Page 54 of Breached

“No,” Paul cut in.

“I have things I can do as well. I will pull on my connections with the Washington Post.” I ignored him. “As a reporter, everything needs to be documented and recorded, and I want to do that.”

“You can do that from Washington.” Paul’s face hardened.

“Paul.” Cole, to my utter surprise, gave him a look I didn’t understand, and Paul cleared his throat and backed off.

Okay…

“You’ll need help,” Sloane said, and I saw John’s face plummet. “I’ll stay and make sure the three of us all get out with Chamness and Quinn. I’m with Nicole. I don’t want Dr. Roberts staying here alone either.”

“Over my dead body.” John stood.

Sloane looked over at me and smiled, then looked back at her husband. “John, the plan seems well laid out. Another couple of days for the three of us is not taking a huge risk. We must respect Dr. Roberts’s request.”

“I appreciate the offer, ladies.” Dr. Roberts raised his hand and seemed about to protest, but when Sloane and I swung around to look at him, he backed down and went quiet.

“All right, I know it’s late and everyone’s tired.” Cole stood. “We have a lot more to discuss, but as for right now, we need sleep. Paul, in his role as Eric Noah, will contact Bruno. We can’t go too long without some kind of communication.” I felt Paul’s eyes on me but refused to look at him. “Let’s go—dismissed.”

“Hey, Nicole,” Dr. Bash called as I flew out of the conference room and began to go up the stairs toward my room. “Can we chat for a moment?” I hesitated, as I was in a hurry. I didn’t want to talk to Paul; I wasn’t ready. I knew I was going to get an earful about staying behind, and I wasn’t in the mood for another round with him.

I pointed up the stairs. “I really need some sleep.”

“I understand that, especially after that meeting. I’m just a little worried that you skipped dinner.”

“I’m not someone you need to worry about, Dr. Bash. You’ve got your hands full with people who need you more than I do.”

He smiled warmly, and I was suddenly very aware I was dressed in only my silk nightgown and robe. “Doc Roberts shared that you and Paul had gotten into some kind of a disagreement and that maybe you’d like to talk about it.”

“Nicole,” Paul called, and I looked over his shoulder and quietly cursed.

“If you need me to step in—if you need me to say something…” Dr. Bash put a hand on my arm, concerned.

“No,” I forced a smile, “you’re misreading the situation.”

“Am I?” He looked back at Paul, who was now only a few feet from us. “Because he looks pretty pissed.” Bash angled his body to shield me from Paul, and I saw Paul’s face fall in confusion.

“Dr. Bash,” he greeted the doctor, then looked at me. “Nicole, we need to talk.”

“Nicole is busy right now.” Dr. Bash spoke for me, which I immediately knew would not help the situation at all.

Paul shot him a what-the-hell face then looked at me. When I didn’t say anything, he stepped around the smaller man, so he and I were face-to-face. “With everything that’s going on, we need to work things out. I can’t be myself without knowing you’re okay.”

Anger pumped through me at his words, and I folded my arms. I ignored Bash’s glances between us. “Which one of you are you referring to, exactly?”

His jaw ticked and he looked away.

Dr. Bash, bless his heart, continued to make the situation worse with his inability to read the room and again stepped between us, and he put a hand up in Paul’s face. Oh, God.

“Why don’t you go walk off whatever you have going on in that direction and let me talk to Nicole?” Bash warned.

Paul rubbed the side of his thumb along his bottom lip, and I knew he was one moment away from losing his shit. “Doc Roberts might see something in you, and I’m sure he does. But you’re not the right fit for this house.” Paul’s voice was tight.

“Why not?” Bash replied. I could see Paul rattled him a bit.

“Because all of us here, sir, are cut from the same cloth. If you could see that, you’d know never to get between us and our women. And you’d know we’d never, ever lay a hand on them.”

I hated how perfect he sounded at that moment.