Page 70 of Implode

“Not exactly.”

He sighs. “That much is obvious.”

“I have a picture of the back of his body. But he has a very distinct tattoo, and this photo has it located on the same part of the wrist.”

“Things can be Photoshopped,” he adds.

“Yeah, sure, but I have already been suspecting him of double-crossing me. Now this just adds to my suspicion.”

“Seems careless on Tyler’s part to be associated with something that he could easily get caught doing. Men like us don’t get caught, Nic. Tyler is not an idiot. If he wanted to do something, he sure as hell wouldn’t get himself filmed doing it.”

I sigh. I am starting to get a migraine. “You’re right. This all seems weird.”

“I can help you get to the bottom of all of this, but I need time to line up my resources.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Just take care of yourself. I know how much you love to be a hero.”

“I’ll try. Bye.”

I toss my phone into the cup holder and rub my fingers over the bridge of my nose. This whole thing is one mess after another mess.

As if I don’t have any more free will, I drive north toward the Pearl District and park my car on the street near the cell phone store. Through the tall glass windows, I see Claire talking with a worker. She looks so beautiful and pure—even from a distance. I know she is struggling financially to make ends meet. With me, there is no reason to continue to push as hard as she does to make money. I can take care of her. Iwantto take care of her.

If Claire thinks she can use Entice to moonlight, then she doesn’t know me well enough to think I wouldn’t put a stop to it. There is zero chance of me sitting back and allowing her to entertain any man’s company. I’ve been toying with the idea of dismantling the company for weeks now. If she shows interest again, I will just speed up my timeline. It serves no positive purpose anymore for me.

My phone vibrates with an incoming call, and I look at the caller ID to see it is Collins.

“What’s up?” I ask in greeting.

“I’ve been watching Tyler’s actions and nothing seems off. I hired a close buddy of mine to follow him, check through his trash, and gather any type of information he can on his hobbies and interests. Nothing. He’s clean.”

“I should be relieved, but if it isn’t Tyler trying to double-cross me, then who? And I just got more evidence pointing toward him being the mole.”

“I don’t know, sir. But just because we haven’t found anything yet, doesn’t mean we won’t. Want me to keep my man at his post and do some more digging of my own?”

“Yeah. I think Graham would approve as well. He has a lot on his plate, and this is not something he needs to fret about.”

“Understood,” Collins answers.

“And if you can keep an eye on Claire, that would be great. I had Tyler doing that job as a favor for Graham. My brother doesn’t want anyone to harm Angie through her friends. After all the shit that happened last year, neither of us are taking any chances.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Appreciate it.”

I watch as Claire exits the shop with a little bag in her hand. She searches the parked cars. Does she know I am here? Her attention goes to the store bag, and she pulls out what looks to be a new phone.

“Graham is calling me now, so I need to take this,” Collins says, cutting through the silence.

“Keep me posted.”

I end the call and watch as she gets into her vehicle and starts the engine. I wait a few minutes for her to pull away before deciding to follow her back to her place to make sure she is safe. We have been spending so much time together lately that being apart for just one night will feel lonely. I am going to miss her.

I pull open my tracker and only find the dot that indicates that her car is parked. Without access to her new phone, I no longer have the ability to know where she is if she moves away from her vehicle. I can’t imagine Claire wanting to upgrade her device right now, with how tight her budget seems to be. It was easy gaining access to her device prior to us engaging in a physical and emotional relationship. However, I’m not so sure she will freely give it over to me with the way her mood seems to fluctuate. I will just have to convince her to spend the night with me so I can add on the hidden app.

I’m not proud of myself for the things I do to make sure she is safe. I am very aware of my obsession and my inability to accept that she is strong enough to take care of herself. I have seen too many women in my life get taken advantage of, and I refuse to allow Claire to be added to that list.

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