Page 4 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

As we waited for the elevator,Idetailed the rest of the building’s layout.

“The elevator goes to the second floor, which is where we have our individual offices, our main security room, and all our tech spaces,”Itold her as the elevator doors opened.

“You need a key card to access that floor as well as the third floor, which is where the apartments are,”Iexplained while handing her an elevator access key card. “Thefloor has two separate one-bedroom apartments.Onefor me and one forJack, which is now temporarily yours.”

Once we got to the third floor, the elevator opened to a small hallway.

“My apartment is on the left,Jack’sis on the right,”Iexplained.Iopened the door to what would be her apartment untilJackgot home and let her in.

“Oh wow,” she said, looking around. “Ihalf expected it to be gross and dirty since he’s hardly here.”

“Nah,”Ichuckled. “Youcan take the man out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the man.It’singrained in us to keep our spaces tidy.Though, saying that,Iwouldn’t eat anything he left in the fridge unless you’re interested in eating a science experiment.”

She threw her head back and laughed, andIsworeIfelt my dick twitch.God, she had a beautiful laugh.

“OnceIcarry my bags up from the car,I’llclean out the fridge and get some new stuff from the grocery store,” she said, giving me a chance to clear my thoughts and focus.

“I can help you with your bags.”

“It’s not necessary.Ididn’t bring much,” she said.

“I’ve got it.Let’sgo,”Igrunted, perhaps a bit too bluntly, butIneeded to get out of this space and maybe get some fresh air.

We walked back down to her car and started unloading her things.Consideringshe was moving here, she didn’t have much—maybe she had more in storage and would bring it when she got her own place.

It only took two trips.AsIstepped inside with the last of her bags,Iglanced toward the kitchen and spotted her bent over, peering into the fridge.Damn, she had a great ass.

Look away.

I quickly turned into the living room just as she straightened up.

“Lucky for me, the fridge contains a few beers and a questionable tub of butter,” she said.

I looked up and caught the small smile on her face.God, she was gorgeous.Butwhen she smiled?Shewas stunning.

This woman was alluring—and she’d absolutely be the star of my fantasies if she weren’t my friend’s little sister.

Off-limits.Youneed to bail.

“Okay, well,Igotta get back to the bar.Textme if you need anything,”Isaid asIpractically ran out of the door.Ineeded to separate myself quickly beforeIdid something stupid thatIwould regret.

Or, more importantly, thatJackwould kill me for.

2

ELLIE

I woke early this morning in my new place – at least in my temporary new place.WonderingwhetherJackbrought women back here and if he had even washed his sheets since,I’ddecided to sleep on his couch the first night.

I’d calledKatielast night to check in with her and let her knowI’dmade it safely.Shewas happy for me thatIgot away, butIwas sad to be far from her.Shehad been my only close friend sinceImoved in with my grandma years ago, andIknewIwould miss her.I’dtold her about meetingWade,Ruthie, andTammyand describedJack’sboring apartment.Beforewe hung up, we promised to chat often, even if just via text.

Jack’s place was nice and clean.Itwas a simple one-bedroom apartment, exactly the sizeIwould like to get for myself once my brother was home, albeit with a little more color and character thanJackcurrently had in his.Hewasn’t home much, so that explained the bare minimum furniture, but he didn’t have any photos or art on the wall, andIwas a photo fanatic.Hiswalls were all stark white, and whileIusually preferred white walls for good lighting in a bathroom,Iwould much rather have color on the walls in the other rooms.Graysheets with a gray comforter.Nothrow pillows or blankets on the couch.Theliving room only had a gray couch, a brown coffee table, and a giantTVon top of a black console table.Thething that screamed bachelor pad the most, though, was that he only had wrapped plastic utensils and paper plates in his kitchen.

I needed to run to the store and stock up on a few necessities for the apartment beforeImetTammyat the pub for my first shift.Iquickly showered and dressed before grabbing my keys and headed out the door.

AsIexited the elevator into the lobby space,IsawRuthietyping away at her desk.Ruthiewas a few inches shorter than me.Shehad silvery blonde hair, much lighter than mine, about an inch or two above her shoulders, and bright, caramel-colored eyes.Iwaved and said hello, and she smiled back at me.

“HeyRuthie, is there a place nearby whereIcan get some basic groceries and maybe a few things for the apartment?”Iasked.

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