Page 27 of Protection for Nichole

“She took information from me. I was lucky that my superior believed me. I could have received a court marshal. Instead, she was convicted of stealing the information. The blog and all her content was wiped off the internet. Like I said. I was lucky. I wasn’t punished, though they could have taken everything from me. I’m lucky it didn’t follow me here. I thought I could trust her, but she betrayed me.”

Squat shook his head. “Wow, I didn’t know that happened to you.”

“No one knew. That was part of it. She was military, Army. She was trying to expose something, but the news didn’t really get out.” Apple met Jay’s gaze. “I don’t want this woman to betray you like I was betrayed. It almost ruined me.”

“Apple, Nichole isn’t like that. I know you don’t know her, but she won’t betray me. She won’t deal out our information for her gain.”

Apple shook his head, his cheeks flaming red. “But how can you know for sure? What if later she decides to write a story about you, and then you’re exposed? You’ll have to watch everything around her. You can’t trust her.”

Jay shrugged. “We already have to do that. Everything we do at work could be used against us. I’ll never reveal anything to her, just like I would never reveal our stuff to anyone else. Just like Sharp can’t reveal stuff to Danika.”

Apple threw up his hands. “But Danika isn’t a reporter.”

Jay could tell Apple was going to have issues based on his past relationship. He needed the chance to get to know Nichole better, but that wasn’t going to happen this week. She was boarding a plane to New York in a few hours. Then, she would be on a news shows and the interview circuits. She hadn’t booked a return trip yet since she didn’t know when she would be returning.

Worry slid through him. What if she didn’t come back? But she’d said she would. He had to trust her. They’d connected and were tight. The love he felt from her wasn’t an illusion. What they had was special, and Nichole wouldn’t throw it away for some limelight reporting.

Chapter 23

Devon Zabel staredat the TV screen his assistant, Alissa, had just flipped on, shock coursing through him at the sight of the woman who’d destroyed his father’s life and, thus, his life staring back at him. She’d been taken captive by a group of terrorists, but they hadn’t killed her. Why couldn’t good things happen to him? Instead, it was one bullshit thing after another.

Five years ago, that woman had come into their lives, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She’d been allowed access to his father’s inner circle, and then she’d dismantled that circle piece by piece, tanking his company and putting him behind bars. Well, the behind bars part had come later with the trials, but it had been her fault.

Nichole sat in the studio, looking like a sweet, innocent person in her creamy pants suit, but he knew who she really was. The woman was a traitor. His father wanted her to write a book about him, but she’d betrayed everything they stood for. If she hadn’t come into their lives, his father would still be operating, and he would be living in a penthouse apartment near Central Park instead of slumming it in Jersey.

The interviewer leaned in, a serious look on their face. “Miss Brenton, did you fear for your life?”

Nichole leaned closer, her eyes going wider as her expression turned very serious. “It was a scary experience. There were multiple times I feared what was happening.”

Devon slammed his hand down on his desk and let out a primal scream. Why hadn’t those bastards killed her?

Alissa jerked away at his outburst. “Want to keep watching?”

“Of course. I need to hear what that bitch is saying. She needs to pay for what she did.”

A plan, that’s what he needed. A plan to destroy her. She had to learn a lesson. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to use her as an example. That way, if another nosy reporter came sniffing around, they would think twice before they turned that information over to any authorities. Bitches like her thought too much of themselves. They needed to be taken down a notch or two, and he was just the man to do it.

After the segment ended, he stood and moved to the window to look out at the street below. Gone were the Manhattan offices and the luxury accommodations. Instead, he was stuck in Jersey. Not even a good part, but Trenton.

Ankle-deep puddles dotted the broken asphalt in the parking lot below. A hooker stood on the corner, her pimp in an old car down the street. The area depressed him, but it was what he could afford after she’d ruined his family.

Worse, the business had been gutted. He was trying to rebuild, but people didn’t trust them. The jobs they were doing were beneath them.

He turned away from the scene out his window and met Alissa’s gaze. “I need to know everything about her.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll see what I can find.”

“You do that. Don’t let anyone know who is looking into her. I want to surprise her.”

Alissa nodded and backed out of the office. She was meek, just like a woman was supposed to be. She wasn’t the best at office work, and she still made mistakes, but she did what he told her to do and gave half-decent blow jobs.

Soon enough, he would come up with a plan to take that woman down a peg or two. She deserved whatever bad shit came her way. If only those stupid terrorists had done the job for him. But they hadn’t, so he would have to finish their work for them. Soon, he would end Nichole Brenton. That should make his father proud.

Chapter 24

Nichole hadn’t meantto fall asleep, but exhaustion held her. She’d been awake so early to make it to the studio for her interview that she’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and now she was paying for it. The buzz of her phone had woken her up, and she saw that Jesse had called.

Her hands weren’t working properly, so after pushing the button to dial Jesse, the phone flew out of her hands and landed a few feet away on the bed.

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