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“Sorry to break down like that. It just hits me out of the blue sometimes. How much I miss my mom, I mean.” Diana wiped the edge of her eyes with her sleeve. “How did you find out all this anyway?” she asked, looking at Matthias in awe.
Rafe growled under his breath. He didn’t like the way she was watching the kid, like he was some kind of wizard or something. Hell, he could have found the information on his own. Okay, no, he couldn’t have; he’d definitely needed Matthias’s skills on this, but it still made him want to flex for her. He didn’t like his woman looking at another man that way. All of a sudden, his internal thoughts caught up to him and he grimaced. He sounded like a kid himself, worried another guy would ask his girl to the prom before he got a chance.
“Yes, how did you find out all this,” Rafe echoed, hoping they could move this along and Matthias would leave them alone again.
“Ian has access to all of ORUS’s financial records now.” Matthias stated it as if that alone was enough explanation.
From what Rafe remembered of his old associate, he wasn’t the giving type. He’d initially wondered if Noah had made the right decision in installing Ian as the new head of the organization. Now he wondered if that had been the plan all along. Having someone you knew in the position was arguably better than a stranger. Even if Ian wasn’t interested in helping them, just by being a known player he was easier for them to manipulate. Which was incredibly useful.
Not for the first time, Rafe was thankful for the day he’d been told he would be mentoring a new kid. Noah had turned out to be the brother he’d always wished for. Now he was Rafe’s brother in truth.
“So Ian just gave you the access, huh?” he teased.
Matthias smirked. The kid reminded him a lot of Noah. He had that cocky bravado that could get you out of a lot of shit or into a lot of shit, depending on how the wind blew.
“I think we both know he didn’t give me anything,” Matthias replied.
Rafe chuckled under his breath. Diana looked between them both curiously. He didn’t bother explaining. She’d probably already figured out that very little of what they did was legal, but it was in her best interest not to ask too many questions. The less you knew, the less you were held accountable for.
“So what are we going to do now?” Diana asked finally.
Rafe stood, holding her in his arms. She squealed slightly at the sudden movement.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking my lady back to our room so we can rest. While you’re sleeping, I’m going to come up with a plan to track the stone. That’s what I do best. Finding things that have disappeared.”
Diana looked like she wanted to fight it, but her eyelids were already drooping. “Okay, but only because I’m so sleepy. After my nap, I want to help.”
“You’re already helping,” Rafe replied. But when he looked down again, she was already asleep, her head lolling against his shoulder.
He looked up to see Matthias watching them with a curious look on his face.
“What? You got something to say, kid?”
Matthias shrugged. “Nothing.”
“She’s mine. Remember that.”
If he’d said that to anyone else, they probably would have peed their pants. Rafe knew he could be scary as fuck at times; it was an occupational hazard. But Matthias just smiled.
“She’s beautiful, but I’m not after your girl. I don’t do… connections. Not anymore.” But in spite of his words, Matthias gave the sleeping Diana another wistful look before he left.
Rafe wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he would be watching the kid. This life, it took its toll. No one knew that better than he did. Sometimes he’d felt like he was aching inside for someone to see him, to recognize him as another human being instead of the weapon ORUS had fashioned him into. If he hadn’t had the memories of Lucia and Nonna to keep him borderline human, he wasn’t sure where he’d be. Matthias needed that even if he couldn’t acknowledge it. So he’d be watching.
A weapon, even one that was on your side, needed to be maintained properly, or it became a risk.
Diana woke slowly, and it was like surfacing from underwater. But unlike most days, she came out of the fog leisurely, somehow knowing that she was perfectly safe. When she opened her eyes, she immediately saw Rafe standing next to the window. He turned, and a smile tugged at his lips. A smile she could feel from all the way across the room.
“Hey,” he whispered, and there was a wealth of emotion in that one word.
“How long did I sleep?” she asked, pushing up on her elbows.
Rafe didn’t get to answer her because there was a knock at the door a moment before Noah stuck his head in.
“Hey, we got food if you guys are hungry. But if you actually want any, you might want to hurry. Lucia was craving pizza, which meant that any other suggestions for any other type of food was strictly vetoed. When I suggested maybe we get some veggie stuff or smoothies for her, she threatened to kill me with a knife in my sleep. She was very inventive. Her attention to detail when it comes to maiming is uncanny. Granted, she left her favorite appendage untouched in her gory tale.”
Rafe laughed. “You mea
