Deeper (The Deep Duet #2)

by M. Malone

  “Stop it. You were running last night. I’m sure you didn’t really get that much sleep. I know you won’t stay, but at least get something to eat. The least I can do is feed you, because then you’ll be out that door and God knows when you’ll have a decent meal again. Now sit.”

  Diana blinked away tears as she listened to her friend. After all, she was right. Last night was probably the most sleep she’d see in a while. Because no one knew she was here, it would be the safest she’d ever be. But she couldn’t stay.

  If she did, she’d be putting her only friend in danger. Not just her, but her husband, her children.

  She already knew the kind of man Rafe was. He wouldn’t hurt children. But after what she’d seen about her brothers, she needed to put distance between herself and Charisse. While they didn’t know of her entire plan with Rafe, they did know about Charisse. And unlike Rafe, they wouldn’t hesitate to hurt the babies if they thought it would get them what they were looking for. And she had a year before she was supposed to marry Uncle Boris.

  A shiver ran over her skin. How could they do that to her. Because you don’t matter to them. Think of the hundreds of people they’ve sold. Your only value is in that diamond.

  No. She wasn’t doing that to her friend. “Thank you.”

  “So,” Charisse asked as she bustled around the kitchen. “What are you thinking the plan is? I’ll worry less if I think you at least have one, other than you’re going to go in kamikaze style and shoot everyone.”

  “Well, you can put your mind at ease. No shooting anyone for me. I’m mostly trying the whole stay alive thing right now. I was thinking there might be another way. My father left me a trust. There’s one for each of us. If I can get access to theirs, I can maybe send it to the authorities. There’s bound to be all kinds of criminal activity.” She certainly didn’t want any of that money, especially now that she knew where it had come from.

  “Are you planning to take that information to Rafe? I thought you were afraid of him.”

  She sighed. “I’m more afraid of how mad he is at me. I don’t think Rafe would hurt me, though he could. He still doesn’t know who I am. Right now he thinks I’m just the woman who walked away from him and stole some files.”

  “And he’s FBI. They don’t kill people.”

  Diana hesitated. “Was FBI. Was being the operative word. Now he’s Blake Security, and they are a different monster altogether. But for the most part yeah, I don’t think they kill people. I’ve been following them, and not once has anyone they’ve gone after ended up dead that I can find.” She ran a hand through her hair. There was still so much she couldn’t tell Charisse. Like the information on ORUS. She had a feeling spilling the beans about a top-secret government organization that trained and used assassins was the kind of information Rafe’s so-called friends would certainly kill someone for knowing.

  “You said before you were worried about him?”

  There was something about the way Charisse asked the question that brought Diana’s head up. “I— Yes, I’m worried about him. If my brothers find out what I’ve been doing this past year or so, they’ll go after him. And you, which is why I can’t stay.”

  Charisse narrowed her eyes as she poured pancake batter. “Stop worrying about me. Anything feels hinky, and I’m off to see my sister in Vancouver. Are you sure that’s the only reason you’re worried about him?”

  Diana flushed. “I—”

  Charisse laughed. “Honey, it’s okay to say you care about him. You said yourself he’s a good guy, so it’s not a bad thing for you to care about someone.”

  “It’s just I didn’t mean to fall for him. And that certainly wasn’t part of the plan. A few weeks ago I went into this thing thinking he’d killed my father in cold blood and stolen my mother’s jewel. And like a moron, I still let him slide past my defenses and fell in love with him. What kind of a person does that make me?”

  Charisse pointed a spatula at her. “That makes you human. It makes you someone who trusts your instincts. It makes you one who believes in the way someone treats you rather than what you’ve been told.”

  Diana wiped away a tear. “By that philosophy, I should have been wary of my brothers all these years. And probably my father. Papa was kind but dismissive, and I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. And my brothers, well, let’s just say they are not the kind of people I’d use the word love loosely with.“

  “You’re going to have to find a way to forgive yourself, Diana. You didn’t know. And they used your ignorance and naïveté against you. You just played right into their hands. Now the question is what are you planning to do with that information?”

  Wasn’t that the question of the century? It was safer to run. To put distance between herself and Rafe and herself and her family. To take the money she had and hide.

  The self-preservation part of her brain wanted to run. Wanted her to just put space between her and the three men looking for her and hide. But she’d spent a lifetime doing that. A lifetime not fighting. A lifetime hiding from her own life. She wasn’t doing that anymore. “I can’t just leave him. At the very least I can leave information about my brothers’ accounts for him. He’ll know what to do with it. Though he probably hates me by now and maybe has a shoot-to-kill order on me or something.”

  “I highly doubt that. Have you stopped to think that if you were falling for him, then he was falling for you too?”

  “Even if that was happening, that’s over now. I betrayed him. I lied to him. He introduced me to his family, and they were kind and open. With my running around, they’re in jeopardy. He’s not going to let that go. Believe me, he’s the kind of person that will put his feelings for me aside. If he had any to begin with.”

  “I don’t know. I think you’re selling yourself short. Love is a powerful emotion. Even when you’re mad at someone, you still love them.”

