chapter six
“You’re sure you’re okay? You’re not hurting too bad?”
“Yes. I told you I’m fine. I’m just a little sore—it’s nothing.”
She’d been off all day. Well, off since pretty much yesterday. He’d been trying to figure it out. She’d seemed fine at the party. But now something wasn’t right.
He lived downtown near Chelsea Piers. So that morning they’d taken a walk, grabbed breakfast at one of those trendy hipster spots. Like a normal—well, couple.
Except you’re not a couple, are you? No, but you want to be, obviously. Dumb ass. But his point was, everything should have been fine. But it wasn’t. Quiet introspection he could handle, but this felt different. It felt like brooding.
“Everyone was cool to you yesterday, right? Noah’s a good kid, but sometimes he can be an asshole.”
She shifted her gaze off the television to meet his. “No. Noah was perfectly nice.”
“Did JJ say something? Listen, she’s brash, but you know, she’s pretty cool—”
She laughed. “I don’t know. I kinda liked her. And I don’t think she’s brash. I think she’s awesome. She really will say anything. I almost swallowed my chicken wing whole when she told Oskar that her dick was bigger than his.”
Rafe threw his head back and laughed. “I don’t doubt it.”
“I swear, I’m fine. I’m just thinking, you know? Your family is lovely. So, so… nice. Normal. Which is weird.”
Rafe frowned. “What, you expected a three-eyed, three-horned, giant purple people eater?”
“If you’re referring to that giant purple vibrator JJ was talking about, then possibly.”
Rafe chuckled. “JJ is hilarious. Next time ask her about risking her life in an apartment fire to save her fish. You should have seen Jonas’s face when he realized she’d run back in to rescue that thing while she was practically naked.”
He still couldn’t believe that shit. Rafe had been worried about her once they’d gotten the alarm. But Jonas had been beside himself. Rafe had never seen the guy like that before. But then, when Jonas discovered what she’d run back into the apartment for, he’d about lost it.
“If you’re sure things are okay, I’ll just have to trust you.” The hell he would. His instincts had served him well over the past fifteen years or so. Something was wrong, and he’d figure out what it was. He was nothing if not patient.
She sighed. “Okay. look. If you must know, I sort of walked in on Noah and Lucia you know…”
Rafe blinked. Had he heard that right? “Noah and Lucia you know…” And then it dawned on him. He wasn’t sure his body had ever gone through simultaneous reactions like this before—the urge to throw up coupled with the urge to throw his head back and laugh. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh. I mean, are they always like that?”
Rafe nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I know you’re probably pretty traumatized by the whole thing, but don’t worry about it. We’ve all walked in on them. And I mean all of us. If it is traumatizing and awkward for you, imagine how it is for—”
His phone rang. It was rare that anyone called him. If it was some kind of emergency, Noah would have sent the usual signal, a series of texts and rings that would let him know he was needed for trouble. No, in this case, his phone was just ringing. Which meant Oskar. He didn’t even look at the screen when he picked it up. “What do you want?”
“Is that any way to treat a friend? Not a friend, your mentor even.”
Rafe clenched his jaw. Noah had been on something the day he paired him with Oskar. One of Rafe’s main jobs once they got some new recruits would be training them to be efficient. He would be training them to kill, but only if they had to. Oskar thought it was his job to train Rafe to not kill people. As if he needed lessons on that. He had been FBI after all. Yeah, but you were also an assassin for hire. Details.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. You know how I get when I get angry.”
There was a bit of silence. “You know what, come to think of it, I’m still mad at you for that.”
“Get on with it.”
“Ah, someone’s testy. Does that mean I interrupted some get-it-on time? What’s his name? Is he big and burly? I picture you with a bear type myself. But hey, I don’t judge. Whatever tickles your fancy.”
Rafe just rolled his eyes. Oskar had somehow gotten it in his head that for six years Rafe had lived like a monk or was gay. Neither was true. He liked women; he was just selective. And he didn’t trust anyone.
“Did you have a point? Or are you just calling to annoy me? Because of the two blondes I could choose to deal with, I’d rather Diana over you.”
“Oh Diana. She is adorable. I’m surprised she’s choosing to hang out with you. But as much as I’d love to bust your balls, we gotta go. And lucky for you it’s in your neighborhood. Meet me on your north corner in five minutes.”
Showtime. “On it.”
Rafe turned to Diana. “I need to go out for a minute. Take care of something for Lucia. I’ll run by the store on the way home. Do you need anything?”
She shook her head. “That’s sweet of you. I’ll probably take a walk myself and do a little bit of shopping.”
“Okay. I’ll see you back here for dinner?” He retrieved the extra house key from the kitchen and brought it to her. “You’ll probably get back before I do.”
“Maybe not. I need a lot of stuff. I’ll probably head out and see if I can find a pair of sandals. I have a little money left from what you gave me the other day. And in case we go back to Noah’s or I meet Lucia for lunch or something, I want to have something besides the same pair of sneakers.”
