Page 117 of Rush of Jealousy

Claire moves from the couch and kneels at my side. “What happened, Angie?”

“Mark Tanner tricked me into believing he had a recruiter friend visiting fromPacific Press. He lured me up into a hotel room and tried to—” Tears roll down my cheeks and a knot forms in my throat.

She shakes her head back and forth. “No.”

I nod my head as a sob breaks free, and I stutter out the words. “He tried…to rape…me.”

“That fucker!”

“He drugged me. Told me I would forget everything. But the dosage wasn’t working because I remember everything. I could feel his touch, but couldn’t move my body. He hit me on the face before Graham and his men busted through the door and Graham beat the shit out of him. It was a bloodbath. So we fled and went to his place on Lake Chelan.”

“Fuck.” She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head against my thighs. “I’m so sorry you had to endure that. I just…I just can’t believe he did that. Did he think he wasn’t going to get caught?”

“I’m not sure. Graham thinks Mark was setting him up. But I have no idea what to believe. It seems like Mark and his pharmaceutical company are using their platform to make illegal drugs and conduct human test trials on agency girls to check their efficacy.”

“He has to have other help.”

“Yeah, I agree. I have a few suspects I am checking out.”

She lifts her head up from my lap. “No. No, Angie. You need to stay out of this.”

“This is my chance to prove to Dr. Williams and any local news stations that I can uncover, research, and write a worthwhile story. And what better way than to use being a victim to illustrate exactly what it feels like to be helpless? Stories like these can spread like wildfire. Soon, other cities will have whistleblowers speaking out. I need to do this for me to heal. However, I also need to give the victims a voice. I want to be the start of the trend—not the dying tail end of another. Change is made by being brave enough to speak out about topics that make people uncomfortable.”

“Does Graham know you are still going to pursue this?”

“Of course not. I haven’t even told him my career goals or my real major. I’ll probably have to wait until I have my article go to print first. He has been literally trying to shut down any attempt I make at figuring this all out.”

“Good.”

“Good? Really Claire? Whose side are you on? I am less than two months away from learning my fate when it comes to graduation and a possible internship. And you are rooting for me to fail again?”

“No, not at all. Can’t you write about something less dangerous? Like puppy mills or how food labels are a lie? Sexual harassment on the job or the hidden costs of MLM businesses?”

“Those are not things I am passionate about. I need that spark of inspiration if I am going to make it in this type of business.”

“Zander has texted me a few times asking about you. Are things going to be as weird as I think they’ll be?”

I frown. “Yeah, I doubt anything will ever be the same again. I’m going to his place tomorrow to chat and clear the air.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. So, how are things with Ethan? What changed?”

“His ex-wife, Deena, is crazy. Like I have no idea what he ever saw in her. Ethan did a ton of groveling and then he lavished me with some pretty nice…” She pauses as if she lost her train of thought. She sits back and crisscrosses her legs.

“Gifts?”

“Sure.” She nods. “We’ll go with that.”

I shake my head at her.

“So, semi-off topic, but asking for a friend…”

“A.k.a., asking for yourself.”

She doesn’t deny it. “How often do you clean out the kitty?”

“What?”

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