Page 36 of Protection for Nichole

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m a little surprised she recognized me without makeup on.”

Apple shook his head, anger clear in his expression. “You lie so easily.”

“Excuse me?” Nichole’s lips thinned, and her nostrils flared.

“How do we know you aren’t lying to Jay? Like, why should we trust you?”

Nichole’s cheeks went pink. “What is wrong with you?”

Jay stepped between Nichole and Apple. “Back off, dude.”

Nichole pushed him out of the way. “I know you think you have to defend me, but I can defend myself.” She turned to Apple and stared up at him. “You have a chip on your shoulder, and it’s affecting your perception. I’m not here to take advantage of you or Jay.”

“I can’t believe you after you lied so easily.” Apple turned to Jay, shaking his head. “It’s on you when things go wrong. You better watch your back.”

Anger slid through Jay as he watched Apple stalk off. Griz came over and squeezed Jay’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to him. Something else has to be wrong.”

Jay shook his head, not sure what to say. He wanted all the guys to like Nichole, but maybe he was asking too much from Apple. The guy had been betrayed, and he obviously wasn’t over it even though they’d talked it out. Maybe something else happened. Either way, he needed to get things right with Apple so they didn’t have strife on the team.

Chapter 32

Nichole feltawful for what had happened. It was obviously affecting Jesse. She wanted to be able to fight her own battles and not have Jesse have to take care of her. Maybe she’d been going about this all wrong.

They were in the car heading home when she turned to Jesse. “Was it wrong to lie to that woman?”

He shook his head. “None of us wanted her to know we were the Navy SEALs who went in to rescue you. That would have sucked.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think you wanted strangers to know who you were.”

Worry passed over Jesse’s face. “You told her you were going home.”

“I don’t really want random people to know I live here. At least not yet. I get that I have a broad audience who reads my articles, but that doesn’t mean I want them on my doorstep. I want to be able to go out to the beach with you all. I should probably wear a ball cap and maybe something else to disguise myself.”

“Maybe not. I mean, what are the chances someone else will recognize you?”

She had a bad feeling about that but didn’t disclose it to Jesse. The more well-known she became, the more likely it was someone would recognize her. There were tricks people used to hide, like ball caps and hoodies. She’d thought she would be fine, but obviously, being on the national news circuit had put her face out there.

Danika texted, asking if she was okay. She replied that she was, though the unsettled feeling hadn’t left. This was her life now. People would recognize her, and she had to be ready for it next time.

They put up their beach stuff and then showered, but the weird feeling still clung to her. She didn’t want to leave California feeling like she’d disappointed Jesse. With Apple being so angry with her, she wasn’t sure how to recover.

After their shower, Jesse was in the kitchen and turned to face her when she came in. “You know Apple will get over this.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

Jesse shrugged. “There’s something else going on with him. His ex did a number on him, and he thinks you’re going to do that to me.”

“I won’t.”

He moved to her, cupping her cheeks. “I know that, and you know that, but Apple will take time. He’s not a bad guy.”

“So he won’t hold this against you in the field?”

Jesse shook his head, but she could see the worry in his eyes. “No way. He’s not a total asshole. He may not like what you do for a living, but he wouldn’t ever jeopardize us because of it.”

She wasn’t fully convinced, but she would believe Jesse. He knew Apple, and she didn’t. Maybe that was the problem. She needed to get to know him better.

“How about after I get back, we have Apple over for dinner? Do you think he would like that?”

---