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The moment Rafe left the apartment, dressed in all black and with hisdon’t fuck with meface on, I was off the couch and sliding my sneakers on. There was no way I’d be able to follow him on foot. He was too good. I was glad I’d put one of those friend-tracker apps on my phone. Since he’d bought me the phone and we were on the same home network, the app loaded to his phone too.
It was low tech, but it worked.
I was out the door in a flash, keeping an eye on the direction Rafe was headed. Along the way, I passed a shoe store and stopped. I grabbed the first pair labeled in my size and was out in minutes. Now at least my cover was set.
And just what are you going to say when you find him?Maybe I hadn’t thought this through all the way, but no way I was going to miss a chance to get some valuable intel.
Or maybe he’s meeting someone… a female someone.
I scowled. Theoretically, I shouldn’t even care. I didn’t want him.Uh-huh. It wasn’t like he was my boyfriend. And I wasn’t stupid enough to think a man who looked like Rafe was a monk. Yesterday there’d been a certain closeness between us. But it wasn’t like he’d made a move. He might be off to see someone. I needed to be careful of that before I started to believe the madness.
I checked the app on my phone and cursed. He was moving a lot more quickly than I was. I’d need some assistance if I wanted to keep up. Also, he had the advantage of knowing where he was going and I didn’t, which was now glaringly obvious.
“Oh no. Wait!” I held up my hand to signal a man who was getting out of a cab right behind me.
“You need this one?” The man smiled at me in a vaguely flirty way, but I ignored him, pushing past and catapulting into the back seat of the cab.
“Please hurry and make the next left.”
“You in some kind of trouble, lady?” The cabbie glanced at me in the rearview mirror, but at least we were moving.
“Not exactly. I’m following my boyfriend. I think he’s cheating on me.” It was the only thing I could think of, but apparently it wasn’t interesting enough for the cabbie to care because he just shrugged and stepped on the gas.
I was able to direct him to the corner where the GPS showed Rafe.
My cabbie signaled and stopped at the corner up ahead. I gave him a twenty-dollar bill and hustled out of the car.
“Thanks!” I glanced around but couldn’t see him. What the hell? According to GPS, he should be right— Oh, there he was, ducking down an alley.
I scrambled after him, nearly getting run over in the process. I inched closer to the alley entrance. Then I heard clanging trash bins.
“Fuck off me, man!”
The shout rang down the alley, and I instinctively shrank back against the wall. What was that?
There was a stick on the ground near my feet, and I hurriedly picked it up. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. What the hell had I gotten myself into? Belatedly, I realized just how dumb this plan was. I should have at least brought a weapon.
Why yes, let’s follow Rafe into an unfamiliar part of the city and then down an alley. Smart girl.
But then there was another shout, one that sounded kind of familiar. Was that Rafe? I clutched the wooden stick harder. That sounded like him. By now the low timbre of his voice was something I was getting used to. My instincts told me to run, but instead I held my ground.
Inching forward toward the sounds of scuffling, I paused right before the corner. I peered around the edge, keeping low to the ground, hoping I wouldn’t be seen.
Rafe was on the ground, grappling with some guy. I couldn’t even see what he looked like because every time I thought I’d catch a glimpse of his face, he’d move or throw another punch. I held a hand over my mouth, not wanting to make a sound and possibly distract him.
Although it didn’t look like he needed any help.
Holy hell, the man could move. I winced and shrank back again as Rafe and the other man grappled and rolled until they were finally both on their feet. It was like watching a fiercely choreographed dance with kicks and punches flying. The only difference being that someone could end up dead.
The thought was sobering. Because not only could Rafe end up dead, but I could too. How did I know the other man didn’t have some friends around who might come along and find me? This was truly not one of my best ideas. I was backing up, thinking I could run back to the main road, when my foot hit a bottle. It went skittering into the alley, the sound ricocheting off the concrete and brick.
Both men glanced over at me. The other guy smirked before turning back around, obviously not judging me as much of a threat.
Rafe, on the other hand, looked gobsmacked. His mouth fell open. “Diana? What the hell are you doing?”
While he was distracted, the other man drew a knife. In that moment, I could have sworn my heart stopped. In slow motion, I watched the gleam of sunlight on silver as the long blade was exposed. And I reacted without even thinking.
“No!” I sprang forward and raised the wooden stick in my hands over my head.
