Rafe waited impatiently as the phone rang. It dimly occurred to him that it was way too early to call anyone, but he didn’t give a fuck. Diana was out there in the world doing fuck all, and he had no way to tell if she was safe.
Listen to yourself. If she’s safe? You need to be worried about whether she’s selling you out right now.
He thrust a hand through his hair, feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. She had no idea what the information she’d taken was worth. Not only that, how much heat it would bring on her. If word got around that there was a woman walking around New York with information on ORUS agents, she might as well have a target on her back.
Which just made his heart pound harder. It was too much, the idea of Diana out there alone where he couldn’t protect her. He needed Noah to wake the fuck up. Immediately.
He hung up and called back, letting the phone ring and ring. Finally a sleepy, gruff voice answered.
“Jesus, it took you long enough. Wake up. I need your help.”
He could hear rustling and then Noah’s voice whispering. A second later, he was back.
“I’m here. What’s going on, Rafe?”
“Diana’s gone.”
A pause. “Gone as in… Wait, did you two have a fight or something?”
Rafe growled. “She drugged me and then got into my safe somehow. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t have time to review much security footage before I left to track her. She took everything. Everything, Noah.”
A gasp on the other end let him know that Noah understood how serious the situation was.
“Fuck. Who do you think she’s working for?”
“I don’t know. But I need to find her before anyone else does. She probably has no idea what she’s gotten herself into. You can’t just sell this kind of information. Can you imagine what they’ll do to her? They won’t pay for it; they’ll just kill her and take it.”
Noah cleared his throat. “Rafe. You know Ian…”
“Don’t even say it. I already warned him that I’ll fuck him up if he touches one hair on her head.”
Quiet. Rafe gritted his teeth. He knew what his friend wasn’t saying. Threats wouldn’t stop Ian from sending agents after her if they discovered she was actually trying to sell ORUS secrets. Not to mention that he technically should be more worried about getting the information back than saving Diana’s skin. It was too confusing to think about in the moment, this strange compulsion he had to protect her, despite the fact that she’d clearly only been using him.
“I need Matthias,” he said quietly. It was humbling to ask for help and not the easiest thing to do. He’d been trained to be self-sufficient. Not to need anyone. But right now he’d ask for help from the devil himself if it got him what he needed.
Diana had managed to stay two steps ahead of him so far, but it was doubtful that she could evade someone with Matthias’s skill. Plus he had a few things that could help track her. He doubted that she’d remembered to wipe her old phone before she’d ditched it. She was clearly not the helpless innocent he’d assumed, but there was very little chance that she was on his level.
“I’ll find you,” he muttered.
The question was what would he do with her when he did?
“You know we’ve got your back. Anything you need, we’re on it,” Noah vowed. “I don’t know what her agenda is, but we’ll be ready.”
Protectiveness flared. “No one touches her.”
Silence. When Noah didn’t respond, Rafe’s heart rate increased, like he was preparing for a fight. It didn’t make any sense, his instinctive urge to protect a woman who’d done nothing but lie and steal from him, but his emotions weren’t taking directions from his brain right now. All he knew was that anyone who touched Diana would be on his kill list. The scariest part was he wasn’t sure he could check that urge, not even for his nearest and dearest friend.
“Rafe, we don’t know what this woman has in store for you. We need to figure out if she’s a threat.”
“No. One. Touches. Her.” Rafe squeezed the phone and then forced out a breath. “I’ll take care of Diana. Just get me an address.” Then he hung up.
The phone immediately started ringing again, but Rafe ignored it. Instead, he walked into his bedroom and stared at the mussed covers on the bed. Nothing made sense right now, but the only thing he knew was that he couldn’t let Diana get away.
Whatever this thing was between them, it wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
Diana dried the last dish and put it away in the cupboard. She turned around and watched as Charisse prepared a bottle for her son, who was currently smashing cheerios on the tray of his high chair. The little boy grinned at her.