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I startled awake as he was rinsing me and then again as he was drying me outside the shower. Nothing seemed real, like a haze had fallen over my vision and I was observing the scene from afar. It was so confusing when I, by all rights, didn’t deserve this treatment from him. He should have been at least a little annoyed that I’d hurt him and then he’d had to fight two men to save me. But there was no indication that Rafe resented having to come to my rescue. He made it seem as if being there for me was exactly what he wanted to do. No man had ever taken care of me like this or treated me so gently. It was something I could get used to so easily if I wasn’t careful.
I had to let him know. Maybe if I warned him, he’d take the threat seriously. “Rafe.” Shit, that hurt. And I was tired… so tired. “Danger. Broth— Van—” But my eyes wouldn’t stay open, and my damn throat didn’t work.
“Shhh. Don’t talk. Whatever it is can wait until you’re better.”
As Rafe placed me gently beneath the covers and kissed me on the forehead, I allowed myself to snuggle in the glow of his love and care. But I knew the truth, just like I had known it all along, deep down. My brothers would eventually come for me and Rafe. And this time they’d be prepared. I had to do what I could to protect him. And that meant leaving him behind.
* * *
Rafe
I called on every bit of my training to maintain a calm, cool façade in front of Diana. She was exhausted and in pain. The last thing she needed right now was to see me rage. So I’d tried to lock it down, to save it for when I needed it. Such as when I tracked down the son of a bitch who’d had his hands around her throat a few hours ago.
I took another deep breath and brushed a stray lock of silky hair off her forehead. She’d fallen asleep so fast it was almost as if she’d turned off a light switch. That was the sleep of the trusting. No one I knew slept like that.
It warmed me that she trusted me enough that she could relax in my presence instantly without a second thought. But then I told myself not to take it as too much of a compliment. No doubt she was exhausted from her brush with death.
The bruising around her neck stood out against her pale skin, every mottled discoloration an insult.That motherfucker has to die, I thought. Diana was a tiny thing, and even though she had this crazy idea that she was a badass, she was an angel, through and through. I rubbed my chest, right over my breastbone, no longer able to hold back the nightmarish images that had plagued me on the whole drive while I’d been tracking Diana this afternoon. A million scenarios had played in my mind as I’d hoped that she wouldn’t get into any trouble before I could reach her.
It was a dirty trick that she’d pulled, kicking me in the family jewels, but I couldn’t even be too angry.
It was exactly what I used to tell Lucia to do.
The thought of my sister made me think of the man she was married to, my former protégé. Exactly the kind of man with the resources to help me right now. I’d worked so hard to push down the part of me I was ashamed of. The part of me that didn’t even flinch at killing. I never enjoyed it. I wasn’t like some of the others in ORUS, but for the most part, I slept just fine when I took a piece off the board.
I went out to the living room, leaving the door to the bedroom cracked slightly so Diana would have some light from the hallway if she woke up frightened. I pulled out my cell phone and called Noah. My brother-in-law answered on the first ring.
“The tracker came in handy. I was almost too late, in fact,” I said before Noah even said anything.
After a brief pause, Noah cursed. “Shit. How bad is it?”
“Bad. The guys who had her had some training. Not ORUS level but definitely not your run-of-the-mill thugs.”
Noah’s sigh over the line reflected how I was feeling. From the moment we’d met when I’d been assigned to mentor the younger man, there had been an immediate kinship. Noah had been my brother long before he’d married Lucia. I knew that he would always have my back and do whatever he could to help me out, even when it meant the possibility of trouble being brought to his doorstep.
“I need Matthias.” I didn’t need to say anything else.
“You got it. Whatever you need, man.”
I sighed. The problem was I didn’t actually know what I needed. This was unfamiliar territory for me. I always knew what I was doing, always had a plan. Then a tiny, blond slip of a woman had come into my life and thrown me off-balance.
And I loved it.
“Not sure what I need yet. Matthias already ran her, and I know the ID is fairly fresh. So that’s a red flag, but there’s something I’m missing. She tried to tell me something earlier, but she passed out before I could get it out of her. I don’t feel safe with her here.”
“Bring her here,” Noah said. No hesitation.
I couldn’t even respond for a moment. This was the meaning of family. People who were there for you without question, even when it might be difficult. I knew without a doubt that Noah would fight beside me to the death to protect Diana just because I cared about her.
“I’ll do that. Thank you.”
“Any time. I’ll have Matthias on the watch for you. He’ll let you in.”
After hanging up with Noah, I packed a bag for myself and another for Diana. I could stay at home, but for how long? The truth was I didn’t know exactly how compromised my security was from what Diana had done. And even if it was okay, why tempt fate? It was better if I had backup. When I was a younger man, and a dumber man, I’d have stayed put hoping for a fight. But now that I was older and wiser, I actually had something to live for. Something I wanted to protect.
I took our bags down first and secured them in the back of my SUV. Then I came back for Diana. She was so tired that she barely moved as I dressed her in a lightweight sweater and a pair of leggings.
Diana opened her eyes several times as I carried her down in the elevator and then out the garage entrance. Once I had her belted in, I tucked a small pillow under her chin. She smiled softly and closed her eyes again.
