Page 179 of Rush of Jealousy

“When Tanner took you to the hotel room, I wouldn’t have been able to know which floor you were on anyway—with or without the tracker. I had to rely on someone getting paid off to share the room number. But I would have torn through the entire building to find you.”

“How are you able to get away with the bracelets? Isn’t even placing trackers on vehicles now illegal in the entire state of Oregon? As in having to serve a year of prison time for the felony offense?”

He sighs. “That’s correct. California has similar strict laws—mostly to prevent stalking from occurring. But nonetheless, I would be in violation if there was not written consent. But in the fine print of the fifty-page document that you signed upon getting hired, there is a brief mention of the bracelets and the usage of a tracking device on them. You wear them voluntarily and can take them off whenever you want. Nothing is mandated. Signing the documents implies consent. Thus, I can get away with including them in my product. I built the company Jealousy from the ground up and hired a team of people to work at making it a successful company. However, there are huge areas at HH that are for the development of tracking devices and how we can insert them and keep them undetected in other products. The FBI gets what they want from me. And I get what I want.”

“So you are tracking the agency girls to see if anything looks off?”

His eyes twitch.

“Are we all just pawns in this game?”

He glances away. “You aren’t. At least anymore.”

“But I have friends. Mybest friend.”

“And I promise to keep her as safe as I can.”

“No one is safe, Graham. No one.”

“Dammit, I know, Angie. I know.”

“You shared that you were a confidential informant. But then stated that you aren’t anymore. Why? What happened?”

“You happened.”

“Oh.”

“I was working as an informant for months. Just going with the flow. And dating through the database so I could look like a participant—rather than the owner.”

“Sophia.”

“Yes. But she knew I was never serious about her.”

“Pretty sure she never received that message, Graham.”

He sighs but ignores my comment. “The mixer events at the mansion were extremely beneficial because I would have access to sound and video footage. Plus, everyone congregated at one location. It is easier to gather information when everyone is together. But during the last social event at the end of summer, you were there. Out by the pool. I knew as soon as I saw you that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from pursuing you. I wanted you that night. Wanted to take you into a room and fuck my memory into your body.”

I swallow hard and let out a moan.

“I was pissed off at the world. Peeved that I made a deal with the devil for my own selfish reasons to stay out of prison and of course to find justice for Penny. I was irritated that Claire involved you when you were so innocent. I was mad at Nic for allowing you to walk into the office I technically owned and join the agency that was simply a cover for luring out criminals. I wanted to scream. I have never felt that helpless and out of control in my life.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I just thought you didn’t like me.”

“I liked everything about you. I became obsessed. I strived to have some type of control over you because your actions seemed so volatile. So I went to my FBI supervisor and told him I needed out. I promised him I would get you out of the agency and keep you from interfering in the internal investigation. I showed him footage of you seeking out Tanner. I proved that you were a threat to the safety of the investigation and promised that I could assist by getting you to back off.”

“I was working toward my own personal goals.”

“And that is why I have to make my next move. Because up until now, all of my efforts have not gotten you to give up.”

“Graham…”

“You have literally left me no choice.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Stop you from getting us all discovered and killed.”

“Why do you keep saying that? Before tonight you didn’t even know I was working toward a coveted internship.”

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