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“Here you go, baby.” Charisse kissed the top of his head as she handed him the bottle and then reached past Diana to pick up the dish towel.
“He’s so cute, Char. I almost can’t believe how big he is.” She sighed. It was one thing to talk to her friend on the phone and hear about her life and another to see it up close. This was real. Real and wonderful and exactly what she’d always hoped she’d have one day. She wouldn’t put this beautiful life her friend had created in jeopardy.
As if she could read her thoughts, Charisse squeezed her arm. “You really don’t have to go. Stay with us. I’m worried about your being on your own.”
Diana pasted on a smile she didn’t really feel. “I’m always on my own. That’s what I’m used to.”
“But you don’t have to be. Not anymore. We’re here for you, and we have the space.” She bit her lip. “Well, we can make the space. It’s better than my sitting here freaking out every day wondering what trouble you’re getting into.”
Diana walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to the spare bedroom she’d been staying in. Her friend had been so accommodating, but she knew Charisse’s husband Andrew had to be tired of sharing his office with his wife’s old friend from college.
She just had one more thing to do, warn Rafe, then she’d be in the wind. And she’d learned from experience, it was better to go to him than have him come for her.
“I know you’ve been worried about me. But you don’t need to worry anymore. I’m done playing detective. I found way more than I bargained for, and I’ve learned my lesson. This is what you wanted, right? For me to stop poking my nose into dangerous places? For me to move on with my life?”
Charisse stood in the doorway, watching her as she made up the futon where she’d slept.
“Yes, I wanted you to stop poking around, but you’re too far gone now. That’s like poking a bear until it wakes up and then deciding the game is over. You’ve got a monster to deal with now.”
Diana sat down on the edge of the futon, the stress of the past few days finally catching up to her all at once.
This was bad. Really bad.
“I wish I’d never opened that safe,” she whispered.
“But you did. So what are you going to do about it?” Charisse countered.
“I have no idea.” Diana figured she’d better come up with one fast because the kind of information she’d gotten her hands on came attached to some very bad people. People she’d been so sure she could trust.
“Having this information is like putting a target on my back.”
“Well, then put it back!” Charisse argued. “Maybe that’s all he’s waiting on. If he sees that you aren’t going to use it, then he shouldn’t come after you, right?”
Diana chuckled softly. Then an image of Rafe prowling after her like a big jungle cat made her breath catch in her throat. It wasn’t too far off the mark, was it? He was a predator. It was what he’d been trained for. The government wouldn’t have used him for all those years if he wasn’t great at his job. Clearly he was experienced at tracking down people far more savvy at this espionage thing than she was.
She was so far out of her league.
“I don’t think that’s going to fix this, Char. People like that don’t just forgive and forget.”
Charisse sat gingerly on the edge of the bed next to her. “Maybe not, but those people aren’t Rafe and Diana. I don’t care what you say, there’s more going on here. You care about him, and I don
’t think he’d have taken care of you the way he did if he didn’t feel something too.”
“I felt something,” Diana finally admitted. “But I also lied to him. Plus he now knows that I was planning on drugging him since I had those pills in my purse. Whatever he felt is long gone now, I’m sure.”
And damn if that wasn’t a depressing thought.
Charisse put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Well then, just put the information back and then run like hell. You’ve watched him all these months, surely you know him pretty well by now. Use that. When you see an opening, take it. He’s not going to be expecting you to sneak back in, right?”
The more Diana thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Leaving and not coming back was truly her only option. But if she was going into hiding, it would be better if she didn’t have to look over her shoulder for Rafe the whole time. It was already going to be difficult evading her brothers. Now that she knew what they’d planned for her with Uncle Boris, she figured they wouldn’t take her disappearance in stride. She’d probably spend the rest of her life hiding from them. It would be better if she wasn’t trying to hide from Rafe too.
“Okay, I’m going to do it. I’ll wait for an opportunity and then sneak back in there. I just hope that’s the end of it.”
As Charisse hugged her tighter, Diana wished that wasn’t a lie. Because even with everything going on, she knew her heart definitely didn’t want this to be the end.
The traitorous thing was wishing hard for just one more chance to see Rafe.
Diana peered across the street, her eyes watering with intensity as she scrutinized every person who passed in front of Rafe’s building. She was waiting for him to leave so she could sneak back inside and leave the flash drive, along with a note to be careful and watch his back. It was a risky move, for sure, but she couldn’t risk leaving it anywhere else.
