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My stomach churned slightly at the thought of Rafe with other women. But he wasn’t with those women now. He was with me. He loved me. No matter what was going on around us, the two of us together was a good thing. And as much as he was determined to protect me, I felt just as strongly about him. I glanced over at Lucia and JJ, playfully bickering over the last slice of pizza.
All of them. They were his family, and they would be my baby’s family. The very thing I’d always wanted was so close I could taste it.
I wouldn’t let anything get in the way.
* * *
Rafe
"Meet in the office in five."
I looked up at Noah's softly muttered words. I glanced over where the girls were chatting and laughing, the pizza long gone.
I didn't want to leave Diana. It was stupid but I worried about her whenever she was out of my sight. But when Noah called a meeting, it was always about something important. I couldn't take chances with her safety. So I followed my best friend down the hall to his office. Matthias, Ryan, Dylan and Oskar were already there waiting.
Noah sat behind his desk, his face grave. "We need to strategize. The Vandergraffs will make a move eventually. We have to be ready."
It should have given me comfort to see that the others were taking this as seriously as I was. But all that registered was a pervasive sense offear.
It was an unfamiliar feeling, this helplessness. I would do anything to protect her, but for the first time I worried that my best wouldn’t be good enough. There were simply too many variables at play between her brothers, the FBI and Interpol up our asses, and any others who might think she knew where the damn diamond was. Threats were everywhere, and I was fighting my instinct to take Diana away somewhere and disappear.
But she deserved better than that. A life on the run was no life at all. I thought back to how she'd looked earlier, laughing with my sister and JJ. This was what she needed. Family. Friends. Security.
Things I could give her if I played my cards right.
“Rafe?”
I glanced up at the sound of my name.
Noah was watching me with knowing eyes. “I know what you’re thinking. Running won’t fix this.” He stood and came from behind the desk.
“What else can I do? She’s in danger here, and being with me is likely only going to bring more heat down on her.”
“That’s not true.” Noah clapped a hand on my shoulder, as if he could keep me there through sheer force of will. “You are probably the best thing for her right now. Who the hell else could protect her the way you can?”
I sighed. “That’s all I want. To protect her. But how do I do that when we have heat coming from all sides? She’s too good to live like this.”
Oskar leaned back against the far wall. “Am I the only one who’s going to say it?” He looked around, and they all stopped what they were doing to glare at him.
I growled out. “Say what you want to say, Oskar. No one has time for your bullshit tonight.”
“I’m glad to see someone here is PMSing. Would you like a Midol?”
I flipped him off. “Fuck you.”
“I’m sure you would enjoy it very much.”
Normally, I would let him mouth off and let his annoyance slide. But tonight I was too raw. I kept thinking about what could have happened if I hadn’t been there when her brothers grabbed her. What if I’d lost her before we’d even had any time together? Before I’d known she carried my child? I was far too raw, too emotional.
Noah put a hand on my chest. “You, chill out.” He turned his attention to Oskar. “And what the fuck are you thinking?”
“Her brothers aren’t just going to give up.”
I was a hair away from shoving Noah’s hand off my chest and going after the German to work out some of my angry frustration, but Noah’s hand stayed steady. So I had to dial it back a notch.
I growled through clenched teeth. “You got an idea, or you just enjoy stating the obvious?”
Oskar grinned. “I’m so glad you asked about an idea. Because I do happen to have one.”
