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There were two alternative theories. One, Diana worked for a rival organization, and they had planned to take the diamond from her and were pissed when she didn’t have it.
Two, the Vandergraffs were her employers… and well, they were pissed she didn’t have it. So what had been their plan? Send in a beautiful woman to distract him? His stomach flipped as he realized why Diana had been so scared to tell him the truth this whole time. No wonder she’d broken into his safe and then run away. She’d seen the evidence that her employers were into way more shady stuff than she’d probably known.
What the hell were they thinking sending someone as green as Diana in to get close to a man like him?
Focus, dipshit.
If the Vandergraffs were in New York and had sent Diana, then there needed to be a change of plan. It was likely the FBI might not be able to protect her.
They’ll want to use her.
And that was the problem. He understood how shit worked. And with her so close to their clutches, he was afraid for her.
Way to protect her, asshole. You fed her to the leopard instead of the lion. Either way she still gets mauled.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen those two. I’m not sure why they’re reappearing now, but you have all my old intel on that case. There must have been something we missed. Otherwise, why would they be coming for us now?”
Emilie nodded at someone across the table. The man stood, then made his way to the front of the room.
Alan nodded to Emilie, and she brought up another image. Rafe almost choked when he saw it. The next image was
of the Vandergraff girl. The photo was taken at her father’s funeral. She looked even skinnier than Rafe remembered her.
“This is Larissa Vandergraff.”
Rafe swallowed but kept his face impassive. He’d been well trained. Never show any emotion. In the field that shit could get you killed. But internally, he was fucked. If guilt were a monster, it had morphed into something way the hell scarier than even that clown from Stephen King.
“Is that the only picture of her?” His voice was cool and detached, right? He fucking hoped so. “She’d be early twenties now,” he murmured.
Emilie smiled. “This is where it gets exciting. The daughter looked like she wasn’t included in her father’s businesses. She is a typical pampered socialite. Attended all the best private schools. Went to college at the University of Pennsylvania. But after graduation, the girl became a ghost. The brothers must have kept her cloistered; all photos we have of her are grainy at best.”
“Is there a point to all this?” Rafe asked.
“Oh yes.” She clicked the button on the laptop again. Rafe glanced at the image of Larissa Vandergraff again, and ice settled into his veins. She’d had everything money could buy, but had she had a good life? Was she okay? Had he scarred her forever?
Her dark eyes stared back at him. The same dark eyes that had haunted him since.
Emilie practically danced with barely contained glee. “So obviously this picture is of Larissa Vandergraff at thirteen. You know that.” She clicked the key again. “We ran an aging program on this image. Look familiar?”
Oh shit. Hell yeah she looked familiar. Too familiar.
Somewhere in the distance he could hear Alan talking even as parts of Rafe’s cerebral cortex figuratively exploded.
“The Vandergraffs have done a hell of a job keeping this girl off our radar, but it’s likely they might bring her along for a trip to the States. Maybe even as a reward. It’s possible that she has no idea what kinds of things her brothers are into. If we can find her, we can use her,” Alan finished.
Rafe stared at the large screen. She’d lied to him. You already knew that. Is this what she’d been trying to tell him? When he’d told her they’d work it out together? His stomach flipped. She obviously knew who he was. The things he’d done… the things he’d done to her father. How the hell could she stand to be anywhere near him?
Or did she know the truth? If she didn’t know the truth about her family before she’d infiltrated his house, she certainly knew now after she’d robbed him and taken the information from that flash drive.
For weeks, he’d been kissing her. For weeks, he’d been making love to her. The woman on the screen was the woman he loved.
When he didn’t answer, Alan answered for him. “Since we know the brothers are here, we need to be on hyperalert. But we also need to work every avenue we can to find that woman. She could be the key to cracking the case against her brothers.”
Rafe couldn’t breathe. Every gasp for air was constricted through the narrowest of passageways. “Can you change the hair color on this thing?” There was a part of him that was still fighting. The part of him that didn’t want this to be true. The part of him that knew that it was all true.
Emilie nodded. “Yeah. To what?”
“Change the hair color to blond.”
