Page 76 of The Hitman and the Psychic

He managed to get in a couple of solid punches, but I quickly got the best of him, and knocked him down. Ipinned him with my knee in his back, twisting his arm in a painful grip. He refused to tap out, so I pulled just enough to hear his shoulder pop, along with his cry of pain.

I might have gone too far, but he needed to be put in his place. Standing over him, I released his arm, noticing that most of the gang had come out to watch, including Razor, who stood beside Serenity.

Joint moaned and rolled over, holding his dislocated shoulder to his side. Someone would have to put his shoulder back in the socket, but Joint had to know I could have done worse. I met Razor’s gaze, and he shrugged before telling everyone to get back to work. The men began to leave, and Razor hurried to Joint’s side.

I brushed the dirt off my clothes and followed Serenity to her car. She stepped to the driver’s side and got in. Starting the car, she wasted no time in pulling onto the street.

She spared me a glance, and I cocked my brow. “What?”

Shaking her head, she let out a breath. “You. I… I don’t know what to say. You’re like… those actors in the movies. Only you’re real. Those guys are just faking it.”

I snickered. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “It’s just… I’ve never met someone like you. I mean… you’re tough and all, but Joint is huge. I was a little worried, but you took him down so fast, it took me by surprise.”

“So… does that mean you’re even more impressed with me now?”

She huffed out a breath and glanced my way, shaking her head. “I’m just glad you didn’t mean it about giving Joint Grizzo’s name.”

“To be honest, I thought about it, but since I knew you’d be upset, I came up with a backup plan.”

Her brows rose. “What? Does Vanetti know?”

“Of course. We came up with a deal yesterday while you were asleep.”

“Oh… good.” She glanced my way, her gaze focusing on my forehead. “We should head back to my place so you can clean up. You’ve got a cut above your eyebrow.” She pointed to the dashboard. “There’s a tissue in the glove box.”

I opened the box and grabbed a few tissues to dab at my forehead. My knuckles were scraped as well, but it was totally worth it to put Joint in his place. Of course, I hadn’t scored any points with him, since I’d taken him down in front of his gang. But at least the others would think twice about taking me on. Besides, he started it, and I had a reputation to keep up.

We arrived at Serenity’s house, and I took a quick shower to get all the grime off. At least the cut above my brow didn’t need stitches, and Serenity made me sit down on the edge of the tub while she used a butterfly bandage to pull it together.

She stood close, her chest even with my nose, and I wanted to bury my face against those perfect breasts. Her intoxicating scent made it hard to sit there without wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against me.

“There, that should do it.” She huffed out a breath. “I guess you can add that to the list.”

It would be easy to circle her waist with my hands and hold her captive. It might be worth it just to smell her amazing scent a little longer. “What list?”

“Of the things you owe me for. I think you’re still in my debt, even with the locks and the security camera.”

“Hmm… I didn’t know we were keeping track.”

She stepped away, and I gave in, circling her waist with my hands and tugging her back. Surprised, her palms came down on my shoulders. I glanced up to find her mouth open and her face suffused with a pink flush. “I can think ofa way to pay you back. You’d enjoy it so much that you’d beg for more.”

Her breath caught and her eyes darkened. Then her brows drew down and she pulled away. “Is that all you think about?”

I let her go and sighed. “Not usually, but you—” I swallowed what I wanted to say and shook my head. “Never mind.”

She pivoted and hurried out the door like an escaping convict. I followed more slowly, glad to know she was just as attracted to me as I was to her. On the way to her office, she threw an irritated glance over her shoulder. “We need to figure out who this Johnny person is, remember?”

“Yeah… got it.” I waited while she sat down. As much as I wanted this to be over, I liked spending all my time with Serenity. Once we figured it out, she’d move on, and I wasn’t ready for that.

“Okay. So let’s think about it. Johnny’s been a step ahead of you. So that means he’s got to have a way to get information on your whereabouts. That means someone’s feeding him information, or he’s bugged you with a camera or tracking device. Did you check your car, or motorcycle for a tracker?”

My brows drew together. Could it be that simple? “I didn’t.”

Her eyes widened. “Well. We’ll have to do that when we get back to the office.”

I shook my head. “I think I would have noticed something like that on my bike… but not the car.” I closed my eyes. “I should have checked.”

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