Page 117 of Broken Promise
“Not a chance,” I growled.
“I didn’t think so, but it was worth a try.” Alan gave a mock salute before he left.
Diana shook her head as we watched him go. “Some nerve, huh? Besides, it’s not like I actually did anything heroic. I just sat there and waited to be rescued really.”
Incredulous, I pulled back. “Nothing? Diana, you came to New York determined to infiltrate the lair of one of the most notorious assassins the world has ever seen and find lost treasure. That’s pretty badass.”
There were men all over the world who would shake in fear if I growled at them, but Diana only snorted in laughter.
“Notorious assassin, huh? Well, your ego is definitely still intact.”
I grinned. “Always. But what I said is true. What you did was dangerous and ill-advised and also pretty much a suicide mission.”
“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be making me feel better,” she grumbled before elbowing me in the side.
“Like I was saying, it was all those things, but it was also ballsy as hell. I don’t care how you look at this, what you did was definitely notnothing.”
We’d been walking leisurely toward the front doors, but before we got there, Diana pulled me to the side.
“Do you really think so? After all the crazy and exciting things you’ve done, I’m sure what I did was no big deal compared to that. In fact…”
I could tell that something was still bothering her, which wouldn’t do. When we left this building, I wanted us to have a truly fresh start.
“Just spit it out.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s just that you’ve done all those amazing things. And I wonder if we go home and make a life together… well, won’t that seem a little… boring?”
I tipped back my head and laughed. “Boring? The woman who once seduced me and then kicked me in the balls? The woman who broke into my safe and stole a lifetime’s worth of accumulated blackmail material? The woman who lured two of Interpol’s most-wanted felons into a sting operation all while being pregnant? Not likely. Hell, you’re almost as badass as Serena Williams.”
Diana slipped her arm through mine. “I’ll take that. Because from here on out, it’s going to be us against the world.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
THREE MONTHS LATER…
Rafe
There was a gentle comfort about the last few moments before executing an op. All was quiet and you could hear the sound of your own heartbeat. For a man like me, it was often the only time I’d felt peace.
Until Diana, I thought. Then again, Diana had changed a lot of things in my life. Too many to enumerate.
I glanced over at the man on my left. Noah was outfitted in black head to toe just like I was. He also wore an earpiece. I patted the utility vest I wore, which carried everything from knives to tape to zip ties. For years it had been my standard uniform when working. Putting it on this evening before going out had felt like donning an old uniform that didn’t really fit anymore.
“Just like old times, huh?”
Noah shook his head. “Better. Our comms weren’t this good back in the day. Remember the ones we used to have? You’d get all that interference at the worst possible moments. Then it’d let out that high-pitched sound that was loud enough to pop your eardrum.”
I laughed at the memory. Even though ORUS had always had the best technology available, it was undoubtedly true that the tech we’d used ten years ago would seem like absolute shit now.
“Things have definitely changed. But I think it was an advantage. Agents in our time were forced to learn to adapt to less than optimal conditions. The guys coming out now, hell, they’d probably call a whole op off if their tech goes down.”
Noah grunted in agreement. “Probably. They don’t make agents like us anymore.”
“Are you two going to start snogging, or are we here to steal some shit?” Matthias’s voice came over the line, interrupting our conversation.
I almost laughed. It was one of the few times I’d ever heard the kid sound happy. But I couldn’t deny that he had a point. Waxing nostalgic could wait until afterward. When we were safely on the plane back to the States.
I glanced over at Noah. “Is it just me, or is Scotland Yard over there having way too much fun with this? The young ones used to be scared of us.”
