by M. Malone
“We need to discuss this. In the meantime, neither one of you leaves here.”
Rafe stared at him. “Are you fucking serious right now? She has immunity. I’m a fucking special agent.”
“You’re retired,” Alan countered.
“Apparently not yet.” Rafe smirked. “I’m running an informant as I see fit. You can’t keep me here.”
Emilie gave him an evil smile. “Watch us.” And she sauntered out, leaving Diana with a fuming Rafe.
Chapter Ten
Rafe could still see Emilie out in the hallway. She smirked at him when she saw him looking. Inside, Rafe seethed. Had she always been so self-serving? There had been a point when she’d fought for the greater good, right? Or was she yet another woman he’d misread?
This situation was going from shit show to a sea of endless floating shit. The last thing he wanted was to be back here. He didn’t want to get yanked back down into the bureaucracy. He’d already given one life to the FBI. Wasn’t that enough?
And now this shit with Interpol. The FBI needed to work with other governments to get things done sometimes, that was just part of the job, but he wasn’t FBI anymore. Why did no one get that he was fucking retired? He was doing them a fucking favor. His willingness to help didn’t involve an overly pushy, hypersexual female breathing down his neck.
He’d been on her shit list since he terminated their fling in Germany. Now she was on the warpath and determined to take it out on Diana… Lara… whatever her name was. He didn’t fool himself that they hadn’t seen through his story that Diana was just a contact. They weren’t idiots. Anyone could see the way he looked at Diana.
Rafe took several deep breaths and tried to regulate his spiking heartbeat. Because it wasn’t going to take much to have him hulking out. The last thing they needed was for him to end up in handcuffs. That would probably make Emilie happy though.
“This is bullshit,” he muttered through clenched teeth.
Diana watched him warily. He tried to get it together for her sake. She’d been brave enough to come into the lion’s den and tell her story, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the assholes at the FBI turn this around on her. She could have easily disappeared and not told them anything. The information she’d disclosed was the biggest break in the Vandergraff case they’d ever had.
Rafe wasn’t going to allow her to be punished when she was only trying to help.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Alan, asking him to come back in. Maybe if he offered himself up as a sacrificial lamb, they would let Diana go. He could see the little bubbles that indicated that Alan was typing a response.
Granger: You’ve really started a shit storm this time.
DeMarco: What the hell is going on out there?
Granger: We’re running down the info she gave us. But you have to know this isn’t going to be a cakewalk.
DeMarco: Meet me outside. We need to talk.
Then he turned to Diana. He sighed when he saw that she’d curled her arms on the metal table to make a pillow for herself. Her eyes were closed, but she didn’t look like she was resting at all. She still looked terrified, but there was nothing he could do about that yet.
“Hey, Diana,” he whispered.
At the sound of his voice, she shot upward. “Are they letting us go yet?”
“Not yet. But I’m going to take care of things. Just wait here.” He brushed her hair back from her face gently and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
She nodded wearily and put her head back down on her arms. When she noticed him staring, she gave him a wan smile. She didn’t believe his words, but he would prove to her that he would always protect her.
Now he just had to get Alan alone and figure out how to get them out of this mess. Rafe really hoped he hadn’t made a mistake bringing her here. Perhaps it would have been better to have her submit her statement remotely after he’d hidden her away somewhere. Noah could have probably found him a place within a few hours that was untraceable.
He opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Alan was right outside talking to Emilie. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looked like an argument. No doubt Emilie was trying to come up with a reason they needed to be extradited back to Canada. When they saw him, the conversation stopped immediately. Emilie glared at him before turning and walking away.
“What the hell, Alan? I told you about her because I trusted you to do the right thing. Hell, I could have just walked her out of here and left you guys in the dark.”
Alan held his hands to his temples. “Jesus, DeMarco. You’re really killing me today. Do you have any idea the kind of pressure I’m under? These fuckers are wanted by about five different countries for human rights violations, so Interpol is all up in my ass to get this case closed. It doesn’t look good that one of our agents has been harboring a fugitive.”
“Former agent. And she’s not a fugitive. Her brothers are the ones listed on Interpol’s Red Notice. Not her.”
Alan glared at him. “That’s a technicality, and you know it. She might not be officially wanted, but she came in with actionable intel. No way her hands are clean in this. You really think she had no idea what her brothers were up to? She had to have known something.”
Rafe could already see where this was going. Alan had already decided that Diana was guilty. It didn’t matter what he said or how much information she gave them. He was never going to be someone they could count on to help them, which meant that Rafe needed to get her out of here. Now.
The tension in the back of his neck spread throughout his body. If he was going to make this happen, he had to remind them of whom they were dealing with. He’d held the line for more than a decade, working the cases that no one else wanted and the ones no one else had the skills to handle. He wasn’t above reminding them of all the bodies he’d buried on their behalf.
Alan must have been able to see the change in Rafe’s face. “I hope you aren’t going to do anything stupid.”