He frowned. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Oh yeah, like women’s fashion was high on the list of priorities. Well, except for lingerie. That could be the highest of priorities depending on who was wearing it. “Oh. Sorry, I should have thought about that. I can take you myself if you want.”
She shook her head. “Somehow I doubt you want to go shoe shopping. Go. Go do whatever it is you have to do. I’ll see you later.”
Rafe hated to just leave her behind. But he had work to do. Besides, she said she was fine.
So then why is every instinct telling you she’s not?
Diana wasted no time.
The moment Rafe left the apartment, dressed in all black and with his don’t fuck with me face on, she was off the couch and sliding her sneakers on. There was no way she’d be able to follow him on foot. He was too good. She was glad she’d put one of those friend-tracker apps on her phone. Since he’d bought her the phone and they were on the same home network, the app loaded to his phone too.
It was low tech, but it worked.
She was out the door in a flash, keeping an eye on the direction Rafe was headed. Along the way, she passed a shoe store and stopped. She grabbed the first pair labeled in her size and was out in minutes. Now at least her cover was set.
And just what are you going to say when you find him? Maybe she hadn’t thought this through all the way, but no way she was going to miss a chance to get some valuable intel.
Or maybe he’s meeting someone… a female someone.
Diana scowled. Theoretically, she shouldn’t even care. She didn’t want him. Uh-huh. It wasn’t like he was her boyfriend. And she wasn’t stupid enough to think a man who looked like Rafe was a monk. Yesterday there’d been a certain closeness between them. But it wasn’t like he’d made a move. He might be off to see someone. She needed to be careful of that before she started to believe the madness.
She checked the app on her phone and cursed. He was moving a lot more quickly than she was. She’d need some assistance if she wanted to keep up. Also, he had the advantage of knowing where they were going and she didn’t, which was now glaringly obvious.
“Oh no. Wait!” She held up her hand to signal a man who was getting out of a cab right behind her.
“You need this one?” The man smiled at her in a vaguely flirty way, but Diana 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 her in the rearview mirror, but at least they were moving.
“Not exactly. I’m following my boyfriend. I think he’s cheating on me.” It was the only thing she could think of, but apparently it wasn’t interesting enough for the cabbie to care because he just shrugged and stepped on the gas.
She was able to direct him to the corner where the GPS showed Rafe.
Her cabbie signaled and stopped at the corner up ahead. Diana gave him a twenty-dollar bill and hustled out of the car.
“Thanks!” She 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.
She scrambled after him, nearly getting run over in the process. She inched closer to the alley entrance. Then she heard clanging trash bins.
“Fuck off me, man!”
The shout rang down the alley, and Diana instinctively shrank back against the wall. What was that?
There was a stick on the ground near her feet, and she hurriedly picked it up. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Belatedly, she realized just how dumb this plan was. She 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? Diana clutched the wooden stick harder. That sounded like him. By now the low timbre of his voice was something she was getting used to. Her instincts told her to run, but instead she held her ground.
Inching forward toward the sounds of scuffling, she paused right before the corner. She peered around the edge, keeping low to the ground, hoping she wouldn’t be seen.
Rafe was on the ground, grappling with some guy. She couldn’t even see what he looked like because every time she thought she’d catch a glimpse of his face, he’d move or throw another punch. Diana held a hand over her 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. Diana 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 she could too. How did she know the other man didn’t have some friends around who might come along and find her? This was truly not one of her best ideas. She was backing up, thinking she could run back to the main road, when her foot hit a bottle. It went skittering into the alley, the sound ricocheting off the concrete and brick.
Both men glanced over at her. The other guy smirked before turning back around, obviously not judging her 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, Diana could have sworn her heart stopped. In slow motion, she watched the gleam of sunlight on silver as the long blade was exposed. And she reacted without even thinking.
“No!” She sprang forward and raised the wooden stick in her hands over her head.
The guy heard her, but it was too late for him to react. She brought the stick down with all the strength she had, clubbing him over the head. He swayed, and Rafe rushed forward and put him in a headlock of some sort. The seconds ticked by, and the guy slowly slumped, landing in a crumpled pile.
Rafe stepped over the body and grabbed her arm. “Come on. We have to get out of here.” He wasn’t giving her much choice, so even though Diana was still in shock, her feet had to move to keep up with him, otherwise she would have been dragged. Finally she managed to find her voice.
“Who was that?”
Rafe didn’t even look at her. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter? I just killed a guy. Oh my God, I think I just killed somebody.”
“I promise all you did was stun him.” They’d gotten back to Grand Street, and Rafe held up his hand to hail a cab. One stopped immediately. He fixed her with an intense look. “Don’t say anything until we’re back at home. Got it?”
She nodded numbly as they climbed into the cab.