  “I promise you, Rafe doesn’t love me.” She inhaled deeply. “It doesn’t matter though. I know the kind of man he is. I knew the first day he rescued me from the ravine. Who was it that said when someone shows you who they are, believe them?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m listening to that. He helped a perfect stranger. Invited me into his house, took care of me, tried to protect me from my fake ex-boyfriend. He’s a good person, and I’m not letting him get ambushed. I need to see him one more time. I don’t really have a choice; I at least have to warn him. Give him time to get his sister safe. Give him some idea of who might be coming after him.”

  Everything she said about Rafe was true. But also, what Charisse said was true. She’d fallen for him. And damn, she missed him. She missed his smell and the intense way he watched her. She’d seen that kind of intensity in the way Noah watched Lucia. She’d never thought she’d have that. And then when she’d gotten it, she’d thrown it away for some misguided family loyalty.

  It didn’t matter though. She knew she had to warn him. Once she did that, she’d go. But she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Rafe.

  Everything was going to shit.

  And from the looks of it, it wasn’t going to get any better for Rafe any fucking time soon. He’d spent the whole damn night looking for Diana. From the timestamps on the security cameras at the store, he had missed her by just ten minutes.

  She had been smart enough to ditch her phone. She had also been smart enough to ditch any and all clothing. Not that he’d even thought to put a tracking device on any of it. He should’ve stuck one into her shoes. You’re losing your touch, DeMarco. He needed to fucking find her. If for nothing else than to get that drive back. Because right now with her having that kind of information out there, her life was in danger.

  He had a stop to make, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He was in a race against time to save her life, and she didn’t even know it. When he saw the flash drive had been moved, his heart had stopped. Of course, his mind had run through the gamut of questions.

  Had someone hired her
to steal information from him? Did she even know what she had? Now that she’d seen those files, what was she planning on doing with them? Was her plan always to sell it to the highest bidder? Despite what his mind knew, his heart remained hopeful. Like a moron.

  There was still a possibility that she’d freaked out. That what happened between them was too fast, too soon, too sudden. That she just needed the space to clear her head. Oh yeah, and she just needed to break into your safe to get that space?

  Or more upsetting, maybe he terrified her with what he’d done to her ex. If that guy was even her ex at all?

  Rafe replayed the past few weeks over and over again. The guy he’d beaten to a pulp for her. The idiot had claimed not to know her. Of course Rafe hadn’t believed him at the time. Instead, he’d kept hitting him, trying to deliver a message that might not have been his to receive.

  Someone had hurt her. He hadn’t imagined that. Someone had worked her over. And if not that guy, then who?

  He knew he was getting ahead of himself. Allowing himself to believe in his fantasy that what they had was real for even a moment longer was going to get her killed.

  The fact that she had a decryption device strong enough to open his safe meant she was far from innocent. She had deliberately come into his home to get access to those files. And if not those files, then something else. Which led to his next question… Who the fuck was she?

  He’d already done his due diligence and lifted her prints. He’d run them through the system, but so far nothing had come up. She’d never been arrested. Her name was fake. Whoever had set up that ID for her was good. Very good. If he hadn’t deliberately told Matthias to dig deeper past the initial layers, he wouldn’t have seen that her Social Security number had only come into existence two years ago.

  Diana didn’t exist. How had she ended up at the bottom of that ravine, and just what the hell was she running from?

  When he pulled up to the familiar building, his stomach curled in on itself. You don’t have to do this. Yes. He did. And a phone call wasn’t going to cut it.

  To the rest of the world, the building housed several financial companies. But the majority of the offices were owned by LPA. LPA was also known as ORUS. To everyone in the rest of the world, those guys strolling in and out of the building with their sleek suits were finance guys.

  Nope, trained killers. The lot of them. And Rafe was walking straight into their den.

  He strolled in the building, his shoes making a clapping noise on the polished marble. He stepped into the glass elevator, squaring his shoulders and preparing for a fight. Because at the end of the day, he might not walk out of here.

  When he reached the twenty-eighth floor, the receptionist with her gently graying hair and deceptively unlined face nearly fell over herself as she stood. “Libra?”

  Wow, Lila was still here. What had it been? Fifteen years? “Lila. It’s good to see you.”

  She stammered. “B-but, they said you were dead.”

  Rafe shrugged. “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I’m here to see Phoenix.” He shook his head. “I mean Orion. He’s expecting me.”

  Lila nodded and made the call immediately. Rafe had texted Ian earlier to let him know he was coming in. When he and Noah had performed their coup last year replacing Orion and making Ian the new Orion, Rafe thought he was done with this place. But he would never be done.

  In the shakeup of last year, he’d become the unofficial record keeper. When he’d been FBI, he had files on every single ORUS agent. All their kills, personality types, and psychological profiles. He’d stolen that data over the years, though Rafe figured the files had to be heavily redacted. At least compared to the ones the new Orion had allowed him access to.

  Noah had made a good choice putting Ian in charge. Ian had managed to drag ORUS back into the right side of the shadows. Ian certainly wasn’t pleased about Rafe having the dossiers on all his agents and past missions, but he understood the necessity of their tentative truce. In case any of them ever decided to go rogue again, those files kept everyone alive. They were one hell of an insurance policy. And right now the files were compromised.

