Nightingale

Victor wasn't kidding when he said he was aching for a little sexy time with Sam. She was such a hot little bitch, and he knew she craved his body. He'd felt her trembling when he held her tight. He'd been working on her for weeks, and all he'd been able to get from her were some very promising kisses. He knew sex with her was going to be amazing, but he just had to get past her defenses!

He'd waited a long time, but his patience was beginning to run out.

He shook his head, watching that delicious ass wiggle as she moved away. He would have it. Oh yes.

-=-

The final bell for the day rang, and Raph got his stuff from his locker and made his way to the bus stop. He knew today was going to be his second tutoring session with Sam. He didn't want to think of it as anything but another job to do. A way to make some extra money to fund his escape, but his stomach had other ideas. Inside it felt like... butterflies.

Shit. This wasn't a good idea.

To emphasize how bad it was, he saw Victor and his goons drive by in their pimped-out Civic. Luckily it seemed like they hadn't looked in his direction, so he was good. He relaxed a little... except for the butterflies.

The bus arrived, and he moved to the back once more. This time two of the girls who'd been eyeing him the previous day worked up the nerve to move back to talk to him.

"Raphael? We're in your art class? I'm Linda, and this is Sharon?"

He watched them without saying anything, even though everything coming out of Linda's mouth sounded like a question. He thought he recalled seeing them at the tables across the model's podium from his.

"We just wanted to say we thought your art was amazing!" Sharon gushed, drawing an immediate and emphatic nod from her friend, who was staring at him and suddenly leaned in a little closer.

"Is it going to be displayed in the cabinet outside Mrs. Aikens' classroom?" Linda asked. Finally, a real question.

Raph wanted them to go away. He couldn't ignore them as they'd likely sick their boyfriends on him for being rude. Instead, he'd keep his answers short. "No. I gave it to the model."

Eyes widened, and they grinned at him. He had no idea what titillating thoughts his comment had generated in their minds, so he just nodded and turned his face to look out the window. They hesitated, then moved back to their friends to share the news. Whatever news that would become. He soon heard a burst of giggles but put that out of his mind too.

The ride seemed longer than before, but it gave him time to work out what he would say to Sam to end the tutoring sessions. He'd want to be paid for the first session before he canceled, of course.

"Bye, Raphael!"

He looked to the back doors, where he saw Linda and Sharon smiling back at him. He nodded to them, and they giggled as they left the bus. Shit. He hoped that wouldn't lead to trouble for him.

His eyes jumped to the other passengers on the bus as he suddenly recalled Sam telling him how she followed him on the bus last week. He saw the friends of the two girls that just left, and they were glancing back towards him. His eyes moved on, but he didn't see the blonde in question. He'd been on the first bus after school, so he supposed she'd be twenty minutes late today. That was fine with him. It gave him more time to think of a way to let her down easy and avoid the inevitable confrontation with Victor.

He finally exited the bus and made his way up the steps of the library. His stomach had finally settled down as he'd come to terms with canceling the tutoring and getting back to his regular life. The money was nice, but the risk wasn't worth it.

He went inside and nodded to the librarian as he passed by her desk. His eyes picked up the presence of a sharply dressed, blonde woman with a braided ponytail sitting at one of the tables in the main reading area. She was very attractive and looked... familiar for some reason. Then he spotted Sam sitting next to her and realized the woman had to be her mother!

What the hell? He slowed his approach, and Sam spotted him. Her eyes glanced nervously towards her mother as she took in his confused and guarded expression.

The woman noticed him, and a professional smile appeared on her full lips as she stood and stepped towards him to close the gap. Sam jumped to her feet to catch up to her mother.

"You must be Raphael Graves," the woman said, holding out a hand.

He was still feeling defensive as he accepted her hand in his and shook it. The woman's skin was so soft!

"I'm Suzanne Harris, Sam's mother. I just wanted to meet the young man who was tutoring my daughter."

He nodded, and his eyes slipped to Sam, who appeared at her mother's elbow.

"Okay, you've met him, Mom. We have a lot of work to do, so..." Sam said with an uneasy tone.

Suzanne gave her daughter an annoyed glance and turned back to Raph as she released his hand. "I understand you have a job after school as well? Where do you work?"

