Page 46 of Implode

“Name it.”

“I need someone discreetly followed. The person works in the industry and would be naturally paranoid and in tune with these types of shadows, so it has to be well done.”

“Understood.”

“I also need all bank records and any knowledge of offshore accounts retrieved. I am hoping my suspicion is false, but I am running out of people I can trust. You are one of those people I can count on.”

Collins nods. “Appreciate it. Can I ask one thing?”

“Of course.”

“Does Graham know?”

“No details yet. I will have a chat with him soon. This is time sensitive and extremely important that I get accurate information before I make my next move.”

“Understood.”

“Thanks, Collins.”

I hand him Tyler’s full name on a Post-it note and watch as he reads it and hands it back to me. I send it through the shredder. Tyler has access to a lot of my security features, and the last thing I need is for him to change his methods if he is in fact doing nefarious things. If I am going to catch the mole, they cannot see me gunning for them.

I walk Collins out and head down to the neighboring tower’s food court to grab a sandwich and drink. Graham recently leased out the space to a variety of food vendors, with the hope to keep employees happy by not having to venture out far to get a snack or meal.

Sitting down at a circular table, I pull up my tracking app and see that Claire is still located at the airport. Her flight will be taking off in the next thirty minutes, assuming there are no delays.

I want to text her. I want to book a flight and travel with her, but I resist. I can only hope that this time apart helps her to miss me, because I already miss her.

Virginia may be for lovers, but I hope Portland still pulls at her heartstrings.

* * *

After the work shift ends, I drive back to my place and take that first step into doing something outside my comfort zone by logging onto the online portal for my session that Mitch set up for me.

Do I want to do this? No.

Do I think it will help? Who the hell knows.

But here I sit, waiting for the psychologist to enter the virtual meeting and pick apart all my flaws. Hell, that should be a session in and of itself—I’d assume.

I think the unknown is the hardest for me. I love having a clear plan and yet there’s nothing predictable about how I’ll win Claire back—or if it will even work. I just know that everything I’ve done post-Tara has been self-destructive behavior, and there comes a time when it’s best to stop the cycle.

She should have never come to Portland. I don’t need her tainting this state with bad memories. She’s the reason I left the East Coast when I could have easily settled there instead.

The ding sound alerts me that the professional has entered the room and turned the webcam and microphone on.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nic. Welcome.”

I nod, struggling with what to say. I knew this would be uncomfortable but we haven’t even started yet.

She provides a warm smile. “My name is Dr. Zimmerman. Can you tell me why you decided to reach out for therapy and what you hope to achieve from it?”

I shrug. “I’m trying to win back the woman who stole my heart.” I watch as she jots down what I assume are notes.

“Please continue.”

“That’s basically it.”

“I highly doubt that. Please do not read into anything I’m doing on my end with my note keeping. I will periodically jot things down so I can loop back around to topics, while still allowing you to fully open up to me. I hope we can build trust during our time together and come up with healthy ways to move forward. So…please continue.”

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