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“Don’t worry about me, old man. I’m just trying to get this done. If we miss our window, we have to stay another day and I don’t want to have to explain that. I’m not scared of you two but them…”
Noah made a face. He was probably imagining Lucia if he had to call and tell her that our return trip had been delayed. I couldn’t make fun of him because I didn’t particularly want to explain it to Diana either. My feisty kitten had claws when she didn’t get her way, especially now that her pregnancy cravings had kicked in.
“He has a point. Let’s do this.”
We crept around the side of the building, following the route we’d mapped out on the plane ride to Argentina. I’d been here before of course with ORUS, but without the powerful organization to grease the right palms, it had been a lot trickier than expected to get the information we’d needed. But somehow Matthias had gotten the information, and we’d landed that afternoon with only a scant eight hours total to execute our op and get out without attracting any attention.
I heard a thump and then a soft “clear” in my left ear. I waited two seconds per our plan and then walked the pathway leading to the back of the house. I stepped over the prone body of the man who’d been on patrol for the past hour. We’d observed him for quite some time to discover his usual routine. He wasn’t the most observant to start with but also had a penchant for stopping for candy breaks. Almost too easy. With the night guard out of commission, I was free to climb the side of the house and enter through the bedroom window that had been left open for us.
A light flashed from the dark bushes up ahead, Noah signaling that all was clear. I reached into my utility vest and pulled out the grappling hook I hadn’t used since I’d rescued Diana. It made me smile to think of it. Who knew that my less-than-honorable skills would land me the woman of my dreams?
Less than sixty seconds later, I was up the side of the building and climbing through the window into a dark bedroom. My eyes adjusted to the light quickly. There was a huge four-poster bed to my left, which meant that the safe was to the right. Exactly as I’d expected.
I crossed the room quickly but quietly. It would have been so much better if we could have done this when the house was empty, but luckily, the homeowner was out for the night. The only people left in the house were staff, one of whom was responsible for helping us get in. I chuckled. Unhappy staff members were the worst security risk in the world. All they needed was a little money, and they were happy to see their employers fall.
In this case, we hadn’t even had to offer that much money to convince the elderly valet to not only leave the window open for us but to plant a hidden camera.
“All good?” Noah’s voice was quiet in my ear.
Instead of speaking and possibly giving away my position to any staff members walking in the hallway, I tapped my earpiece three times, our code forI’m busy, fuck off. I could hear Noah’s soft chuckle in response.
I removed the painting from the wall that concealed the safe. It was one of those high-tech, digital safes. We could have used some advanced technology to crack the safe, but honestly it was just easier to watch the video footage and wait until the owner entered the code.
Maybe the younger agents aren’t the only ones who are spoiled, I thought wryly.
These days the challenge of an op wasn’t what drove me anymore. Getting home safely to my fiancée was what mattered the most.
I entered the code and then stepped back as the door swung open. I ignored the stacks of cash and reached all the way to the back to grab a black fabric pouch. With one tug the drawstring loosened, and I smiled down at my palm.
“Hello, beautiful.”
* * *
Diana
I was dreaming.
I was conscious that it was a dream the whole time, but strangely it didn’t bother me to know that. In the dream I was pushing a grocery cart. Pushing a grocery cart was actually a strange thing for me to dream about since I hadn’t done it too many times. Growing up, my father’s staff had done all that. I hadn’t gone to a grocery until I was in college. But I was happily pushing a cart and checking items off a list. In the front of the cart, happily chewing on its fist, was a baby.
Mybaby.
I smiled at the cherub-cheeked toddler and passed a hand over his short, dark curls. His brown eyes were bright and watchful as I grabbed a few things off the shelf and put them in the cart. It was such an ordinary scene, a mom shopping with her little boy in tow, but it hit me with all the force of a battering ram. This simple, everyday domestic scene represented the most secret longing of my heart. To have a family of my own that I could love and care for. There was only one thing missing.
Strong arms encircled me from behind, and I sighed into the embrace. The little boy let out a squeal at the sight of his daddy that brought a deep, rumbling chuckle from the man.
I loved that laugh and that I was one of the only people who could coax it out of him. He was my husband and the love of my life. I’d never felt safer or happier than I did right then.
“I love you, Rafe.”
His answer was a soft kiss to the side of my neck.
“Diana. Wake up, sweetheart,” he whispered.
After a few moments, I opened my eyes and blinked as the dream faded away. I’d come into the room for a nap right after lunch and meant to wake up after an hour. Rafe, Noah, and Matthias had been out of town on a quick business trip overnight, and the place had seemed so quiet and boring without them. I knew Lucia felt the same way even though JJ had been working hard to take her mind off Noah’s absence. I had been counting down the hours until they were expected back. I suspected that everyone else was too. Having one cranky, lonely pregnant chick, with a worried wife and toddler in residence couldn’t be fun for the others either.
The light in the room indicated that I’d slept much later than I’d intended. At a soft brush against my cheek, I turned my head. Rafe knelt beside the bed, watching me with a gentle look on his face. It shouldn’t have been such a surprise; I’d been expecting him home in the early evening. But it still took me off guard how happy just the sight of his face could make me.
“You’re home!” I sat up and threw my arms around his neck. Laughing, he caught me to keep us both from tumbling to the floor.