Raph was definitely beginning to feel like he'd been ambushed. "I work at Beckett's Landscaping and Garden Center," he said hesitantly. At her interested nod, he found himself continuing. "Stock clerk, but I'm doing landscaping now as well." His eyes went back to Sam. He was amazed by how much Suzanne looked like her daughter. Truly lovely.

"Mom! You said you just wanted to meet him."

"Sam, I'm just finding out a little about the young man I'm leaving my daughter with downtown late at night. This isn't an unreasonable request." Suzanne said to her daughter, whose face was beginning to show a deep blush.

Raph relaxed a little as he now understood what was happening. It was a mom thing.

Not that Dotty did it for him anymore.

Suzanne turned back to the surprisingly good-looking young man before her. His background had to include some Mediterranean blood based on his lovely skin tone. Tall, dark, and very handsome. Sam had failed to mention this little, or perhaps, significant detail. Maybe Victor had reason to be worried about Sam spending time with Raphael.

She tried to get her mind back on track. "I understand you're doing very well in your classes. What are your plans for after graduation?"

"MOM!"

"Shhh!" the librarian scolded from the main desk with a scowl.

Suzanne caught Raph's surprised smile as he looked at Sam's embarrassed face.

"It's okay," he said to Sam then faced Suzanne. "If I get the scholarship I'm after, I'm going to university to become a doctor."

Suzanne smiled widely, and Raph's eyes widened in response. He glanced between the two women, and she knew he was comparing their similarities. That made her feel... very flattered.

"A doctor! Any particular field?" Suzanne asked happily. Sam was also watching him, waiting to hear his answer.

"I want to be a surgeon, but I want to work in the ER as well," he said earnestly.

Suzanne nodded, then tilted her head a little to give him a questioning look. "The ER isn't an easy environment to work in."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Suzanne's eyebrows went up. "You've personal experience with visiting the ER?"

Raph's expression closed up, and he looked uncomfortable. "Yeah," he managed to say.

Sam touched her mother's arm, and Suzanne nodded. She could see the topic was a tender spot for him. She felt better now that she'd met Raphael. She was still planning on picking her daughter up. She'd perhaps have another opportunity to pick his brain once more. She'd offer him a lift home.

"I understand Sam owes you some money for her last session? One-hundred and fifty dollars was it?" Suzanne asked. "Can I write you a check?"

Raph frowned. "Ca—" he began but stopped abruptly. "Uh, sure."

Suzanne smiled and nodded. "I'll write you a check for the previous session and tonight's when I return to pick up Sam. Would that be all right?"

Raph nodded, and Suzanne turned to kiss her daughter on the cheek.

"I'll see you two later," Suzanne said and quickly walked away to head back to the hospital.

As she walked down the steps, she smiled to herself. A very handsome young man, indeed.

Back in the library, Raph cursed to himself as he realized he'd just promised to give Sam another tutoring session. Shit. It was too late to back out now. He sighed and made his way towards the study booths at the back of the library.

He glanced back and caught Sam watching his ass. She looked him in the eye, and her face burned with embarrassment. He looked away, unable to deal with that at the moment.

Raph picked the same study pod as last time and sat down in the chair. He noticed the afternoon light was pouring through the stained-glass windows again and quickly looked up at Sam to see it shine through her golden hair. It was her turn to catch him staring, and she smiled at his wide-eyed look of wonder. He swallowed and looked away, fumbling to get his calculus textbook out. He seemed a little flustered.

"Are you ready?" he said sternly.

She slipped into the chair next to him and got her books out. She seemed to pick up that he was a little unsettled by their closeness as she eased back to give him more space.

He felt himself relax slightly. "We'll pick up where we left off. Did you go over the work we've already covered on the weekend?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, and he nodded.

"You're comfortable with the material?"

"Yes, it makes sense to me now," she said with a wide smile, and he struggled to not look at her.

He cleared his throat and opened his text and his notes to the next section. "Okay, let's begin."

They powered through the work and hit a snag a few pages in as Sam seemed to be experiencing a mental block with a concept. He was becoming frustrated, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He noted that she was biting her lip, and he could almost hear her heartbeat begin to thud in her chest.

