“No,” Alicia said.

“Alicia, hear me out,” I said.

“No. This isn’t happening. Are you serious right now?”

“I’m here to protect you. Nothing else.”

“You work for the company my lawyer called,” she said.

“If you want to put it that way, yes.”

“How else would I put it?”

“I own the company your lawyer called,” I said.

I watched her eyes widen as she backed away from the door.

“No,” she said.

“You need help, Alicia. And I’m here to help.”

“I’ve already got one ex on my tail. I don’t need another.”

She tried to shut the door in my face, but I stuck my foot out to stop the door from closing.

“This is simply professional, Alicia. I promise. I only want to make sure you’re safe.”

“Too bad you didn’t do the same with my heart,” she said.

“I’m a very different man from what you remember. And I’m here in a professional capacity to keep you safe until my team can track down your ex-husband.”

I heard her sigh as she leaned against the edge of the door.

“Let me in,” I said. “Just talk to me about what’s going on.”

And reluctantly, she opened the door.

“I thought my lawyer gave you this information already,” Alicia said.

“I would rather hear it from you.”

“Where do you want me to start?”

“From the beginning. Track your relationship for me.”

“You sure this is professional?” she asked.

“It is when you’re hiding from a man who’s leaving you possessive and threatening voicemails.”

“Wow. He really sent you everything.”

“He really did,” I said.

Fuck. She was beautiful. As beautiful now as she was back in high school. Her dark red hair spilled down her back and her ocean blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. They weren’t the glasses I’d seen in her picture, but they were reminiscent of the ones she wore in high school. Even in her fear, with her arms wrapped around her body and her skin a little paler than normal, she was the essence of sunshine. Standing in her presence still made me warm and her luxurious curves were more prominent than ever.

Womanhood suited her.

And the idea of a man neglecting that made me bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep silent.

“I met Langley in college,” Alicia said. “You’re going to want to take a seat. This could take a while.”

I sat down on a chair across from her as she sank back into the cushions.

“It was little things at first. Things I thought were endearing that are now red flags looking back.”

“Such as…?”

“Bringing me my coffee order without him telling me about it,” she said. “Waiting for me outside of my dorm room without me ever recalling telling him where I was staying.”

“That didn’t send red flags?” I asked.

She shot me a look and I bit down onto my tongue.

“High school was hard after you dropped off the face of the planet. I rebelled. I was angry. And this was after all the crying I did over you. Langley was a refreshing breath of air. The complete opposite of you in every way. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Tall and lanky, but with an unassuming strength. He swept me off my feet and we dated all through college, and married shortly after the two of us graduated.”

“What happened then?” I asked.

I was ignoring the blatant verbal smack she delivered across my cheek.

“His first dictation was the fact that I couldn’t get my Master’s degree until we’d paid off my student loans. It made me upset, but it made sense. I had some student debt I needed to get rid of, so I got a job. Not in my profession. I need a higher education for that. But it worked.”

“Are you still paying on it?”

“No. Paid it off before I turned thirty. Then, it was a matter of moving to the right place so I could go to the best school, but no place was ever good enough. It didn’t coincide with his future business plans or put us too far from family. Things like that. It made sense at the time, so I didn’t worry about it.”

She drew in a deep breath before her face grew somber.

“Then, he told me I couldn't spend time with my family over Thanksgiving. Said he wanted to create our own traditions. And I fought him on it. I wanted to celebrate with my family, but he said that he was my family, and that I needed to feel grateful that I had a man like him in my life.”

“You fighting back was his trigger,” I said.

“It got worse from there. I never did get to go back for my Master’s.”

“In what?”

“Huh?”

“Your Master’s in what?” I asked.

“Oh. Psychology. I know. Ironic. You don’t have to tell me that.”

“Not what was going through my head,” I said.

“Fights were always my fault and bad days at his work were my fault. The house wasn’t cleaned the way he wanted and for some reason I needed a chore chart to help me keep the cleaning on schedule.”

It was like I was staring at a completely different person. Like I was listening to Alicia recite someone else’s life instead of hers.

“Did he ever get physical with you?” I asked.

“No.”

“Did he ever take advantage of you?”

---

“No,” she said. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’d wake me up sometimes. You know, with…”

I narrowed my eyes as her body began to shake.

“If it causes that kind of reaction, then he did,” I said.

“Don’t say stuff like that,” she said breathlessly.

I wanted to reach out for her. To comfort her during this time. But I was coursing with too much anger. I would hold her too tightly and hurt her when what I really wanted to do was strangle this asshole until his eyes bled.

