Deeper (The Deep Duet #2)

by M. Malone

  Diana rested in Rafe’s arms, listening to the soft cadence of his breath. After making love several times, they’d collapsed in each other’s arms exhausted. He’d finally fallen asleep a little while ago. Sleep didn’t come easily to him, and she understood why. For years he’d been the one looking after everyone else.

  It gave Diana immense satisfaction that he trusted her enough to let his guard down.

  She traced a finger over his face. His reaction to her pregnancy hadn’t been what she’d expected. It wasn’t that she’d thought he’d be angry. It wasn’t as though she’d gotten pregnant on her own, after all. She’d expected him to step up and take responsibility because that was who he was. But his reaction had gone beyond taking responsibility. He’d been… happy. The joy on his face had touched her deeply, and even now she couldn’t quite believe it had happened. They were a family, and Rafe was thrilled about it. It felt like a dream.

  She chuckled and only quieted when Rafe stirred. So much had changed in her life so quickly. It was enough to give a girl whiplash. But as tempting as it was to pretend she was in the middle of some fairy tale, Diana knew that her time to enjoy this was limited. Who only knew what would come out of their meeting with the FBI? She prayed they would finally realize she didn’t have anything to do with her family.

  She could only hope that they would be able to find her brothers and prosecute them. After all the horrible things she’d seen in Rafe’s files, she wanted that more than anything. Her hand went to her neck. Even though the bruises were no longer visible, Diana knew that she would always feel the phantom weight of Hans’s hands around her throat. It was a stark reminder of what was at stake here.

  Her brothers were dangerous men. They needed to be stopped. And she had a bad feeling that they were just getting started.

  The nausea rose quickly, and Diana sucked in several quick breaths. The air only made it worse, and she tried to back away from Rafe slowly. As it was, she barely made it out of the room before she felt it coming. She clapped a hand over her mouth as she stumbled to the hall bathroom. Tears burned her eyes as she threw up the remains of her dinner. The morning sickness had been a little better lately, and she’d gotten complacent, assuming she was past the worst of it. But apparently, it had just been a temporary reprieve.

  Damn it. It was supposed to be morning sickness. She wasn’t sure how long it went on before she felt cool hands pulling her hair back.

  “It’s okay, baby. Here.” He wiped her face gently with a warm cloth.

  Mortified but too exhausted to put up a fight, Diana relaxed into his arms and allowed him to take care of her. Rafe was so gentle, cleaning her face quickly and efficiently before flushing the toilet. He put toothpaste on her brush and then handed it to her. Diana brushed her teeth, grateful to get the sour taste out of her mouth. Once she was finished, she wiped her mouth on the towel Rafe held out. Then he leaned down and scooped her into his arms.

  “Wait! Rafe, you don’t have to carry me. I can walk.” There was no one in the hallway at this time of night, but Diana still looked around worriedly.

  “I’m sure you can. But I like carrying you.”

  She didn’t have any rebuttal for that, so she rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her down the hall and into their room. After being so violently sick, it was a relief to allow someone else to care for her. Being taken care of by someone who loved you was a privilege that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Not that she’d ever been neglected.

  On the contrary, her father, and then later her brothers, had paid quite a bit of money to make sure that her every whim had been catered to. But it wasn’t the same being attended by paid staff. They’d taken care of her because it was their job, whereas, Rafe had come to her just because he wanted to.

  Rafe set her gently on the bed and pulled back the covers so she could slide under. Diana moved over so he had room to get in behind her. When he cuddled close to her, molding himself to her from chest to thigh, Diana sigh contentedly.

  “Does that happen a lot?” Rafe finally asked.

  Diana nodded. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

  His arm tightened around her midsection. “Don’t be sorry. I don’t want you dealing with that alone.”

  Even though it was a little silly that he was worried about her morning sickness, it gave Diana a warm feeling that he was concerned about her welfare.

  “I’m fine, Rafe. It’s just part of the process. Although I can’t deny I’ll be happy when this part is over.”

  “Me too. I hate seeing you so sick. I just want to take care of you.”

  They rested together for a long time, just breathing in sync before Diana felt Rafe fall asleep again. She knew the minute he was out because his arm around her waist slackened slightly and his breathing became slower and deeper. Even after being so horribly sick, Diana was truly happy. This right here was everything she’d always wanted. Their little family may have been unexpected, but it was the deepest wish of her heart.

  Her earlier worries about her brothers came back to her mind. She cuddled deeper into Rafe’s embrace, and even in his sleep, he tightened his arms around her protectively. It wouldn’t do to get herself all worked up again thinking about what could have happened, but it was impossible to purge it from her mind. She was tired of running and waiting on others to take care of things.

  She wanted to take some of the control back.

  Hans probably didn’t realize just how much information she knew about him and their family operations. Since he’d never gotten his hands on the information in Rafe’s safe, he could only guess what they had on him. Maybe that could work to her advantage. If she could draw him out, maybe they could trick him into incriminating himself in some way. The idea of being anywhere near Hans again made her skin crawl, but it might be the only way to ensure that he was put away.

