That friend of his, the intuition, was back.
He looked again, hoping he was just foggy from the drugs. No one went through this much trouble just for money. If so, she’d have taken the Decker weeks ago. No, she’d hung around this long for something more valuable than money. Because the information on that flash drive was worth way more on the open market.
Rafe’s head fell forward.
How many people were now in danger because he’d been thinking with his dick?
He didn’t have time for this shit. He needed to track Diana down and in a hurry. Still naked, he went straight to his room and grabbed his phone. When he’d bought her phone, he’d connected it to his account.
He immediately pulled up the Find My Phone app. And what do you know? Bingo.
“Gotcha.” She was on the move. He squinted, looking at the map. She was near the shopping center where he’d taken her to get her clothes. If he left now, he’d have just enough time to catch her. Maybe. He didn’t know what the fuck she was doing, but he was going to get her.
Because after everything, he sure as shit wasn’t letting her go.
Had she made the wrong decision?
You don’t have time for those kinds of questions.
How
had Diana gotten everything so wrong? Her father, her life, her family. Her mind raced, sifting through her childhood memories. Had her father ever cared about her? Had he cared about her mother?
Mama.
Had her mother known? Had she known the kind of man she’d married? Had she brought a daughter into the world, knowing what her husband did to others?
Diana’s hands shook as she stepped out of the taxi. Luckily, she hadn’t been so shaken that she hadn’t remembered to take evasive maneuvers when leaving Rafe’s place. She’d walked down the street, crossed over to another street, and then doubled back to the rear corner behind his place before hailing a cab. That way if he had any cameras out front that she didn’t know about, he’d think she went east. Not that she’d stump him for very long. But every minute—hell, every second—helped.
She made it to the bargain department store, legs weak and her breath coming out in ragged gasps.
Get it together. You do not have time for this. If you falter, you are a dead woman. Because at the end of the day, Rafe was going to come for her. And he clearly knew how to kill. He might work for the good guys, but she, most decidedly, was not one of the good guys. At least her family wasn’t. And when he caught her, there was no telling what he would do to her.
You know what you need to do. Stay focused. And get the hell out. When you’re safe and out of sight, then you can think this through. But first she needed new clothes, a new bag, and definitely a new phone. And she needed them now. She thought of the rolls of cash in her bag. Rafe’s secret stash of money was going to bankroll this little shopping trip. She hated to take money from him, but under the circumstances, she didn’t have much choice.
In less than three minutes, she had three sets of new clothes. Jeans, long-sleeved shirts, T-shirts, underwear, socks. Another pair of shoes. Most importantly, a new phone.
She ran to the checkout line, paid in cash, and then headed straight for the dressing rooms to change. She left the phone Rafe had purchased for her in the bathroom stall. Once he woke up, he’d be able to track her with that. So it had to go.
When all was said and done, she dragged her new clothes into the backpack she’d bought. She tucked her new phone into her back pocket. She snorted softly. The phone Rafe had bought her was a shiny iPhone. The one she’d bought herself was a flip phone. At least it could text though.
Once Rafe tracked her phone—because let’s be serious, he would—he’d come here, but he wouldn’t be able to find her.
As long as you get out in time.
She hustled herself out of the store, pausing around every corner, well aware of who might be watching, well aware of who might be looking for her. She sent a text to the one person she knew would help her. It was a risk, and she didn’t want to put her friend in danger. But right now she needed a safe place to stay for the night. Rafe would be looking for her in hotels.
Diana: Charisse, it’s Di. There’s been a change of plans. Can I crash?
While she waited, she impatiently inhaled a protein bar, then guzzled a bottle of water. She’d been in such a hurry to leave, she hadn’t eaten anything. At least she had the protein bars for now. Once she got to Charisse’s, she’d be able to get some real food. She only hoped her friend actually read the message and didn’t ignore it since it was coming from an unfamiliar number.
How had she gotten herself into this mess? What the hell was she going to do?
Her first option was to run. Get on a plane, access her trust fund, and bolt. But after everything she’d seen in those files, did she really want to do that? Apparently there were a lot of people, very bad people, looking for anyone named Vandergraff. She could always try going to the man who’d created the fake documents for her, but he worked with her brothers, so that wasn’t the safest option.
Which meant that her current identity as Diana Renquist wasn’t safe either.
Diana shivered. She had no money, save what she’d taken from Rafe, and her credit cards, which were trackable. What was she going to do?