“I already did something stupid. I trusted the system.” Rafe glanced at the clock on the wall behind Alan’s head. If he sent a message to Noah now, he could have a place ready for them by tonight.
“We’re just taking some time to verify her story.”
“Why do you need to keep us here then? You can verify anytime.”
Suddenly Alan wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Agent Durand is more concerned about your friend being a flight risk.”
“I probably don’t need to remind you that she has immunity. She’s not going to run. Besides, I’ll be with her every moment.”
“You can’t watch her constantly. Plus it’s not so much her running away that we’re worried about. We don’t want her contacting her brothers and warning them.”
Alan narrowed his eyes and thrust his hands in his pockets. They’d never been friends exactly, but Rafe had always respected him. He was an agent who put the job first and did what had to be done.
“Who is this chick to you? You’re really sticking your neck out there for a piece of ass.”
Rafe had his hand around the other man’s throat before the last word even left his mouth. Alan sucked in a strangled breath as Rafe leaned closer.
“Don’t worry about what she is to me. Do your fucking job and stop trying to do mine.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Rafe released him, and they turned to see the same young agent that he’d left Diana with originally.
The guy eyed Rafe with trepidation before he spoke to Alan. “Agent Granger, sir. I was told to tell you that her story checks out. She can leave if she’s under protective custody.”
“She is.” Rafe interrupted. “She’s with me. And if you need us, you know how to contact me.” He turned to leave before he could say or do something else that would get them locked up.
If everything he’d worked for was going up in flames, he’d prefer not to light the match until he was at a safe distance.
As
they drove back to the penthouse, the anger vibrated through him.
Rafe hadn’t been this angry in years. Maybe ever. And he was angry at everybody. Alan, Emilie, Diana. But mostly, he was angry with himself. He hadn’t put the pieces together. He hadn’t seen how much trouble she was in. He hadn’t seen the setup. But if you had seen the setup, would you have done anything differently?
Yes.
He would’ve killed her brothers at the hotel. With his bare hands. Anything to make sure she was safe.
The whole drive back to Noah’s, he could feel her eyes on him, watching him. She hadn’t said a word the whole drive back home. He knew she was scared and tired, but he didn’t have much to give her right now. At least not anything that would come without anger. He needed to process the whole fucking day first.
The moment they returned to the penthouse, he tried to put some distance between them in the foyer. “I’ll be in the conference room.”
Diana reached for him. “Rafe, I know this is a lot. And I just want to say thank you. For everything.”
Her fingertips grazed his arm, and he deftly sidestepped. “I said I would protect you and I am. I’ll see you later. See if Lucia or JJ are here. Don’t leave.” He would’ve thought that went without saying, but given everything that had happened, he didn’t exactly trust her to stay put. Granted, she wouldn’t be able to leave. Not with Matthias’s eagle eye on all the cameras.
“So when can we talk about everything?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Not now. We’ll talk later.”
He was an asshole. He knew it. But he needed some time away from her.
As soon as he was in the conference room, he sagged against the wall, finally letting the fear, anger, worry, and shame wash over him. He’d pushed her to go in today, and Emilie almost had her arrested. He was fucking pissed at Alan for his bullshit. And the shame, that went without saying. He’d been part of the biggest trauma in her lifetime. There was no saying I’m sorry for that.
Luckily no one was around. From the schedule he’d seen earlier that week, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, what he’d taken to calling Ryan and Dylan, were out on bad-husband-babysitting duty. Oskar was off. And Jonas and Noah were busy with the new trainee assessment. He assumed Lucia and JJ were home, but now that he thought about it, there might have been some fashion thing or other on the calendar.
After nanny-gate of last year, Isabella was with Nonna and the nanny. It was going to be a minute until they trusted a stranger again. Matthias… was on watch as always, monitoring the cameras. And the kid couldn’t really judge him, could he?
But after a moment of self-indulgence, Rafe got to work. All he wanted was to keep Diana safe and to find the jewel. If her brothers wanted it, maybe he could bargain with them for her life.
When they’d left his place, he’d brought the contents of his safe with them. He went straight for the safe in the conference room, punched in the code, and found what he was looking for. His files. There had to be something he had missed.
That diamond, he’d never seen it. Why were all fingers pointing to him? Emilie had practically called him a thief. Did the bureau really think he had it in him?
Yes.
If he were being honest with himself, he had been under Orion’s thumb for a long time. He could’ve turned. But hadn’t he proven himself by now?
The diamond had been missing all this time. Hadn’t he already proven his loyalty to the good guys? He forced himself to focus on the time he would just as soon forget. But as much as he went through the files, through past operatives, nothing stood out. Nothing about that mission at all.
Every single thing he’d been told checked out. Except for the fact that Diana, well Larissa in this case, was not supposed to be at home. Had Orion known? Had he hoped Rafe would take care of her? Or maybe he didn’t care one way or the other.
