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Now that pissed him off. “Living large? How am I living large? I’m not flashy. I don’t spend a lot of money. I know how to keep a low profile.”
Suddenly Alan didn’t look so sure of himself anymore. “You make a lot of money for a security consultant. You’ve got a nice place that you own outright and several expensive vehicles. It looks bad, man, especially since you aren’t even working regular shifts here.” Alan glanced around. “Whatever the hell a regular shift around here looks like.”
“You have me under surveillance or something?”
Alan didn’t meet his eyes. “Look, this case is too big to ignore. Solving it would make anyone’s career. People are not going to stop digging.”
Rafe smiled. “You think I stole it, don’t you?”
He shook his head sadly. After all the years he’d put in, they still didn’t trust him. They always said there was no honor among thieves. It seemed there was no honor among the enforcers of the law either. Not that he’d ever drunk that particular Kool-Aid. The guys on the so-called “right” side of the law were often cut from the same cloth as the guys they were chasing.
“I didn’t take that diamond, Alan. You guys are wasting your time.”
“I know that,” Alan assured him hastily. “But they don’t know you like I do. I’m trying to help you, Rafe. But you have to help me too.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Rafe replied before turning to nail Alan with a direct look. “I don’t have to do shit. Now leave. And don’t show up at my place of business again.”
Alan shook his head. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Maybe. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Rafe watched him go and then cursed as soon as he’d left the room. Alan might be gone, but that didn’t mean this was the end of it.
He needed to do some digging of his own.
What the hell was happening to her life?
Diana finished wiping the counter in the kitchen and then sat down at the dining table.
It was a little pathetic, but she’d gotten so used to spending her days and nights with Rafe that it was kind of weird now that he wasn’t here. She should be jumping for joy. He’d left her alone in the apartment so he could go to the gym. This was what she’d been waiting for, a sign of trust.
An opportunity.
But despite the fact that she’d gotten what she’d been hoping for, Diana felt curiously empty.
That’s because you’re acting like a silly little girl with a crush instead of an intelligent, calculating woman with a plan.
Warmth spread through her at the thought of the prior night in Rafe’s arms. Shame and desire battled, but she couldn’t deny that things had changed between them. There was something about the way he looked at her, touched her, and held her. She’d never experienced anything like this before, and she couldn’t believe that something this right could happen if he really was a coldhearted killer.
Diana pressed her hands to her cheeks. She was supposed to be avenging her father’s death, and instead all she was doing was questioning everything she thought she knew. Rafe was the killer, there was no way she could have gotten that wrong. Being so young when her father was killed, there was always the risk that time had warped her memory of the event, but there was no mistaking those eyes. It had been Rafe in the office with her father. She’d never forget the sight of those eyes from behind his mas
k. Not to mention that she’d seen him in action since coming here.
Her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. Rafe DeMarco was lethal and absolutely capable of murder. But the man she’d come to know since arriving here operated under strict codes of honor. He was principled.
Which made no sense!
Diana groaned. The only way she could make things add up was to find the clues she was looking for and figure out the real story. Maybe there had been a reason that Rafe had been there. Could her father have been set up? Maybe someone else had framed him for something. Rafe didn’t hurt people indiscriminately, so he must have been led to believe her father was guilty of something.
You’re just trying to rationalize it.
The thought that she was going soft when she should be avenging the only man who’d ever loved her brought on a wave of despair. Diana stood reluctantly and made her way into the living room. She started with the windows, inspecting all the sills before moving to the artwork again. Now that she knew he had motion sensors on the paintings, she didn’t dare take any of them down.
With a frustrated little sigh, she swept her eyes over the rest of the apartment. He didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and she’d already searched that room thoroughly anyway under the guise of “cooking.” The only places she hadn’t had time to search were his bedroom and the office.
Starting with the bedroom, she swept her hands under the mattress and peered under the bed frame. The ceilings and walls were smooth, with no indication that any areas had been punched out and patched, so she doubted he’d hidden anything in the walls. How would she retrieve it anyway?
Oh, don’t mind the mess, Rafe. I just wanted to check out the other side of your drywall!
