Bulletproof: The Castell Brothers, #2

By Izzy Williams

It looks as though he's her knight in shining armour . . . but is he?

So I promised, I promised the last time he beat me that if he did it again I would go. So time to go.

After calling on her friend Elsa for help she doesn't expect Raff to turn up. After being turned off men for life her feelings her safe. Even the striking, brooding alpha Raff cant make her forget.

Her resolve starts to waver when she is forced to stay with him in his house, will his protective nature win her over? But more importantly will her love for Rafael eventually put her in danger . . .

A Mafia Romance for aged 18 and over.

Reviews:-

*****
Another fabulous story by izzy Williams,it hooked be from the beginning.i just adored all the Abigail's,the shy one,drunken one and especially the uninhibited with sex one!some hot hot hot sex scenes! Raff is sooooooo big and lickalicious. Can't wait for badass andos and kelly story.loved it!
By D Maclaughlin
*****
I loved this book, raff the main male character is a very sexy spanish man you do not want to cross. If you like sexy reads, with plenty of action and few twist and turns to keep you guessing on how its gona end then this is the book for you.
By Anon
*****
Great reading again, with thrills, passion and troubles - all under the sun, great for the beach, well done Izzy!
By Miss R L Chapman

• Language: English
• Publisher: Izzy Williams
• Release date: Jun 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9798201326838

Book preview

Rafael - Prologue

Ifeel a twinge of pain in my arm as Elsa punches me.  Come on Raff! You can do better than that! 

My stomach tenses as Elsa, my brother’s girlfriend, wants me to come at her as her attacker so that she can practise her self-defence moves on me.  Little does she know that for the past few months, the thoughts that have been going through my head have been far from brotherly, in fact, she would avoid me completely.  But enough is enough.  I can’t have her . . . ever.  She’s not mine, she’s Xander's.  The sooner I stop having these kinds of thoughts about her the better.

I think back to how it all started, these inappropriate feelings that I've been having for my brother’s girl.  She hadn’t been over here in Madrid long, moving over to be with my brother.  Soon after she arrived she was almost raped, Xander was arrested for beating the guy up, so I stepped up to look after her.  Jesus, I wish I’d have got someone else to be there for her, that was the night that I got to see what a sweet, sexy and bloody strong woman she was and her love for Xander . . . fuck, I could only hope some woman like her loves me like that one day.

I'm turning into a fucking woman with these thoughts I swear to god.  Well . . . no more.  This ends now. 

Elsa, seriously . . . I could hurt you. I say to her in English, because while she’s learning Spanish and it is improving – she’s nowhere near fluent yet.  We all still speak English around her unless she makes us speak Spanish – which she does sometimes to help with her learning but then she gets pissed off at us because she can’t understand us!  I feel like English is as much my language as Spanish is now anyway, around the people I deal with I would say I speak English/Spanish 60/40. 

Whatever . . . you're just being a wuss. She says laughing. You’d be surprised at what I can do now - I can kick ass!

I shake my head and look over at Xander, I say in Spanish You’ve created a monster with this self-defence shit!

He snorts, Tell me about it brother.

Hey! English - because I know you guys are calling me! she shouts at us both.

This is what I'm talking about – Elsa nearly gets raped, but does she let it get to her? No – she finds a way to learn self-defence; she learns how to handle a gun and tries to learn Spanish.  Strong as hell.  But not mine – and that’s what I have to remember.

Chapter 1 - Abi

Y ou’re fucking worthless – you know you are, that’s why you never fight back.  You’re a waste of my fucking energy.  Why the hell I brought you out to Spain with me I’ll never know.

He surges forward to kick me in the stomach.  Enough, please enough  I silently beg.  He’s already punched me in the face and smacked me around the head sending me to the floor . . . I can’t take much more of this.  What am I doing here?

Please stop, I say, trying to keep my voice from cracking, it only angers him more when I cry. 

I look up and see him towering over me with a sneer on his face.  You’re not fucking worth it – I'm going out.  When I get back you will be up and back to normal, and if there’s any fucking tears you’ll be back down there, do you understand?

I nod while still curled up in foetal position on the floor, automatically curled up that way to protect myself.  Praying . . . waiting for the sound of the front door to shut.  When I hear it bang I breathe out in relief, but this just makes me cry out in pain as my ribs hurt so much.

I promised . . . I have to do it.  I promised myself this was the last time.  I told myself that if he did it again I would leave him.  I have to leave.  I have a friend now - she will help me, I know it.  Moving to Madrid was the biggest mistake of my life, but meeting Elsa in Spanish class was the best thing to come out of this.  I'm sure if I called her she would come and pick me up . . . that she would help me – she’s so strong, so confident, the total opposite of me.

I lift my head and look around, I hurt everywhere.  I can see my phone on the table.  I crawl over to wincing in pain, then I scroll down the names for Elsa and hit call.  She picks up.

Hello?

Elsa . . . Elsa, its Abi.

Hiya, are you ok? You don’t sound too good.

No . . . no, I'm not, - I need your help Elsa - I hate to ask, but there’s no one else.

Of course sweetie – what’s up?

