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“No worries. You know I’m already on it.” Dope rolled up to his computer, and his fingers flew across the keys.
Feeling protective of her, I objected. “Piss off. You’re not going to dig into her background.” He ignored me, and I grabbed the back of the chair and jerked, causing Dope’s arms to flail like a windsock in a hurricane.
Dope paused and stared a hole through me. “I’ll make you a deal. Let me deep dive, and if she’s as amazing as you hope she is, then I’ll give you my blessing to date her.”
I groaned as I placed my hands on my hips. “That’s not cool, mate.”
“I know. But hear me out. If you like her, then let’s start vetting her. I mean, eventually she’s going to find out what you’re up to. You talk in your sleep, and one confession will fuck us all, and not in a good way.” He arched a light red brow at me, waiting.
“Goddammit.” I scrubbed my face with my hands, weighing out the pros and cons as quickly as possible. Dope wouldn’t wait for me to think about it for a few days.
“I don’t even know where Ella and I are headed. All I know is that I enjoy being around her. She’s special.” But he was right. I couldn’t jeopardize her learning shit she had no business knowing. Not yet anyway.
I blew out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but go ahead. It would be better to end things now with her if we found out anything concerning. She’s a paralegal, though, and her bosses would run a background check, so I’m sure she’s clean.”
Dope grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Those fuckers have no idea what they’re doing.”
“Quit running your fucking pie hole and work your magic.” I swiped the black pen from Dope’s desk and clicked the end several times as he began his search.
“Name?”
“Ella McCloud.”
“Middle name?” he asked.
“No idea.”
“Address?”
I rattled off the information and the name of her place of employment.
I shifted from one foot to the other, watching the computer screen fill with information.
“Oh shit. Ohh shiiit. Damn, bro! You know how to pick ’em.” Dope turned to look at me. “Yeah, she’s something else all right.”
“Fucking spit it out before I lose my temper,” I growled.
Dope tossed his hands up in surrender. “It’s nothing you gotta stop seeing her over, but you might want to after learning?—”
Before he could say another word, I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his chair. I sat down and began to read. Ella hadn’t lied about her employment, college, best friend, dad’s cancer trial, or where she lived. All of that checked out. I breathed a sigh of relief but then realized I was relieved too fucking soon.
“What the hell?” I leaned closer to the screen, not wanting to believe what I was reading. I glanced at Dope over my shoulder. “This information is on the dark web. That’s how you found it, right?”
“Yup. It’s the best way to find out shit about people. I just wasn’t prepared for … that.” He pointed at a video. The screen flickered to life, revealing a still image with a triangle in the middle, taunting us to press play. And there was sweet, innocent, blushing Ella with her legs spread wide, pussy on display, fingers dancing over her clit as water cascaded over her naked form. My jaw clenched, and my hands balled into fists at my sides as a surge of conflicting emotions washed over me in waves. Anger and arousal battled for dominance inside me, fueling a fiery inferno that threatened to consume every inch of my being.
“Out. You’re not watching this with me.”
Dope’s expression fell. “Dammit. I should’ve demanded to watch as payment. Besides, you know I have access to her now.”
A surge of primal rage and fierce protectiveness coursed through my veins and ignited every nerve in my body. I launched myself from the chair in a blur of motion and sent it flying across the room. Before Dope could register what happened, I grabbed his shirt, slammed him against the wall, and snarled in his face. His features contorted with terror as he realized the mistake he made. “If you ever look at any of her adult videos, I will dismantle you myself. Got it?”
“Yeah, man. Of course. I was just giving you shit. I swear on my grandma’s grave I won’t ever check her out like that.” The color in Dope’s cheeks drained. “Bass, you know I’ll always have your back, and I did all of this to prove a point. She’s not good for you. For whatever reason, she’s got you all hot under the collar. We’ve known each other since grade school. You trust me, but you just backed me into a wall over a chick you barely know. What gives?”
Flashes of painful memories ricocheted through my mind. “You know how I feel about disrespecting women, Dope. It’s why we do what we do.”
“I get it, man, but you gotta stop letting your past control you. That’s all.” The corner of his eye twitched, his telltale sign disclosing the level of stress he was under.
My heart banged against my ribs, and I realized Dope was right. Regret washed over me as I let him go and stepped away. Maybe I wasn’t capable of handling a relationship with Ella.
