Page 63 of In His Office

I decided to just tell her the truth.

“Morgan, we have a problem. There’s a man named Richard Conway that came here with several very compromising photographs in his possession,” I began. “He’s trying to blackmail us.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Blackmail? With photos of us?” she asked, her disbelief apparent from her tone.

“Yes,” I confirmed, my jaw tightening. “And I have a way to deal with it. I’m going to make it go away so it’s never a problem for us again.”

Morgan’s expression shifted to one of apprehension. “What do you mean by ‘deal with it’?”

I looked into her eyes, my resolve hardening. “I have connections, Morgan. I can have someone tail him, make sure he’s taken care of, that he… well… that he doesn’t pose a threat to us anymore.”

Her response was immediate. The shock and alarm on her face gave way to anger, and she fisted her hands at her sides, leveling me with a firm glare.

“Hunter, no! That’s not the way to handle this. I don’t want you diving back into that world, not for me. You’ve worked too hard to throw it away for someone like me.”

I gritted my teeth. “Keep talking like that, and we’ll finish this discussion with my belt,” I snapped, and she narrowed her eyes in my direction.

“There are other ways we can handle this,” she said, a bit more calmly, and I relaxed my jaw as I let out a sigh.

“Morgan, I would do anything to keep you safe. If that means tapping into my old connections, then so be it.”

She stepped closer, her hand reaching out to mine. “Please, Hunter. Promise me you’ll leave that world behind. For us. There has to be another way to deal with this.”

“I promise, Morgan. I’ll leave it behind,” I said, and then added with a fierce certainty, “Unless it comes to your safety. There’s no force on earth that’s going to stop me from dealing with that as I see fit, if you are involved.”

She nodded, a mixture of relief and worry flashing across her face. I reached out and took her hand in mine, pulling her into an embrace, her body fitting perfectly against mine. I loved the feeling of her pressed against me.

“You can’t go around killing people, Hunter,” she chided, her voice muffled by the fabric of my shirt.

I pressed my teeth together and shook my head. It wouldn’t be the first time I got blood on my hands.

Hopefully, this would be the last.

“You have no idea what I’m capable of, my beautiful girl,” I answered, and she shivered in my arms. “But you are right. Not unless it comes to protecting you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” she whispered.

* * *

Later that day, I called in my lawyers. They were already there in the conference room waiting for us when Morgan and I walked in through the door. I’d already briefed them on the issue, and they’d done their own background research on Richard Conway for me.

From what they uncovered, he had started out as an investigative journalist, but the competitive and cutthroat nature of the industry drove him towards the more lucrative world of sensationalism and scandal.

There, he’d flourished.

He once infamously exposed Senator James Hamilton’s extramarital affair by bribing a hotel maid for access to the senator’s room, where he illegally installed hidden cameras. The scandalous footage he captured and sold to a tabloid destroyed the senator’s career.

I wasn’t going to let him do the same to Morgan and me.

“This is a serious matter,” Brenda, my lead attorney, warned. “It could ruin your reputation and the company, but what you’re doing, the two of you dating, isn’t illegal, not by any means. Blackmail and extortion, however, is.”

“I just can’t sit back and do nothing,” I growled.

“I understand, Mr. Blackwater. You can report it to the police, but that probably won’t stop the photos from being leaked.”

“Maybe we can get ahead of it,” Morgan blurted.

“How so?” I asked, turning my gaze to her beautiful face.

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