  One of the men came down to meet Rafe, and he almost had to smile. The kid looked as young as Noah had looked when he started. Barely eighteen, clean-shaven face, good-looking kid. He could probably talk himself into all kinds of places.

  When he was led to Ian’s office, he found the man in question sitting behind a massive glass desk, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows. “The power looks good on you, Ian.” Ian was just a few years Rafe’s senior, but he seemed much older. Like he’d been wielding the power for too long.

  He turned slowly with a smile. “Rafe. I wish I could say it was good to see you. But I have to assume you’re only here because there’s trouble.”

  They shook hands, clapping each other on the back briefly. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”

  Ian nodded. “FBI kind of trouble or people are going to die kind of trouble?”

  Rafe shook his head. “People are going to die kind of trouble. I’m here to warn you.”

  Ian’s brows drew down. “You realize we’re assassins, right?”

  “I know. The team is more than capable of taking care of themselves. But you’ve got agents at risk. Those files that you refused to have locked in the bureau, the ones you trusted me to hold on to because no one was looking for me. Those files? They’re gone.”

  Ian’s face remained completely impassive. But Rafe could see the vibrating anger on Ian’s shoulders as they stiffened. “Define gone.”

  And this was the part where Rafe had to swallow crow. Damn birds could be so tough to swallow when you had to eat them whole. “Spy. That’s my best guess. I was infiltrated a few weeks ago. It took that long for them to get access to my safe. I discovered the files were missing yesterday.”

  “How exposed are we? What is on those files?”

  “All the missions before Noah got out. Every agent location, their missions, their strengths, weaknesses, possible leverage. Blood type. DNA. All the new agent information since you took over. You weren’t as thorough, obviously. Shall I go on?”

  Ian’s voice went chilly and icy. “Noah insisted that I entrust you with that information, and now you’re fucking telling me it’s gone?” He planted his hands on the glass, his anger making the desk shake.

  Rafe met his gaze levelly. “Yes. That’s my fuckup. It’s on me. I’m getting the files back, but in the meantime, you might want to move your agents.”

  “You’re in here telling me how to run my shop? I will run my agents how I see fit. You know we have open ops?”

  Rafe didn’t appreciate the dressing down, but he deserved it. This shouldn’t have happened on his watch. But he’d been thinking with his dick. “I know that. I’m here as a courtesy.”

  “Some fucking courtesy. How long do we have before that information is sold?”

  “There’s no chatter on it. No one’s made inquiries yet. I’ll get the file before it gets that far.”

  “I think you forget, I’m Orion now. I’ll get those files.”

  The fuck he would. Because Rafe knew what that would mean for Diana. “I’ll get the files. If one of your men goes anywhere near the target, I’ll be forced to take them out.”

  Ian pushed himself to standing. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? You lose the files that compromise all of us, and then you want me to let you handle it?”

  Rafe rolled his shoulders. “Yes. Because at the end of the day, you don’t work for yourself anymore, and I’ll remind you again, this is a courtesy call. All active agents should be moved. I will retrieve the files and notify you when it’s done. And I’m serious, Ian, keep your men away. I see even one of them, and it’s not going to go down pretty.”

  Ian narrowed his eyes and glowered at him, jaw clenched. “I think you’re forgetting my name is Orion now. I answer to the United States government. Not to you.”

  Rafe nodd
ed. “Fair enough, Orion. Like I said, this is courtesy. And as far as you’re concerned right now, with my ties to the FBI, I am the United States government. I’m serious, Ian.” He said his name deliberately. “You go near the target, it’s not going to go well. I will deliver the files to you and guarantee no exposure.”

  Ian nodded and crossed his arms. “If you don’t deliver on that promise, maybe it’s time you start watching your back.”

  Chapter Three

  Back at home, Rafe stared at the clothes and the phone he’d retrieved from that bathroom trash can at the department store the previous night. He examined the items with a sick fascination. Would these be his last memory of her? The things she’d been wearing and using when she left?

  It was a depressing thought.

  Almost as depressing as realizing just how close he’d been to finding her. The store employee he’d talked to confirmed that he’d seen her only ten minutes prior. There was a chance that she’d been in the store at the same time he was, maybe even close enough to touch.

  You know how to hide, don’t you?

  Well, she’d done better than Rafe had expected. Perhaps it was arrogance, but when he’d left his place last night, he’d honestly believed he’d be coming back with a reluctant Diana in tow. With his training, it had never occurred to him that she might evade him. Which led him to wonder, just who was Diana Renquist? Because she definitely wasn’t the helpless woman in need of rescue she’d led him to believe she was.

  “I can’t do this,” he muttered. His mind was too scattered to focus, but he couldn’t allow the trail to go cold. He pulled his phone out and dialed a number from memory.

  Rafe waited impatiently as the phone rang. It dimly occurred to him that it was way too early to call anyone, but he didn’t give a fuck. Diana was out there in the world doing fuck all, and he had no way to tell if she was safe.