Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(80)

“Hmm.” I maintained the same airiness in my tone because I couldn’t openly state what I knew in my heart to be true. I’d known Avery for too long. I knew him. There was no way he’d be responsible. It had to be Stephen.

“Everything all right?” Stephen asked from the bench.

I smiled at him but wondered if he could see my throbbing pulse. “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” I turned away and took a couple of steps in the opposite direction. If he was watching me like I suspected he was he’d see me reach for my gun. When I finished the call, things were going to get interesting.

“Di?” Vance asked.

“Yeah,” I answered, smiling to divert suspicion, even though no one could see my face. My thoughts raced, and I replayed every interaction I’d had with Stephen from the beach to what had happened in the hotel the night before. Red hot rage and confusion consumed me. How could this have happened?

“I’m on my way. Sit tight until I get there. Keep the peace. Don’t try to take care of this by yourself.”

My hands were already shaking, harnessing their power before I unleashed my fury. “I can—”

“Diana, don’t! I know you can, but don’t. You’re my partner and we don’t do it alone.”

It wasn’t the time, nor was I in the position, to argue. I could handle the situation by myself. I would tell him whatever he needed to hear. An army of men wouldn’t have been able to hold me back from seeking vengeance. “Fine,” I said sharply.

“I’ll be there soon.”

The call disconnected, and I slipped my phone back into my back pocket. When I turned around, Stephen was behind me. Startled, I stepped back, but his fist was already raised.

I heard the crack of the bones breaking in my nose and pain arrived soon after. I grabbed my face, my knees buckled, and I dropped to the ground. I saw nothing but black. My heart had leapt from my chest and had taken up residence in the center of my face, throbbing and pumping blood over my lips in a waterfall.

“What the hell!” Avery said with more conviction than I would have ever thought his kindhearted soul could muster.

“Figured it out, have you? And, that was for kicking me in the nuts,” Stephen said, staring down at me. “Get over here and sit down,” Stephen said calmly to Avery. Avery’s soft leather soles shuffled across the room and stopped next to me, obliging without protest.

Despite my years of sparring and having taken a few accidental hits, I’d never been punched in the face so hard. I blinked past the blindness, and it took a several moments to get a grip on the pain. The blanket of black that had been draped over my eyes slowly became a sheet of gray covered in white polka dots. The headache I’d woken up with had nothing on this.

I inspected my nose, expecting to find it a flat mushy patch of bone and cartilage. My fingers caressed my face with the gentleness of stroking a newborn baby’s cheek, but they could barely make contact. The pain was too intense. There was no doubt—it was broken.

“Stand up, bitch. And if you scream, you’re dead,” Stephen said. “I don’t need you alerting your boss out there.”

My vision faded in as his silhouette hovered above. He had a gun pointed at me. I choked on a laugh. He’d gotten it from the trunk when I’d been adjusting my seat. He’d probably over-tipped the valet in exchange for his silence, I thought, picturing the valet’s wide grin.

“Up!” he yelled, crouching down in my face.

I glared up at him as I rose. “I’m not a bitch,” I said, intentionally emphasizing the b to spray his face with blood. Watching his revulsion, I cracked a slight smile.

Through gritted teeth, he cupped my armpit and yanked me onto my feet then pushed me down on the bench next to Avery. He wiped the side of his face with a wide palm, smearing my blood. I began to calculate my next move. He glanced at Avery for a moment, so I reached for my gun. His eyes snapped back to me, and I froze. He reached inside my blazer and took my weapon, tucking it behind his back. “Sit on your hands,” he growled.

I sucked the blood off my teeth then shifted my weight from one side to the other, doing as I was told. There was no safety on my gun. God willing, he’d shoot his ass off this time.

Suddenly, I started to laugh. How many years and how many hours had I trained to avoid this? Yet here I was facing betrayal, trickery, and defeat at the hands of someone I foolishly trusted with a gushing nose, relieved of my weapon, and sitting hostage next to my client. The situation was so unbelievable I had to laugh.

“You think I’m funny?” Stephen asked, his voice loaded with contempt. He waited for me to answer, but I didn’t. If he thought I was laughing at him, who was I to make him think otherwise? A fresh drip of blood rolled off my chin onto my lap, baptizing my pants. He’d ruined my white shirt, which pissed me off, but at least the black pants wouldn’t show a stain.

“You know what?” His lips thinned then curved into a derisive smile. “I was wrong. You’re not a bitch, you’re a stupid bitch.” My eyes narrowed into slits. “I followed you to that beach. You know that now, right? Coincidentally running into you there, my nervous bumbling...” He laughed.

His words stung and I winced. “Why would you do that to me?” The blood coming from my nose had slowed to a trickle. I wiped it away with the back of my hand, and Avery reached into his jacket and handed me his pocket square.