“Go along with what?” She blinked innocently.

“The kiss.” I turned the screen back to face me and loaded the video. I pushed play and spun it toward her. “This.”

She watched silently, giving nothing away. When it was finished, she raised her eyes to meet mine, her expression suddenly serious. “So you’ve discovered our little secret.”

She wanted me to assume the kiss was real. I didn’t believe it was. “That you played together? Yes.”

She laughed. “Is that what he told you? I suppose he wouldn’t want you to know what we really meant to each other.”

“Ha ha. I don’t buy it.”

“That I was Hudson’s lover? Suit yourself.” She pursed her lips. “It lasted beyond that, you know. Why do you think I had a key to his place? And when I picked him up at the Hamptons—there was no business trip.”

Lies, lies, lies.

I didn’t have any doubt that every word was meant to instigate me. “You’ve f**ked with me too many times to believe anything that comes out of your mouth.” I closed my computer and began stuffing it in my bag. There was nothing to learn from her after all.

Celia shrugged. “I could give you proof, if I wanted to. I know all his bedroom moves. Does he dominate you completely? Does he have a nickname for you? Precious, perhaps?”

Unwittingly, my eyes popped up at Hudson’s pet name. How the hell did she know about that? Hudson had promised me it was private.

She caught my reaction. “He does, doesn’t he? Don’t you know that he calls all his lovers precious? Did you think it was just for you? He called me that when he plowed into me over and over on his office desk. ‘My precious, my precious,’ he’d say. I’m sure he simply says it now out of habit.”

It didn’t matter if she was telling the truth or lying. Either way, she’d tainted something sacred. Something that meant a great deal to me. That combined with all the other shit she’d pulled?

I snapped.

“Maybe it wasn’t just for me. But this is just for you.” My hand curled into a fist and flew at her face before she could see it coming. From the cracking sound that accompanied my punch, I guessed that her nose was broken.

“You f**king bitch!” she screamed, her hands holding her nose.

“I was thinking the same about you. Though cunt would have been my choice of noun.”

Blood oozed out from between Celia’s hands. “You want a noun? Try lawsuit.”

That was the last I heard before I darted out the patio gate. Afraid Celia would find someone to come after me, I headed straight for the subway.

A lawsuit, huh? Well, it was f**king worth it.

Chapter Eighteen

I jumped on the first train that was available and found an empty seat in the back, my hands shaking and my heart pounding.

God, what had I done?

I couldn’t decide if I was scared or exhilarated. Probably an equal combination of both. Because, damn. I’d punched Celia Werner. And probably broke her cute little nose. That was surely going to get a cop or two knocking on my door. And, with her power and money, they’d take her charge seriously. I’d had trouble with the law in the past. Having another incident on my record was not something I was looking forward to.

On the other hand—I punched Celia f**king Werner. And holy f**k did it feel good.

I had to do something, tell someone. I considered my options—Brian had always been my go-to person for getting me out of sticky situations. That had been hard on our relationship, and now that we were getting along, involving him wasn’t my ideal choice.

That put Hudson at the top of my list. He was better suited to go up against the Werners. While I was pretty sure that he would be one hundred percent supportive and take care of anything I needed, calling him with the news promised to be embarrassing. Especially since I’d ditched my bodyguard. He wouldn’t be pleased with that.

Cell service was spotty underground, but I managed to get through. Unfortunately, I reached his voicemail. I tried a couple of times with the same result. Hudson had said he had meetings all day. I was sure that was where he was. I chose not to leave a message. Instead, I texted him to call me ASAP and hoped to heaven I got to him before Celia did.

Because she would try to contact him too. Of that I was certain.

And what about what she’d told me? As much as I didn’t want to let her get to me, I couldn’t help but think about the things she’d said. I didn’t automatically believe her—why would I?

But her proof…

I shook off the idea. Somehow she found out about Hudson’s name for me. That had to be it. There was no way he’d called her that too. And, yes, he was dominating in bed, but anyone who knew him would assume that.

The only reason it continued to nag at me was that I still hadn’t heard Hudson’s confession. Was this what he meant to tell me all along? That he’d been with Celia? That he’d slept with her while with me?

I didn’t think so. I didn’t want to think so. It was too easy, too predictable. Hudson was never predictable.

Except if that wasn’t it…

The alternate possibility that had started to form in my mind was worse than what Celia had suggested. Much worse. Like, it would shatter my world to discover it were true. I couldn’t entertain the idea long enough to work through it, even to try and discount it.

So I didn’t think about it at all. Buried it until I had to deal with it. If I had to deal with it.

Meanwhile, I needed someone to give me some advice. Besides Brian, who would know how police handled battery charges? I considered David and Liesl. Mira and Jack were even possibilities. Finally, I settled on someone who I was sure would be able to handle the situation the best.

Jordan answered on the first ring.

“Hey, I know your shift doesn’t start for a bit, but I’m sort of in a situation and I need your help.”

“I can be at the penthouse in twenty-five.”

He was already about to hang up when I stopped him. “Actually, I’m not there. I’m just walking off the subway at Grand Central Station.”

There was only a minor pause before he asked, “Reynold’s not with you?”

“No.” I should have been more regretful, but I wasn’t. “I’ll explain when I see you. Can you come meet me?”

“Yep. In fact, if you’re at Grand Central, I can be there in ten.”

We agreed on a place to meet. Then I hung up and waited for him to show.