Page 24 of Daddy's Little Spy

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He should have spanked the truth out of her. Bent her over the table and taken his belt to her ass until she confessed everything. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel this vague sense of unease as he watched her move around her living room from his carefully chosen vantage point across the street.

Two days after she’d looked him in the eye and lied to him without so much as blinking, he still hadn’t been able to shake the anger. Trapping her into being with him no longer held the appeal it had when he’d first concocted the plan. He wanted her to confess everything to him, not because she felt forced, but because she wanted to. Because she felt even a fraction of what he felt for her. The little girl in her had gotten under his skin far more easily than the cop would have, far too easily for his own peace of mind.

So, he’d put a little distance between them, to give her time to think and him time to move forward with the plan. As much as he wanted her to come to him, willingly, he’d opened an account in her name with a tidy six-figure sum she wouldn’t be able to explain away if he was forced to expose her. Even if she could, the Rinaldi family had enough of the BPD brass in their pockets to end her career in law enforcement forever if she decided to be stubborn.

Movement caught his eye and he lifted the camera with the long-distance lens, focusing on Diana’s front door as the figure approached. Amara turned to the side and he snapped a series of pictures of her face, clear as day. To the casual observer, she was simply admiring the scenery, but it was a deliberate move, perfectly orchestrated to give him the best possible pictures. She still wasn’t quite on board with the change to their plans, but he trusted her to play the part of devoted friend and confidant she’d agreed to.

The door opened and he caught Diana’s split-second of shock on film before she quickly smoothed her expression to one of delighted surprise. The camera fired wildly as he snapped the pair embracing, and Diana clearly inviting Amara into her home.

And another part of the trap was set.

* * *

“So, ah, what brings you by, Amara?” Every nerve in her body on high alert, Diana guided her unexpected guest into the living room. As long as Amara stayed put, there was no danger of her stumbling across the pictures of the Rinaldi clan Diana had pinned up all over the walls of her office.

Standing in the middle of the living room, Amara slowly turned, openly canvassing the sparsely decorated space. “I was on my way to do a little shopping and decided to swing by and see if you wanted to come.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m buried in work.”

Amara’s bright smile immediately moved to a sulk. “But it’s the weekend. Work will still be here when we get back. I’ll even throw in lunch. My treat.”

Befriending Amara had been her original plan. And even though she’d spent all of the other day with Benito, her further attempts at snooping had been frustratingly thwarted by his constant presence. And he was far too smart to let anything important slip in front of her.

“All right. Can you give me half an hour to wrap some things up?”

“And change.” Amara grinned when Diana looked down at the raggedy sweats she’d thrown on after her shower that morning. Thank god it wasn’t her police academy set.

“And change,” Diana conceded with a laugh. “Have a seat and I’ll be as quick as I can.”

With a quick prayer that Amara would stay where she put her, Diana raced to her office and grabbed one of the listening devices she’d purchased for an opportunity just like this. It took longer than she would have liked to hook it up and ensure the program on her computer was recording, so it was closer to an hour before she was dressed in jeans and a lightweight top with the device clipped to her bra strap.

“Sorry, couldn’t decide what to wear.”

Amara glanced up from her perusal of some random home and garden magazine that had been delivered to the house months ago. Thankfully, Diana kept her more work-related reading material confined to her bedroom and office. The last thing she needed was to have to answer questions about her interest in firearms and police procedures.

“Oh, I love that top! Where did you get it?”

“Ah, I honestly don’t remember.” The truth, though even if she could remember, she wouldn’t have told Amara. She was supposed to be a sophisticated businesswoman, and the shops she frequented definitely didn’t fit her Diana Sullivan persona.

“Shame. Maybe I’ll find something similar this afternoon. Come, Joey is waiting in the car.”

“No Benito?” Diana asked with a nonchalance she didn’t remotely feel as she locked the door behind them and followed Amara down the front steps.

“Unfortunately, no. Like you, he’s a bit of a workaholic.” The barely legal driver who’d picked her and Benito up from the restaurant the other day hopped out of the car and raced around to hold the back door open for them. When they were settled in the back, Amara shot Diana a sly, knowing smile. “Anxious to see your man again, Diana?”

“He told you about us?”

Amara laughed, a deep, rich sound that seemed to fill the car with warmth. “He didn’t get a chance. Teresa was on the phone with me the first chance she had when you showed up at the restaurant the other night.”

“Oh.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Amara assured her with a wink. “Benny is an absolute sweetheart. You two will be good for each other.”

The cop in her warred with the woman, until she finally couldn’t hold it in. There was nobody else in her life she could ask about… certain things. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

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