Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(6)

“Naturally,” Avery added with a crooked grin.

I glanced at him curiously for a beat then went on. “The class happened to be run by the police officer who saved me the night I was attacked. He’d retired from the force and started the agency with another retired cop. After the final class, he offered me and Vance jobs. To think I’d be able to prevent someone else from being a victim and from feeling helpless like I’d felt, sounded like the perfect career. So, I took the job and here I am.” I smiled.

“That’s an incredible story. One of strength and perseverance. Forgive me if this sounds condescending, but I must say I’m proud of you.” He paused, squinting. “But I have a question.”

“What?” I set my fork on my plate and tilted my head.

“I’m sensing that you still beat yourself up because of that one mistake. Have you forgiven yourself?”

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. Of course I hadn’t. I never would completely. Life is a series of events that mold you into shape. Some experiences bend you gently while others break you. The night that man attacked me, I broke and was forever changed.

“To forgive is divine, Diana,” he said. “Remember that. I think it’s great that you turned a terrible situation into something positive, but don’t forget to let it go. You can’t beat yourself up forever.”

I begged to differ. I was pretty sure I could, but I didn’t say that. I shoved a big bite of cake into my mouth instead and smiled. “This is delicious.”

He scraped his plate with the side of his fork, gathering a dollop of chocolate mousse. “It’s one of my favorites. I only buy it when stress levels are high. A good dose of chocolate seems to settle my nerves.”

“There’s always something to stress us out, isn’t there?” I laughed, thinking back again to the park, but I wouldn’t dare mention it. “What’s bothering to you?”

He pushed his plate forward and paused for several beats. “I’ve just been thinking about an old friend of mine lately. We were close, like brothers. We used to take these great fishing trips.” The picture in the library flashed in my mind. “Have you ever heard of Long Boat Key?” I shook my head no. “It’s in Florida. If you ever get the chance, I recommend you pay it a visit. The sand is so beautifully white and pure. There’s nothing like it.” He laughed. “But that’s neither here nor there. They were just good, carefree days.”

“So, I take it you’re not close with him anymore?”

He shook his head. “No. We’re not. It was complicated back then. We were both...” He hesitated to pick the perfect words. “Glorified couriers for the bank we worked for. We delivered important documents all over the world. There was no such thing as the internet then and you didn’t send the kind of things we dealt with through the post office. So he and I traveled and did a lot of leg work.”

“Sounds like you got to see the world. I bet that was fun.”

“Ah! Very much. But it got to be too much fun for my friend…Charlie, have I mentioned his name yet?”

“No, you hadn’t.” I smiled.

“Well, one of the regular stops for me and Charlie was the Middle East—the black sands of the Middle East.” His eyes glazed rich with nostalgia. “All of those areas that are giving us so much trouble now, we went to regularly then. We dealt with Sheiks, world leaders, and some extremely wealthy people. We had some wonderfully fun and extravagant nights together. The glitz and the glamour, Diana, would have made your head spin. But the societies over there work differently than they do over here.”

“How so?”

“There’s a lot of bartering and bribery to get things accomplished.”

“Bartering and bribery? To get what?”

“Anything really.” He shrugged. “Information about our country, insider secrets. If you can think of it, money can buy it. It might sound strange, but it’s almost customary over there.” He sighed. “I was always too honest for my own good, though. But my buddy, Charlie, got sucked into some bad things. I didn’t want to believe it at first when I learned what he was doing.”

“Which was?” I leaned over, hanging on his words.

“Things he shouldn’t have been. He sold secrets about our country to the highest bidder.” He frowned.

“What happened to him?”

“I tried reasoning with him, but he wouldn’t listen. Eventually, I had to turn him in. I had no other choice. What he was doing was illegal and he would have eventually gotten caught. If I hadn’t done it, I would have been just as guilty.” His voice dropped low. “It destroyed me to do it.”

“So, is he in jail and about to be released or something?” I asked.

“No, worse,” he said and his face drooped. “He fled the country and there was a worldwide manhunt for him.”

“So, where is he now?”

“He was killed in a helicopter accident. It flew into the side of a mountain and exploded.” He cleared his throat. “The remains were so badly burned there wasn’t really anything left to bring home.”

I gasped. “That’s awful.”

“It’s one of my biggest regrets, even though it was the right thing to do. But being right doesn’t always help me sleep at night.” He laughed uncomfortably. “I miss my friend. Sometimes I let it eat away at me that I never got to say I was sorry.”