“I should’ve seen the signs,” Alicia said. “I have a fucking Psychology degree. Maybe Langley was right. Maybe I’m not smart enough to-”

“You stop that shit right now,” I said. “I don’t want to hear another word of it.”

“Why? Because it’s true?”

“No. Because it’s a load of shit. Manipulative men have been manipulative all their lives. He was probably raised by a manipulative parent and he’s had his entire lifetime to perfect his craft. You even said it yourself. Red flags in the beginning you simply didn’t see. It wasn’t you, because in the beginning he didn’t know you. It was all him, right from the start. None of this is your fault, Alicia. It is never the victim’s fault.”

“You sound like Becca.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Becca. A friend of mine. Actually, the only friend I’ve got now. I met her my freshman year of college, too.”

“What’s her last name?” I asked.

“Reece. Rebecca Reece. Why?”

“I’m going to have my guys run a background check on her.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s standard procedure. When we take on a new client, we pull basic background checks on anyone closely associated with them. Have you been in contact with Becca lately?”

“Yeah. Earlier today,” she said.

“It’s only protocol. We want to make sure she’s not working with Langley or anything like that.”

“You’re insane. Becca wouldn’t do something like that. She’s my best fucking friend.”

“I’m keeping all my options open,” I said. “That’s all.”

“Becca isn’t doing this. Langley is.”

“Alicia, you have to trust my methods.”

“I can’t even trust you! How can I trust some bogus methods?”

I sighed as I leaned forward in the chair. I knew this was overwhelming for her, but I knew this was also the best course of action. Men like Langley are good at what they do and that’s what makes them dangerous. Dangerous for women like Alicia who didn’t have a job or money or any means to defend themselves.

But I was more dangerous.

And if I could convince Alicia to keep me around, I knew I could keep her safe.

“Look, I know this is all overwhelming.”

“Oh really? And what would you know about overwhelming?” she asked.

“As a former Navy SEAL? A lot.”

Her eyes whipped over to mine and I watched something flash behind her eyes. I was used to that look. The look of awe twinged with a bit of sympathy. I hated that look. It was why I never told people about my military past. They wanted to thank me for my service or buy my dinner or shake my head or take a damn picture. All because I killed people to get others back.

Took lives in order to save others.

There was no honor in that.

No honor in killing on command.

“I know I can keep you safe,” I said. “And you need it. Your lawyer made it seem as if you reached out for this service, but even if you didn’t, the evidence is overwhelming. You're in danger, and until we can find Langley this isn’t going away. I can provide some security. Protection, if things go south. And with the pictures I saw in your file and the police report I was able to track down, he’s got some resources on his hands.”

“Money, mostly,” Alicia said.

“And money buys a lot in New York City. That’s probably how he found you. I’ve got one of my guys looking into the P.I.’s around here. Seeing if any of them might’ve been hired by your ex.”

She grimaced at the word as I sat back in my seat.

“If I were to agree to your service-- which I haven’t yet-- what are my options? What… what would you do?” Alicia asked.

“Do you want a rundown of all of them? Or just the ones I would employ for this particular situation?”

“Is that supposed to impress me?”

“What makes you think I’m here to impress you? I asked you a question so I could tailor down what you’re looking for. My company offers a variety of services. If you want me to rattle all of them off, you might fall asleep before I’m finished.”

“I see your pride hasn’t changed at all.”

“Not pride. Simply fact. Now, which would you like?” I asked.

Alicia’s eyes fell hard onto mine and I could see that spark of light in them again. The smallest glimpse of the strong girl I remembered from high school. She was still in there, aching to get out. Aching to be free of a scenario she probably didn’t know how to get out of all these years. Strong women didn’t fall prey to men like Langley because they were idiots. They fell prey to men like Langley because they were manipulated. Strong women still wanted to see the best in people, and that attribute was preyed upon. It was the same attribute that drew Alicia to me back in high school. She saw the best in me when no one else would, and I wanted to thank her for that. Every damn time she pressed her lips against mine and called me hers.

Men like Langley took advantage of that. Exploited that personality trait to try and condition the people around them. There were many men like that in the business world. Men who sat on their thrones and swam in their pools of money and charmed the people around them like vipers before going in for the kill.

It was why I kept my head out of those types of circles. I rose to my own billionaire success and kept my fucking social calendar clear.

“Fine,” Alicia said. “Assuming I take you up on your offer, what services and tactics would you employ for my particular circumstance?”