Free Into the Night by Janelle Denison Page A

attention had made her feel special and attractive. All the girls in his class had a crush on him, and Nicole was no different—except she was the one he wanted out of all those other girls, and in a matter of weeks she was dating him, then sleeping with him.
    But what began as an exciting relationship with an older, experienced man gradually turned into something much uglier—including the use of drugs (to relax her, he’d told her), then on to kinkier sexual demands. She’d been so convinced that he loved her, so caught up in pleasing him, that she hadn’t realized just how degrading and dysfunctional the relationship actually was.
    Mark had been a master at seducing her body and manipulating her emotions, only to shatter her heart and self-esteem when someone younger, prettier, and more innocent came along to replace her in his affections. With Nicole well used, he’d cut her out of his life completely and without remorse, leaving her ashamed and humiliated.
    At the time, she’d hadn’t been able to see the silver lining in his cruel and abrupt breakup. Devastated and unable to focus on what was most important to her—her degree in journalism—she’d nearly lost everything that mattered to her.
    She’d learned her lesson well and had thankfully recovered from the ordeal, but the emotional scars and inability to trust a man completely ran much deeper.
    Now, as she scanned through the investigative report and the Internet articles on Preston Sloane and the supposed darker side to his personality, her stomach roiled in response. Then came the detailed information on a teenage girl named Angela Ramsey, a runaway who’d last been seen at Sloane’s estate and had been missing for the past three weeks.
    Nicole had no idea what Nathan’s involvement was with Sloane and the teenage girl, or why he had a portfolio filled with so much personal data on each. He’d told her he worked in surveillance for The Onyx, so why was he interested in something that had nothing to do with casino security?
    By the time she finished reading everything, she’d connected to Angela Ramsey’s story on a personal level and felt compelled to do something to alter the course the young girl was currently on. Her journalistic side saw a breakout story. And the eighteen-year-old she’d once been wanted desperately to save other girls from enduring the humiliation and degradation of getting involved with a man like Preston Sloane.
    She tried to get some sleep, but instead spent the rest of the night and early-morning hours tossing and turning fitfully. Her mind churned with her own foolish past, the choices she’d made, and how those choices had nearly destroyed her. Nicole wondered how many young girls like Angela had seen Preston Sloane as their own Prince Charming. A man reputed to use girls for his pleasure, at the cost of their own self-worth and sanity.
    Oh, yeah, she’d been there, done that, and she couldn’t deny the information struck a personal chord. By morning, she was determined to do what she hadn’t done all those years ago with her professor: find a way to expose Preston Sloane for the creep he was.
    Here was the substantial story she’d been looking for, just begging for her to research and write. Unable to resist such a challenge, or the chance to expose an unscrupulous man like Sloane, she saw this as an opportunity to make amends for past mistakes and hopefully save other girls from falling victim to the kind of emotional manipulation that could scar them for life.
    Nicole knew her editor at The Las Vegas Commentary would never approve of her taking on Preston Sloane. Investigating the man’s life, and proving he was guilty of statutory rape, would require meticulous research. Logic dictated she find a way to get close to the man so she could discover what really went on behind the high walls of his estate. Even if that meant going undercover to get his attention.
    As for Nathan, she could only hope she didn’t