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“What the hell is going on?” Tears sting the corners of my eyes.

I don’t want to get upset. I don’t want to show weakness to anyone, not even these three men. But I’ve been so wrapped up in these last couple of weeks that I didn’t realize how much the trust between the four of us meant to me. Or how much it would hurt if it broke.

All three of them stare at me, obviously not expecting me to have heard.

“Has there been another scandal?” My voice cracks. “I heard you mention a tabloid and a public kiss. Did that make headlines somehow?”

“No.” Pascal’s voice is calm against my rising panic. “Everything’s alright, Nina. I had my contacts kill the story before it spread. No one else knows about it, and the few who do will be signing NDAs in the morning.”

I glance at Jarek, and my face twists. That kiss at the coffee shop was wonderful. But the thought of that moment nearly ending up plastered across the tabloid sites is awful.

“And what about you?” I turn on Zander. “What do you mean, you had your lawyers looking into my past?”

“Not your past, Nina. Your ex.”

“Which is my past,” I snap.

To my surprise, Zander doesn’t argue. He walks to the table in the corner where the minibar sits, opens the drawer, and pulls out a file folder stuffed with documents.

“Here.” He holds it out to me. “This is what my lawyers have turned up on Reid so far. It’s only a start. They’re still digging.”

I’m so mad and so hurt that he kept this from me that I push the folder away without taking it.

“I don’t want to do this anymore.” Tears fill my eyes. “I don’t want to be part of another scandal. I want to end our agreement.”

Zander, Jarek, and Pascal all look stunned. Gutted.

“Nina, please.” Pascal reaches toward me. “None of this is going to create a scandal. None of us would let that happen to you.”

“Yeah,” Jarek adds quickly. “We’re not going to let anyone hurt you.”

A single tear rolls down my cheek and drips from my chin. My book slips from under my arm, and the hand holding my teacup shakes. It’s not that I don’t believe them. I want to trust them. But my career can’t survive another scandal. Hell, I don’t know if I could survive one.

“It doesn’t matter.” I set the teacup on the end table so I can wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. “If something does happen, I’m the one who’ll suffer the most. If our little arrangement gets out and Reid gets hold of it, it’ll prove everything he’s been saying about me. I’ll be ruined.”

“We all have something to risk,” Zander reminds me. “We’re all committed to protecting our privacy. And you.”

I shake my head.

“People will forgive you. All of you have money and power. No one’s going to go up against you guys. But me? I’m a nobody. Scandals will always follow me, because they can. I don’t have any power to stop them.”

“That’s not true.” Zander steps closer and takes my chin in his hand.

He tilts my face up so I can’t look away. Pascal and Jarek close in around me, the three of them forming a wall.

“You do have power,” Zander says. “You have us. And I swear to you, nothing Reid says or does will ever touch you again. Not while we’re around.”

Another tear falls. I want so badly to believe them. To let them protect me. To stay right here, surrounded by three powerful men who seem so determined to take care of me.

“He’s right,” Pascal adds. “You have our word, Nina. Please don’t walk away from this. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Sorry you had to find out like this.” Jarek rubs the back of his neck. “We didn’t want you to worry. We had it all under control. Well, mostly. The part where I want to punch your ex in the face is still very much on the table.”

I can’t help cracking a smile. As upset as I am, knowing how much they care settles something in me. And the image of Jarek landing a movie-style punch on Reid’s jaw, the kind he throws whenever his rival shows up to steal his girl, is honestly delightful.

“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “I’m in. But no more secrets. Not about Reid, not about me, not about anything.”

“Deal.” Zander offers me the folder again.