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Suddenly, I’m realizing just how little Nicole knows about the organization she was a part of. At first, we all suspected she was deep within the organization. We thought she was one of the agents responsible for some of the dark, evil deeds that had been done.
Now it’s becoming clear that Nicole is basically exactly what she said she was: in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She was offered something – whether it was hope, prestige, or the chance to save the world – and she took it. She didn’t realize just how dark the organization she was joining actually was.
Can I fault her for that?
Can any of us?
“They had a lab,” I tell her. “Several, in fact.”
“You know I’d only been working there like, a week, officially? I’d consulted with them before on random things, so I had some semblance of a relationship. My breakup with Micah pushed me over the edge, though. I needed something new. I needed something fresh where I could just be...me. I didn’t want to be the grieving girlfriend. I didn’t want to be the mistress. I wanted something new where I could just be myself. Bernie promised me I’d be saving sick dragons. She said the dragons of the world were in trouble, and I thought of you.”
“You thought of me?”
“You seem surprised.”
“I’m not going to lie: the idea of you thinking of me after all of this time is both exciting and terrifying to me.”
“Why’s that? Don’t you ever think of me?”
“Every day.” I admit it before I can stop myself. The lack of surprise on her face makes me think she does the same. She thinks of me? Really? Should I be delighted or should I feel bad? I don’t know. I have so many emotions whirling around in my head right now that I can’t seem to think straight.
Then I realize something she said.
“Mistress?”
She blushes.
“I didn’t know he was married,” she whispers.
“How could you not know?” My voice doesn’t hold judgment. I’m not judging her. I’m genuinely curious. How does a man hide his relationship from his girlfriend? How does he hide it well enough to have something that lasts long enough to break the “other woman”?
There’s no mistaking it: Nicole is definitely broken.
She fell hard for this person.
And that kind of makes me want to punch him in his stupid face.
He doesn’t deserve to have been loved by her. Anyone who would hurt her doesn’t deserve her affection.
That includes me.
She shrugs and moves to sit on the edge of the bed. She puts her hands in her lap and fidgets nervously.
“We met at my place or at hotels. He always had a reason why he didn’t want me to come over to his home. He had roommate troubles, or there were ants, or it was messy. There was always something.” She sighs and shakes her head. I know what she’s thinking, and I hate knowing that she’s doubting herself now. Getting tricked doesn’t mean she’s dumb. It just means he was sneaky.
“Sounds like he was good at hiding his tracks.”
“He was convincing,” she says.
“Hey,” I place my hand on hers. “He was the one with the problem: not you, okay? He didn’t have to lie to you. He chose to do that all on his own. It has nothing to do with you or your ability to be a good girlfriend, okay?”
Nicole swallows hard, but nods. She doesn’t say anything for a long minute, and I would do just about anything to know what’s running through her head right now.
“I guess you’re right,” she finally whispers, and I’m so relieved I could cry. Good. I don’t want her to blame herself. This guy sounds like a real piece of work. He’s not worth her being upset over. Still, I’ve got her talking. Now I need to keep her talking. The more information I can get from her, the better off we’re going to be.
“How did you meet?”
