Deep (The Deep Duet Book 1)

by M. Malone

  She shook her head. “No. I just want to leave that part of my life behind. I took everything I had when I left. Of course, now it’s all at the bottom of the ravine. Hell, I don’t even have any shoes.”

  He frowned as he asked, “What were you planning to do?”

  Diana bit her lip. She had a cover story ready. But she didn’t want to oversell it.

  “I ran out and just started driving. I figured I’d lay low. Find a place to stay, get a job. I’ve been doing odd jobs and stuff since I graduated, so I’m trying to find myself anyway. Basically, I just needed to disappear for a minute.”

  Rafe leveled an intense stare at her, as if he was trying to decipher the lies from the truth. “Okay. You’ll lay low here for as long as you need. In the morning we’ll head to the store and grab you the basics so you’ll at least have shoes.”

  She shook her head. “No. You don’t need to do that. Besides, I can’t really go to the store without shoes. I can order stuff online. My accounts are tied to my credit cards, so at least I won’t be a burden for more than a place to stay. I’ll call my card companies in the morning and get them to send me replacements, I guess.”

  This was all part of the show. This had been in the works for over a year. The fake ID she had procured came complete with a credit history and a previous rental history, just in case Rafe checked.

  “I don’t mind.”

  “You’ve been generous enough, just letting me stay here.” She lifted her chin. “I can take care of myself.”

  “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have to.” He held her gaze for a long moment, and something unexpected happened… Butterflies fluttered low in her belly.

  What the hell? No. And this is why we don’t bring a vajayjay to a gunfight. Time to gird her loins.

  Just because the guy was being nice now didn’t mean she could be attracted to him. This man was a killer. He had killed her father. Hell, he looked about ready to kill her fictitious boyfriend right now.

  “Thank you. For everything. As soon as I have my cards and stuff, I’ll be out of your way.”

  He shrugged and shoved his hands into his jeans. “Something tells me it won’t be so bad to have you around for a while.” He inclined his head toward the door. “I’m just down the hall if you need anything. The kitchen is to the left. I put out some soup on the counter. Figured you might be hungry. I’m not much of a cook, but I have a housekeeper and she leaves food for me.”

  “Thank you. Again. You really don’t have to do all this.”

  His lips twitched into a semblance of a smile. “Do you have to argue with me about everything?”

  “Yep. It makes things more interesting.”

  Rafe barked out a laugh. “Okay, fair enough. Get some rest. Everything will look better tomorrow.”

  When he was gone, she sagged with relief. Holy hell. It was one thing to rehearse and research and watch him from afar. It was a whole other thing to face him. He was just a man. A good-looking assassin guy who rappelled down random ravines to save women he didn’t even know. Her problem was he came across as really sincere and decent. But she knew it was a lie. She’d have to watch herself with him. If he was this good of a liar, no doubt he was an expert at spotting liars. She’d have to be careful.

  She ate in the kitchen alone and washed up. But she waited an hour before she dared to venture into the rest of the condo. When they’d first arrived, he took her directly to the enormous guest bathroom, handed her a robe and towels, and pulled out shampoos and soaps for her.

  Admittedly, she’d taken her sweet time in the shower. He had one of those multiple-head showers that pretty much massaged her whole aching body. On her ribs, that had hurt, but when she’d angled her body away from the main showerhead, everything else felt like heaven.

  The kitchen opened up to a massive great room on the left. And on the right was a room with an arched entryway. She had noted the discreetly placed security cameras when they’d first arrived. This condo was all white and gray and steel. Very modern. Lacking warmth. Very much a bachelor pad. But the taste was impeccable if not cold.

  Feet bare, padding across the kitchen floor, Diana walked toward the room on the right. On the walls, there were several pieces of art. If he was hiding something, these pieces would be the perfect cover for a safe.

  But before she even had a chance to look behind the first one, she heard footsteps. Or maybe she imagined those? She went to touch the picture frame again, and then she saw the telltale shadow.

  Whipping around, she swallowed a squeak. “Oh my God. You scared me.”

  Rafe leaned against the entryway to the room. He wore nothing but pajama bottoms that hung low on his hips.

  Holy hell.

  The man was, in a word, ripped. She stared at his chest for a long moment before gathering her thoughts.

  “Sorry, I got a glass of water and I was just trying to get the lay of my surroundings.” She nodded toward the painting. “Is that a Daniel Decker? It’s beautiful. It almost looks like an original.”

  Rafe nodded slowly. “It is an original.”

  Diana stared at him. He had a freaking original Daniel Decker painting? The British artist had come into fashion in the late eighties. It was said the royal family even had one of his pieces. There was no way someone normal owned a Daniel Decker. They went for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  “Oh shit. I didn’t mean to touch the frame. I assumed—”

  His lips did that twisting half-smile thing again, and her skin flushed warm. Okay, him smiling at her was going to be a problem. She had to get a handle on her response to him. He wasn’t the first man to ever smile at her.

  Yeah, but he’s the first one to look this good.

  “It’s okay. I have motion sensor alarms set for the living room. I should have warned you. The moment you set foot in here, you set off one of them. You can get as close to the painting as you like.”