Rafe had gone in through the service entrance when one of the service trucks was leaving. He’d disarmed the security cameras and followed the schematics straight to the office. The old man, as usual, had dinner in the dining room and eventually retired to his office for a drink to start his business calls with his interests in the Far East.
Except that night had been different. That night, Rafe had been waiting for him. And unfortunately, so had Diana.
Rafe scrubbed his hand over his face, trying to get the image of her dark eyes staring up at him out of his head. His mind played tricks on him, intertwining his images of her.
Her dark eyes staring at him full of fear, full of terror, then morphing into the woman who challenged him. To the woman who chased him down a dark alley, hoping to help him. They’re the same woman. You need to be able to merge them in your head.
He loved the woman. He’d spent too much time worrying about the girl. He just needed to get his brain around the fact that the woman he loved had been that girl. How could she be with him? Knowing what he had done to her father?
Unfortunately for Rafe, as much as he wanted seclusion, the files offered no reprieve. He would need to talk to her.
When he left his office, he found her in the living room, curled up on the couch, WWE wrestling on in the background as she tried to read a magazine. She looked so small and vulnerable. But he knew better. She wasn’t that same girl.
She was Diana. She was his. And he needed to fucking act like it. “I think I need your help.”
She lifted her head and glanced at him. “You’re talking to me now?”
He clenched his jaw for a minute. He deserved that. “Sorry. I was just stunned for a moment. I’m getting over it. Just give me time.”
She gave him a brusque nod. “What do you need?”
He opened the laptop and sat next to her, her scent immediately wafting over to him, teasing him, making him forget why he’d come over again. Damn it. Focus. “Look, I’m going over that night. And these files. There’s nothing there about a diamond. Am I missing something?
She frowned. “I don’t know. The diamond is big enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I just remember it being pretty. It’s been a decade since I’ve seen it.”
“The only details I have on it were that it was passed down from women in your family for generations. It was a family heirloom. There’s been some chatter about it. As you said, Boris Klinkov wants it. And he’s making it clear to anyone who will listen. I think he’s obsessed with it.”
Diana muttered a curse. “Yeah… I saw that in your files. Boris has no legitimate claim to it without me. And for some reason he wants that legitimacy. I guess I thought you took it. I don’t remember registering it was gone until sometime after Papa’s funeral.”
Fuck. He took her hands. “Diana, I’m so sorry.” He shook his head. “I never meant for you to see that.”
She nodded. “I’m coming to terms with it after all this time. Since I’ve been here. Since I met you.”
“When did you find out? About your father?”
“The night I broke into your safe. I expected to find the diamond. Instead, I found the files on that organization you used to work for. ORUS. I found out what my father was. That you were sent to kill him.”
Shit. “Diana. I’m not sorry that I did my job. I am, however, sorry that it cost you someone you loved.”
She cast her glance down at her hands. “I loved him. But I’m not even quite certain that he loved me. Maybe in his own way. But he sold me. Like I was nothing. To be truthful, I didn’t know him at all. Even when he was there, he was barely there. He spoiled me. Doted on me occasionally. But he never spent any time with me. I don’t have any memories of those fond times with him playing with me. My mother though, I have lots of memories of her. And I was relieved not to find her in your files.”
“As far as we could tell, she was legitimate. Just had the misfortune of marrying the wrong man.”
“I suppose that’s a comfort.”
“Please think. Is there anything else you remember?”
Her brow furrowed. “The
diamond was there in his office the night before. I saw it in his safe as he retrieved his diamond cuff links. I remember how the moonlight made it sparkle. I asked Papa to tell me the story of how he and my mother met again. He was getting ready to go, and he didn’t have time for me.”
“I remember. The reason we opted for the hit on the night we did, was because the night before, your father had been at the Renfield Ball with your brothers.”
“It was at least there that night. I don’t remember much from the night…” Her voice trailed.
Fuck. He was a special kind of monster.
Had Orion known all along that Rafe was working for the feds? If so, then why not kill him? Unless the hint of legitimacy was what helped Orion get what he needed. And maybe casting blame on Rafe took care of two birds with one stone. An assassin made for the perfect fall guy.
“He probably sent someone else to grab the diamond the night of the ball and then sent me to do the dirty work.”
“I can’t believe that kind of man exists.”
“He’ll never hurt you again.”
She licked her lips. “So if you didn’t take the diamond, then what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to find your birthright, and I’m going to protect you from Interpol and from your brothers. They only way anyone is getting to you is over my dead body.”
Later that night, Diana blinked in the dim light, disoriented. She hated waking in the middle of the night. Especially in a new environment. It was always so difficult to go back to sleep.
Rafe had taken a bedroom next to hers at the penthouse. They had a lot to work out, and he said he couldn’t do that in her bed.
She clutched the pillow in her arms closer, wishing it were him. It shouldn’t be so hard to sleep alone. It was what she was used to after all. But she’d quickly grown accustomed to being sheltered and cherished in his strong arms. Now she felt so isolated sleeping by herself. Maybe he’d finally washed his hands of her.