Raph rolled the problem around in his mind. He could see she was stuck, so he examined the issue from a different perspective. He began again, but this time, he explained the process step by step, stopping to get her to explain the significance of each step. When she got one wrong, Raph realized he'd found the source of her block. He cleared her misconception and continued until he finished the question completely. He risked a glance over and saw she was trembling.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

She looked at him, and he saw tears pooling in her long lashes, and his chest tightened. Then she smiled at him. "I thought—I thought maybe the early sections were all I was going to be capable of doing. I know they get progressively more complex, and I thought, that's it. I've reached my limit." She looked into his eyes. "Then you pointed out the simple mistake I was making, and suddenly I can feel it all falling into place. I-I can't tell you what a relief it is!"

He looked like he was going to climb over his chair to escape if she began to cry. Then his expression darkened. "You can't do that," he said gruffly.

She looked at him in surprise as she struggled to control her breathing.

He looked away, but he seemed to be trembling, just a little. "No emotional outbursts. I'm your tutor, not your therapist. I don't have time for this."

She was a little taken aback at his abruptness. "I-I'm sorry." She held her breath as if terrified that he'd give up on her.

He took a slow but shaky breath, then opened the textbook. "Let's continue."

Sam watched him cautiously but paid close attention to what he said as he took her through the next section. He was relieved to find she comprehended the concepts, and she thanked him for being so diligent in ensuring she fully understood before moving on.

They continued until they heard the chime, and the lights flickered, indicating it was time to go.

Raph glanced up with a look of annoyance. They only had three more pages to finish this section. He pushed back with a sigh. There was nothing he could do about it tonight. He looked over at Sam, and she quickly hid her smile.

"What?" he asked with a frown.

"Nothing!" she said, fighting the smile that threatened to escape.

He snorted, and she couldn't contain her happiness any longer. Raph's eyes widened, and his mouth began to smile in return as she was so dazzlingly beautiful when she smiled. He saw her mother in that smile. He could see a future—

No! Suddenly, he had to be elsewhere. Anywhere but next to this dangerous beauty. He hurriedly stuffed his books into his bag and pushed his chair out to leave.

"Raphael?" she gasped at his scramble to leave. She placed a hand on his arm and felt his body lock up then vibrate with tension.

"No! Don't," he choked out through his tight throat.

Sam looked confused by his behavior but also worried she'd messed up. "Tomorrow?" she asked, gazing hopefully into his eyes.

Raph wanted to tell her he was done. That she'd be good now, but he knew the next parts were the trickiest. He felt himself being drawn towards her as her eyes held his.

His chair fell back as he lurched to his feet. He turned away.

"Raphael!" she gasped.

His back to her, he paused and turned his head slightly to the side. "Tomorrow."

He found himself walking quickly towards the exit. He needed to get space between them. She was going to ruin everything! He should've told her they were done. Fuck! He should have said no when she first asked. She was too dangerous! She—

"EEP!"

Raph jarred to a stop as he pushed through the door and bumped chest to chest with Suzanne. He immediately reached out to catch her arms to keep her from falling, dropping his bag in the process.

"Sorry! Are you okay?" he gasped.

She blinked at him. "Yes, I'm fine? What happened? You looked like you were running from something! Is Sam okay?"

He released her arms and bent to pick up his bag as his face heated up. "She's beau— Good! I have to go." His face looked hot enough to ignite.

If Suzanne caught his slip, she kept her reaction from her face. Instead, she glanced over Raph's shoulder and saw Sam rapidly approaching with a worried expression. "I thought we could drive you home—"

"No! I mean, that's very kind of you... but it wouldn't be a good idea." Raph said, wanting to leave, but she was in the doorway, and she wasn't moving.

"Mom?"

Raph's nerves flared when he heard Sam's voice right behind him. "Excuse me," he said as he gently moved Suzanne to the side as he squeezed himself around her, and rushed out the outer door to hustle down the steps.

He sucked in a breath of fresh air. He had to get home.

Suzanne watched him go with a look of surprise on her face. He was... strong! She saw him run across the street, and moments later, the bus arrived, and he boarded it. He sat and glanced back once as the bus pulled away.

"Mom?

Suzanne turned to look at her daughter. "What happened tonight? Why was he running away from you?"

Sam shook her head unhappily, not wanting to talk about it.

"Did he finish the tutoring?" the mother asked.