  “Holy cow,” she muttered. “Motion sensors. Wow. Though, I guess with an original Daniel Decker, you probably should have motion sensors. You should probably get a whole like laser-beam situation going.”

  And again with that smile. “Would you crawl under it like Catherine Zeta-Jones?”

  For a full two seconds, she stared at him. Was he flirting? Because her body certainly thought he was flirting, the way she practically melted into a puddle of hormones. “While I do enjoy a pair of good yoga pants, I’m not quite so desperate to get a look at a Daniel Decker. If I’d known, I’d have peered in here through the dining room.”

  “No big deal. The painting belonged to my parents.”

  “Wow. Were your parents in the mob?”

  His laugh was rich and deep, and it poured over her like warm brandy. “No. It’s actually a pretty cool story. My father won the painting in a card game. He and my mom died when I was sixteen. This and an Abigail Noir photo are the only things of value they left behind. My grandmother refused to sell them even when money was tight.”

  “I’m so sorry. Here I am opening up old wounds.”

  “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Come on. I’ll take you back to bed.”

  Why, oh why, did her synapses fry at the sound of that? No, you idiot, he doesn’t mean he’s taking you back to his bed.

  She had to get a grip. Because as attractive as he was, it was never going to happen. And before this was all over, she was going to lie, cheat, and steal from him to get her answers.

  chapter four

  As far as hospitality went, Rafe figured he wouldn’t win any awards. But he’d made sure his guest was comfortable, making up the bed in the spare room that he’d never used with the sheets that were still in the package. But Diana hadn’t seemed to mind. In fact, she’d been asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, looking for all the world like a small, wounded animal.

  Rafe had stood there just staring at her for an embarrassingly long time. There was something… compelling about her. His secondary senses itched, poking holes in her sto
ry. But for the first time in a long time, he didn’t want to examine things too closely.

  I’m tired, he thought. Years of assuming the worst took their toll. For once he wanted to believe that someone was exactly what they presented themselves to be. Not everyone was a killer out to get him. This girl needed his help.

  Now that it was the next morning, he was prepared for the gut punch he got every time he looked at her. He knocked lightly and then pushed the door open to see her sitting up in bed. Her blond hair was wild, and she had lines from the pillow marking up her face. She was a mess.

  And the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  Flustered at the thought, Rafe looked down at the bottle of painkillers in his hand and the plate with toast and jam. Irrationally, he wanted to hide it and then go find her something better. Despite the dirt and the cheap, thin dress he’d found her in yesterday, this was the kind of woman that screamed royalty. She would belong in some medieval castle being watched over by knights in shining armor. Which definitely didn’t apply to him.

  His armor had been tarnished long ago.

  The thought made him feel stupid, so he thrust the bottle of aspirin at her. “I brought you some medicine. I should have brought you some before.”

  Her smile felt like watching the sunrise. Rafe was taken off guard by the heat blossoming inside him just from the thought that he’d pleased her in some way.

  “Thank you. I feel a little better, but I’ll take some anyway. I hit my head along the way.” Her face darkened then, and Rafe wondered what memory had triggered such an intense look.

  “We can see about getting your car towed out today. Although it looked pretty bad, so it’s probably totaled.”

  Diana sighed. “I figured it was. That’s about how my life is going lately.”

  She looked around, and he realized belatedly that if he was going to bring her aspirin, he should have brought her a glass of water too.

  Way to go, playboy. You definitely know how to take care of a woman.

  She stood and stretched, and Rafe could see the imprint of her nipples through the thin fabric of the T-shirt he’d given her to sleep in. He swallowed hard and averted his gaze, though every cell in his body was unhappy about the decision.

  “So, I’ve got some extra sweats and stuff you can wear and flip-flops. I just tossed all my T-shirts and stuff in the wash and my sweatshirts will drown you, so you might have to wear the same T-shirt out. I know you said your cards will be coming, but I figured you’d feel better with some clothes that fit and some shampoo and stuff you like.”

  Her lip quivered, and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Shit. Was he this fucking out of practice?

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  He chose levity to try to dissipate some of the tension. “That’s a first.”

  A bark of laughter tore out of her chest, then she immediately winced and placed tentative fingers to her jaw. “You know you might be right about that. For once I’m listening to what my father used to say. ‘If only your ears were your tongue, how much more useful they would be.’”

  Rafe shrugged. “I don’t think so. Your mile-a-minute talking kinda grows on a person.” He wanted to tell her not to bother being embarrassed, because she was beautiful and there were men who’d mortgage their soul for the chance to be near her. She was here to get herself together, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

  Truthfully, there was a part of him that was furious she’d come home with him. It wasn’t safe for a beautiful young woman to trust any man that she met on the street, even if he’d helped her. It was the kind of thing he used to lecture Lucia about, when he was still allowed to do that. He felt a momentary pang for what he’d lost. While he’d been halfway around the world, Lucia had grown up without him. She had Noah to lecture her on safety now.

  “Actually, you know what, have this one. I’ll go grab a button-down.” Before he thought about the wisdom of what he was about to do, Rafe stripped off the shirt he was wearing and handed it over to her.

