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“Well, for starters,” Matthias warned, “I had a little unauthorized looky-loo around the ORUS files. I pinpointed a direct moment in time and got out hopefully before anyone knew I was there.”
Hell. The last thing they needed was one of Ian’s guys coming after them. “I thought you were the best?”
“I am. But Ian might’ve found someone better. That happens. Part of what keeps me the best is realizing I may not be the best hacker around anymore. So I’m not going to go poking where I don’t belong. At least not for too long anyway.”
“So what did you find?”
“Orion authorized an agent to go to Austria the day before you did. It doesn’t say in the logs what he went for. But he had a two-day turnaround and returned after a trip to the embassy. Very likely, he went for a diplomatic pouch.”
“So he did send someone else. Okay. So if Orion had the diamond, where would it be now?”
“And that’s the real question. Whoever’s got it obviously knows its worth. They would’ve paid Orion only a fraction of it. But they’ve dug in deep and have it hidden. And they’re not telling anyone that they’ve got it.”
“Okay, keep digging. Because Diana isn’t going to be safe until we catch those assholes. And there’s an account number I need you to check into while you’re at it.”
“You got it.”
After they hung up, Rafe leaned back in his seat. Okay, with Matthias on the diamond, he had to figure out a way to stop Klinkov and the Vandergraffs. Because there was no way he was letting them get anywhere near his woman.
Diana woke with a start, the contents of her stomach roiling in her belly. Her first instinct had her checking for Rafe, but he wasn’t there. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the sliver of light coming from down the hallway. Her stomach pitched again, and she groaned. Frantically Diana kicked the sheets off her legs, but her foot caught at the end.
When she finally managed to get them off, she lumbered toward the bathroom like a drunken water buffalo. Once her feet met the cool tile, she stumbled in, only just managing to kick the door shut and lock it before she embraced the toilet.
She had her hair up from around her face in the nick of time before her stomach had enough and released the contents of last night’s dinner.
Oh God. Why was this happening? All the usual thoughts ran through her head. The kind people have when they were sick and suddenly found religion. Oh God, what did I eat? Oh God, did I drink something? Dear God, is it the stomach flu?
After each heave, more and more contents came up until there was nothing left but bile. And even then, her body had zero interest in stopping. For the next several moments, she dry heaved over and over again until finally her body had nothing left to give.
When she laid her head on the cool porcelain tile, she curled herself into a ball, wondering what she did to deserve this. You know what you’ve done. You know how this happened.
No. It couldn’t be. Please God. But she knew it was true. It was certainly possible. And then to screw with her head even more, she felt a low flutter in her belly. But it was too early for that, right? It was amazing how the mind could play tricks on you. She clutched her belly desperately wanting it not to be true. But there was also part of her that craved this. She wanted a piece of Rafe.
But how? Stupid question really. If she was pregnant, then it had for sure happened that day she came back to Rafe. That day that she had come back to help him, or save him. The day she’d come back because she missed him.
He’d come up behind her, surprised her. They’d both been angry and scared. And they’d both been desperate. He’d hooked his hands into her leggings and ripped them down like they were gossamer. And then he proceeded to fuck her up against a wall.
It was the hottest thing she’d ever done in her life. The two of them had gone after each other like animals.
He’d said he wanted to mark her that night. And he had. He’d come inside her. Neither of them had been thinking about condoms.
At the time, she thought it wouldn’t matter. There was no risk. But given everything she’d been through lately, she might’ve missed a pill or two. Matter of fact, she knew she’d missed one when she was at Charisse’s. But she’d taken them diligently since then. That had to count for something, right?
No, it doesn’t.
She finally managed to push herself up and over to the sink. Halfway through rinsing her mouth there was a knock at the door.
“Hey, baby, you okay in there?”
Shit. She took a deep breath to steady her voice. “Yeah. Fine. I’m just going to take a shower.”
“Let me join you. I can wash your back.”
No. She was not letting him in here. If she did, he would see something was wrong. And then he would be all over her until she told him. And there was that weird flutter again. It was too soon for that. If she was pregnant, and she didn’t know anything for sure—yes you do—Whatever. If she was pregnant, she couldn’t be feeling the baby yet. And also, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She knew she didn’t want to tell him yet. They needed to work out what they were doing. Things were far too rocky with their relationship. Between everything, her lying to him, his lying to her, her brothers trying to kill her, the FBI… No, they needed to be on solid ground first. Then she would tell him. But for the time being she would keep it to herself.
“No. You’ll get distracted. And then you’ll try to make me dirty all over again.”
“I fail to see the problem,” he said with a chuckle. But still, there was a hint of concern in his voice. She could hear it.
