Page 37 of Bound in the Dark

"Thought you were meeting with a contact." Highdive’s voice was tight as if it was taking everything inside him to hold back some deep emotion.

Was he angry with her? Or was it something else? Was he accusing her of lying to him? That thought made her own anger rise, but she pushed it back and tried to think rationally. What would she think if their positions had been reversed? Diana closed the trunk and considered her words carefully.

"I did meet my contact. He told me that Tony was about to double-cross you all with an ambush."

"So instead of calling, you decided to drive up here and launch rockets at us?" Hawk growled.

She might be willing to cut Highdive some slack on his attitude, but Hawk should know better than to question her with that tone. Her sister would have shot him for snapping at her like an errant child. The man was lucky she had a less volatile temper than her sister.

Diana crossed her arms and glared at her brother-in-law, not intending to answer him until he found his calm.

"The rockets were me. And if I'd been shooting at you I wouldn't have missed. Aunt Diana was the sniper." Nadya raised her chin. "I think the words you're looking for, Pappy arethank you."

Hawk pinched his nose and looked like his head might explode.

Diana decided to have pity on him before he had a stroke. "I met my contact here. We discussed him handing over information on Petrov. By the time he told me what was going to happen you were already pulling up."

"Very convenient meeting your informant right next to where we were getting ambushed."

The suspicion in Highdive’s voice was technically reasonable, but it still stung. Did he really believe she could have been part of the ambush? Or that she would withhold critical information that could have killed him?

"No, I would have preferred to get the information a lot sooner. Then I would have eliminated the threat." She locked gazes with Highdive. "That's how I work. I don't make plans that rely on my niece to play Rambo with my most explosive toys."

"You could have been killed." The pain in Highdive's voice shocked her. Her anger melted like ice under the desert sun.

Could he be concerned for her safety? How… sweet. She'd never been the type of woman people tried to protect. She'd actually been the safest person in the battle since she'd been lying prone on the cliff edge but that didn't seem to matter to him.

How could she tell him she appreciated his concern without undermining herself? She kept her voice soft. "Youwouldhave died. Honestly it’s a miracle you survived evenwithour help. If Nadya hadn’t used the rockets the way she did a lot of you still would have died."

Nadya blushed, but she stood a little straighter with the praise.

Highdive grabbed Diana’s arm. "It’s not your job to protect me."

Diana tried not to growl at the ridiculous statement. She shook off his grip and glared at him. "Is that your way of saying thank you?"

"Who was your contact?" Hawk cut into their argument.

The tension building between the two of them was like a rubberband ready to snap. It had been a long time since she'd allowed anyone to question her actions. Normally, if someone was stupid enough to try, she'd violently put them in their place then leave. Her sister probably wouldn't appreciate it if Diana badly damaged her husband.

A childish part of her wanted to let them know everything to justify her actions. Shifting the blame for the almost disaster onto the correct shoulders. But that wouldn't be professional. Whether she agreed with her client's decisions or not.

A client's confidentiality was sacred. Even when they acted like idiots.

Donavan Minetti had earned her respect a long time ago, but the games he played when his son was involved had gotten out of hand. Someone needed to talk sense into him. Since Diana preferred to remain alive, that someone wouldn't be her.

Nadya giggled. "It was some old guy. Never seen him before, but he was creepy."

Diana glared at her niece and tried not to laugh. Donavan Minnetti was many things but creepy wasn’t one of them. Nadya also, without a doubt, knew who he was and apparently understood that his involvement wasn’t knowledge that should be shared.

"What?" Her niece’s shocked look was award worthy. "You didn't say I couldn't tell anyone."

It was good to know that the teenager could lie convincingly. Her niece had probably acquired that ability when she was very young to survive living with her grandfather. Nadya's youth and perceived innocence would be helpful in convincing these men she was the picture of virtue.

Diana almost pitied Hawk.

Grinder stepped out of the woods with a makeshift bandage wrapped around his arm. The injury didn't look too bad, but sometimes flesh wounds were more painful than more serious ones. The white blood-stained material was an uncomfortable reminder of how much worse events could have been.

"Tek says he can’t reach you on comms. The police have received reports of possible explosions in this area. We have about forty-five minutes before someone shows up to investigate."

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