Do you think you could come to my flat, maybe pick me up?  I need to leave here – my boyfriend . . . he’s . . . well, if you could come and pick me up, well . . . that would be good, and possibly drop me at a hotel.  I take a break, my voice straining with pain, I feel like I'm going to pass out. I take a deep breath, wince, and carry on.  Does your boyfriend know of any cheap apartments that I could stay in temporarily? I know he knows a lot of people here?

Of course I’ll come for you honey, give me your address.  What’s happened?

I hold back a sob.  He . . . he beats me Elsa, but I promised myself the next time I would leave – this is the next time.

I hear her sharp intake of breath.  I'm coming now, I'm with Xand and his brother so they're coming too and don’t worry, you can stay with me until you're sorted.

I sigh in relief but the pain makes me cough and gasp for breath. 

I hear the panic in her voice when she says We’re setting off now. 

She hangs up and I look around, trying to figure out what to do, praying that he doesn’t come home before she arrives.

I’m so stupid, I knew that things wouldn’t change once we got to Spain, I don’t know why I thought a fresh start would mean a whole new Callum.  I’m such an idiot, and I'm so embarrassed that Elsa is bringing two men here.  I don’t want a man of any kind near me.  This is not how I wanted to meet my friend’s boyfriend.

I crawl over to the door to open it, then very slowly make my way to the bedroom to try and pack some things, but I have to stop because pain shoots through me . . . I hurt everywhere.  My face feels wet  - probably blood - so I decide to go in the bathroom to try and clean some of it away before Elsa gets here.  As I pull myself up with the furniture to try to stand I feel dizzy, everything in the room starts spinning as I stumble into the bathroom and that’s the last thing I remember.  I hit the floor.

I start to come to when I hear the door crash open

Abi! I hear Elsa as she runs over to me. Xand!  Raff!  In here, the bathroom - I think we need an ambulance.

Lo que en el coño ha pasado aquí. (What in the hell happened here?)  I hear a Deep male voice.

Then I hear another male voice. You must talk in English Raff – you will scare her more if she cannot understand us.

I slowly open my eyes and look into the most mesmerising grey eyes I have ever seen, with thick black eyelashes.  I start to panic that I can’t see Elsa.  I try to look around. Elsa? I croak.

I’m here honey. I feel her take my hand.  We need to get you to the hospital to get you checked over.

Fear takes over, I’d have to tell the hospital everything, I try to sit up. No, no, I’ll . . . I’ll be fine. I wince I just need to get out of here, please, he might come back.

Raff, what are you doing? I hear Elsa ask as I can feel myself being lifted like I weigh nothing.

It’s the grey-eyed man, he’s carrying me, but his eyes aren’t leaving mine.

We are going to the car and we are taking her to the hospital. He says over my head.  Then he dips his head in low to me, his gruff voice soothing. You are safe now, we are taking you to hospital, I am Rafael,  Raff, this is my brother, Xander.

I nod, somehow I know that this is not a man you argue with – besides, I'm in so much pain, I'm beginning to think that a hospital isn’t a bad idea.

Thank you, I whisper and I see his eyes soften momentarily before they harden again, in what looks to be anger.

Please will you get me a bag of things together, I can’t ever come back here. I say to Elsa standing behind Raff, who is holding me like a child.  I grab onto his neck to secure myself onto him, I feel safe in his arms, even if only for a minute.

Raff speaks Just essentials for a day or so Elsa, quickly - we can get the rest of her things later.

Sure, Elsa says before going off into the bedroom.

A stunning looking man steps in front of me.  Hello Abi, I am Xander, we are going to take you to the car now. Ok?

I give him a shaky smile and nod.  I try to pull my dress down recalling what started Callum off in the first place – the fact that he thought my dress was too short, that I was a slut trying to get other men’s attention.  It was just above the knee, but Raff having hold of me felt like it was riding up. 

He carries me out to a Range Rover and settles me in the back seat.  Elsa comes running out with a shopping bag, presumably full of my things, and gets in the back with me.

It’s ok now Abs, we’ve got you, and no one gets past these guys.  You’ll come and stay with us . . . you’ll be fine.

I'm shivering, suddenly feeling cold, even though its seventy degrees outside, actually warm for March in Madrid.  Elsa produces a blanket from somewhere and places it over me.

She’s shaking guys. She says to the men, who by now are in the front seats.

She is in shock, we need to get her there quickly, Raff says, turning around to glance at me, giving me a reassuring smile.

When we get to the hospital Raff carries me inside like I weigh nothing.  A nurse comes running over and when Elsa explains what has happened she goes to get a wheelchair.  As she returns Raff releases me gently so that I can sit in the wheelchair.  I feel bereft that I no longer have his body heat and start shivering again, realising that when he had hold of me I’d stopped shivering.  I felt safe surrounded by him.  The last thing I thought would make me feel safe at the moment was another man’s arms.

My head is pounding, I dread to think what I look like, god . . . I can’t stop shaking – the nurse comes over and says something in Spanish.

Elsa turns to me. They’re taking us into a private room so that you can be checked over. She gets up to push my wheelchair but Raff nudges her out of the way to take the handles, making it clear that he’s coming with us.

