Page 13 of Triple Protection

"I'm not lusting after her," he growls.

"You're acting like the sun rises and sets out of her ass." He glares at me, but doesn't get a chance to respond before Liam rushes in. "Just keep it to barracks rules, alright?" He glares at me in response. Barracks rules meaning you can fap, but I don't want to hear or see it.

"Angela's going to be doing yoga in her gym for the next hour and we need to talk." He whispers anxiously.

"What's up?"

"I was going over the comments that Mirium sent us and found something." He swallows thickly, almost like he's nervousto talk. Our unspoken communication kicks in. He knows we're not going to like what he's about to tell us, and he's picking his words to lessen the impact.

"Just spit it out."

"Someone's made a virtual reality deepfake porno of Angela. People with access to it can virtually fuck her."

Shit.

My stomach sours. I might not like Angela, but that's a level of depravity no person should be exposed to. It's one step removed from rape, seeing as Angela wasn't a willing participant in creating such a sick thing.

Brick winces as if he were physically struck before his pain is overcome with anger. Rage, hot and thick, pours off of him.

"So that's obviously awful, but there's more."

I look at Brick, judging if he can handle more right now.

"The thing about it is that it's not just a porno. "

"You watched it?" Brick growls standing from his spot on the couch.

"Just the beginning of it, to see what we are dealing with."

Brick pauses, considering if that warrants punching his best friend's pretty face.

"The weird thing about it is that it starts out with a pretty sweet domestic scene."

"Why is that weird? Don't most pornos start with the pizza guy or something?" I ask. I honestly don't watch porn, but I've heard enough barrack chatter to get the gist.

"It means that whoever made it doesn't just want her body, he wants a life with her. She was welcoming the user home after a long day at work and cooking him dinner. That doesn't say fuck toy, that says wife."

Brick paces, running his hand through his hair.

My stomach churns and burns in fear and rage.

"If her stalker made it, it tells us two things. One: that he's IT literate and maybe smarter than we might give him credit for. And two: that his end game is that scenario. The deepfake is his surrogate to fulfill his desires until he can take her."

Brick growls and punches the wall. Not hard enough to leave a dent, but hard enough his knuckles will be aching.

"Why not just take her when he was in her room?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's not strong enough? Angela may be small, but it still takes a lot of strength to manhandle a struggling woman."

"I seriously need you to stop talking," Brick growls.

"Brick, go for a walk, or go lift in the gym. Maybe being near Angela will help you calm down. She's not going anywhere. No one is going to take her. We'll make sure of it."

We watch as he silently walks up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Does Angela know about it?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. I didn't have the heart to bring it up if she doesn't. That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about: if we should tell her or not."