Sam shook her head but answered to stop her mother's look of outrage. "We have two more sessions. Tomorrow and Wednesday."

Suzanne felt her anger quickly fade as her confusion returned. "Did you say something to upset him? Did he try something?" she suddenly gasped, her temper flaring once more.

"NO! No, he didn't try anything. He's been... a perfect gentleman," she finished softly.

Suzanne began to smile then looked at her daughter in dismay. "I didn't give him the check!"

Sam's anger flared. "You have to pay him tomorrow! I need Raphael! T-to finish the tutoring so I can pull my grade up," she snapped.

Suzanne's eyebrows went up at her daughter's tone. "Excuse me?"

Sam huffed as she realized she was overreacting. "I'm sorry. I-I'm just a little... unsettled."

The Librarian was arriving to usher them out, so Suzanne gently drew her daughter out the doors, and they made their way to her car. Once inside, she turned to the young woman. "Now, tell me what happened. Just start at the beginning."

Sam looked at her mom and sighed. "It must be Raphael worrying about someone at school finding out."

"Someone meaning Victor," her mom insisted.

Sam looked at her and sighed. "Yes, probably." She frowned. "It's weird. It's like he's trying to be invisible at school."

Suzanne just shook her head, unable to fathom what it might be like for the young man. What might cause him to act like that? She started the car.

"Why do you think he said it wasn't a good idea for us to drive him home?" Suzanne asked as she pulled away from the curb.

Sam looked at her mother. "I don't know. I don't even know where he lives."

She realized she really wanted to know more about him, and that desire confused her. He was just a means to an end.

Wasn't he?

-=-

Raph made his way up the street, taking deep breaths, his rage simmering close to the surface.

Why was he stuck in this situation? He was almost free of this place, and... she had to complicate things! He tried hard to not think about Sam. She... confused his head.

He strode around the final corner leading up to his townhouse and into a group of three men conducting a transaction. In a flash, Raph took in two college boys from the next town over, looking to score some drugs and a rough-looking dealer he hadn't seen before.

"The FUCK—" the dealer yelped, eyes widening as he saw the grim expression on Raph's face. His hand went into his pocket to grab the ancient .38 hidden there.

"JIMMY! GUN!" screamed one of the buyers as he pushed his friend away to the left. Twitching at the scream, the dealer squeezed the gun's trigger, blowing a hole in his pocket and ripping through the edge of Jimmy's letterman jacket.

Raph's fist crushed the dealer's nose and snapped the man's head back. He crumpled to the ground before he could fire again. Raph stomped the side of the man's knee with a loud crack. His rage was unleashed, and it was taking no prisoners.

Before the two buyers could relax, the first took a hard left to the gut, and Jimmy got a right to the jaw. They both hit the ground as Raph stood above them, roaring at them to leave. He kicked them a few times for good measure until they managed to get to their feet and hobble away as quickly as they could.

He heard the crack of another shot and felt a brief searing pain across his right thigh. He rushed back to the prone man, and he stomped his right arm, breaking the bones, and the gun tumbled free. The man began to scream, so Raph kicked him in the jaw. There was a sickening crack, and it dropped to hang at a disturbing angle.

The sight of the gun turned Raph's hot rage icy cold. He looked down at the ugly, snub-nosed weapon. It was dirty and rusty, and its handle was wrapped with some dirty cloth tape. Regardless of its age and condition, it still worked. He'd almost been killed with it tonight.

For a moment, Raph contemplated using it to end the piece of shit who'd tried to kill him. He shook with the need to do it, but a cool, rational voice in his mind made him pause.

Dotty couldn't forgive murder.

That pulled him back from the edge.

Now that his mind was his again, Raph used a discarded potato chip bag to pick up the weapon. He didn't want to touch it or leave prints on it. He nudged the release button, and the cylinder folded out. He dumped the bullets and kicked them into the sewer grate. Snapping the cylinder back into place with a flick of his wrist, he carried it back to the man who was looking up at him with hate in his eyes. Raph saw the next attack coming and stepped out of range of the sloppy stab. Another stomp broke the wrist holding the knife, and a wet scream came from the dealer's broken jaw.

Raph looked closer at the thug. He didn't recognize him or recall seeing him before — just another piece of shit moving into his neighborhood to spread the disease. His rage spiked again.