Chapter One
Diana was gone.
Rafe leaned unsteadily against the doorframe to his room, looking out into the empty hallway. When he’d woken alone, he’d gone looking for her. It wasn’t until he saw her room that it sank in. The closet was empty, and her purse and shoes were gone.
She’d left him. After everything they’d shared over the past couple of weeks, she’d walked out.
Rafe tried to force the rest of the fog out of his brain. Problem was even though his mind was gaining more clarity, his body certainly wasn’t. His legs were still wobbly. And joy of joys, his dick still thought it was party time.
Fuck, why was he still hard? After everything they’d done last night, his dick should be asleep for a very, very long time.
But oh no, just the thought of Diana and he was ready to go again. Inside his mind, worry warred with self-loathing and rage. Lots and lots of rage.
How stupid was he? He’d let in this woman, whom he didn’t know at all, and he’d been had. Where the fuck were his instincts? Someone needed to come and take his assassin card away. Go on and kick his ass out of the club. No more assassin potlucks for him. He’d been played by a novice.
A few months out of undercover work and he was sloppy?
Enough. Think this through.
Who could have sent her? Was this about money? He didn’t have any… none that she could access anyway. But the truth was he did have enough money to make himself an attractive target for thieves. ORUS had paid him well back in the day. He’d had enough sense to squirrel most of what he’d earned from them into an untouchable offshore account on the off chance that he’d have to run and take Nonna and Lucia with him. He’d made sure they’d never have to want for anything.
But Diana couldn’t know about that account, and the only way into it was the account number, both thumbprints, and an eye scan. So this wasn’t about that.
And then it hit him. There was something else far more valuable. Fuck, had she stolen the Decker?
He lurched down the hallway, holding on to the walls for balance. Once he reached the kitchen, he paused and forced himself to drink some ice water from the tap and then splashed some on his face. He needed to wake the fuck up. This was definitely more than sex stupor. He’d definitely been drugged. Just what had she given him?
Thanks to the water, his brain was functioning a little more clearly, and his legs were slowly catching up. Now as he lurched, he did so with more purpose. He stumbled into the dining room and then careened around the corner to make sure the Decker was still there.
His heart thumped against his ribs, and his breath came out in sharp, choppy gasps. Oh thank fuck. It was still here.
If this wasn’t about stealing the painting, then what was wrong? What could have caused her to do this? Maybe she was scared? His conversation with Noah came back to him in bits and pieces. One of the few reasons a woman lies is because she’s afraid.
Rafe frowned. It was possible that Diana was hiding from something serious. He didn’t think it was the boyfriend. Rafe was good at reading people, and he believed the guy when he said he didn’t know her. So what was it? He’d told her that he would protect her. He would do anything to keep her safe. She knew that right?
You beat the shit out of that guy? Had that scared her? Had that made her run?
Rafe had done his best to keep that part of him hidden. Sure, he hadn’t killed her asshole of an ex, but he’d worked him over good. And he’d enjoyed every second of it. What the hell was wrong with him?
Had she seen the bruises on his knuckles and thought about what those hands could do to her?
But then he thought back to the camera footage. She hadn't been upset. She'd been calm.
He barely made it to the bathroom before he was sick.
To force his body to wake up, he stripped and stepped into the shower. He turned the lever until the water streamed out ice-cold, pelting his skin for as long as he could stand it. After a few minutes of punishment, he turned off the water and toweled off briskly.
He snatched his clothes and headed back to his office. In the midst of his initial shock he hadn't done a thorough search of the safe. He needed to see exactly what she had taken. He was assuming all the cash was gone but he'd had other things in there that were far more valuable.
The thing about intuition was that it wasn’t so much there to warn you about awesome things in your life. That little lizard brain in the back of most people’s minds usually warned of impending danger or that something was wrong. It was that feeling everyone felt in the pit of their stomach when someone said they needed to talk.
As his hand closed around the doorknob, Rafe had that same exact twinge of intuition, that thing that said, “Hey, dude, shit’s about to hit the fan.”
And he wasn't ready.
There wasn’t much in the safe. Just some files that were better locked away. Files on ORUS agents. Files on undercover work that he’d done. Files he needed to hold on to to keep people safe. There had been cash. Nearly $50,000. All gone. Fine, whatever. He could do without the money.
His eyes immediately did a quick scan for the thumb drive. It was gone. She’d fucking taken it. His stomach dropped.