Page 42 of Protection for Nichole

Anger rose, but he tamped it down. “Please find someone to talk to, and you are coming over. That’s non-negotiable. You need to spend time with Nichole and get to know her.”

“I don’t trust her.”

“Well, that’s because you don’t know her.”

Apple shook his head. “She lied so easily.”

“She was protecting us. And if you knew her, you could have seen that her lie wasn’t easy. She did it to protect us. She didn’t want some random woman taking photos of us and sharing them around on social media, telling everyone we were the SEAL team who rescued her.”

Apple shook his head. “This is all fucked up.”

“Yeah, but we’re going to un-fuck it. And you’re going to get to know Nichole. She isn’t Tara.”

Apple drank the last of his beer, not looking fully convinced, but he wasn’t arguing about having dinner with Nichole. Maybe he was being too simple-minded about what the outcome could be, but he really thought that once Apple knew Nichole, everything would get better.

Now, he just had to plan the perfect menu to make sure he could referee between the pair if it came to that. He wanted them to have time, but he didn’t want her left alone for too long.

Chapter 36

Devon cursedhis father all the way home. The man had been an asshole about everything. Why had he been such a fucking prick? Devon just needed some information. Now, he would have to figure it out some other way to take down the bitch.

It took him more than a day to recover from having to travel amongst regular people. He wasn’t suited to being poor. At heart, he was rich and deserved first-class accommodations. In the regular area of the plane there were too many people and no alcohol. He needed to be drunk to be around normies. They were loud, and they brought kids with them. Dumb babies crying. Who thought it was a good idea to bring a baby on a plane? People should leave their kids at home.

When he finally made it to the office, agitation filled him. “Alissa, I need a favor.”

She followed him into the rom with his desk, gum clicking between her teeth. He hated women who chewed gum. She must have forgotten until he saw her slowly swallow something. At least that was gone.

“What kind of favor do ya need?”

God, she was stupid. Her Jersey accent pissed him off almost as much as gum. He never should have hired her. The only reason he kept her around was she never complained when he needed a blow job.

“I need information on that bitch, Nichole Benton. I need to know where she is.”

Alissa shrugged. “Sure. She lives in Chicago.”

His anger almost exploded. He knew she lived in Chicago, he needed to know where she was. “But is she there? Didn’t our man, the guy we hired to check on her, say he hadn’t seen her after New York? Like she didn’t go back there.”

Worry crossed Alissa’s face and he wanted to slap her for being so stupid. “Um, let me check with him. What do you want him to do if he finds her?”

Did he have to do everything? It was like Alissa knew nothing at all. How could he get anything accomplished when everyone around him was so dumb. “Nothing. He just needs to get me that information. If she’s there, I’ll get a flight out.”

Her eyes narrowed and she looked at him like he was stupid. “Are you sure?”

Anger rose, and he pounded the desk. “Yes. I’m positive. I need to get her, and I don’t need anyone else fucking this up.”

Maybe he’d revealed too much to Alissa., but she wasn’t the brightest woman he’d ever met. She gave halfway decent blowjobs, but that’s not what he needed right now. He needed to figure out where that Nichole woman was and get her.

Once he had Nichole, he would make her pay. She’d destroyed his family’s legacy, and she needed to apologize for that. He also wanted her to pay. It was past time to destroy her.

Nichole had fucked over his whole family, and now she was going to learn how it felt to be totally fucked over.

Chapter 37

Nichole hadher whole life packed up and ready to be shipped to California. There were six boxes. That’s it. She’d donated everything else, given a few things to friends, let the woman next door take whatever she wanted, and was ready to go.

There was her lunch with Lana and then her flight later that afternoon. She had to pinch herself as she watched rain fall out her window. The weather had turned cold and miserable. She wouldn’t miss days like this where she didn’t want to go out, but she had to. Being able to go jogging most mornings or head to the park or the beach on the weekends would be amazing.

Maybe that’s why she’d traveled so much. She’d hated living with the cold, rainy, or snowy weather. After dropping her boxes off, she went back to her apartment one last time. On the way there, she noticed a guy standing across from her building who’d been there the day before.

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