Page 46 of Protection for Nichole

“Oh, nice. Thank you.”

Jesse stepped forward and held out his hands. “I can take the pie.”

“Don’t eat it all.” Apple’s words sounded stiff.

Nichole wanted to put him at ease, but she wasn’t sure what to do. It was obvious he still had issues with her, but she couldn’t force him to change his mind.

“So you were in Chicago this week?” Apple asked.

She nodded. “I boxed up my stuff and shipped it out here.”

“Won’t you miss living there?”

A shiver snaked through her at the thought of the guy who’d been watching her. Apple frowned, and his gaze narrowed.

She shook her head. “No. I never liked the snow.”

Jesse must have noticed her reaction because he revealed the news about the guy watching her. “Someone was outside her place, watching her.”

Apple’s eyebrows flew up. “What happened?”

She shrugged. “It’s nothing, really. I noticed some guy sitting across the street when I left to drop off the boxes. He was there when I got back.”

“Did he follow you after that?”

She shook her head. “No, I left out the back door and through the alley.”

“That’s odd.” Apple narrowed his gaze even more.

For a moment, she thought he didn’t believe her. But he kept shaking his head as his lips screwed up to the side.

“Do you think it was someone interested in you because of the article or something different?”

She had no idea, but she didn’t want to blow off Apple’s worry. This was the first time they’d really talked without him getting angry and rushing off.

“I really don’t know. I don’t advertise where I live. Like, I never post any photos taken close to my place. I learned a long time ago that people hunt down locations. I’ve known a few reporters who had stalkers. Most of them ended up okay, but one is dead, and another was attacked.”

Apple frowned. “We get training about how easy it is for people to track your location. That guy on social media. Have you seen him? He gets challenged to find a location based on a short video or photo?”

She nodded and laughed. “Yeah, I have. It’s always funny to me that people don’t think they can be found. It’s so easy to locate people now.”

Apple chuckled, and she could see his shoulders relax. “Yeah. It’s so easy. We get told to limit photos. I’ve seen some idiots put up photos and videos they think can’t be used against them. Like some idiot showed himself speeding down a public street. It was used against him, and he lost rank. It’s best just to not put videos up. Save it for friends only.”

“I get that. Though when people do put up posts, it makes it easier for journalists to find information.”

“Do you do that often? Look through social media stuff?”

She shrugged. “Me, not often. It depends on the story. I do a lot of investigative stuff, so I don’t deal with stories where that might matter. I might go back through social media history once I’m in the weeds of a story. I just don’t like criminals winning. It pisses me off when they get rewarded for bad behavior.”

“Like what kind of criminals?”

Jesse handed them each beer, and they took them outside as she talked about the corporation she’d taken down. Apple seemed interested in what she was saying. She hoped he saw her as someone who cared and not someone trying to take advantage of others.

“I haven’t read anything you’ve written other than the piece about being held captive. I have to admit it was good.”

“Thank you.”

Apple stood and walked away a few steps, then turned back. “Listen. I’m sorry, but I assumed I knew what you would do. I get that you aren’t my ex. That clouded my thoughts for a long time.”

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