickly agreed and the next thing I knew they were dragging me away.
"Rafael, please help me" I yelled.
He then dropped the man and ran outside, but those men dragged me all the way to their car, and by the time Rafael was reaching the parking lot, the men were already driving away. Rafael quickly took his car and followed us.
"What is such a beautiful girl like you still doing as a virgin? Allow us to welcome you into the real world." The man who was sitting next to me said. He then removed my skirt as another man held my hands to prevent me from fighting back. Just then Rafael's car caught up to us and it was right beside us. As he looked on, the man who was holding my hands up looked back at him and smiled, while I looked at him begging for him to help me.
The other man then run his hand up my thigh, whilest looking at Rafael with a wicked smile. I felt disgusted, as his rough hands met my soft thighs and he hissed in pleasure. I shut my eyes tight, and felt vomit run up my throat as he then went down, kissing my thighs. His wet lips made me sick and the realization of what he was about to do to me made me cry. I opened my eyes to look at Rafael who was fuming with rage. He aimed a gun which was on his other hand to the car and shot the driver's hand. This distracted him, forcing him to slow the car down and Rafael used that opportunity to block our way. With that, the men stopped what they were doing as Rafael walked out of his car with a revolver in hand. He loaded it first, and even though he had not even uttered a word or made a sound, his fury resonated throughout the entire empty road. As the gun clicked in his hand, I heard the men speak in disbelief.
"I thought he was a man of God, what on earth is he doing with a gun?" The one who had held on to my hand said.
"Yeah, and I thought they hated each other." The other one said.
Before anything else we heard two gunshots and the two men who were at The driver's and passenger side fell to the ground, with bullet holes in the middle of their eyes. The men who were with me started to tremble and I used that opportunity to get free and ran to Rafael, who took me in his arms, and put his oversized coat around me.
"Mercy, mercy" they begged. "Please don't kill us"
"I won't. You dared touch my wife. Why would I give you such a pleasurable fate? No, whatever I will do to you, even the heavens and hell will tremble in fear."
I wasn't the one being threatened, but those words engulfed me in fear. Rafael wasn't like this before. As I looked at him, staring at the two men, the rage in his eyes was prominent, and even the aura around him changed. He was really angry. Point of correction, he was bloody furious. He dragged the men back into their car in the back seat. He then turned to face me.
"Jasmine, are you okay?" He asked in the sweetest voice I've ever heard. He was a completely different person.
I just nodded, still in shock. He then opened the passenger seat for me and I walked in as he put the seat belt on me. He then proceeded to get into the driver's seat, and drove on.
The drive was quiet but I could hear the pounding hearts of those two men. He drove towards the church and ordered the men out. The sisters and some other fathers then came to receive the men.
"We will be sure to keep our guests well" one of the fathers told Rafael.
"I know." Rafael responded with a smile and got back into the car.
We then silently drive home, as the events of the day replayed in my head, and tears streamed down my face. Rafael softly carresed my face as he wiped my tears away.
"Your tears make me even more furious, I swear to you that what I will do to those people, they will never look,at a woman again." He said, in a dark tone. Scary. As we arrived we were met by police sirens and police everywhere. Rafael walked out and carried me in his strong arms, to take me inside the house.
The feel of his chest against me made my heart race and the way he looked at me made it even worse. I wasn't supposed to think of him at this moment, but I couldn't help it. He was drop dead gorgeous. As we took the elevator he looked ahead and I just stared at his Adam's apple, as he swallowed hard in rage. We finally arrived while being traced by our neighbor's eyes.
He then opened the door for me and placed me on the sofa, when the police knocked on our door.
"Go take a shower, I will handle them." He said and I nodded. I dropped his coat to the chair and he froze for a moment, before snapping back. As he headed to the door, I headed to the shower.
As the warm water fell on me I tried to wash away the thoughts of those men putting their hands on me. Just then, I heard the living room door close, and Rafael walk in. I saw him take off his shoes, then his socks then his shirt, exposing his secret tattoo, his stab wound and the rosary hanging on his neck. He then opened the bathroom door. As I tried to cover any area I could, he kept his eyes on mine, and didn't look aside even for a split second. He then took off his trousers and walked in, locking the bathroom door.
"Rafael, you have a stab wound... you should get that checked" he looked at me with sleepy eyes, "Wh....wh.....what are you doing?"I stuttered.
But he just removed his rosary and put it on the door handle.
"Claiming what is rightfully mine." He growled.