  Her hand went to her abdomen. If he and Jakob weren’t put away, they would always be a threat to her and her unborn child, their own niece or nephew. She shuddered at the thought. Whatever fears she had would have to take a back seat when it came time to bring them down. This was about so much more than her personal history with them. It was about keeping her child and the man she loved safe. She looked over her shoulder.

  Rafe was devoted to her. If she didn’t come up with a way to end things with her brothers once and for all, he would put himself at risk to protect her.

  But she would have to be careful and strategic. Leaving Rafe wasn’t an option. She understood that now. If she left, he would follow. There was no place she could go where he wouldn’t track her and nothing strong enough to keep him away. Especially now that she was carrying his baby. Rafe would only endanger himself more, trying to find her.

  Which meant that she would have to come up with a plan to draw her brothers out that didn’t involve drawing them away from New York.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day, Rafe wasn’t sure how things would proceed. Now that he knew Diana was carrying his child, everything took on a different meaning. Part of him wanted to scoop her up and hide her away somewhere safe, but she’d never go for that. No, his little tigress wouldn’t care for being caged.

  Hell, she’d probably shoot him if he even tried it. Rafe grinned. Her feral side was a surprising turn-on. He loved that she was gutsy enough to take on anybody even if the man in him wanted to protect her from everything that could possibly harm her.

  But from the moment they’d woken up, Diana had been relaxed, if a little shy. After another bout of vomiting that she assured Rafe was normal, he’d brought her some hot tea and crackers in bed. Everyone else was busy, and they pretty much had the place to themselves. It was odd for Rafe to not be actively working right now. He was used to keeping busy, but Noah hadn’t assigned him any new cases lately. Rafe knew he was probably trying to give him some space to figure out things with Diana.

  After lunch, Diana was walking back to the hallway that led to their room. Rafe grabbed her h
and.

  “Let’s watch a movie.”

  She bit her lip. “Is that okay? No one else needs that room?”

  “No, everyone is out on cases. It’s just us here.”

  She relaxed slightly at that, obviously not comfortable in the penthouse just yet, something he hoped would change with enough time.

  “Okay, that’s fine. What do you want to watch?”

  Rafe led her to the sofa in the living room, getting her comfortable and covering her legs with the throw blanket on the back of the couch that he was sure had been Lucia’s doing. Then he picked up the remote.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Noah had pretty much every movie channel available, so he was sure they could find something.

  They were just past the opening credits on a popular new horror movie when Matthias appeared in the doorway to the living room.

  “Hey, can I have a word?” He looked at Rafe and raised an eyebrow.

  Rafe knew then that whatever he was about to say must concern Diana. “It’s okay. You can talk in front of her. It’ll save me the trouble of relaying it all to her later.”

  Diana stiffened in his arms. No one had said anything directly, but he could read her feelings clearly. She wasn’t sure who to trust or whether the others trusted her. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if Noah or any of the team had reservations about helping Diana, and he didn’t fucking care. They would give her the respect she’d earned or else.

  Matthias looked between them uncertainly but then shrugged. “I have news about the Jewel of the Sea.”

  Diana sat up so fast she almost bashed Rafe in the eye with the back of her head. “You found it?”

  Matthias shook his head. “Unfortunately, the news isn’t that good. I didn’t find it, but I was able to confirm that it was sold on the black market a few years ago. There was a corresponding increase in ORUS financials right after the sale.”

  “So it was Orion who stole it,” Rafe said.

  “It looks like it. Not that we didn’t already know that. It’s unlikely that anyone but an ORUS-trained operative would have been able to pull off a heist of that level without leaving a trace. But still, now that I’ve confirmed the sale, we have a starting place for tracing the stone’s movement. The buyer was in Romania. That’s something.”

  “Yes, it’s something.” Diana put her hands over her mouth. “I thought that I’d resigned myself to it being lost forever. You’d think it wouldn’t be such a huge deal since it’s been gone so long. But it’s the last thing I had of my mother’s.”

  “We’ll get it back for you, baby. No one can trace the untraceable like we can.” Rafe kissed the top of her head softly. He would figure out what needed to happen to get that stone back. Just because Diana wanted it.

  And because he wanted Diana.

  “Sorry to break down like that. It just hits me out of the blue sometimes. How much I miss my mom, I mean.” Diana wiped the edge of her eyes with her sleeve. “How did you find out all this anyway?” she asked, looking at Matthias in awe.

  Rafe growled under his breath. He didn’t like the way she was watching the kid, like he was some kind of wizard or something. Hell, he could have found the information on his own. Okay, no, he couldn’t have; he’d definitely needed Matthias’s skills on this, but it still made him want to flex for her. He didn’t like his woman looking at another man that way. All of a sudden, his internal thoughts caught up to him and he grimaced. He sounded like a kid himself, worried another guy would ask his girl to the prom before he got a chance.

  “Yes, how did you find out all this,” Rafe echoed, hoping they could move this along and Matthias would leave them alone again.

  “Ian has access to all of ORUS’s financial records now.” Matthias stated it as if that alone was enough explanation.

