Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(41)

“I’m sorry,” he said through a strained voice. “I’m really sorry.” He retracted his hand off the wall and slowly lowered his body to the ground, cupping his groin.

“Damn right you’re sorry. Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“How did you find me?” I hovered over him with my hands planted firmly on my hips. I was mad enough that I didn’t care how closely I resembled my mother.

“It wasn’t hard. I can find anyone.” His breaths were long and drawn out as he absorbed his pain. I said nothing and waited for him to spew details. He looked up at me and sighed. “You told me where you worked. I hacked into your company’s employee records. There was only one Diana. Your address was in there.”

I drew in a quick breath and put my hand to my chest. “You looked up my records? Who do you think you are invading my privacy like that? There’s a lot of personal information in there.”

“I’m sorry, but I had to find you.” He released his grip from between his legs and put his elbows on his knees then dropped his head into his hands. He looked exhausted, and the slightest hint of regret bit at me.

“Why? And why the hell did you sneak up on me like that? You know what I do for a living. What did you expect me to do?”

“Ugh, I don’t know. It’s pretty obvious this isn’t my area of expertise. I didn’t expect to see you and just reacted. It’s dark down here, and I thought it would give us some privacy. I didn’t want you to scream or anything. They might be watching you.”

“Who’s watching me? What the hell is going on?” I asked, squinting.

“Could we go inside somewhere to talk? It’ll be safer.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I think we should talk right here for now.” Despite being aggravated, butterflies fluttered in my belly seeing him again. Disheveled or not, he was still gorgeous.

“Did you notice if anyone was out front when you came down here?”

“Of course I noticed. No, no one is out there.”

“All right. Good.” He nodded. “I think someone might be after you.”

I looked at him with a pinched stare. “Yeah, I’ve been able to gather that. Someone snuck into my company’s building this weekend and I was the target of an attack.” I glared at him. “Where exactly were you Saturday afternoon?” I knew it hadn’t been him at B&B, but he deserved a small ration of grief for what he’d done.

“You were attacked?” His head shot up. “It wasn’t me. I swear. I would never hurt you or anyone.”

“I know it wasn’t you. I was messing with you.” I scowled. “And it wasn’t me who was attacked. Someone was after me, but they missed their opportunity and hurt one of my friends.”

“Oh my God.” He sighed, and his eyes darted around. “Can we please go to your apartment?”

“No, absolutely not! You can go to hell for what you did to me. I should push you out on the street. Do you have any idea how bad I felt when I woke up in the morning and you were gone?”

“I feel terrible about that, but I had to.”

“You had to?” I crossed my arms. “You made me feel like a cheap slut, you know that?”

“I…I can explain. Please, let’s go inside. It’s not safe out here.” The pleading in his voice weakened me.

I sucked on my teeth while I considered. “Fine. But I have a gun and if you try anything, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Okay. That’s fair,” he said, standing up. “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t try anything.”

“You better not.” I took a deep breath and turned, looking at him over my shoulder. “Follow me.”

I led us into my apartment, putting a little extra swing to my hips as he trailed behind me. I opened my door and invited him in.

“Have a seat on the couch,” I said.

He walked over and sunk down into the soft, tan micro-suede. His shoulders slumped as he blew out a large breath and ran his hands through his hair.

“Do you need something to drink? You look a little rough.” I tossed my purse onto the kitchen table.

“I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a while. I’ve been in my car. Some water would be nice. Thanks.” His apologetic smile cooled some of the fire in my veins, but it wasn’t yet extinguished.

I handed him the glass and sat down in the chair next to him. “Talk,” I said. “And you can start with why you ditched me in the middle of the night.”

He gulped every drop of liquid then set the empty glass down on the coffee table. “I told you. I had to. I didn’t tell you everything about myself when we met.”

“Clearly.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

He mumbled, “There’s so much, I’m not sure where to start.”

“The beginning is probably where Julie Andrews would advise. How about there?” I studied his face, the smooth distinguished line of his jaw, the gentle sloping of his nose, and the perfect pout of his lips. Vivid visions of our night together played in my mind.

“Everything was real. Everything.” He covered his face and groaned. “I never planned on ditching you like that. I’m not some guy who trolls the beach looking for women stepping on fire ants. I had a great time with you that night on the beach. And the next night is something I’ll never forget.” His eyes clung to mine, and he studied my reaction. “I know what you must be thinking, but I’m not person you think I am. I don’t usually do things like that.”