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“Nova!” a high-pitched voice yelled from behind me. “Miss La Roux, wait!”
I gritted my teeth as high heels pounded on the concrete towards us. I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. Piper fucking Lawless. A twentysomething reporter from actual hell. She worked for the sleazy tabloid magazineThe Weekly Wetand had been one of the first people to report on my story. Her stories were filled with lies, though, changing the narrative to make it seem like I deserved what Ryzen had done to me. I couldn’t fucking stand her. She was always hounding me, wanting an exclusive. Oh, I had tried to be nice about it at first, but that had just made her try harder. It had gotten to where I was ready to file a restraining order against her, but hadn’t yet. But now that she was standing outside my therapist’s office, invadingmydamn privacy again, you could bet your ass I was going to go through with it.
“Nova, I’m glad I caught you.” She let out a deep breath, patting her head to make sure her dark hair was all in place. “Look, my boss is really up my ass about getting an exclusive from you.” She chuckled and rested her hand on my shoulder.
I glanced down at where her hand lay on my shoulder, my nostrils flaring.
“Hands off, Lawless.” Valik towered over us. My big, strong teddy bear was always looking out for me.
“Oh.” Her eyes widened, and she dropped her hand. “Anyway, help a girl out, would ya? If I don’t get this, he’s going to fire me.” She stood with one hand on her hip, tapping her foot against the cement. “He’s a total dick, ya know? It wouldreallyhelp me out.”
“No.” I turned towards the car and Valik opened the backdoor for me.
“Ugh, rude.”
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to give her any more attention. The nerve of some people. Well, some might say that reporters weren’t normal people. Leeches, hellhounds, spawns of Satan were more accurate descriptions.
“If you don’t give me this exclusive, my boss is going to run a story about your lover, Cian Blackwood, and his shady Mafia ties.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face her slowly. The smirk on her face only confirmed that she knew she had hit a nerve.
“Let’s just play nice, OK, Nova?” She took a step forward, placing her hand on my shoulder again. “I promise, it will be a great interview.”
Red was the only thing I could see at that moment. I grabbed her wrist, her eyes widening as I spun her, twisted her arm behind her back and pushed her against the SUV with a grunt.
“Oh, fuck.” Valik looked around the parking garage.
“Get off me, you psycho!” She tried wiggling her way loose, but I had her pinned tight against the car.
“If you ever write anything about Cian Blackwood, or so much as hint at anything that would harm his character, I will make sure you regret it.” I emphasized the last words by twisting her wrist slightly. Nobody, not Ryzen, his creepy brother Riddick, and definitely not some two-bit reporter, was ever going to hurt Cian.
I released her and stepped back. She spun around, her face twisted in anger.
“You’re fucking crazy,” she seethed and walked backwards, looking around. “I’m gonna call the cops on you, nutjob.”
I chuckled, and she hauled ass in the opposite direction. A moment later, tires squealed past us and Piper flipped her middle finger off at us, a scowl on her face.
Valik sighed and shut the car door.
“What? You saw that. She touched me first.” I laughed as he rubbed his temples.
“C’mon, let’s go back to the lobby.” He grabbed me by the elbow and walked us towards the elevator.
“Back? But why?” I scrunched up my nose.
“So I can pay off the guard and get the security footage before your face is plastered across the damn internet again,” he grumbled and pressed the lobby button on the elevator panel.
Damn, I hadn’t even thought about that. “You’re too good to me, you know that?” I reached up and pinched his cheek.
“And you’re a pain in my ass, La Roux.”
“You love me though.” I hooked my arm through his as we walked towards the security office.
“Shut up,” he muttered and tugged me closer to his side.
Chapter Four
Nova
