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Everything she said about Rafe was true. But also, what Charisse said was true. She’d fallen for him. And damn, she missed him. She missed his smell and the intense way he watched her. She’d seen that kind of intensity in the way Noah watched Lucia. She’d never thought she’d have that. And then when she’d gotten it, she’d thrown it away for some misguided family loyalty.
It didn’t matter though. She knew she had to warn him. Once she did that, she’d go. But she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Rafe.
Everything was going to shit.
And from the looks of it, it wasn’t going to get any better for Rafe any fucking time soon. He’d spent the whole damn night looking for Diana. From the timestamps on the security cameras at the store, he had missed her by just ten minutes.
She had been smart enough to ditch her phone. She had also been smart enough to ditch any and all clothing. Not that he’d even thought to put a tracking device on any of it. He should’ve stuck one into her shoes. You’re losing your touch, DeMarco. He needed to fucking find her. If for nothing else than to get that drive back. Because right now with her having that kind of information out there, her life was in danger.
He had a stop to make, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He was in a race against time to save her life, and she didn’t even know it. When he saw the flash drive had been moved, his heart had stopped. Of course, his mind had run through the gamut of questions.
Had someone hired her
to steal information from him? Did she even know what she had? Now that she’d seen those files, what was she planning on doing with them? Was her plan always to sell it to the highest bidder? Despite what his mind knew, his heart remained hopeful. Like a moron.
There was still a possibility that she’d freaked out. That what happened between them was too fast, too soon, too sudden. That she just needed the space to clear her head. Oh yeah, and she just needed to break into your safe to get that space?
Or more upsetting, maybe he terrified her with what he’d done to her ex. If that guy was even her ex at all?
Rafe replayed the past few weeks over and over again. The guy he’d beaten to a pulp for her. The idiot had claimed not to know her. Of course Rafe hadn’t believed him at the time. Instead, he’d kept hitting him, trying to deliver a message that might not have been his to receive.
Someone had hurt her. He hadn’t imagined that. Someone had worked her over. And if not that guy, then who?
He knew he was getting ahead of himself. Allowing himself to believe in his fantasy that what they had was real for even a moment longer was going to get her killed.
The fact that she had a decryption device strong enough to open his safe meant she was far from innocent. She had deliberately come into his home to get access to those files. And if not those files, then something else. Which led to his next question… Who the fuck was she?
He’d already done his due diligence and lifted her prints. He’d run them through the system, but so far nothing had come up. She’d never been arrested. Her name was fake. Whoever had set up that ID for her was good. Very good. If he hadn’t deliberately told Matthias to dig deeper past the initial layers, he wouldn’t have seen that her Social Security number had only come into existence two years ago.
Diana didn’t exist. How had she ended up at the bottom of that ravine, and just what the hell was she running from?
When he pulled up to the familiar building, his stomach curled in on itself. You don’t have to do this. Yes. He did. And a phone call wasn’t going to cut it.
To the rest of the world, the building housed several financial companies. But the majority of the offices were owned by LPA. LPA was also known as ORUS. To everyone in the rest of the world, those guys strolling in and out of the building with their sleek suits were finance guys.
Nope, trained killers. The lot of them. And Rafe was walking straight into their den.
He strolled in the building, his shoes making a clapping noise on the polished marble. He stepped into the glass elevator, squaring his shoulders and preparing for a fight. Because at the end of the day, he might not walk out of here.
When he reached the twenty-eighth floor, the receptionist with her gently graying hair and deceptively unlined face nearly fell over herself as she stood. “Libra?”
Wow, Lila was still here. What had it been? Fifteen years? “Lila. It’s good to see you.”
She stammered. “B-but, they said you were dead.”
Rafe shrugged. “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I’m here to see Phoenix.” He shook his head. “I mean Orion. He’s expecting me.”
Lila nodded and made the call immediately. Rafe had texted Ian earlier to let him know he was coming in. When he and Noah had performed their coup last year replacing Orion and making Ian the new Orion, Rafe thought he was done with this place. But he would never be done.
In the shakeup of last year, he’d become the unofficial record keeper. When he’d been FBI, he had files on every single ORUS agent. All their kills, personality types, and psychological profiles. He’d stolen that data over the years, though Rafe figured the files had to be heavily redacted. At least compared to the ones the new Orion had allowed him access to.
Noah had made a good choice putting Ian in charge. Ian had managed to drag ORUS back into the right side of the shadows. Ian certainly wasn’t pleased about Rafe having the dossiers on all his agents and past missions, but he understood the necessity of their tentative truce. In case any of them ever decided to go rogue again, those files kept everyone alive. They were one hell of an insurance policy. And right now the files were compromised.
One of the men came down to meet Rafe, and he almost had to smile. The kid looked as young as Noah had looked when he started. Barely eighteen, clean-shaven face, good-looking kid. He could probably talk himself into all kinds of places.
When he was led to Ian’s office, he found the man in question sitting behind a massive glass desk, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows. “The power looks good on you, Ian.” Ian was just a few years Rafe’s senior, but he seemed much older. Like he’d been wielding the power for too long.
He turned slowly with a smile. “Rafe. I wish I could say it was good to see you. But I have to assume you’re only here because there’s trouble.”
