Rafe X Barry Novels & Stories

My shoulders loosened without my permission. I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding myself together. Rafael scanned the room like he was clearing it for hostiles. “I hate this already.” “You love this,” I said. “You just don’t know it yet.” He shot me a look. “I know exactly what I love. This isn’t it.” We made our way to the bar. The bartender took one look at us and smiled like Christmas had come early. “What’ll it be?” she asked.

“In ten years I have never seen you put something personal above the work.” “I’m aware of that,” Tim said. “Does it concern you?” “Everything concerns me,” Tim said. “That’s why things run the way they do.” Rafe nodded slowly and looked back at his folder. He knew when Tim was done with a line of conversation and he was done with this one. That was another thing about Rafe. He knew exactly where the line was and he didn’t cross it, which was part of why he had lasted ten years when most people lasted considerably less.

He didn’t even snarl - his eyes did all the killing, molten gold burning with fury. Another lunged at Jaxon with a broken bottle. Jaxon laughed. Actually laughed. His teeth flashed white, wolf-bright. He ducked, twisted, the muscles of his back shifting beneath his shirt like steel cables. His elbow drove into the man’s ribs with bone-crunching force, sending him sprawling across the table, splinters flying. Rafe was pure destruction. Silent, brutal, efficient. One swing of his arm sent a man sprawling into the jukebox, sparks flying as music cut out completely. The bar was left in the sound of fists and bone and growls.

My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest as he seemed like he was heading towards me. But then he walked right past me, and I released the breath I’d been holding. I turned to look at him slowly, and the fact that he didn’t even turn to look at me gave me some relief. To him, I was still just a stranger. Rafe was much taller than I initially guessed. He was at least 6’5, and the bull tattoo on his neck was more prominent than Adrian’s. He was a freak of a man, with beefy arms that looked like they could rip a rhino’s head off, and large calves that looked like he was secretly hiding slabs of meat in his socks.

Rafe’s name didn’t leave when the sun came up. It sat behind Lys’s eyes, a ghost superimposed over everything she looked at. Over the city. Over the collar. Over Kael’s sleeping profile. > CO‑AUTHORIZATION: FIELD OPERATIVE ID: RAFE K– Aria had gone quiet after dropping the bomb, giving her space or just running hot, trying to track more threads. Either way, the silence was its own kind of noise. When sleep finally dragged her under, it wasn’t kind.

Raf’s confession left Saraya stunned. To be continued…

Rafe's elbow found Dax's shoulder joint with precise force and Dax grunted and backed off for the first time. The witness stands were very quiet. Two minutes in, Rafe was controlling the pace. Four minutes in, Dax was working harder than he'd expected to. At the six minute mark, Rafe created an opening, took it, and had Dax in a position that should have ended it. Dax didn't tap. He drove backward into the barrier instead, taking both of them into the wall with brutal force. Rafe hit hard. I heard it from across the floor. He came off the barrier slowly.

Rafe's dark eyes locked on, calm but piercing, like he could see right through the casual stance. "Morning," Rafe said, his voice low and even, carrying the weight of someone used to being heard. "Name's Rafe. Moved in next door last night. Your party's carrying a bit." He didn't raise his tone, but the words landed heavy, no room for bullshit.

Done anything except stand there trembling like I’d been shot. But I was Nicholas Rhodes. I did not tremble. I did not stare. I certainly did not feel. And yet— I couldn’t move. Couldn’t blink. Couldn’t do anything but memorize him. Rafe leaned over the counter now, talking to a customer. His smile was soft, a little shy. He didn’t used to smile like that. Not at anyone. Only at me, in rare stolen moments he would pretend never happened. But now he smiled like a man untouched by violence.