Page 115 of Before I Loved You

I should have told this man everything from day one.

But I didn’t know… I didn’t know what it meant to be with someone who would turn the world upside down to take care of you.

“If this is too much, I can bring you home so Ray and I can sort the rest of everything else out,” he offers.

I shake my head. “No.” I push my hair back behind my ear. “I’m okay. I am. Really. It just hit me all of a sudden. Holding this in for so long and telling two people in less than twenty-four hours is just taking a toll on me. But in a good way, if that makes sense.”

Paul kisses my temple. “It does.”

I turn to Ray, who has been quietly watching us. “I’m sorry, Ray. I swear I’m not usually emotional.”

Ray displays a gentle smile. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.” And then, he starts typing into his computer. “I would suggest we keep the video and turn it into the authorities—”

“No,” I cut him off, adamantly shaking my head before focusing on Paul. There’s a reason I never went to the authorities about this in the first place. And I won’t be doing that now. “Please don’t make me go through that. If that’s the only evidence we have against him, then so many more eyes will watch that video. They’ll see me at my most vulnerable… I can’t go through that…I…just want the video erased. It’s his word against mine. I won’t win. It’s what so many girls have to go through all the time, fighting for control over their own lives. And I’m not…” I lower my head. “I’m not strong enough to endure that process.” A tear rolls down my cheek. “Please don’t make me.”

“Baby girl, we won’t make you do anything.” Paul’s eyes meet Ray’s, having a silent conversation before they go back to mine. “It’s your choice. Whatever you want to do, we support you and will make it happen. Letting the law punish Greyson for what he did is good in theory, but we all know how that might go. He comes from a wealthy family with plenty of connections. He’ll get off and face a community service sentence at most while you’ll have to relive that nightmare.” He shakes his head, anger in his darkening eyes. But the second they land on me, they soften. “If you don’t want the authorities to handle things, I’ll take care of him myself.”

I shake my head. “No. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

His lips curve upward. “Don’t you have any faith in your man?”

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you. And what Greyson has been doing to you…” He shakes his head as his jaw clenches. “He will suffer. I promise you that.”

I let out a shaky sigh, knowing I won’t win this one. As much as I don’t want Paul to risk getting hurt on my behalf, I know he won’t. And I know he’ll keep his promise. “Thank you.”

Ray clears his throat, bringing our attention back to him. “Okay, so his name is Greyson Black, age twenty-two, Caucasian male, who attends Linrey University. Is all of that correct?”

“Yes,” Paul answers.

I lean into Paul, feeling completely drained. But looking between these two, I’ve never felt safer.

I’ve never had people in my life who would fight my demons for me. Not since my parents died. And it feels really fucking good.

Ray continues typing until suddenly, his fingers lift from the keys. “Found him.”

“That quickly?” Paul asks.

Ray furrows his brows. “Why do you think the government pays me the big bucks? I’m the best of the best.”

“And I was starting to wonder if it was just you in the family with the big ego,” I mutter to Paul, making him smirk.

“Now,” Ray starts. “Because of the firewalls and security surrounding his system, I’m going to need to, unfortunately, take this one step further. But it should work if you’re willing to try, Paul.”

“Whatever you need me to do,” Paul responds.

“Good. Because I need you to put this chip”—he reaches into his pocket, revealing a tiny black chip—“into his computer. Do you think you can do that?”

“I thought you could access his devices from your computer? Like right now?” Paul asks, concern laced in his voice.

“Deleting things from the internet and completely erasing files from a person’s computer are two entirely different things.” Ray tilts his head. “It’s not impossible for me to eradicate everything from his computer without using this chip, but if you can insert it into his computer, it will make things much easier and smoother and save us a lot of time.”

Paul taps the table with his index finger. “Okay. We have an away game in a couple of days that we leave tomorrow for. I can try to get his computer when he’s not in his room. But then what?”

“Well, once you insert the chip, I’ll have access to everything on Greyson’s hard drive and cloud, including his phone. Any piece of technology he’s ever used will be at my fingertips.”

“But how will you know when you’ve found the right…video?” I ask fearfully, dread filling me.

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