  From what Rafe remembered of his old associate, he wasn’t the giving type. He’d initially wondered if Noah had made the right decision in installing Ian as the new head of the organization. Now he wondered if that had been the plan all along. Having someone you knew in the position was arguably better than a stranger. Even if Ian wasn’t interested in helping them, just by being a known player he was easier for them to manipulate. Which was incredibly useful.

  Not for the first time, Rafe was thankful for the day he’d been told he would be mentoring a new kid. Noah had turned out to be the brother he’d always wished for. Now he was Rafe’s brother in truth.

  “So Ian just gave you the access, huh?” he teased.

  Matthias smirked. The kid reminded him a lot of Noah. He had that cocky bravado that could get you out of a lot of shit or into a lot of shit, depending on how the wind blew.

  “I think we both know he didn’t give me anything,” Matthias replied.

  Rafe chuckled under his breath. Diana looked between them both curiously. He didn’t bother explaining. She’d probably already figured out that very little of what they did was legal, but it was in her best interest not to ask too many questions. The less you knew, the less you were held accountable for.

  “So what are we going to do now?” Diana asked finally.

  Rafe stood, holding her in his arms. She squealed slightly at the sudden movement.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Taking my lady back to our room so we can rest. While you’re sleeping, I’m going to come up with a plan to track the stone. That’s what I do best. Finding things that have disappeared.”

  Diana looked like she wanted to fight it, but her eyelids were already drooping. “Okay, but only because I’m so sleepy. After my nap, I want to help.”

  “You’re already helping,” Rafe replied. But when he looked down again, she was already asleep, her head lolling against his shoulder.

  He looked up to see Matthias watching them with a curious look on his face.

  “What? You got something to say, kid?”

  Matthias shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “She’s mine. Remember that.”

  If he’d said that to anyone else, they probably would have peed their pants. Rafe knew he could be scary as fuck at times; it was an occupational hazard. But Matthias just smiled.

  “She’s beautiful, but I’m not after your girl. I don’t do… connections. Not anymore.” But in spite of his words, Matthias gave the sleeping Diana another wistful look before he left.

  Rafe wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he would be watching the kid. This life, it took its toll. No one knew that better than he did. Sometimes he’d felt like he was aching inside for someone to see him, to recognize him as another human being instead of the weapon ORUS had fashioned him into. If he hadn’t had the memories of Lucia and Nonna to keep him borderline human, he wasn’t sure where he’d be. Matthias needed that even if he couldn’t acknowledge it. So he’d be watching.

  A weapon, even one that was on your side, needed to be maintained properly, or it became a risk.

  Diana woke slowly, and it was like surfacing from underwater. But unlike most days, she came out of the fog leisurely, somehow knowing that she was perfectly safe. When she opened her eyes, she immediately saw Rafe standing next to the window. He turned, and a smile tugged at his lips. A smile she could feel from all the way across the room.

  “Hey,” he whispered, and there was a wealth of emotion in that one word.

  “How long did I sleep?” she asked, pushing up on her elbows.

  Rafe didn’t get to answer her because there was a knock at the door a moment before Noah stuck his head in.

  “Hey, we got food if you guys are hungry. But if you actually want any, you might want to hurry. Lucia was craving pizza, which meant that any other suggestions for any other type of food was strictly vetoed. When I suggested maybe we get some veggie stuff or smoothies for her, she threatened to kill me with a knife in my sleep. She was very inventive. Her attention to detail when it comes to maiming is uncanny. Granted, she left her favorite appendage untouched in her gory tale.”

  Rafe laughed. “You mea
n to tell me you’re afraid of my sister? She’s tiny.”

  “Your baby sister is freakishly strong when she wants something. If you think you can take her, I welcome you to try. As a matter of fact, hold that thought and let me get some popcorn.”

  Noah ran off, and Diana could only laugh. It never failed to amuse her how those guys communicated. They were all so big and gruff and obviously badass, but then they’d do and say the funniest things. It was nice to see a different side to Rafe as well, one he only allowed to emerge around those he trusted most. The human side.

  Rafe glanced at her. “What do you say? Pizza?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  He held out a hand, and she accepted it gratefully. Despite the long nap, she still felt exhausted and a little unsteady. They walked down the hallway toward the living room, the sound of voices getting louder and louder as they approached. Diana clutched his arm tighter. It was hard to know where she fit in with this bunch. They were all really nice to her, but she figured Lucia had to wish her brother had met someone without so much baggage. After everything he’d been through, now he was getting dragged back into the mud because of her brothers. Lucia probably wished he’d never met her.

  As soon as they entered the room, Oskar gave her a quick grin before going back to his conversation with Matthias. Diana felt her nerves dissolve a little bit as JJ appeared and grabbed her arm.

  “We need to get you some pizza before Lucia eats it all,” JJ declared.

  With a chuckle, she let the vivacious blonde lead her away. Self-conscious over how tired and haggard she must look, Diana pushed her hair back, wishing now that she’d taken a little more time on her appearance. JJ was also blond but the type that looked like she belonged in a music video, straddling the back of a Harley. She was all sex and spice, while Diana suddenly felt about as enticing as dry toast.