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He smiled meekly before walking away. Shortly thereafter, I heard the garage door slam and knew he’d snuck off to have a cigarette.

I stood there for a minute, thinking about how Kim was overreacting in thinking he was a spy.

Not my dad.

* * *

Lucky me, I thought as I nodded my head at the doorman. He winked but said nothing.

Did he know? Would he let me go upstairs and then rat me out to the feds?

Calm down, I told myself. How could he even know they’re looking into me?

When I made it to the elevator, I hit the button, pacing back and forth impatiently while waiting.

The second it arrived, I dashed inside and pressed the button for Warren’s penthouse suite. I remembered the federal agents busting in on us, but I didn’t care. With his help, I would be able to run my story and make what we’d gone through public. If I pulled it off, it would receive immeasurable attention and we would finally get some protection.

At the top floor, I got out and knocked on the door in the private foyer.

He answered, his eyes widening as soon as he saw me. “What are you doing here? Come inside.”

“I couldn’t wait to talk to you. I’ve found out some stuff on Jacoby that you need to hear. My story’s almost done.”

“Are you crazy?” he asked, killing my mood.

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t run this story! It’s too dangerous!”

“Think about it,” I said, putting my hand on his thick arm. “If we go public, they can’t disappear us. At least not as easily.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t really need your information or to even source you in the story,” I fought back, not believing how quickly he was shutting down my idea.

“Other journalists will look into it and see I was at the Savage Soldier base in Afghanistan during the same time period. Are you willing to ruin my life like that?”

“Ruin your life? What about me?! Are you not interested in a life for both of us?”

He took a deep breath, taking a few steps away before stopping and turning. “No.”

“No, what?” I asked, following him.

“I’m not helping you with this. I’ll go to the feds and tell them it was all me.”

“Don’t be an idiot.”

“Name-calling? Really? Are you twelve or something?”

“You can be such an asshole sometimes, you know that?”

“And you can be a…” He grimaced, not finishing the thought.

“Fuck you, Warren. I came all the way over here to share the good news with you, and you’re not interested in anything other than controlling what I do.”

“Come on, Rose. I’m trying to protect us the best way I know how. Don’t be like that.”

“Like what? Someone who stands up for herself? Maybe I should hook you up with Kim instead.”