The Starkest Truth (A Breaking Insanity Novel Book 2) by Courtney Lane Page A

your pregnancy…” He took in a breath and let it slowly unfurl. “If it ever happens, Nikki, you will see everything everyone has tried to warn you about. You will get a firsthand experience of what he’s done to the women in his past. I see your hard exterior, but I know what I see in your eyes. Could go either way. It could make you see and leave him as you should, or it could bring you into his rapture without a way out. And you’ll do again what you did the night Estelle lied to you, and told you that she and Eric were still married.”
    “H-how…how did you know that?”
    “I’m very good at forging Eric’s handwriting. And Nikki…” he leaned closer to me, a smirk appearing on his face. “I really do know things about you that Eric doesn’t. I’ve kept quiet about those things. Would you like me to continue to keep quiet?”
    I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. “You’re an evil person.”
    “Maybe. But I promise you, I’m the less evil of the two.”
    “I don’t know you,” I sobbed. “I don’t want to know you. I don’t care what you think you know about me. Consider yourself released as a client. Are we done now?”
    He slowly smiled. “Not by a long shot. Not sure you want to release me as a client. I could make or break your career, Nikki. I have a network of connections. You might remember some of them from the mistake you made with Nation X. Do you remember Red X? The hacker whose dare got you into quite a bit of trouble? You were extended an olive branch, but…it would take so little to burn it to ashes. If you want me to keep quiet, we should be friends, don’t you think?”
    I kept my eye steady on the patio doors, unwilling to look at him, nor recall the incident his words were bringing back into my memory.
    “Are we good, or should I search for another graphic designer? I’d really prefer not to. You are quite talented in what you can make a computer do.” His annoying smile turned sinister. “Well, you did get caught, but that has nothing to do with your creative skills.”
    I roughly wiped the tears from my cheeks and nodded. “Fine. I’ll keep you on as a client.”
    His smile turned up at the corners. “Good. Glad we agree. By the way, the changes I needed were simple. Darken the color scheme. I prefer black and white over differing tones of gray. Change that, and all should be agreeable.”
    His words served to further annoy me. Had I agreed and visited him, I would’ve been livid. The entire interaction through IMs was all a setup. He definitely could’ve conveyed his needs through other means. I should’ve expected no less from an associate of Eric’s who had a penchant for hitting women and getting his face pummeled into the pavement repeatedly by Eric for whatever reason.
    Turning apologetic, he stepped forward with his hands drawn down. “I’m sincerely sorry I made you cry. It wasn’t my intent. Do you forgive me? Or should I seek a grander method to convey how sorry I am? Flowers? A heartfelt sentiment? A gift card? What would you prefer, Nikki?”  
    I shook my head. “A-apology accepted.”
    “Thank you,” he sighed in relief.  
    “I-is that all you want from me? To remain a client?”
    “For now.” Moving to the side, he allowed a clear path back inside the house.
    My concern was palpable, because the record amount of time in which Preston fucked up my head won out over Eric’s slow and arduous process to bend me to his will.

“DR. BRENTON? CAN you consult with the patient in bed six?” Callie, the triage nurse, asked me while I was busy signing off on a patient’s chart.
    “You see that I’m in the middle of something, right? You see that I’m the only fucking doctor on the floor again, because Aimee and Baxter are in trauma, right? I’ll get to her when I get through my rounds.”
    “She’s been waiting for six hours.”
    Scrolling through my tablet, I checked her patient status. “You tagged her as green, and