He had his phone out in a second and made a call. “You tracking him?”
She couldn’t hear the other end of the line, and it was killing her.
“There was a complication, but the muscle he hired is incapacitated.” More talking she couldn’t hear. He added, “Not what you think. I need to take Diana home, then I’ll come in for debrief.” Again silence, before he slid his gaze over her. “Not sure yet, but I’m going to find out.”
His dark gaze stripped her bare in the back of the cab. There was a part of her that wished he could see through her. Then he could unmask all the lies and just see her.
Once they arrived outside Rafe’s place, he handed over money for the taxi and then tugged her arm. They didn’t speak on the elevator ride up either. But as soon as they crossed the threshold, she jumped on the offensive. Better to strike first, right?
“What the hell was that?”
Rafe sighed and leaned on the mantel. “Oskar needed me.”
“Oskar? The guy who works for your brother-in-law? Viking-looking dude who flirted with me?”
“Yes, him.” He paused for a second and then scowled. “You think he looks like a Viking?”
Diana rolled her eyes. “That’s what you’re focusing on?”
“He’s my partner. Sometimes. Someone we need to get off the street finally showed his face. He took off running and Oskar went after him. I stayed to deal with his muscle.” His gaze narrowed a hair. “And then you showed up. I would love to hear the story of how that happened.”
Rafe DeMarco was a hard son of a bitch to read. He looked calm. Composed even. There was no tension around his lips. Even his voice was low and soothing.
But her instincts told her she needed to play this as close to the truth as she dared. Her life might depend on it.
She held up her bag. “I was shopping. They didn’t have my size at the store on Second Place, so I grabbed a cab and went to the one on West Thames.” It was a calculated risk. Bootsman Shoes was on practically every other block. “I was coming out when I saw you turn into that alley. Well, at least I thought it was you. I wasn’t sure until I saw you fighting with that guy.” She didn’t have to fake the trembling in her hands. Adrenaline and fear still coursed through her. “I mean, he had a knife. And I—” Her brain replayed every action she’d taken. The concern that she’d hurt the guy was real. The fear. It was the first time since she’d started this whole thing that she was terrified she was making a mistake. She was playing in a sandbox with actual killers.
“What in the world possessed you to follow me down an alley? Didn’t you realize you could have been hurt?”
“Well, excuse me for saving your ass. Next time I’ll let the random thug slice you into sashimi!” He was mad at her for helping him? Asshole. “And what about you? You think traipsing down dark alleys after people who want to hurt you is a good idea?”
“It would have been fine. That was nothing but a workout.”
She blinked. “A workout? He had a knife! Seriously, what is wrong with you? Where would you have been if I hadn’t come after you?”
He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut and hung his head. A low chuckle escaped and his shoulder shook. “I’m trying to decide if you’re reckless or just insane. So far, I’m leaning toward the latter. How this works is while you’re here, I take care of you, not the other way around.”
She crossed her arms. “Funny. That still doesn’t sound like thank you.”
Rafe barked a laugh, then scrubbed a hand over his face. “Shit. I’m sorry. And thank you.” He reached for her hand. After a pause, Diana accepted it. “There are things in my past that I never talk about. It’s as much for your safety as it is for mine. But I need you to just trust that I’m more than qualified to handle an asshole with a knife.”
Normally that would have sounded like a line to Diana, but she knew coming from him, it was the complete truth. She squeezed his hand back. “Okay. But I just need you to acknowledge one thing.”
“What’s that, Diana?”
She secretly thrilled at the way his voice lowered to a near growl when he said her name. Because her vagina would swear she had skin in the game.
“I just need you to acknowledge that I totally saved your life back there.”
After a beat, Rafe let out a roar of laughter.
Diana stared. A completely unguarded, laughing Rafe was vajayjay kryptonite. Wow. Something pulled deep and low in her abdomen just as her nipples tightened to pebbles.
At her gasp, he sobered quickly. The air changed around them, and Diana shivered. She knew what was coming before he even moved, but there was no bracing for it. He gently tugged her against him, giving her every chance to pull back, but no matter the commands her brain gave, her body refused to comply. Sorry, brain can’t come to the phone right now. She’s been body snatched by the libido.
Rafe slid his arms around her, bringing her body against his. His lips were gentle but demanding. A spike of electricity flared between them, scorching her lips when his tongue dipped in. With a low groan, he shifted their angle, kissing her deeper and ripping a moan from her as her whole body started to melt.
She didn’t have the defenses to fight off those long-dormant feelings. Somewhere in the far recesses of her mind, alarm bells rang, starting as a low buzz but quickly intensifying to a sharp clang.
He dragged his lips from hers and stared at her. His muttered curse echoed her own feelings. “We’re going to pick this conversation back up. But right now I need to call this incident in to the office.”
Diana wished she had something pithy to say, but at the moment her brain was still struggling to rev up and her libido was about ready to cut somebody.