Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(58)

He was quiet for a second. “We have one more option.”

“What?”

“Avery. I need Avery. He’ll know what to do.”

“But you said you don’t know where he is.” I avoided his eyes.

“I don’t but…” He bit the inside of his cheek and looked at me from under his honey lashes. “I thought you might?” I opened my mouth but was tongue-tied. “I understand I might be putting you in a tough spot, but he was under your protection when the accident happened then he disappeared. I saw your company offers some sort of extra protection to clients if they ask for it. Right?”

I thought hard about how to answer his question. Confirming that B&B offered extra protection wouldn’t violate any policy. It was a service we provided and it was public knowledge. But, despite knowing he was in hiding, I had no idea where he actually was, so I nodded.

“Do you think it’s possible that someone in your company knows where he is?”

I chewed on my lip while I battled with myself. “Look, you’re asking me questions that I really can’t answer. I couldn’t tell you where he was even if I knew.”

“Do you know?”

I tilted my head and gave him an icy look. “Don’t do that. Don’t put me in this position.”

“Please, Di. I’m begging you. I don’t want to die. I’m not asking you to tell me where he is—“

“—which I don’t know.”

“But if you could find out.”

“Then I still can’t tell you. I think you’re a nice enough guy, despite all this, but I’m not compromising my entire career for you—or anyone.”

He searched the room for an answer. “Do you think you could get a message to him?” I sighed and rubbed my face, remaining quiet. “Please, Di. If you can help me with this, I’ll never ask you for another thing.”

I stared at him and thought long and hard before answering. “Look, I guess I can talk to my boss and ask, but I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s all I want. I don’t even know if Avery knows I’m alive. I’m sure he’s worried as much about me too.”

I was quiet for a beat. “I’ll ask tomorrow. That’s all I can do.”

“That would be great. Thank you so much.” He wrapped me in his arms, and I buried my face in his chest.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “Well, I haven’t done anything yet,” I said, laying my ear on top of his heart. I briefly listened to its steady beat before he released me. As we looked at each other, exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks, and my mushy brain wandered before I’d even known it was happening.

I fixated on his lips as he spoke but didn’t hear a word he said. Their curves and creases; I needed to memorize them. His bottom lip had a series of soft wrinkles, some more pronounced than others. His top lip was the perfect complement, dipping down ever so slightly in the middle creating this perfect little protrusion. I mindlessly licked my lips. His words that I hadn’t been absorbing began to filter in.

“….So, you’ve done plenty and I’m grateful.” His lips split into a smile, and I smelled his sweet breath.

Any ounce of restraint I had left would have running out of the door if I didn’t moved. “I-I’m going to go get cleaned up.” I got up and looked back at him over my shoulder. “I’ll be out in a sec. I’m going to grab a quick shower then maybe we can eat? I haven’t had anything all day.”

He gave me a warm smile. “I got a lot of extra Chinese, if that sounds good?”

“Oh, Chinese sounds amazing. Be right back.”

I walked into my bedroom and got undressed in the bathroom. I took a quick shower and washed the remains of Vance’s blood off my fingers. I hadn’t even realized it was still on my hands until I looked down and saw the orange-tinged water pooling around my feet. I put my face into the stream of water and let it beat the day’s memories away.

When I came out, I met Stephen in the kitchen. He’d set out three different containers of food.

“I got sesame chicken, pork lo mein, and chicken fried rice. What’ll it be?” he asked. “Oh, there’s a leftover egg roll too, and I saved you a fortune cookie.”

I moaned. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I smelled all of the food. “You might need to hand me a plate and stand back.”

He reached in the cabinet next to the microwave and handed me a plate. “Here you go. Have at it. I’ll eat whatever’s left.”

I loaded my plate with a little bit of everything and devoured it all.

“Don’t forget this,” Stephen said, handing me a cookie.

I squeezed the package until it burst then cracked the cookie in half. I read the words on the little white slip of paper and grunted.

“What’s it say?” he asked, trying to read over my hands.

“Uh uh.” I shook my head. “I’m superstitious.” I folded it in half and put it in my pocket.

It read: “How can you have a beautiful ending without making beautiful mistakes?”





Eighteen



I was restless in bed after I finished my Chinese food binge. I hadn’t kept Vance out of harm’s way with my secrecy, and it chipped away at me, denying my brain the luxury of sleep. It wasn’t worth the stress regardless of how I thought I’d been protecting him. If I had been honest with him, things might have played out differently.