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His eyes lifted, meeting hers.
Diaz.
ANNA
“That was a long phone call,” Diaz said, his hard gaze stealing the breath from her lungs.
“Not really,” Anna said, fighting with everything in her soul to keep her voice steady. Her mind was an overflowing vault of emotions she was desperately trying to close the lid on: fear Diaz knew she’d been in the warehouse, hatred for the man in front of her who had most likely murdered her sister, anger at herself that Olivia had been there, right below her, for so long and she hadn’t been able to find her. Anna had prepared herself for learning Olivia was dead, but knowing her body had been stuffed in a barrel and hidden in a warehouse Anna had spent so much time in was almost too much to bear.
She was grateful for the noise of the restaurant, which provided the only sense of normalcy in this moment.
Anna slid into the booth, sitting opposite him. She wanted to put a bullet in his chest but instead she played the role she needed to. She’d sacrificed too much to get sloppy now. The end was in sight. The FBI had Olivia. Now she could concentrate on taking Diaz down.
Then her new life would await her.
Anna tilted her head to the side, looking into the eyes of the man she hated. “I was walking in the woods while talking—you know I always walk when on calls. I didn’t realize how far I’d gone until the call ended, then I had to walk all the way back,” she lied. Lies were better when they were mixed with the truth. She had been in the woods. She had walked all the way back. Part truth, part falsehood—it was the secret recipe to pulling off a great lie.
“Everything okay?” Diaz asked, his face impassive as he picked up the menu.
She had no idea what game he was playing. Had his men followed her? Or had he by coincidence come to the diner tonight and asked the waitress where she was?
Either way, while he was holding the menu, he wasn’t trying to kill her.
Not that Diaz would do it here, though; he wouldn’t kill her out of rage or impulse. He would fantasize about her death, he would lie awake at night and dream of all the ways he could teach her a very painful lesson. That’s how a man like Diaz killed.
“Fine... man problems. Marianna’s, not mine,” she said with a sly smile that indicated she wasn’t going to tell him anything more. Marianna was a friend from university. They were not that close, certainly not these days, but Diaz didn’t know that. Anna mentioned Marianna from time to time, embellishing details she grasped from social media. Marianna had just broken up with her boyfriend, but she hadn’t called Anna to talk about it.
He scoffed, raising his eyebrows. “Good to know. Speaking of...” He put the menu down, his eyes softening. “I actually came here with a purpose. Let’s get away for a few days. I need some time to clear my head. Sun, cocktails, the ocean. Peace. Just me and you, Anna.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And your team of men following us everywhere.”
“Well, yeah, but not once we’re inside the house,” he said, then paused. “I thought you’d jump at the chance to get away for a few days.”
In the past, she would’ve—even she needed a vacation from time to time. But right now, she didn’t trust Diaz—nor his men.
“I would love to go,” she said, looking into his eyes. “I’m just surprised... but it’s a good surprise.”
A smile spread across Diaz’s lips. “I love surprises,” he said, and Anna wondered if they were still talking about the same thing.
She gave him her well-practiced smile. “How soon can we leave?” she asked, leaning forward, resting her elbows on the table, taking his hands. “Should I be ready at six tomorrow morning?” she asked playfully.
Diaz looked at her a moment, then tilted his head back laughing, and sighed. “Let’s aim for six in the evening. I need five minutes to organize this trip and lock in a location.”
Six in the evening suited Anna better. She had a few things to organize too.
“Deal,” she said as her food arrived, along with a plate for Diaz.
Anna was grateful for food to eat. The less she said, the better, and that was especially true around Diaz.
She looked over the diner, spotting an unfamiliar face sitting alone at a table in the corner. He was drinking a milkshake and looking at his phone. He wasn’t doing anything suspicious, but Anna knew most people who came in here. The diner was a bit like Sloan’s—it was for the locals, and this guy was not a local.
Anna wondered if he was part of Jackson’s team.
Or had Diaz hired new guys she knew nothing about?
The muffin felt like a golf ball in her throat as fear slithered up like a snake.
Was she too distracted, focusing on Olivia—and on a way out?
