Page 14 of Triple Protection

I sit on the couch and rest my elbows on my knees, considering. I weigh the options in my head before speaking. "Can you get it taken down?"

"Yep. That's the plan. I'm going to try to see if any of the app metadata could help us identify the stalker and then I'm taking it down. Unless he has a back-up somewhere offline, it'll take him a while to recreate something similar." He swallows again and I can tell there's more. "I don't know how long the video is, but it might have taken a year to make? Depending on if he has a job or not and how much free time he had to make it."

Fuck. This wasn't some crazed fan, high on adrenaline and danger. This was a man whose obsession led to spending ayear building a replacement for Angela so he could live out his perverted fantasy.

My first instinct it to protect her. From all things. But her mental health isn't my problem. If she freaks out, that's on her. "I think we need to tell her. If you'd been routinely..." What was the right word here? Abused? Raped? "Taken advantage of... wouldn't you want to know?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure."

"She's the client. She deserves to know..."

"Deserves to know what?" A feminine voice asks brightly? The tone is so at odds with the mood in the room, but she quickly glances at our faces and her smile falls.

"Deserves to know what?" she repeats this time, her tone serious.

Liam steps forward, wringing his hands. He's too nervous to tell her, so I do instead. "Liam discovered a virtual realty deepfake porno of you on the dark web." Maybe I'm cold and callus and could have spared her feelings, but I meant it when I said they weren't my problem. Keeping her bodily safe is my job.

Brick glares at me and Liam groans. "Way to sugar coat it." Liam grumbles under his breath. I give an unaffected shrug.

"What?" Angela asks, her voice cracking.

I repeat it, but slower. I'm being an ass, I know it, but I hate when women play dumb. It's not an attractive quality.

She shakes her head. "No. I heard you. But what does that mean? That people can have sex with me, virtually?" Her arms wrap around her midsection in a pathetic attempt to comfort herself. Her breathing picks up and tears threaten to spill over her bottom eyelid.

I nod. I also hate when women cry.

"How? How long? How...how many people?" She asks, the first tear escaping and streaking down her pale cheek. Fuck. Her whole body is trembling now as she looks at me indesperation. I don't do emotions. Luckily, Liam picks up on how uncomfortable I am.

He goes to her and wraps his arms around her, tucking her head underneath her chin. "I don't know, but I'm taking it down. By the end of the day it'll be gone, and we'll keep an eye out so that it never comes back. Okay?" He pulls away from her and wipes her tears away with his thumbs. He shouldn't be touching a client. He's always been a touchy feely guy - with his hookups, with his sisters - but never a client. I don't like that he's touching her now. She doesn't seem to mind, though, as she looks up at him through watery eyes.

"Thank you." She says to him gratefully before resting her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. Brick, Liam and I share a glance, unspoken words floating through the air between us.

We knew things were bad when we took the job. They'd just gotten worse.

Chapter eleven

Angela's Soulmate

Angela's Soul Mate

The house is almost ready. I had to do all the renovations myself because I couldn't risk a tradesman getting wind of what my plans were. The bullet-proof windows that don't open, the solid-steal front door and fingerprint access pad on the inside would have raised suspicions. After I was finished with those safety measures, however, it was time to make the interior comfortable. I know Angela. I know her tastes and her style and know how to decorate. After a long day at work, I walk into the home that we will live in together and set down the bags of home goods - throw pillows, kitchen utensils and a comforter I know she will like.

I arrange the throw pillows on the couch, put the utensils in a drawer in the kitchen before heading to the bedroom and laying out the comforter. Soon, she will be laying in this bed with me. It has taken me years to save up enough money and to have enough time to do all of the renovations but I am almost finished now.

I'd known Angela was my soul mate almost five years ago now, but it wouldn't be much longer before she would realize it too. I'd left her messages and gifts to keep me in the front of her mind - a promise that we would be together soon. I knew she was lonely, but I needed to have everything in place before I could make my move. I had to show her I could be the man she needed - the one that could take care of her every wish. She could stop that stupid influencing shit she did and I could take care of us both. I hated that other people got to see her bare skin and her smiles. Those smiles should have been reserved for only me. They will be. Just a few more weeks.

I lay on my back on the comforter and imagine what it will be like together. To wake up next to her, have her making me breakfast in bed. She'd treat me like a king. I just knew it. She really wanted to be domesticated. She just needed a strong man to allow her to be the housewife she really wants to be. She'd look so goddamn good pregnant with my children. We'd have a small army of children. They'd have my eyes but her hair.

I run my hand over my aching cock. Imagining her here, finally mine, has me hard as a rock. I pull my VR headset from the nightstand and queue up my favorite program. Soon I wouldn't need this virtual version. I'd have the real life Angela riding my dick like a jockey instead. I sync my phone with the headset before selecting the deepfake site I made just for us. It hadn't taken me long to pull pictures of Angela from her Instagram and use AI to fill in the blanks that were never exposed, like her rosy nipples and perfect pussy.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. That pussy is mine, she just doesn't know it yet.

When I select the video, it gives me a 404 error. I back out and try again. I close the app and reopen it to try again. Shit it had even been indexed by the search engines, so I google "AngelaBazzaratti VR deepfake" and click the top three links - they all lead to a 404 error.

Fuck! I throw my phone across the room in anger. I'm exhausted and agitated and really need the outlet.

I bet it was one of those goddamn body guards. I bet they found it and had it taken down somehow. I really fucking hated those bodyguards. They got to be under the same roof as her, while her soulmate was alone in the damn house waiting for her. It wasn't fucking fair. Sheknowsshe's waiting for someone - me. She should know those messages and gifts weren't a threat - I'm not a threat. I love her. She will see. She will see soon.