We get into the room and the nurse says something in Spanish again, which I can just about understand as ‘get on the bed’.  I push up from the wheelchair but before I can do anything else I'm in Rafael’s arms again as he places me on the bed.  I'm glad he’s here . . . his presence is soothing somehow.

Xander turns to Raff. Let us leave them, we will wait outside to give her some privacy.

Raff’s eyes meet mine and then he looks over at Elsa who gives a slight nod.  He gives a nod in agreement and then reluctantly turns and leaves with Xander.

Elsa looks to me, sympathy written all over her face.  Why didn’t you tell me what you were going through sweetie? she asks softly.

I shrug It’s not that simple . . . plus you might be my only friend over here, but I still don’t know you very well, it was a lot to share with someone you see at language class.

Do you want to talk about it?" she asks quietly.

I sigh.  I don’t, but I do owe her an explanation.  "I've always been a little shy - until I get to know someone I find people hard to talk to, I don’t make friends easily.  I met Callum in the local pub one night when I was out with friends, he was charming and I felt like he noticed me when no one else did - saw underneath the shy.  I was wrong, turns out that he just thought he could take advantage of the shy and make me into his little plaything – which he has done for two years now. 

For the first six months when we were dating everything was fine, he was bossy and told me what to do a lot, but I just went along with it for an easy life.  He wanted me to move in with him, so I thought that meant he loved me, right? Wrong again, he just wanted a girl at his beck and call, but one that would do all his cleaning and cooking too."

Elsa remains quiet and just holds my hand as I carry on shakily.  "As soon as I moved in I saw the change in him, it was like he didn’t need to hold back, I’d only been moved in a week the first time he hit me – I’d come home late from work . . . he didn’t like it.  I’d given up my flat, I had nowhere to go and I stupidly stayed.  It was stupidity that made me stay and intimidation and total lack of confidence  - because that’s how he made me. 

You hear about men beating their women and them begging for forgiveness afterwards, showing remorse. I shake my head and smile ruefully. None of that from him, he just acted like he hadn’t done anything wrong.  That’s how it started, I tried to leave and it just made it worse, eventually I gave up.  It’s been like that for a year and a half.  You probably think I'm an idiot - wonder why I came to Spain with him? I look up at Elsa, she shakes her head. He controls me, emotionally as well as physically . . . plays mind games, I've been too scared to leave him after that first time, but I can’t take it anymore Elsa, I feel like I'm dying inside." My voice cracks and I start to cry.

Hey, Elsa comes to sit on the bed beside me and strokes my head, you did the right thing, this is day one of the rest of your life honey, that bastard was evil for what he has done to you, but we will fix it.  You can stay with us as long as you like and we will help you get on your feet, and trust me, with the look on Raff's face, you’re not going to need to worry about Callum anymore.

Fear grips me. What do you mean?

She gives a half-laugh, You don’t know the Castell brothers yet . . . just trust me, they’ve already got your back.

I don’t even know what that means, I can't process anything at the moment.

Thank you so much for being here for me like this . . . I can’t thank you enough.

She nudges my shoulder. Friends don’t need to say thank you – it’s my job. She smiles at me, I give her a shaky smile back and wonder what the next few days have in store for me.  I feel shaky at the thought of him trying to find me, but I also feel like a huge weight has been lifted, that I've finally gone and done it.

After getting checked out by a doctor and being told I had bruised, but not broken, ribs they fixed my head up with a couple of butterfly stitches and then said I could go home. 

I got treated like cotton wool on the way back to Elsa’s place.  I couldn’t look Xander and Rafael in the eye because I know what must be going through their minds, that I am some kind of idiot to let this happen to me.  I don’t want to see pity in their eyes.  They're nothing but sweet to me all the way home, Rafael insisting on carrying - yes carrying - me inside Elsa’s.

Once inside he places me on the settee, Xander goes to make coffee while Elsa goes to the spare room to set it up for me, I'm left alone with Rafael.  I sit on the couch and look dead ahead, fiddling with my hands on my lap, trying to pull the hem on my dress down further, but his presence in the room is consuming, you can tell he’s there without even seeing him . . . filling the room even though he doesn’t make a sound. 

Finally, he clears his throat. Are you comfortable, can I get you any more painkillers? he asks softly.  He has a lovely Spanish accent, though his English is excellent.

I look up at him and take him in properly for the first time, now that I've relaxed a little.  I think I’ll always remember him carrying me out of my flat and seeing those grey eyes through those thick dark eyelashes, that’s what I remember first, but now that I look at him I see so much more.  This guy is big, huge, he must be about six and a half foot, he’s broad with a very toned physique, no wonder he could pick me up like I weighed nothing – this guy must be double my weight - my small frame would have been nothing to him.  He’s wearing a fitted white t-shirt, now with spots of blood, I’m so embarrassed that my blood is on him – his skin is dark tan, obviously Spanish.  My eyes are drawn to his arms on show from under the t-shirt, his forearms are covered in dark hair with veins slightly prominent. 

I realise that while I’m assessing him he’s waiting for me to answer him.  Jesus this man is beautiful – it’s like