  Diana’s eyes widened at the sight of his bare chest, and she blushed when their gazes locked for a moment before her attention returned to his torso. She looked away, but a few seconds later, her eyes came back to caress his bare skin. Rafe suddenly understood why so many men acted like idiots around women. He had the sudden urge to flex for her and maybe show off what all the finely honed muscle groups in his body could really do.

  Yep, he could think of a perfect way to show all that off. Fuck, get it together.

  “I should have brought you some water. I’ll get you a glass.”

  That seemed to break Diana’s concentration. “It’s okay, I’m ready to get up anyway. I should probably get going. Lots to do today.”

  She followed him out of the room, carrying the plate with the toast on it. He heard the crunch as she bit into it. By the time they reached the kitchen, the plate was empty.

  “Hungry?” He grinned and then pulled down a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the refrigerator.

  Diana laughed. “A little. That soup I had last night seems like it was a long time ago.”

  Rafe’s attention was drawn to the way she favored her left side. He’d done that plenty of times himself when he was injured.

  “How are your ribs?”

  She looked startled and then took a gulp from the glass. “It’s no big deal. I’m fine.”

  Oh hell, she was a bad liar. Rafe couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “So you probably have to go to work today. I’ll get out of your way.”

  Rafe grabbed her hand before she could move. “You don’t have to leave. I work from home a lot. Besides, we’ll hit the shops first.”

  “Work from home? That’s convenient. What do you do?”

  He decided to stick with his standard cover story. “I’m in security. Pretty boring actually. I deal with personnel issues.”

  She narrowed her eyes like she didn’t believe him, but Rafe didn’t even blink. I have a hell of a lot more practice lying than you do, sweetheart.

  “Well, I should probably still go. I’m sure you have stuff to do. You don’t need me hanging around.”

  “Shopping, remember?” Rafe tugged on one of the blond curls hanging over her shoulder.

  “You’re really not going to let that go, are you? Are you always this stubborn?” She smiled, but it turned to a grimace. Rafe slid an arm underneath her and carried her to the couch.

  “Short answer, yes.”

  “What are you doing?” she protested.

  Rafe ignored her and walked back to his bathroom to get the arnica cream he used for his own bruises. He felt calmer by the time he got back, but that calmness disappeared when he lifted the edge of the shirt she was wearing and he cursed a blue streak. He took a deep breath, trying to move past the rage he felt at seeing the large purple bruise on the right side of her torso. There was no hiding it. She’d been punched or kicked in the ribs recently.

  “You probably need to be seen by a doctor. He could have killed you.” Even before she started shaking her head, he figured that wouldn’t go over well. “Well, you at least need to take it easy over the next few days.”

  “I have so much to do. Finding a place, getting a job.”

  “All of that can wait. You’re welcome to stay here and keep me company.”

  Suddenly Diana wouldn’t look at him. When she finally turned, he saw her swiping away tears.

  “It’s just so embarrassing, you know? I never thought he would…”

  “Hit you?” Rafe finished for her. They didn’t speak as he smoothed the cream gently over the bruise.

  To give himself time to settle, he walked back to the kitchen to wash his hands. All the while his mind was going in a million directions, but they all led to the same road. Who was the fucker who’d hurt her, and how many ways could Rafe make him beg before he put him out of his misery? He walked back into the living
room and knelt next to the couch.

  “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You didn’t do anything wrong. Any chance you’ll make it easier for me and just tell me his name?”

  Diana focused on his face then, her dark eyes probing his. “Not a chance. I have a feeling if I told you that, he wouldn’t make it through the night. And I’m not interested in blood being shed in my name, thanks.”

  “You have good instincts then. Because I was thinking he wouldn’t make it through breakfast.” When her dark eyes flared wide, he forced a smile onto his face. “Let’s get you ready, then we’ll get you some new clothes.”

  Their eyes met, dark into dark, before she finally sighed. “Okay, I guess I can hang around for a little while.”

  Rafe didn’t reply, just nodded and went back to his room to change. Diana didn’t know it yet, but she’d be hanging around a lot longer than a little while.

  Because he didn’t plan on letting her out of his sight until he knew she was safe.

  Rafe didn’t realize the flaw in his plans until the next day.

  After spending the previous day shopping with her and sleeping on the situation for a night, he realized having her so close wasn’t going to be easy.

  He’d never had a woman in his apartment before. Especially not one that fired his protective senses the way Diana did.

  Yeah great job, asshole. The last thing an injured woman needs is you going all Captain America on her behalf.

  But reining in his murderous rage at the sight of that huge bruise on her ribs would have been impossible.

  On a high note, she was still talking to him. So she wasn’t entirely freaked out. The problem was she kept giving him those eyes. The ones that said she wanted him to lose it on her behalf. The ones that beckoned him closer when he knew he needed to stay away. He wasn’t the kind of guy she needed.

  She needed someone kind and sensitive. And he was far from that. He was all rough edges and a killing machine. He’d been out in the cold too long.

  But as he started to get ready to leave for Lucia’s, a niggling sense of guilt and longing pricked at him. He didn’t want to leave her by herself. She was still hurt. Oh, who are you kidding? You want to hang out with her.